photo by Chris Fisher
11-year-old guitarist Aidan Fisher is used to playing in front of large audiences. After all, Fisher has played the national anthem several times at Werner Park and Ralston Arena.
But Fisher, from Papillion, had no idea how big a crowd he’d be playing for on Dec. 19, 2013, when he and his dad, Chris Fisher, attended a Steel Panther concert at Midland Theatre in Kansas City, Mo.
Hoping to get the attention of Steel Panther’s guitarist Satchel during the show, Aidan made a sign that read, “I challenge Satchel to a guitar solo.” The band saw him in the crowd and brought him on stage. It was then that Aidan played Van Halen’s “Eruption” and “You Really Got Me” with the band in front of a screaming crowd.
Despite what he said onstage, Aidan says, “I was pretty nervous." Aidan, who takes lessons at Omaha's School of Rock, says, simply, "I decided to play ‘Eruption’ because that song is awesome."
A fan in the crowd recorded the whole performance and posted it on YouTube. Since then, the video went viral and has received more than 270,000 views, and Aidan has been the talk of several online music publications like Guitar World and Ellen DeGeneres' The Good News blog.
Aidan, who has been playing guitar for three years, says his favorite music is heavy metal, and being able to play with Steel Panther was a dream come true.
“It was probably the best experience of my life,” he says.
This isn’t the first time Aidan has been on stage with a famous rock band. Last June in Kansas City, Aidan stood with Guns N’ Roses. During their last song, “Paradise City,” the band’s security approached Aidan’s father and told them that Axl Rose was inviting Aidan onto the stage. The invitation, Aidan's father says, seemed to be a response to their before-show request asking Rose for a photo, who said he was too busy. And although Aidan didn’t play, he took the final bow with the band to close out their set.
photo by Chris Fisher
Aidan says he doesn’t feel famous yet, but he hopes to reach the level of his heroes in Steel Panther and Guns N’ Roses one day and become a rock star.
The young musician can thank his father for getting him into guitar and says his experience with Guns N’ Roses inspired him to follow his dreams of playing music.
Asked if he had anything to say to his fans, Aidan responded in true rock star fashion.
“Keep rocking.”
Sean Holohan is Hear Nebraska’s editorial intern. He is a huge Steel Panther fan and is totally envious of Aidan. Reach him at seanh@hearnebraska.org.