THERE WILL BE BLOOD....

I am no longer a geek-con virgin.

This weekend, Fangoria magazine, the holy bible of horror movie fans, set up their annual Trinity Of Terrors convention at The Palms Hotel Casino in Vegas. My pal asked me to come along with him and, after inspecting their website, I could not refuse.

I have been sheepish over the years about going to conventions celebrating things I am into. Never once went to a convention for a music or movie genre I loved simply because I was convinced that I was just way too cool for school. Maybe I was, maybe I really wasn't. I guess I always thought of that Groucho Marx line, I would never be part of any club that had me as a member.

After attending this Fangoria exhibition, I gotta admit it was awesome. It was nowhere nearly as geeky and weird as I had envisioned. On the surface, I always thought to myself, "God! Those poor people who have to sit there and try to push autographs for a few bucks and chatter with crazed fans like me all day."


As it turns out, those poor people really seem to enjoy themselves. George Takei would always say on Howard Stern that he meets great people at Star Trek conventions and, I realize now, he means it. And, as a fan, you get caught up in bumping into these easily recognizable faces. I did, anyway.

"Oooh..Adrienne Barbeau...Hey!! David Naughton from American Werewolf..Malakai from Children Of The Corn!!" Then you turn the occasional corner and stop in your tracks. "Holy Shit...It's Malcolm Fucking McDowell!!! Bill Moseley!! Tom Savini!!!!" You see certain people and realize they kind of shaped your tastes as a young movie fan, and you get all geeky and starstruck. Their resumes hit you like a freight train. A Clockwork Orange, Texas Chainsaw 2, Dawn Of The Dead, Caligula, Devil's Rejects, Creepshow.

I only had time to go on Friday. John Waters was scheduled to appear Saturday. It would have meant the world to tell him thanks for making my teen years funnier because of "Pink Flamingos" or "Desperate Living".

I did, however, wait around to get a minute with Richard Christy. For those who don't know him, Richard spent years playing drums for bands like Death and Iced Earth before getting a co-producer job on Howard Stern. He primarily does prank phone calls and pre-taped skits, some of which are the funniest things I've ever heard on radio. Richard was awesome and really seemed to get a kick out of what a fan I was. We had a few good laughs and he was kind enough to give me an autograph (for free!) for my girlfriend, who is also a big fan.

Needless to say, I can't wait for the next convention to hit town so I can take my inner geek out for a walk again soon.