US Air Guitar is back and this time San Francisco's own Hot Lixx Hulahan is the reigning world champion! We aren't hosting the National Championships this year—they're moving to the nation's capital now that a more air guitar friendly administration is in the White House—but the Independent will host two back-to-back nights of air guitar: Golden Gate Regional (Fri June 26) and Bay Bridge Regional (Sat June 27). Entry is still open, tickets for each night are still on sale, and serious spectators can purchase a 2-day pass to both regional match-ups.

New to air guitar? It's just what you'd expect, really, except probably a bigger spectacle—giant foam rock fists, jeering crowd, mullet wigs, men in diapers, unnaturally colored animal print spandex, and the best and worst of rock. Round 1, the freestyle round, features all contestants (for better or for worse) performing 60 prepared seconds of air guitar to a song of their choosing. Contestants are judged in three areas: technical merit, stage presence, and "airness." What is airness? From the US Air Guitar: "Airness is defined as the extent to which a performance transcends the imitation of a real guitar and becomes an art form in and of itself." In Round 2, the compulsory round, the top scorers from Round 2 return to perform a snippet of a single song chosen by US Air Guitar. The scores are compiled and the top performer goes on to Nationals. And two SF Regionals means our chances of dominating in Obama's town double!

For a little inspiration, here's a video clip of Hot Lixx Hulahan's guest performance at last year's regional championship at the Independent.

Guest Performance: Hot Lixx Hulahan from agreatnotion on Vimeo.