“I can’t judge … but that is a little weird.”
That’s what Zachary “Ichabod Fame” Knowles’ said when students he was teaching to dance Burlesque recommended he try air guitar competitions — contests in which people mime playing the guitar on stage.
“They laughed and said to me, ‘Yes, it is the most ridiculous thing that you can do with your clothes still on,'” Knowles recalled. “I agreed to that almost immediately.”
Knowles, who lives in Toronto and grew up in Hamilton’s Lisgar neighbourhood, tried out for a competition in 2017 and “did mediocre at best,” but stayed to watch everyone else perform.
“I got to see everyone just putting their absolute heart into this absolutely ridiculous, high-energy 60 seconds and I loved it,” Knowles said. “It was such a cool community of people that are really wanting to put themselves out there and have a wild and celebratory time.”
WATCH | Knowles says Ichabod Fame is him going ‘full rock star’
Zachary “Ichabod Fame” Knowles shares how he gets into character before rocking out on stage.
Judges look for factors including originality and stage presence
Now Knowles, 34, has heavy-metal hair, a signature moustache and the title of air guitar world champion.
Saying that out loud still “makes me giggle,” Knowles said.
About two weeks ago, he won the Air Guitar World Championships in Oulu, Finland, outplaying competitors from over 20 countries with renditions of Nickelback’s Photograph and Olivia Rodrigo’s Obsessed.
At the championships, judges evaluate 60-second performances of two songs in two rounds, considering a contestant’s “originality, ability to be taken over by the music, stage presence, technical merit, artistic impression and airness” in awarding points, according to the competition’s online rule book.
“Every performer really brings themselves to it,” Knowles, 34, said.
He said Ichabod Fame — a name bestowed upon him by someone who thought he looked like Ichabod Crane from the Sleepy Hollow TV show — is “parts of me dialled up to 11.”
Becoming Ichabod Fame means “going full rock star,” and drawing on his wide range of performance experience, including musical theatre, dance and playing bass in a band. He incorporates burlesque moves, such as peel and reveals, and does high kicks and splits in the air.
“It’s definitely something that I have to stretch and warm up for,” Knowles said.
Knowles trains his body and practices his moves
In fact, Knowles trains for air guitar, working out multiple times a week to improve strength, endurance and flexibility.
He also practices air guitar moves in a local park, which offers ample space and soft surfaces to land on.
“It’s not even the weirdest thing you will see in the park,” he said.
A key part of air guitar is actually making it look like you could be playing an instrument, Knowles said.
WATCH | Knowles initially thought air guitar was ‘weird,’ even for him
World champion air guitarist Zachary “Ichabod Fame” Knowles said air guitar is weird, but he fell in love with it almost right away.
He said that while some people consistently imagine the same instrument, he shakes it up. In Finland last month, he pretended he was shredding on an inflatable guitar.
At the championships, Knowles said, he performed outdoors in front of an audience that stretched as far back as he could see.
The crowds at air guitar shows are usually younger to middle-aged, he said, and include people who love the campiness of air guitar, and those who just love rock and metal music.
Knowles said he thinks his specialty as a performer is his ability to connect with a crowd. “I am going to go full out pretend to play an instrument and be completely candid and have fun with that. And when you do that, an audience goes, ‘That’s kind of amazing. I can go a little full out too.'”
For his first performance at the championships, Knowles jammed to 60 seconds of a Nickelback cover he picked. It started with a guitar solo before revealing itself to be the much-memed song Photograph to cheers and groans from the crowd.
Though he “loved to hate” Nickelback for a long time, Knowles said he’s come to appreciate that song.
The next tune he performed, Olivia Rodrigo’s Obsessed, was a surprise to contestants and not a song Knowles knew, but he said he really liked it too.
In the end, the judges picked Knowles. Second place went to Nanami “Seven Seas” Nagura from Japan and Kirill “Guitarantula” Blumenkrants from France, who tied each other. Patrick “Ehrwolf” Culek from Germany took third place, according to a news release from Air Guitar World Championships.
Knowles to defend title in 2025
The philosophy behind the competition is one Knowles said he’s proud of.
The slogan is “Make air, not war,” the idea being that “wars will end, climate change will stop and all bad things will vanish when all the people in the world play the air guitar,” according to the competition website.
If nothing else, Knowles said, the Canadian qualifier raised money for the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund. “This dumb, silly thing I do is helping people.”
As the champion, Knowles said he is guaranteed a spot in Oulu in 2025 to defend his title. He won’t be allowed to compete in qualifiers, but he’s hoping to build a Canadian team he can perform alongside with.
If anyone is on the fence, he said, they should know air guitar “barely costs you anything.”
“If you really just show up and show who you are, you are not only going to have possibly one of the most fun shows that you’ll ever do, you’re also going to be introduced to one of the best communities you could ever find.”