Corrections Appended
ASU rock stars took center stage Wednesday in the first round of a Guitar Hero tournament at the Memorial Union plaza on the Tempe campus.
Sixteen contestants competed in State Farm Insurance’s “I’m There in the Spotlight” event, which will award a 16-gigabyte iPod Touch for first place and a $200 Visa gift card to the runner-up Thursday.
Participants strapped on their guitars and battled two at a time on the “easy” level of difficulty. A coin toss before each round decided who picked the song, and the winner of each pair qualified for Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Art junior Hunter Hancock failed to advance to the next round, but he put on a show for spectators. Playing Iron Maiden’s “The Number of the Beast,” Hancock filled his performance with crowd-pleasing moves, including jumps, kicks and a mock stage dive at the end.
Hancock said he knew he would not win after a few early mistakes, but he still made it an entertaining performance.
“I just wanted to win the iPod,” he said.
History junior Nate Thompson advanced to the quarterfinals after his challenger chose a song he did not know.
“Since I don’t know the song it was easier for me,” he said. It allowed him to focus on the screen without anticipating what was on the way.
Thompson said if he is allowed to pick the song next time he will choose something that he knows is more difficult to throw off his opponent.
Thompson said he joined the tournament because he would take any chance to win free stuff for playing video games.
Students also lined up beside the stage for free pizza, water and promotional gifts. After the competition closed around noon, the stage remained open to all students wanting to play Guitar Hero for free.
Event announcer Anthony Puglia called the tournament “a good way to settle disputes.”
Puglia thought the first day of the tournament went well and said he’s excited for the final rounds Thursday afternoon, which feature live entertainment from local musicians Raining and OK, Matthew Reveles and Mike Doughty.
The eight advancing participants will compete in the Guitar Hero quarterfinals at 4 p.m. Thursday in the fields outside the Hassayampa Academic Village at McAllister Avenue and Apache Boulevard.
Jared Rivas, campus tours assistant director for the Programming and Activities Board, said the level of difficulty would increase with each round until a winner emerges from the finals.
The Guitar Hero tournament featured in Thursday’s “Student rockers compete in Guitar Hero” was hosted by both State Farm Insurance and the Programming and Activities Board.
A photo caption accompanying Thursday’s “Student rockers compete in Guitar Hero” misidentified the original artist of a song played by the pictured students. “Welcome to the Jungle” was originally performed by Guns N’ Roses.
Reach the reporter at adam.sneed@asu.edu.
