Guitarists hope to ‘Smoke’ world record

This is my cousin's little boy! Isn't he awesome?


Mass performance of classic rock song could set Guinness mark
By JAMES A. FUSSELL
The Kansas City Star


Mickey Barnett is hoping to help set a world record.
Sure, the Shawnee boy may have just graduated from kindergarten and stand only 3 1/2 feet tall, but he can crank out Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” with the best of them.

And that’s all that’s needed for Mickey and his electric guitar to help make history and grab a page in the Guinness World Records book. At least that’s the plan.

This Sunday thousands of guitarists — including local rockers, hobbyists, parents, teens, senior citizens, people from other states, other countries and, yes, even kindergartners — will try to break the record for the world’s largest ensemble performance of the same song.

Mickey will be one of the youngest participants. He started taking acoustic guitar lessons at 4, then plugged in after receiving his electric three-quarter-sized ax for his sixth birthday. He has been practicing at Funky Munky Music in Shawnee, which is sponsoring the event with Gail’s Harley-Davidson in Grandview.

“He’s basically been devoting his guitar time to ‘Smoke on the Water’ for about a month and a half,” his mother, Betsy Barnett, said. “He’s doing pretty good.”

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