The Valley's Guitar Heroes

By SEAN BARRON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

NILES — “I know I’m going to win; it’s that easy.”

It was that combination of a positive attitude and self-confidence that 17-year-old James Evans brought to the Eastwood Mall to begin a few practice rounds.

James, of Cortland, had just finished playing on an Xbox guitar controller his version of “The Joker,” a 1970s hit by the Steve Miller Band, before getting down to the business of competing in Saturday’s Guitar Gaming Tournament at the mall. The competition is part of the Guitar Hero World Tour.

James, a Lakeview High School junior, has good reason to be confident: He’s competed and taken home first-place finishes in two other such events.

“‘I used to play two hours a day when I got the chance,” he added.

Hosting the free competition was the Art Outreach Gallery, a collaborative that seeks to empower area youth by sponsoring exhibitions and fostering youngsters’ creativity and technical skills in the visual arts, music, dance, fashion, robotics and gaming.

Robert Browning has the Xbox game system at home and wanted to put his playing abilities to the test. Before the actual competition got under way, he played “Beautiful Disaster” by 311, an Omaha, Neb.-based rock group formed in the late 1980s.

“A friend had [the Xbox system], so I decided to try it,” explained Browning, 18, of Southington. “I went out and bought it and became good at it.”

Up to 64 youngsters age 13 to 18 took part in the five-hour competition, in which participants played on guitar controllers songs by artists such as Credence Clearwater Revival, Fleetwood Mac, Ozzy Osbourne, The Beastie Boys, Willie Nelson, Paul McCartney and Wings and Jimi Hendrix.

Competitors sat in front of two flat-screen TVs connected to a computer. The TVs showed the neck of a guitar with five colored buttons and the right notes to be played. During the songs, participants earned points for playing the notes on their controllers that corresponded to the notes on the sets.

The event was broken into two divisions and four rounds, with a total of 30 player matches at two skill levels. Top finishers qualified for the division championships; the final level was the tournament championship, noted Richard Tauro, an Art Outreach Gallery volunteer.

Scores were based on the consecutive number of correct notes played and timing, Tauro said. Among the prizes were gift cards, hats and an Ohio State University jersey.

And the top finishers among the dozens of area teenagers taking part in Saturday’s competition are:

• First place: Stefan Liptack, 18, Niles, “Satch Boogie” by Joe Satriani.

• Second: Matt Chuey, 16, Poland, “Satch Boogie.”

• Third: Kyle Brown, 15, Girard, “Beautiful Disaster,” 311.

• Fourth: Jon Golias, 14, Niles, “Beautiful Disaster.”

• Highest score: Golias, 392,232 points.

• Longest note streak: Liptack, 794.