Ah, my favorite two times of the year...Cinema Wasteland, in Strongsville, Ohio!! I have been to several horror conventions, and Wasteland has always been my favorite...sure, it is not a super huge convention, but there is always a quality guest list, a very inexpensive weekend pass, tons of included activities, great vendors, and a nice host hotel. Not to mention, it is not a "corporate" show...The Spring 2008 show was show #8 for me. So, my return attendance should speak for something...
A bit of a disclaimer: It is no secret that I drink heavily at Wasteland...but when don't I right? So some details may be foggy and if I forget some people or situations, please don't take it personally...
I was going to be leaving for Strongsville at noon on Friday, April 4th. It is an approximate 5 hour drive for me, plus there it is in the Eastern Time Zone, so that would roughly put us there at around 6pm...Sly from Fondlecorpse and Nickolle was going to be riding with me. And they got to my place at noon on the head!!! I had the car all packed, but just needed to get beer for the weekend...Ran into Mike from Cianide and we chatted a bit before we took off...Pleasant drive as always...I made that drive so much that it is like second nature to me now...but we chatted about the excitement of the weekend. We couldn't wait...
So we get there right around 6pm...time to get settled into our rooms...I was staying with my friend Burn and his wife Nikki as I always do...always my convention room mates as we get along super well...But in the parking lot, waiting for Burn to come over from the convention, Dez, Slasher Dave, and Tim show up...First time meeting Tim, very cool guy...Then I realize I was parked next to my bro Gregg's truck...shit, his room must be around somewhere...Sure enough, I look to my left, and there he is standing in the doorway...Went into his room to grab some stuff he had for me, and then Burn showed...hung out for a bit, but then went to our room so I could get settled...Burn, Nikki, and I played catch up for awhile, but then decided it was time to go to the convention...At 8pm, there was a panel featuring Catriona MacColl and John Morghen that was only happening once the whole weekend, so we did not want to miss it...
So, we walk over to the Holiday Inn so I could pick up my pass, and I run into Billy from Razorback Records...last time I seen him was at the Central Illinois Metalfest back in July, and although I talk to him online all the time, it is always better to talk face to face and just hang out. It was great seeing him again. We chatted a while and he had some cool stuff for me...a Decrepitaph shirt from Wayne (Thanks again Wayne!!), the new Gruesome Stuff Relish CD, as well as a Frightmare CD I didn't have yet. Mega thanks for the discs bro!! My broke ass eternally appreciates it!! Steve Eggs was hanging around, so we played catch up as well. I also met Erik, aka Riki O, from the Exploited Filth board...All the while, Burn is trying to get me into the convention so we would not miss the panel...so, I took off and got my pass and then ran into a few more friends...Ed Fantom, Brian and Donna, and a couple of others I can't recall right now...
We finally made it to the Euro Panel just in time...and I was glad I did not miss it. Burn taped it as he always done, but it was an interesting panel...It was great hearing first hand accounts by Catriona MacColl and John Morghen regarding Lucio Fulci and the films they worked on with him. They both seemed very nice and answered all the questions thrown at them. Art from Ultraviolent Magazine always moderates the panels with Ken, and they do a great job and keep things moving along. But the hour flew by fast...too fast I think...just a lot of interesting comments and stuff...
So after the panel, I make my pass through the dealers rooms saying hi to the people, vendors, and guests that I haven't seen since the last show...Amy Lynn Best, Mike Watt, Ultraviolent crew, Ed and Damien, Jill, Synapse Dudes, Tony from Xploited, Michael Felsher, Uncle Lloyd, Toe Tag crew, Putrid, Jeff Zornow, etc...Wandered around for a bit, scoped out the celeb tables and tried to get a plan going for the weekend...
Ended up leaving the con and was back in full party mode at this time...Hanging outside the hotel is a lot of fun...lots of cool people hanging out getting their drink on...After that, was in Eggs and Billy's room for quite awhile, before settling down in our own room...We were all crazy hammered...Saturday would be interesting...
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