Written by SCOTT STANFIELD
Citizen staff
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Wednesday, 03 December 2008 |
Guitarists duel for stage supremacy
The scene was reminiscent of the Bloodsport movie where Jean-Claude Van Damme and other combatants duke it out in an underground arena in Hong Kong.
Well, not quite.
Last Friday, 13 guitarists duked it out in a guitar wars competition in a warehouse setting at the Sound Factory on Third Avenue. About 140 spectators witnessed the fun.
There were no limitations as to the background of the "combatants," be they blues players, metal maniacs or classically trained musicians. Besides the audience, the guitarists performed before a panel of four judges. Each player was judged on overall skill level, emotion, quality of composition, clarity and the "X-factor," in reference to how well a player holds the audience in his solo. A perfect score was 50.
Each guitarist was allotted 2 1/2 minutes to do their thing, be it an acoustic or electric piece. Most chose the latter.
In the end, Jeremy Pahl -- whose bluesy performance contained hints of Stevie Ray Vaughan -- won the $500 grand prize in a sudden-death overtime victory over Marty Bodo, as decided by the audience after the two guitarists were dead even following the first showdown that featured four finalists. Bodo and third-place finisher Tony Regenwetter earned the only perfect scores of the night.
"The level of guitar playing was phenomenal," said event organizer Geno Dlouhy, owner of Slowbelliemedia.com, a brand-new music and pop culture website based in Prince George. "This contest was very cool and a throwback to the old days where kids were showing their chops in the back alleys."
Indeed, the true spirit of music was alive and well in Prince George last Friday night.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 03 December 2008 )
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