Shock Stock {day three}

It honestly is hard to believe that Shock Stock took place over a month ago now.. my how time flies!  This also reminds me of how I need to drastically re-adjust my time schedules, and personal expectations.  Between working more hours at Michaels, and my partner being out of school… I am not getting done as much as I would like.  I am still getting a lot of progress done on the house, and we have been doing a lot of gardening together (post coming soon).

But, of course, this is my thrilling conclusion to one of the most exciting weekends I have had in my entire life: Shock Stock 2012.

Last we left off, my partner and I were crawling into bed waaaaay too late, with only a few hours until we were to be back at the best Horror expo around.  After about an hour of sleep, we were off again for another exciting day.  Luckily, we weren’t the only ones rubbing our eyes and giving slanty, groggy smiles on Sunday morning.  But it made for a really relaxed and casual day.  Also, half of the money made from ticket sales this day was donated to charity.  I noticed a lot more kids roaming around this day too, and they were dressed to impress:

These two little girls both had horror themed patches sewn on their jackets. Too cute!

I got a lot of one of a time experiences on Sunday, including getting picked up by the neck by Kane Hodder (aka: Jason), getting to say the line “Yes sir, fuck you sir” to Joe Pilato (Day of the Dead) on camera with Kari, and possibly being molested by Sal Lizard (Vampire Santa).

Kane Hodder was a blast to be around!

Kari and I after our break out performance together.

Fred (the Hammer) Williamson!

We frequently went over to Sin Labs area to play with their zapper.

Me with Joanna Angel (and the cum flag).

I helped hang that flag up two out of three days, and found out Sunday night that the flag was used in multiple pornos, and the white stains all over it were real.  Fun!

Paper lantern that was signed by every guest, was set off after Shock Stock ended.

Oh hello Joanna, say what you are short like me? Hell yeah.

After all the guests left, and the chairs were stacked (although not child proof), we helped Grim Brother Jake drag a whole lot of stuff back to his house where we were rewarded with pizza and freshly baked cookies (thanks Tina!).  But really, this weekend was so amazing and I am so thankful that we were part of it.  All of the pictures, from all three days are available exclusively on my facebook page here.

Shock Stock 2013… can’t wait!!

Thanks for reading, as this is the final Shock Stock 2012 post, you can look forward to my regular postings next!

xoxo

Shock Stock 2012 {day two}

Day two, and I still had lots of spring to my step. Which was definitely a good thing, as this was the busiest and most packed day of the weekend.

Lots of exciting things happened throughout the day, including an impromptu train of people with a cake going to sing Happy Birthday to Lianne Spiderbaby (and seriously, look at that HOMEMADE cake.. amazing right?  Well I can say with confidence that it was also super delicious).

Fangoria’s Lianne Spiderbaby and Chris Alexander.

One of my many screenings that took place during the day included Vagrancy Film’s personal project, Sparkling Girl Stealers, which just happens to be the one in which I get die in, oh and do the terrible voice acting for the girl with green in her hair.  It was pretty funny to watch again, and funnier to hear the crowd’s reaction.

I’m not even sure if this guy knew how cool (or funny) it was that he was wearing a Mexican wresting mask during this screening.

One of the biggest appeals of Shock Stock as a convention (especially over other genre conventions), is just how personal, and relaxed the atmosphere is.  It was great to see celebrities cracking jokes with each other, and just strolling up to talk to different fans too.

Although there were not a tonne of costumes walking around, the ones that were there were fantastic.  Some of the costumes did come from Sinister Laboratories, who are in the business of prop making, some were Scary Larry (who everyone knows is hardcore about elaborate costumes), and others just happened to wander in from the streets.

More burgers were kicked this day than I had ever personally seen (I did miss Grim Brother Jake’s hours of practicing he must have done in order to be a master burger kicker).  So it is actually hard to pick a burger kick of the day.. but here goes!

That guy was basically a master burger kicker.

I also attended a few Q&As, including Joe Pialto’s, Kane Hodder and Joanna Angel.  But, of course everyone was talking about big events that were taking place Saturday night:  Joanna Angel’s Zombie Dance, followed by GOBLIN live in concert.

So, about an hour before the event is scheduled to take place we hear the terrible news: Joanna Angel is NOT allowed to dance, she is not even allowed on the stage, lest she do anything that might arouse anyone (time to get your modest clothes out ladies).  I have to say, being “behind the scenes” a little bit was exciting, but it was also mildly stressful.  No one knew what exactly was happening.  Phone calls were being made to a lot of different people, the organizers were running around, possibly trying to play politics or find some loop-hole to fit Joanna through.  It was looking pretty bleak, with cops waiting at the event location, ready to arrest a beautiful woman simply for doing a suggestive dance to adults.  There are a lot of local politics swirling around this issue that we were all well aware of before Joanna even stepped foot in London.  London is definitely a conservative city, and there are a lot of people with loud (and powerful) voices that want to keep it that way.  Honestly, I do not think I have been more disappointed in my city, and more frustrated by the constant hypocrisy.  I could probably go on and on about this topic, but I don’t want to drag my positive post about a fantastic event down with so much complaining. But if you are interested in this, you can check out this mediocre London Free Press article about it, or you can write a local London politician or councilman, voicing your concerns.

Back to Shock Stock:

So, James and Jake had to run to the event location in hopes of fixing it *a little bit*.  We really had no idea if Joanna Angel would even be allowed to attend the event at all (about half an hour before it was supposed to start).  I guess local authorities thought it was okay to allow her on-stage for a brief explanation and apology (since fans were there expecting the zombie dance), considering they had two by-law officers and two uniformed police officers “keep an eye on things” from the crowd.

Joanna Angel and Jake Grimbrother.

After all the chaos and confusion about Joanna, no one even knew that there was another fiasco going on behind the scenes.  This delayed GOBLIN only slightly, and once they started the entire crowd forgot about the wait.. because GOBLIN.  It is actually impossible for me to only pick one photo from the concert.

They even had an Opera singer, which was simply surreal.

But, our crazy night didn’t end there!  We got to go into the super nice hotel suite where a bunch of people were meeting for drinks after.  Unfortunately, the room key was deactivated when we got there, fortunately Santa Claus was just across the hall and allowed us to eat our pizza in his hotel room until the other one was unlocked.

Nicest guy ever, or Sal Lizard, or Vampire Santa

The party was crazy and a lot of fun.  I got to talk to a lot of different people.  It feels great to over come my anxiety and fear of socializing.  Even a year ago I would not have been able to hold so many varied conversations with people I had never met before (let alone have such an engaging conversation with members of the band GOBLIN!).

After all was said and done, my partner and I crawled (quite literally) in to bed around 4:30am (or was it 5am? I don’t quite remember).  The next morning was going to be rough, but it was totally worth it.  Shock Stock day two was one of the most crazy, memorable and surreal days that I have ever had in my life.  But there’s still one more day to go!  Thanks for reading, and for being patient with my updates while I re-organize some things in my life.

xoxo

SHOCK STOCK 2012 {day one}

Woe! I can not believe that I was not able to make time to post for three weeks.  But sometimes things are out of your control (and sometimes you end up with some mystery illness and stupid doctors, hurray!).

I still intend on doing my personal coverage of Shock Stock 2012.  I actually wrote most of this one more than a week ago (shame!).

(Photos included are not in a linear order, but they are all from the first day!)

So, my first day of Shock Stock was certainly the most relaxed (if you want to call it relaxed), it was the shortest day which made it easier.  James asked me if I felt comfortable around celebrities, and whether or not I would be comfortable helping one at their table that night since the other female volunteers didn’t show up this day.  So, what guest did I get to hang out with all night?  Joe Pilato, AKA Captain Rhodes from Day of the Dead!  Yeah, I guess you could say I was kind of excited, and it felt a little surreal to be sitting beside him having casual conversations with him.

That doll of Joe Pilato was kind of super cool.  I was double jointed, and one of a kind.  A fan made it for him (supposedly), and included very detailed accessories, such as the pack of cigarettes, and a tiny coffee cup (not shown).  Even at a horror convention, I found unique doll making.

Back to the convention…

Joe Pilato was very entertaining.  He was friendly and obviously excited to be there with fans.

Plus, I was stationed right beside Fred “the Hammer” Williamson, a truly iconic Blaxploitation star.  But to be honest, I was more excited because he stars in a movie that is very near and dear in my heart: From Dusk Till Dawn.

Oh, how I kind of regret not getting that pussy photo signed instead…

There was lots of burger kicking every day, and so I will pick one photo each day to include in these posts.  So the burger kick of the day was:

Anyone who witnessed this burger going to the moon, know where this is headed.

After the expo, we had a later supper/ snack with some friends: Tyler Baptist, who runs Bad Monster Films (another Grindhouse promotion happening in Saskatoon), and Bill Zebub, the mighty King of B-Movies (who also has a pretty entertaining late night radio show).

Tyler Baptist, and his preferred exercise routine.

Bill Zebub and Joanna Angel.. exchanging videos?

Of course, the main event of the night was the 35mm print of Demons, including a Q&A with Geretta Geretta, Bobby Rhodes and Claudio Simonetti.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Vagrancy show without a balls to the walls trailer reel.

Demons!

Of course the night didn’t end there, we got to have drinks with Geretta Geretta, before finally getting to bed around 3am. To think, this is the earliest that we made to bed that weekend!

Thanks for reading, I will try to post day two tomorrow or Friday.  For full photographic coverage of Shock Stock 2012 Day One (and Two), please check out my facebook page!

xoxo