"I try to find lyrics that express things in very simple terms, yet hint at the complexities that lie beneath the surface," says guitarist Randy Chiurazzi, whose songs blend western, pop, folk, and Eastern influences.

In early 2011, the Experimental noise musician and composer auditioned for NBC’s America’s Got Talent reality series in which performers competed for a $1 million prize and a chance to perform in Las Vegas.

Chiurazzi performed at the Houston studio for an audience of 1500 in his homemade Sound Suit, which debuted at the 2nd Annual Experimental Guitar Show at the Soda Bar in January 2011. The suit is a full-body apparatus comprising a ceramic tile, a chain, wire, a plastic bottle, sanding discs, pipes, and machine metal, which Chiurazzi uses to evoke unique sounds from his electric guitar.

His performance piece was titled “Sound Suit AGT” and employed electronic beats to acknowledge the television program’s pop sensibilities. “They basically hated it,” says Chiurazzi, not without a sense of humor. “I got through most of it though. You’re supposed to get 90 seconds. I got through about a minute.”

“It’s a real cult-of-personality type of audience,” Chiurazzi says. “They want to vicariously be a part of the judging. It’s like a den of wolves in there. I went into this whole thing thinking, I love the exposure, so come hell or high water, I’m going to enjoy it. Get up there, test my mettle, test my nerves. And I handled it. The more I handled it, the happier I got.”

Upon his exit, Chiurazzi “held up my guitar in rock star mode, said, ‘Thank you, Houston!’ and marched off triumphantly.”