GRAMERCY — A battle of the axes has begun at both Irving Plaza and the Gramercy Theatre in Manhattan — only there’s no guitar required.
The two Gramercy-area concert venues, which are owned by House of Blues Entertainment, have launched online air-guitar competitions.
Air-musicians shoot 90-second videos of their most awesome guitar solos, upload the footage to Facebook, and beg their friends to vote by New Year’s Eve.
Each venue will select a winner, who will be given a brand new, real guitar — an ESP LTD Viper-50, to be exact.
“We just wanted to do something really fun and engaging,” said Michael Kilun, senior manager for social media at House of Blues Entertainment.
“We’re expecting people to be creative and really show us what they’ve got.”
The contest kicked off this week and extends to 21 House of Blues-owned venues across the country, with each establishment awarding a guitar for its best air-guitar entry.
As of Friday, only the Cleveland contest had received an entry — a pre-teen named Brandon who rocks out to “Best Friend’s Brother” by Nickelodeon star Victoria Justice.
But the contest is still in its early days, and Kilun said he is confident New York City rock fans will be a force to reckon with.
“You guys, I know you’re going to bring it,” he said.
To enter the contest, visit the Irving Plaza Facebook page or the Gramercy Theatre Facebook page.
