Oscar de la Satan, Mystery Meat to represent UNC at air guitar championship

The one thing Mystery Meat and Oscar de la Satan won’t pack for their Saturday guitar competition is a guitar. But they will bring their “airness.”

Students Brady McReynolds and Drew Millard, who participated in the January Air Guitar Championship at UNC, will be traveling to Washington, D.C., to perform at the 2010 Regional Air Guitar Championships.

“They are both extremely narcissistic, and with good reason,” wrote Amanda Kao, president of the Carolina Union Activities Board and person responsible for bringing Air Guitar to UNC, in an e-mail. “They hands-down rock harder than anyone with a ‘there’ guitar.”

The regional competition will consist of two rounds. The competitor with the highest combined score after the two rounds will be named the winner, and he or she will move on to the national championship.

Oscar de la Satan

Millard has been strumming air strings for two years.

But when Drew transforms into his Air Guitar-rocking alter ego Oscar de la Satan, he says goodbye to all forms of amicability.

“His normal self is replaced with a frenetic ball of obscure music referencing energy,” said Nolan Allan, a friend of both competitors.

Oscar de la Satan got his name after Millard found out he needed a name to participate in the UNC competition. He said he wanted to try to incorporate the devil in some way because he thought that would give him an upper hand.

“Rock is an ally of Satan. Every band associated with the devil has been awesome,” Millard said.

Planning to play “My Own Bare Hands” by Ween, he hopes to avenge his air guitar honor after falling to McReynolds in this year’s competition at UNC.

Oscar plans to rack up points in the “stage presence” category when he performs his signature move of stripping down to his plaid flowered boxers on stage.

Millard admits that Oscar might not be the nicest guy you’ll ever meet, but he says Oscar is very different from him.

“He is the yin to my yang, the Superman to my Clark Kent. He is the Mary-Kate to my Ashley Olsen,” Millard said.

Mystery Meat

McReynolds is the reigning UNC Air Guitar Champion.

“I honestly think he could make it to the second leg of the D.C. competition, perhaps on charisma alone,” Allan said.

McReynolds said Meat enjoys sporting a bi-hawk and wearing leather while rocking out on the air version of the Gibson Flying V guitar.

To prepare for this competition, Mystery Meat has been playing on the way to class and practicing in his underwear in the mirror in his room.

“I think that helps to get over your nerves,” McReynolds said. “You’re just there playing and you’re thinking ‘Hey, I’m kind of fat. But that’s OK, I’m rockin’ out.’”

For the competition, he plans to play “State of the Union” by Rise Against.

“I thought I should do something political, since it is D.C.,” McReynolds said.



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