Dutch Air Guitar Championships

Yheun ‘ Tremelo Theun’ De Jong uit Hengelo is de 2009 Nederlands kampioen luchtgitaarspelen. Hij is hiermee de eerste air guitarist die de titel voor de tweede maal wint. Theun is sinds 2005 vast deelnemer aan de kampioenschappen en heeft naast twee titels ook de 2e, 3e en 4e plaats behaald tijdens de finales. Tijdens het WK 205 wordt Theun nog teleurstellend 13e, maar in 2009 neemt hij revanche en wordt op het WK 5e. Tremelo Theun is een veel en graag geziene gast op de podia in vooral Noord en Oost Nederland, hoewel zijn werkterrein zich inmiddels over heel Europa uitstrekt. ‘ Theun is de enige luchtgitarist ter wereld, die een show van meer dan 10 minuten in elkaar kan zetten en dat ook volhoudt, terwijl het publiek steeds meer uit z’n dak gaat’ , aldus de organisatie.

After an intense virtual battle, John Sniffler from Utrecht won the sixth Dutch Air Guitar title. Currently preparing himself with his personal coach and trainer in secret foreign training camps, John Sniffler will be representing the Netherlands at the 13th Air Guitar World Championships, that will be held on Friday 22nd of August in Oulu, Finland. National team manager Vergouw will join Sniffler to Oulu in his quest for global recognition. Sniffler played a wonderful free round, in which he performed a mix of Gypsy music by the Rosenberg trio. He defended his 1st place in the compulsory round, which was the first minute of Brainstorm by The Arctic Monkeys. Second place was for Pedro Elastico (last years # 4), third place for Queen Bitch Christina (Amsterdam). Last years champ The T came in at 5th place, while long lasting champs like Tremelo Theun (champ in 2005; now # 4) and the Hurricane (7th) showed air guitar of the highest quality. The show was presented by Rick de Leeuw, and not forgetting that during the judging, the Sugarettes and The Bloody Honkies played on real guitars! (Photos: c. Marike Benschop)

In een kolkend Paradiso is ‘The T’ uit Breda uitgeroepen tot Nederlands Kampioen Luchtgitaarspelen 2007. Daarmee is hij als enige Nederlander gerechtigd deel te nemen aan de wereldkampioen- schappen, die op 7 september zullen worden gehouden in Oulu, Finland. De hoofdprijs is een vijfdaagse reis met verbijf naar deze kampioenschappen. Tweede werd Tremelo Theun uit Hengelo, de Nederlands kampioen van 2005 en de nummer 2 van 2006. Derde werd The Python uit Amsterdam. De presentatie was in handen van Rick de Leeuw, die het publiek naar ongekend luchtige hoogten wist te brengen. De jury bestond uit platenbons Stacey Rookhuizen, gitariste Meriam Stokman, poprecensent Jan Vollaard en luchtgitarist Pelvis Fenderbender. Klik door voor diverse filmpjes.

(fotos: The T in actie/The Beast/The Hurricane, copyright Wim de Groot) (more…)

Igmar ‘Iggy Stardust’ de Haan from Amsterdam is the reigning Dutch Champion, winning the crown in a packed Paradiso venue in september 2006. Iggy won the qualification round in Haarlem at the Patronaat and was a hot favorite to take the title. In the finals, he beat Air Jean (4th in 2004 and now 2nd) and Tremelo Theun to take home the title.

The World Championships ended a bit dissappointing for Iggy, coming in at only the 11th place, not being able to play the compulsory round, normally his strongest round.

 He is currently active in acting.

In 2005 Theun ‘Tremelo Theun’ from Hengelo took the title, winning in competition with The Destroyer, whom he beat by the narrowest of margins. Theun is still playing the air guitar at festivals in The Netherlands, from alternative scene to fanclub days of national heroes ‘Normaal’. He is an accomplished guitar and bass player, currently playing in his new band.

Theun finished 11th in the World Championships in 2005, but won the Nations Cup together with The Destroyer and Pelvis Fenderbender. In 2006 he finished 3rd in the Dutch finals while defending his title, and will be participating in the 2007 finals again. Click here to see his MySpace account.

Michael ‘The Destroyer’ Heffels became the second Dutch Air Guitar Champion by beating dending champ by a narrow margin in the 2004 finals. At the World Championships, he came in 5th in 2004. In 2005 he defended his title but was beaten in the Dutch finals by Tremelo Theun, mainly due to a below par compulsory round. His robotact in the free round was exceptional however, and in cooperation with the Dutch Championships he decided to try to win the world title.

Together with Pelvis Fenderbender he entered the dark hoirse qualifying round in Finland, ending 1st by beating Pelvis by a narrow margin of 0,1. Together they entered the finals, where Michael decisively won the world title, beating New Zealands and Pelvis to place 2 and 3.

He currently gives air guitar workshop and is playing in his band The Filthy Red Horse, together with Dutch number 2 of 2006, Air Jean.

The first official Dutch air guitar champion ever is Jordi ‘Funky Jordi’ Nieuwenburg from Rotterdam. In 2003 he beat The Hurricane, taking the title to Finland for the World Championships. During the first world championships with Dutch participation, he came in second, only to be beaten by the American entry C-Diddy. In 2004 he defended his title, coming in second behind The Destroyer, who in 2005 became world champion. Funky Jordi is still considered to be one of the leading air guitar players in The Netherlands.

He is also a great guitar player in his own right, graduating from the Rotterdam conservatory in guitar playing. He was guitarist of  ‘Wealthy Beggar’, which had success in 2003 and 2004, released their cd ‘Roxxx at the Disco’ and once was the opening act of PinkPop, the biggest rock festival in the Netherlands and the oldest surviving annual rockfestival in the world.

Currently, from 2007 onwards, he is guitarist in the American but Dutch Based (Amsterdam) punk-rock-surf-wave band Jaya The Cat. (photo: c Wim de Groot)