Kamloops man is among the top air guitarists in Canada

KAMLOOPS – Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Eddie Van Halen were good in their time, but those axemen have nothing on 39-year-old Arron Butowski of Kamloops.

The entertainer and promoter recently competed and placed second at the Air Guitar Canada national finals just missing a chance to go to Finland for the World Air Guitar competition.

Butowski, or AirHead AirRon as he is known in the air guitar community, got the invite to compete in Toronto after he won the regional air guitar competition held in Kamloops on June 15.

The format for an air guitar competition is each contestant plays one song of their choice and one song chosen by the crowd with each performance lasting about 90 seconds.

“My go to song is a nice classic Rush song Spirit of Radio,” Butowski says. “The whole theme was make America rock again, so the audience picked Toxicity from System of a Down.”

While most people may not consider it a serious form of art or entertainment, Butowski says the air guitar community is quite large and passionate in eastern Canada where most of the 15 competitors were from.

“We had somewhere between 200 and 400 people there at the final just in the crowd,” he says.

Air Guitar Canada is a non-profit organization that raises funds for Right To Play International which helps kids across the globe with the cost of playing sports.

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