Official news from…
The organizer of GGWR 2007 >> see
01.05.2007 List of Participants in GGWR
See our list of currently registered participants of GGWR
2007. >>
see
15.02.2007 Registration for GGWR 2007
In order to participate in GGWR 2007 register >>
here
Thanks
Jimi in the World... This year Festival editon and Record setting will have international 'support'.
Slowly we got news from all over the world from people willing to organize international editions of 'World Guitar Day'
– this is the real Guitar Union. [see]
Promotion film of the Thanks Jimi 2007 / GGWR 2007 Here we will publish films from
'World Guitar Day' 2007.... [see soon]
19.04.2011 Wroclaw, Poland - 9th Annual Thanks Jimi Festival to take place April 30, 2011
May 1, 2009 saw 6,346 guitar players join together with festival founder Leszek Cichonski and Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse at the "Thanks Jimi Festival" to play the Jimi Hendrix hit "Hey Joe" and more than tripled the standing Guinness World Record for "Largest Guitar Ensemble" of 2,052.
The featured guest for the 2011 edition was to be Gary Moore. In tribute, his Still Got the Blues will be added to the songs that will be played together this year. Additional guests include Al de Meola, Ten Years After and Neil Zaza as well as many of the best known Polish musicians including the band Acid Drinkers.
This is a free event and open to all. Other guitar players from around the world join in online (though only those present in the Wroclaw center and registered count towards the record attempt). Please watch this space or check heyjoe.pl as we will post details shortly about how YOU CAN JOIN US ONLINE from wherever you are.
Additionally, there are partnered events that take place throughout the city. Notable this year is, on April 29, Leszek Cichonski will be leading a full symphony performing arrangements of Jimi Hendrix material. Featured guests at this performance will be Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett's Acoustic Trio.
The free event takes place in the historic center of Wrocław, Poland (formerly Breslau) - 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 guitar players who established the current record. Festival founder and director, Leszek 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. One of the objectives of the organizers is to establish May 1st as "World Guitar Day" and more coordinated simultaneous events are planed for next year and beyond (the date was moved this year due to the Beautification of Pope John Paul II taking place on May 1 this year).
"I always emphasize that in this event is not about just the record", says Leszek Cichoński, originator of the event, "It is a unique group encounter with music, in which all participants are performers. You arrive with teenagers and hippies, parents with their children and children with their parents - and grandparents, to feel this amazing energy that carries the common edges. I would like to thank everyone who came to the Wrocław center, it's them who create this atmosphere and them who put my heart in my throat, when they all raise their guitars at that moment at the end of the song."
Not only has the Polish media been interested in the phenomenon of events in Wroclaw; Reuters released a live signal to foreign TV channels and Eurovision, which showed its viewers, the biggest guitar band to perform together in 2010, and the beautiful center of our city, to the world - we are touched to have had comments from those that watched from around the world. The event was also watched world-wide via our live internet connections and again saw others playing along with us including organized events in Norway, Australia, the USA and elsewhere.
A few words from Steve Morse's blog about his participation in the 2009 edition:
[link]
Like every year on the 1st day of May at Wroclaw's market square there
is gathering of guitarists from all over Poland to play in biggest guitar
orchestra in the world conducted by Leszek Cichonski. Last year in 2006
we managed to beat thew World Guinness Record in common guitar playing.
Jimi Hendrix piece Hey Joe. The Song was played by 1581 people together with
best polish guitarists. This year we meet again.
Promotion film of the Thanks Jimi 2007 / GGWR 2007
Here we will publish recordings from 'World Guitar Day' 2007...
Thanks
Jimi in the World...
This year Festival editon and Record setting will have international 'support'.
Slowly we got news from all over the world from people willing to organize international editions of 'World Guitar Day'
– this is the real Guitar Union.
Festival is still "alive" and developing
....still alive contrary to the fact that we already met our goal to set the record.
In Year 2006 – 1581 gitars, this is how many people played together last year on Wroclaw's market square.
We could say this is the end of story, dream come tru, what more ?
But here it's not about record, and numbers, but common playing, keeping tradition alive, which
started in 2003
2005 – Thanks Jimi 2005.
In from Pawel Serafinski, and cheerful guy in hut...it's David Price – bass of John Broadway Tucker Band].
Photo by
Marty Vickers' [drummer from John Broadway Tucker Band].
We invite everybody to take a look at our Photo
Gallery related to GUITAR GUINNESS WORLD RECORD [all edtions].
You will find here also photos from music world's stages where Leszek
performed and photos of his friends
Bracia
Bary Cleveland (USA) Wojciech
Hoffmann
Mietek Jurecki Leslie Kot
(Szwecja)
Krzysztof Misiak
Nervous Investors (Australia)
Egon Poka (Węgry)
David Price Marek Raduli
The Rhythm Chefs (Holland)
Stan Skibby (USA)
Ryszard Sygitowicz
Krzysztof Scieranski
TSA
Siedmiu Wspanialych
Slawek Wojnarowski (France)
Dariusz Ziolek
