Guinness World Record Attempt for The Longest Guitar Playing Marathon

From July 15-20 I (Scotty Burford) will be attempting to set the world record for the longest guitar playing marathon. The official record is currently 114 hours and 6 minutes, but since I applied for the opportunity to take on the challenge with Guinness World Records a Canadian guitarist has played for 124 hours and 30 minutes. This has not yet been officially recognised by Guinness World Records as of this date, but I would hate to break the current record only to be informed that it was already superseded. So I have set myself the goal of achieving 125 hours of playing.
To do so I will commence playing at 12pm on Sunday, July 15 and finish on Friday at 5pm.
I’ll be doing this in store at Engadine Music, 25 Station St, Engadine, with the business hosting the event.

Why?
I am doing this for Musicians Making A Difference (MMAD), a charity that exists to change young lives through music. MMAD uses the power of music, dance & mentoring to inspire young people to make their lives remarkable.
MMAD offer creative support to young people, (especially those who have suffered emotional abuse, neglect and disadvantage) in overcoming challenges such as homelessness, destructive patterns of behaviour, exclusion from school, family breakdown, drug and alcohol dependency, unemployment and reoffending.
The goal of MMAD is not only to break negative cycles, but also to empower our young people to go on and make their own difference within the community.
From a personal perspective I strongly believe in the power of love, encouragement and kindness for all. I desire to see the world be a better place and for all of us to live extraordinary lives in community with one another. Music and in particular the guitar has been something of incredible joy, exploration and solace in my life since I was a little kid. I greatly appreciate the mission statement of MMAD and how they are doing great things in the lives of kids and ultimately within communities.
Find out more at
http://www.mmad.org.au/#iEW6ZU76VoyEjOPh.97

The Challenge
Guinness has set rules and conditions that must be followed strictly to break the existing record.
For every 60 minutes of playing time I earn a 5 minute break. These can be added together, but cannot be used at the end to break the record. I will be sleeping in short 20 minute spells throughout the week, and fitting in food, drink and the toilet in my break time and also in the 30 seconds allowed between each song. I plan to use this time to eat small snacks such as fruit or nuts (I can be chewing whilst playing) or have a quick drink.
Music performed must be of an acceptable standard and published songs. All songs must be documented and one song cannot be repeated within a 4 hour time period.
I am still finalising the list of songs I will perform, but I will create a list of songs on my iPad to help track what I have played and what I will do as the event proceeds. I am currently thinking of having a list of 500 songs and repeating each one 3 times throughout the week.

How you can help?
You can donate to this and make a difference in the lives of young people and ultimately their communities by going to https://give.everydayhero.com/…/world-s-longest-guitar-play…
I can have people playing with me during the challenge, I just have to play in all songs continuously. So musicians, please come into the shop and play with me. Book in a time (or several if you like) and let's do it! I’d really appreciate the support.
Michael Miller has already booked in the last half hour from 4.30 on the Friday. The final song of this epic event will be 'Ziggy Stardust' by David Bowie. Hard to beat that as a final song!
I need to have 2 people with me at all times during the challenge. They will also be completing a log of events and helping with videoing the entire event (as required by Guinness). During business hours the shop staff can assist, and some will volunteer their time to be early for their shift or stay back a bit later than usual. They should be able to cover these requirements from 8am to 6pm on Monday to Wednesday and 8am to 7pm on Thursday night. The tricky part is that a ‘minder’ for want of a better term, cannot be in that role for longer than 4 hours in any one stretch. This means I will need some volunteers willing to do a late shift and then leave or maybe even sleep in the shop if that is more suitable. I need to create a timetable for this so I know who to expect when.
I’ll also need some help with food, drinks and waking me from my sleeps.

So if you can help in any way I’d love to hear from you!
Thanks to Michael Miller and James Underwood at Engadine Music for their support and encouragement, to Pro Music and National Music for donating Takamine and Tanglewood acoustics to be auctioned off, and to Pro Music for supplying Elixir strings for me to use during the week.