"Well, hello there!

I'd like to welcome you to Nashville!

I'd also like to welcome you to the
This event ran from October 20-21,
2007, at the Tennessee State
Fairgrounds.  There were several great
guests that I didn't get a chance to
photograph, including John Dugan
(Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Chris
Durand (Halloween: H2O), Sharron
Ceccatti and Clayton Hill (both from
Dawn Of The Dead).  I'll hopefully get
more face time with some of these guys
in the future.
I had a pretty cool table display, including moss, snakes,
bugs, and this boss skull I got from Target.  The
weathered, bloody basket was something the kids helped
me with.  It was full of bloody zombie gum and rubber frogs
to delight the children that came through.
Ami really liked the skull.
She also really liked Kim Harris, owner of Nashville Ghost Tours.  I'll talk
more about the NGT in a moment.
I had the chance to talk to several fans over the course of the weekend.  Nashville
came out in full force to support the horror/sci-fi/fantasy/comic culture.
I might know this last guy.  I don't know if I really want to admit that or not.
Just teasing, Will!
My table was right across from acclaimed (and insane) artist Jeff Gaither.  Sure, his artwork makes small children cry ... but Jeff and his wife Susan were
two of the nicest people we met the entire weekend.  Susan was proud of their The Return Of Swamp Thing DVD.  I was quite proud of my zombie cowboy
"Ghoultown" print.  It all worked out well.
I had the opportunity to meet Bill Byrge, the classic "Bobby" from many of the
Ernest movies.  Anyone who was in Ernest Saves Christmas is fine by me.  I
learned that Bill donates all of the money he makes from his appearances to
his Church's benevolence fund.  I think that's awesome.  I know the Lord will
bless him for his charitable heart.

I also took the time to chat with Jackson Bostwick.  Jackson starred as
Captain Marvel in the classic 70's action show Shazam!.  Jackson was a
really nice guy with tons of interesting stories.  I recommend dropping by to
say hello if you run across him at a convention.
One of the highlights of the show was being able to meet the legendary
John Saxon.  A Nightmare On Elm Street and Enter The Dragon are
classics that transcend Hollywood and mere show business.  A thousand
years from now, these will be the types of film that historians look back on
and use to judge our ancient society.

Oh ... and Black Christmas was pretty cool, too.

Mr. Saxon was a very nice guy and very classy.  He did share a pretty
amusing anecdote about Louis Jordan with me.  That was a cool moment.

I'll say one thing, though:  he does seem to be smiling more in his picture
with Ami than with me.  I wonder why that is.
Here are some photographs from the
rest of our trip to Nashville!
As I said earlier, we took in one of the Nashville Ghost Tour walks.  It was an awesome time!  Let me preface by saying that I personally don't believe in
ghosts.  (Angels, demons, electromagnetic disturbances, and mass hallucinations are all believable.  Ghosts simply aren't, as far as I'm concerned.)  The
great thing about this tour is that you really don't have to.  What you essentially get is an "alternative" walking tour of the city, hearing these great gritty
stories that they don't necessarily plaster on tourism pamphlets.  I really happy we went, as we both had so much fun.  I highly recommend it to anyone who
has the chance to go.  They run the tours all year, but they're much more enjoyable in October!
We are standing in the entrance to
the Rainbow Room.  The abandoned
club was once owned and operated
by local celebrity David "Skull"
Schulman.  He was murdered here
nine years ago.  I'm sorry to say that
no orbs were caught on film.

As you can tell from Ami's
expression, the place stunk pretty
bad.
I really hate that the first time I get my picture taken with a president he's
dead.
Ami really loved the Old Spaghetti Factory ... and the vodka martinis.
We visited the Charlie Daniels museum.  I've always been a CDB fan, so it
was cool to see all of the memorabilia.  You can see my ghostly reflection in
the glass.  I'm sorry to say that there were no orbs here, either.