PRS Guitars at HyperFest '05

by Rick Landers

It may have seemed that the main event at the 4th Annual HyperFest auto on Saturday at Summit Point Raceway in West Virginia, sponosored by PRS Guitars and Baltimore's 98 Rock radio station, was the oppressive heat and humidity, but Hyperfest offered race car fans a series of events that included NASA road racing, a U.S. Drift National Competition, a Rollover Challenge, a Daisy Duke Contest, and a custom race car exhibit. Visitors who wanted to experience the twists and turns of the track could pony up ten bucks and ride shotgun with an experienced race car competitor or forty greenbacks to take their own car on the track and run the course.

Off-track entertainment was offered by the Paul Reed Smith Band with Smith proving he's got decent licks in addition to his ability to build fine guitars. The PRS band is a tightly wound unit that pushes out great melodic rock and has a new CD, titled The New Equation.

Nashville's guitar phenomenon Johnny Hiland made a special guest appearance and upstaged the multi-colored race cars circling the two-mile course a stone's throw away when he cranked up his PRS six-string.

Hiland's next gig after HyperFest will be at the PRS plant in Stevensville, Maryland, where he will work with Paul and his staff on a new Johnny Hiland signature model PRS guitar. Features will include some extra twang, along with a neck specially designed to Johnny's specifications, hot rodded pups, and other possibilities sure to keep both PRS and Johnny Hiland fans armed and dangerous.

Motorweek News, Fox TV, and Guitar World folks were also on-hand to capture the excitement during the day, with Fox commentator Brian Wilson meeting up with Paul Reed Smith and Johnny Hiland for a show on Sunday.

Later that evening Theory of a Deadman was scheduled to play, having hopped off their Canadian tour to stop by. The group planned on rolling out cuts from their self-titled debut album, as well as their recently released Gasoline CD.

Among the sponsor exhibits was the PRS Guitars booth that featured an interactive guitar display of four guitars, including a sweet yellow Corvette model [pictured above], where guitarists could test drive a PRS guitar complete with an effects board and headphones. Up for grabs was a PRS donated guitar that HyperFest '05 patrons could win in a raffle, with proceeds going to a charity that helps support cancer patients and their families at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins.