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CNN Live At Daybreak
New York's Air Guitar Championship
Aired June 11, 2003 - 05:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, you don't need the talent of Eric Clapton. You don't need a Fender Stratocaster or any other axe. But you can still be a rock star.
Here's Jeanne Moos at New York's air guitar championship.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Imagine being a rock star with no strings attached, no strings, period.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, imagine this but with my arm on fire.
MOOS: OK, so he doesn't quite look like Tom Cruise in his underwear with a fireplace poker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "RISKY BUSINESS")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like that old time rock and roll.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: But it is risky business to brave looking like a fool to enter the first U.S. air guitar championships. That's Trans Am Mama. Everyone was supposed to have a stage name. Six out of 19 were women.
LUCY HARRISON, CONTESTANT: And so are you.
MOOS (on camera): Do you practice with a broom or with nothing?
HARRISON: Oh, no. It's just about air. It's just about like having the guitar there and like making love to it, you know what I mean?
MOOS (voice-over): Sort of. They ranged from a guy who runs a seafood restaurant...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm one of the Geritol contestants. I do a couple shots of Geritol before I go out.
MOOS: To an actor who called himself C-Diddy to a guy who really does play bass guitar in a group and has been playing air guitar even longer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You like get on top of the bed and you're like wow, you know? MOOS: For seven years they've held the world air guitar championship in Finland. Now, U.S. organizers want to send an official U.S. representative to compete.
CEDRIC DEVITT, CONTEST ORGANIZER: But we've got to put America on the map when it comes to the world air guitar championship. It's a question of pride. It's a question of patriotism.
MOOS: Contestants played through their legs, behind their heads. This guy literally flipped his wig. But it quickly became clear the crowd had a soft spot for C-Diddy. The contestants played to their own choice of music. But when it got down to the six finalists, each had to play to the same Smashing Pumpkins song.
The judges scored it like figure skating and when it was C- Diddy's turn -- now who does that remind you of? The Who? Instead of picking his teeth, C-Diddy picked with his teeth and won the right to compete in L.A. for the chance to go to Finland.
Why is C-Diddy so into air guitar?
DAVID "C-DIDDY JUNG," CONTEST WINNER: Pure love for the music. And also an honest understanding that I have no talent to be able to play it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you autograph grab my breasts?
MOOS: Even a fake rock star gets perks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. You rock.
MOOS: It sure beats an air kiss.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: I was just trying to figure out what kind of shirt/shield thing he had over his chest. I don't know.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 11, 2003 - 05:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, you don't need the talent of Eric Clapton. You don't need a Fender Stratocaster or any other axe. But you can still be a rock star.
Here's Jeanne Moos at New York's air guitar championship.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Imagine being a rock star with no strings attached, no strings, period.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, imagine this but with my arm on fire.
MOOS: OK, so he doesn't quite look like Tom Cruise in his underwear with a fireplace poker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "RISKY BUSINESS")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like that old time rock and roll.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: But it is risky business to brave looking like a fool to enter the first U.S. air guitar championships. That's Trans Am Mama. Everyone was supposed to have a stage name. Six out of 19 were women.
LUCY HARRISON, CONTESTANT: And so are you.
MOOS (on camera): Do you practice with a broom or with nothing?
HARRISON: Oh, no. It's just about air. It's just about like having the guitar there and like making love to it, you know what I mean?
MOOS (voice-over): Sort of. They ranged from a guy who runs a seafood restaurant...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm one of the Geritol contestants. I do a couple shots of Geritol before I go out.
MOOS: To an actor who called himself C-Diddy to a guy who really does play bass guitar in a group and has been playing air guitar even longer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You like get on top of the bed and you're like wow, you know? MOOS: For seven years they've held the world air guitar championship in Finland. Now, U.S. organizers want to send an official U.S. representative to compete.
CEDRIC DEVITT, CONTEST ORGANIZER: But we've got to put America on the map when it comes to the world air guitar championship. It's a question of pride. It's a question of patriotism.
MOOS: Contestants played through their legs, behind their heads. This guy literally flipped his wig. But it quickly became clear the crowd had a soft spot for C-Diddy. The contestants played to their own choice of music. But when it got down to the six finalists, each had to play to the same Smashing Pumpkins song.
The judges scored it like figure skating and when it was C- Diddy's turn -- now who does that remind you of? The Who? Instead of picking his teeth, C-Diddy picked with his teeth and won the right to compete in L.A. for the chance to go to Finland.
Why is C-Diddy so into air guitar?
DAVID "C-DIDDY JUNG," CONTEST WINNER: Pure love for the music. And also an honest understanding that I have no talent to be able to play it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you autograph grab my breasts?
MOOS: Even a fake rock star gets perks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. You rock.
MOOS: It sure beats an air kiss.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: I was just trying to figure out what kind of shirt/shield thing he had over his chest. I don't know.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
