Other: Steve Morse Joins Poland's Thanks Jimi Festival to Help Set New World Record
"As co-promoters of Deep Purple?s show in Poland (Wrocław, 1st May, as part of the Thanks Jimi Festival) we [Metal Mind] would like to share this great news:
"6,346 guitarists played together at the Thanks Jimi Festival
"May 1, 2009 saw 6,346 guitar players gather at the Thanks Jimi Festival to play Jimi Hendrix's hit 'Hey Joe!' It tripled the standing record for Largest Guitar Ensemble of 2,052, set last year in Concord, California. The event took place in the historic center of Wroclaw, Poland - a city which has taken on the title of Wroclaw Guitar City - a title that seems merited. In fact, the Mayor, Rafał Dutkiewicz, was among those playing, as was Deep Purple's guitarist Steve Morse and the festival's founder and director, Leszek Cichoński. Cichoński is a well-known musician and music educator in Poland and the festival was an outgrowth of one of his educational programs and has taken place - and grown - annually since 2003.
"Besides the 6,346 guitar players, there were thousands of spectators and supporters in the Wrocław city center as well as other guitar players taking part in it online and in coordinated events in Sweden, the US, Canada and Australia (though those were not counted in the record). One of the objectives of the organizers is to establish May 1st as World Guitar Day and more coordinated simultaneous events are planned for next year and later.
"Steve Morse wrote recently on his blog:
"We just got back, and I mean, JUST got back from our gig in Poland. It was so unusual in so many ways. The crowd was basically sold out, solid from the stage to as far as we could see, outdoors. And it wasn't raining! Our opening act, Leszek Cichonski feat. Stan Skibby, was incredibly good. I had a great time reminscing with Stan, who does a Hendrix-like set with them, singing and playing. Everybody played so well, and was so down-to-earth.
Earlier today, I played onstage with them at a town square, for the Guinness Book of World Records. The most guitar players playing 'Smoke On The Water.' For sure, if they don't get the world's record, something is seriously wrong, because there were 6,000 people in front of us, with guitars, playing it! At the end of the song, they all held up their guitars, mostly acoustic, and it looked like we were in a forest. Nothing but guitars for as far as you could see. We also played 'Hey Joe,' which Stan sang, and everybody played along with that one. Last year, they had 1800 plus people playing along with that song. In the middle of the song today, they brought the volume way down, and you could only hear the background singers and the thousands of acoustics playing C,G,D,A,E....... After that, I don't know how the gig could be any more intense. But, it was. The crowd was totally into everything, and when they sang along on 'Smoke' it was the loudest ever. A lot of them were at the town square earlier, and they knew it for sure! Fantastic crowd. Don played some Chopin, which they all seemed to recognize, and knew he had Polish roots."
[Germany were to make an attempt on May 10]
For further information go to: www.cichonski.art.pl/guinness2/index.htm and www.myspace.com/thanksjimifest
There are some videos taken at this event available on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj5mdsfJdBc and www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tyF8BzuPZw[Source: Metal Mind]
