"FLASHBACK 2003"

Hi all!

Still in recovery this morning from our fun-filled weekend in
Chicagoland. Man, am I glad I took today off work!

Suspira, Baron von Wolfstein, Dr. Freak and I arrived at the
Flashback venue at around 11am on Saturday, and were
immediatly and warmly greeted my The Bone Jangler, Nocturna,
Charles Crowley, and The Deacon. Soon after, we found Count
Gore and his lovely camera crew, and after hugs and
handshakes, we checked into our room to get "suited up"

From there, Saturday afternoon was a glorious blur. We shot a
segment for Count Gore's Veekly Vebshow, inwhich you ol' pal
Ghastlee was definitely not "on" yet-- so I retired back to the
room to loosen my tongue with liberal amounts of liberating
libation. Then we returned to the dealer room to run amok.

The footage we got is pretty much and hour-long, "real-time"
romp that will barely need any editing to air. The Bone Jangler &
Nocturna and their quick-witted cronies, Count Gore, The Baron,
Suspira-- and anyone else who dared drift into our orbit-- created
the kind of comedic chaos that cannot be scripted. Everyone's
personalities shine in this little piece of history, and I think the
fun we were all having translates right through the camera lens.
Natural clown Ken Kish from Cinema Wasteland, got in on the
act too, and suddenly I was "home".

Saturday night a bunch of us gathered in our room for a little
pre-show activity before we jumped on the shuttle bus to the
Pickwick Theater to take in the hilarous "Evil Dead: The Musical".
Tom Sullivan took the stage to open the show to read a
"sermon" from the Book of the Dead, which he has composed
on the bus on the way over. Tom was very funny, and when I
shouted "Amen!" at the end of one passage, other audience
members jumped in to puntcuate the sermonette with "Preach
it!, Brother", and "Testify!".

The show itself was a real hoot. On a lower budget than most
high school theater productions, the cast had the audience in
stitches with an hour-long string of Evil Dead "in jokes" set to the
music of a single acoustic guitar. The most memorable of the
tunes was Ash's theme, with the hook, "She loves me even
though I'm wimpy, and I've got a girl's name". Funny, funny stuff.

Sunday was meant to be the day we said goodbye to everyone
and taped some segments for "Joe Nosferatu: Homeless
Vampire on the way home. Instead, we ended up getting sucked
back into the fun and taping more at the show. The Bone Jangler
& Nocturna and Ken Kish put in cameos for the short film;
alternately abusing the poor vamp in different ways. Tom
Sullivan appears as a sympathetic soul.

..and so begins the saga of Joe...

We also got to talk to, and get a delightful bumper from, Kevin
McCarthy. Despite being up in years, the man still has a great wit
and was eager to talk with his fans. From the general disarray of
photos he had scattered about his table, I found one from the
first season of The Twilight Zone which he gleefully signed, "To
The Ghastlee One... YIKES!!!". Wonderful man, and it was indeed
and honor to meet such a living legend.

Oh yeah! What of Freakboy, you ask? Where was he while all
this was happening? Henrique deserted us the second we hit
the door, and headed for the safe-haven of the Tempe
Entertainment table, where he shilled like a champ for a day and
a half. Decked out in a Hawaian shirt, "urban assault" kilt,
sandals and a Samurai headband with "Pineapple" written on it
in Japanese, "Little Spielberg" raked in a pile o' cash for the
Tempe folks. He also managed to pocket a little cash selling
his own home-grown horror projects.

On about the third attempt to make it to the car, we finally
succeeded, and hit the road for the six hour drive back to Dayton.

'Jangler, thanks so much for your hospitality in opening your
table up to the HHU at Flashback. You sir, are a true gentleman
and a reprobate after mine own heart. Think you'll like the
footage we gleaned.

Count Gore, always vonderful to see you, my friend. Glad you
enjoyed the "Goat", and necks time I'll bring a couple of extra
bottles!

Can't wait to see you guys and everyone else who will be at
Horrorfind and Cinema Wasteland. Home is where the heart is,
and that is wherever our friends are.


Your ol' pal,...

Ghastlee