Days of The Dead Chicago 2018

This weekend was yet another epic one for horror fans like us attending Days of the Dead “Chicago”. For my husband and myself, we were celebrating another horror-themed weekend away for our belated wedding anniversary. A stay-cation, scare-cation or whatever you want to call it. Either way, it was a nice end to a stressful work week for us to unwind and be surrounded by all things creepy.

Thursday evening I got convention prep ready and bagged up my original Chop Driftwood and #SELFIE art pieces to gift to Bill Mosely and David Howard Thornton.

On Friday we got checked into the hotel, settled in and got a bite to eat. When the convention opened we went downstairs to find Bill’s table first. I loved the way he really took in the art piece when I handed it to him. He looked it over and was smiling at it and loving the whole concept of it being 2 of his characters in one piece. He even put it up behind him on his little display table and gave me a big hug as well as some Chop Top buttons and stickers. We bought a Chop Top metal plate for our collection and he signed it for us. Another memorable moment added to my art bucket list as well as a new memory shared with Bill that we can add to all the others from over the years.

 

We saw that David Howard Thornton was at his table so we went directly there to meet him next. Not only was he as nice as we had expected, but he kept telling me how talented I was and loved getting to see my “Art” piece in person. He had commented on it on Instagram so he had seen it before. But he was even more pleased that I was gifting it to him personally. On top of all my art bucket list excitement, he had my favorite Terrifier scene in an 8×10 photo for signing so I had to have it. He gave us a great deal as a thank you.

But it gets even better…. when we went to take a photo with him he let me hold Art The Clown’s horn!  Let’s just say I was a giddy living dead girl and you can see it all over my face in this photo…

As you can see I arrived at the con rocking one of my favorite shirts from one of my favorite movies, Repo The Genetic Opera. That was not just because we would be seeing Bill. The convention added a few late guests to the list and the one and only Paul Sorvino was one of them. My husband (who also loves Repo) and I were in complete awe when we met him. I mean it was Rotti Largo right in front of us.

Not only was he very welcoming and happy to meet his fans but he got a huge smile on his face when we told him we wanted him to autograph “keep those vultures guessing” on our photo. He started to say the lines from the movie and it was all around epic. The next day at the convention we actually even heard him sing!

Epic didn’t stop there. My husband and I got to live out a childhood dream nightmare come true. We got to meet THE CRYPT KEEPER! That’s right, we got to meet John Kassir and actually hear him say Boils and Ghouls as he signed his autograph for us.

He was a really funny guy and even laughed like the Crypt Keeper when we were taking our photo with him.

I told him how I use to sneak watching Tales From The Crypt. I would turn it on late at night in my room when my Grandparents would fall asleep. He told us he actually hears stories like that a lot and it amazes him how determined so many young ones were to watch the show. He also told us we were a great looking couple. So we are now officially Crypt Keeper approved ha ha. I mean what better way to add a chapter to your love story than to tell people the Crypt Keeper thinks we look good together.

I wanted to also give a shout out to our pal Sid Haig who was not able to attend the convention this weekend. We missed you Sid, but we are so much happier knowing you are home with Suzie and still safe right now from the fires in California. Love you and we will catch you at the next one.

Stay Spooky!
LDG Nicole

Everclear 20 Years – Still Sparkling Never Fading

This post might not be directly about a piece of my art work but it’s something I want to share because like art, music has gotten me through life’s hurdles. I might not create music but I appreciate the ones that do.  And as you know part of my experience as an artist has also been being a promotional and merch band guru…. so for me music and art go hand in hand. So with that… lets talk about the incredible night we had on Friday!

I can go on and on here and tell you how Everclear’s music has affected me since I was in junior high. How seeing them for the first time in 1995 was one of the best shows I had seen when I was younger. How I use to have stacks of Spin and other rock magazines that either had Art Alexakis on the cover or just had a little interview article inside . How even at the age of 36 I still rock out to their albums like I am in my high school bedroom. But being able to tell the band that myself was the ultimate for me!

We went to the Sparkle and Fade 20th Anniversary Show at H.O.M.E Bar and it was incredible. They played the ENTIRE album and then some. I am surprise I had a voice the next day as I was screaming along word for word. When I told my friend Trisha (who has known me since high school) about the show she told me she could imagine it cause every time she hears Everclear she still always thinks of me.

This is a photo Frank took of me from our booth. I am literally standing on the platform over the crowd ha ha. Not about to miss a second of it.

Needless to say I was in my glory like I was the first time I saw them back in 1995 and it was even cooler to be able to tell them that. They decided to hang out at their merch table after the show to say hi to fans. I had already gotten a shirt earlier before the show started (made sure to get the one with all the tour dates on the back so it was nostalgic 90’s “I rock this shirt proudly because I was at the show” ha ha. Remember those days?) but was not going to miss the chance to at least say hi to them. And on a splurge I totally bought the Sparkle and Fade record despite already owning the CD. I really wanted to have something for them to sign and since this was so unexpected I was not my normal prepared self. They also don’t do ticket stubs the way they use to back in the day and I wanted to be able to wear my shirt so no go for signatures there. So I thought this is something I have dreamt of since I was younger and despite the mark up on the album I told myself “buy it or you will regret it”. So I did. I also knew it would be a great way to remember the unforgettable time I got to hear this entire album live.

As cool as the signatures are to have as memorabilia nothing will compare to the photo my friend Ellie captured or me with Art!!!!!!!!

If only I could go back in time to tell my younger self “be patient” that this would happen to me in my 30’s. Even so I don’t think I would’ve believed myself. I know sometimes we get star struck but this actually meant so much to me to be able to tell the band how much their music has gotten me through some of the toughest and greatest times of my youth. They also really loved my Jane Lane shirt ha ha.

Me and my handsome husband at the show

Stay Spooky!
LDG Nicole

Loves: Happy Birthday Sid!

I just want to take a moment to wish one of my favorite people a Happy Birthday!

Sid, Thank you for making all of these amazing memories possible for Frank and I! You are respected and loved beyond words. We wish you nothing but happiness today and always!

Stay Spooky!

Living Dead Girl Nicole

Rose, Sid and a great time at Days of the Dead

My amazing weekend summed up in photos….

Meeting one of my all time favorite actresses Rose McGowan and giving her the portrait that I drew of her as Cherry Darling. Yep this happened….

We all know Rose is gorgeous but her beauty really shines through even more due to her genuine personality and appreciation of her fans. You can also tell she is an artistic soul.  Which a girl like myself can relate to. She was an absolute doll in person. Just how I had imagined her to be. She was so excited when I told her she got to keep the piece of art that I drew of her. She even gave me a big hug and told me how her father and husband are also artists and that many fans just want her to sign their art and she never actually gets to keep it. I was so shocked to hear that. I told her for me it’s my way of giving back to the people who I admire and are inspired by.  Call me a fan geek if you want, but I am still in awe and so honored that this moment happened.

On top of all that awesomeness, I also I got to see Sid again. It’s seems like forever since I have gotten to play catch up with him in person at a con. I got lucky and cross paths with him in the hall so I didn’t have to wait in line and actually got to talk for a little bit. He told me how happy he was to see me out amongst everyone again (he follows my gofundme). He gave me a big hug and told me to stay well. Seeing him again totally made the con that much more wonderful.

I have not been able to go to a con for the last 2 years due to all of my surgeries so this weekend was very memorable for me. I got asked to enter the tattoo contest they were having but due to us waiting on the photo op pics I missed it. Maybe next year. It was pretty cool that they pulled me a side to tell me I should enter when they saw my work.

Oh and to make the con complete this obnoxious and amazing cardigan sweater is all mine thanks to the greatest husband in the world 😉 He got the last one! SCORE!

Check out some of my other memorable con moments on the bio page of my official website!

Stay Spooky!
LDG Nicole