On Friday evening, January 25, 2013, loop artists from 12 different countries gathered at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney to compete in the international finals for the BOSS Loop Station World Championship 3. Held as part of Roland Connect during the 2013 Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, California, the finals event was an exciting conclusion to the BOSS global competition that began in the summer of 2012. Over 500 looping fans were in attendance, with another 8,000-plus viewing live on the web as the event was streamed online.

The large audience enjoyed an entertaining evening of inspired and innovative performances, with all the loop artists delivering high-level musical presentations. Ultimately, Grison Beatbox of Spain claimed the looping title with a mesmerizing beatboxing performance that featured impressive technical skill with his RC-300 Loop Station and VE-20 Vocal Performer effects. For his efforts, he earned $3,000 in BOSS gear.

Now in its third year, the BOSS Loop Station World Championship spotlights artists around the globe that make fresh and inventive music with BOSS’ industry leading Loop Station products. This year’s international finals showed how the relatively new and wildly expressive art form of live looping continues to evolve at a lighting pace, with the artists performing an eclectic array of music styles with vocals, effects, a huge range of instruments, and full-throttle musical creativity.

All 12 loop artists were winners of BOSS Loop Station competitions held in their home countries throughout the latter part of 2012. Regions represented were the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Iberia, Canada, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Eastern Europe, and Central Europe.

The finalists performed four-minute original compositions using the BOSS Loop Station of their choice, and each created their own unique and impressive ensemble sounds in diverse ways. Electric and acoustic guitar, bass, piano, organ, synth, V-Drums, cello, ukulele, sax, flute, nose whistle, an electric drill, and even a pig squeeze toy were all used at various times to create sounds that were incorporated into loops. Most contestants employed vocals as well, both with traditional singing and beatboxing techniques. A wide range of BOSS effects—including the built-in effects in the RC-300 and RC-30 Loop Stations—were also used to create distinctive sounds for loops.

The finalists were evaluated by a panel of celebrity judges, which included Steve Stevens, guitarist for Billy Idol; Billy Duffy, guitarist for The Cult; John 5, guitarist for Rob Zombie; Herman Li, guitarist for DragonForce; Darryl Jones, bassist for The Rolling Stones; and Gary Lenaire, Group Strategy Manager for BOSS. Each of the judges provided live feedback after each performance, and all the artists received high marks for their creativity and command of the looping technology.

Master of Ceremonies for the evening was Chris Halon, Director of Marketing Communications for Roland U.S. Immediately after their performances, Brandon Ryan, Group Strategy Manager for Roland U.S., conducted interviews with the contestants backstage, which were fed to the live crowd in the House of Blues via video monitors and also streamed to the web audience.

After all 12 finalists were finished performing, the judges retired backstage to deliberate. While they tallied scores, renowned guitarist, educator, and journalist Jude Gold delivered an inspired solo performance that featured his signature “full-contact” slap guitar approach along with looping and a range of other styles. He played through two Roland GA-212 amplifiers and a floorboard full of BOSS stompboxes, including the just-introduced DA-2 Adaptive Distortion, MO-2 Multi Overtone, and TE-2 Tera Echo. Jude also built live loops using an RC-300.

At the end of the night, the finalists and judges all gathered onstage, where Kim Nunney, President and CEO of Roland U.S., and Paul Youngblood, Director of BOSS, spoke and congratulated them for their efforts.

Grison Beatbox received his top award at this time, while Second Place and $2,000 in BOSS gear went to Super Tall Paul Newman from the United States. Thiago Ramalho from Brazil received Third Place recognition and $1,000 in BOSS gear.

Separate from the in-house judging, online viewers had the opportunity to vote for their favorite performer of the evening, with the top vote-getter receiving a special Social Loop Award. Koukun from Japan got the most votes, impressing the web audience with a powerful beatboxing and singing performance that included a very unique stage presentation using light sabers. As part of the award, he received a BOSS GT-10B Bass Effects Processor.

For more info on the finalists and video clips of their looping performances, visit www.BOSSloop.com. For additonal images from the live event, visit our Flickr gallery.