Wednesday, 18 May 2011
GM
 Press Release: AniMinneapolis is glad to welcome Chris Cason to the Minneapolis anime convention happening July 8-10, 2011. Guests for Anime Minneapolis now include Quinton Flynn, Chris Rager, Spike Spencer, Shannon Townsend, Richard Townsend, YT Cracker, Dr. Awkward, and Chris Cason. AniMinneapolis will occur at The Northland Inn in Brooklyn Park, MN, a suburb of Minneapolis.
For over ten years, Chris Cason has participated in almost every facet of anime production. He has been associated with numerous projects (exclusively for FUNimation Entertainment) in a voice acting, Anime Diaglogue Replacement directing, or scriptwriting capacity. Some of his work has been featured on Spike TV, The Independent Film Channel (IFC), Nicktoons, The Cartoon Network, and The CW.
Chris’s best known voice credits include: “Gluttony” in Fullmetal Alchemist, “Tien Shinhan” and “Mr. Popo” in Dragonball Z (and returning as “Mr. Popo” in Dragonball Z Kai), “Holy Roman Empire” in Hetalia Axis Powers, “Jack the Ripper” in Soul Eater, “Boo” and “Whitey” in Shin-Chan, “Chamo” in Negima, “Babbit” in Kodocha, “Taruru” in Sgt. Frog, and “Genzo” in Oh! Edo Rocket, among many others. He can also be heard in: Case Closed, Gunslinger Girl, Basilisk, Ouran High School Host Club, Suzuka, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, Black Cat, Darker Than Black, Bamboo Blade, Kaze no Stigma, Aquarion, One Piece, Big Windup!, D. Gray-Man, Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad, RIN, Speed Grapher, and Summer Wars.
Some of his ADR directing and assistant ADR directing credits include: DBZ Uncut, Dragonball, Dragonball GT, Yu Yu Hakusho, Negima, Kodocha, Galaxy Railways, Baki the Grappler, School Rumble, Hell Girl, Kaze no Stigma, Bamboo Blade, Birdy the Mighty: Decode, Initial D, and Tsubasa Tokyo Revelations. He has also been part of video games, voicing random ghouls and specters for Ghostbusters: The Video Game, and as one of the contributing guitarists in Guitar Hero 3.
AniMinneapolis features well over fifty different events, ranging from its Masquerade, Nerdcore Concert, and Video Game Tournaments to various fan-run panels and discussions. Every room in the convention center hotel is a suite with a seperate living area, and rooms cost only $99 per night. Rooms can be booked by calling The Northland Inn at 800-441-6422.
For more information, visit http://www.animinneapolis.com/
Early pre-registration at the low $25 rate ends May 20th. Registrations will be welcome at the door for $35 per person.
AniMinneapolis is excited to announce additional guests of honor: voice actor Chris Rager, voice actor Spike Spencer, and nerdcore performer Dr. Awkward. AniMinneapolis is an exciting three day gathering of anime fans, industry professionals, and gamers. This minneapolis anime convention will be held July 8-10, 2011 at The Northland Inn in Minneapolis, MN.
Chris Rager is an American voice actor for Funimation studios. More notable performances are as Mr. Satan and King Yemma on "Dragonball Z", as well as, Arlong the leader of the fish people on the popular "One Piece". Chris has been seen in national and regional T.V. commercial ads like Taco Bell, Southwest Airlines and Visa. Although he enjoys the T.V. exposure, Christopher holds voice acting closer to his heart. You may have also heard Chris in Animes such as Blue Gender, Case Closed, Black Cat, Desert Punk, Lupin III, Full Metal Alchemist, Yu Yu Hakusho, Samuri 7 and Sgt. Frog. Chris has also been heard in such video games Spike out: Battle Street, Stuntman Ignition, Bloodrayne, Roadkill and many others. Chris always looks forwards to his next voice over role, hoping he can bring a high level of talent and professionalism to such characters.
Spike Spencer has been a voice actor since the early nineties. He has voiced hundreds of episodes of anime, including titles such as Evangelion, Battle Angel, Suikoden, Orphen, Spriggan, Nadesico, Buso Renkin, and Bleach. Spike is also an accomplished actor, previously working with stars such as Tommy Lee Jones, Sandra Bullock, Frank Langella, and Scott Glenn. In addition, Spike Spencer has voiced many radio and television commercials, video games like World of Warcraft, and several other projects.
Dr. Awkward is a Scrub Club Records Nerdcore rapper with several hit songs and performances at Nerdapalooza and after parties at Comic Con, Florida's Nerd Invasion, and Texas' Comicpalooza. In 2009, Dr. Awkward released his first solo project "Next Gen," in which Doc proclaims that he is the future of Nerdcore Hip Hop. The EP was hailed as an instant classic, with hits like "Geekquilibrium" and "Imposter." Dr. Awkward release his latest album, "Unlimited" in April 2010, which features an amazing fusion of Nerdcore, Hip Hop, and R&B. Dr. Awkward's full bio and some sample tracks can be found at http://scrubclubrecords.com/doc/about.html
AniMinneapolis will bring several amazing guests and tons of awesome events to The Northland Inn in July. Featured events include the cosplay masquerade, cosplay photoshoots, a rave dance, anime showings, video games, table top games, an artist alley, and a dealer's room. Some of the panels and other events happening include a formal ball, a Team Rocket panel, a ConSuite, Cosplay Chess, Teaching Yourself Japanese, and Animation Production, among many others.
More information can be found online at http://www.animinneapolis.com/
Press Release for April 28th, 2011
 Davenport, IA – March 7, 2011 – QC Anime-zing!, the largest three-day anime convention to come to the Iowa/Illinois border, is excited to announce that voice actor Spike Spencer, artist/writer John Bivens, and martial art instructors Samurai Dan and Lady Jillian will be appearing at the convention this June 17-19, 2011. The "animazing" convention will take place at the RiverCenter in Davenport, Iowa, which features over 100,000 square feet of event space.
Spike Spencer has been a voice actor since the early nineties. He has voiced hundreds of episodes of anime, including titles such as Evangelion, Battle Angel, Suikoden, Orphen, Spriggan, Nadesico, Buso Renkin, and Bleach. Spike is also an accomplished actor, previously working with stars such as Tommy Lee Jones, Sandra Bullock, Frank Langella, and Scott Glenn. In addition, Spike Spencer has voiced many radio and television commercials, video games like World of Warcraft, and several other projects.
The husband and wife team of Daniel and Jillian Coglan are full-time martial arts instructors, specializing in 16th century Samurai arts. When not teaching at their dojo, the Kojokan, they travel across the country performing and teaching the ancient ways of the most famous warriors in history. With a combined 35 years of experience, their show is a unique blend of history, combative skill, and humor, designed to educate and entertain audiences both large and small.
Beyond their martial arts skills, the dynamic duo collaborated to write, direct, host, and star in a 12 episode TV series entitled "The Way of the Samurai". Daniel is also an author with several martial arts articles published, and he is currently working on his second full-length novel.
John Bivens graduated from Northern Illinois University. Since that time he has done work for Sam Costello's SPLIT LIP horror anthologies, the award winning COMIC BOOK TATTOO anthology, POPGUN volume 4, the READING WITH PICTURES benefit anthology, and OMEGA COMICS PRESENTS. He spends whatever spare time he can with his lovely fiancée Mallory.
Spike Spencer, John Bivens, Samurai Dan, and Lady Jillian will be joining Johnny Yong Bosch, Eyeshine, Robert Axelrod, Russell Lissau, and Trevor Mueller as guests at the convention this June.
Artist alley and dealer registration for the convention is fulling quickly; for dealer/artist registration information, visit http://www.qcanimezing.com/exhibitors
QC Anime-zing! 2011 is a festival focusing on Japanese animation, video gaming, and general geek culture. The three-day convention includes events ranging from a complete costume contest masquerade to video game tournaments to anime screenings. Registration for Animezing! is available online at http://www.qcanimezing.com
Thursday, 08 April 2010
GM
 QC Anime-zing!, the first anime convention to be held on the Iowa/Illinois border is excited to announce Spike Spencer will be appearing at the convention June 18-20, 2010 in Bettendorf, IA. Spike Spencer is added to the guest list also including Johnny Yong Bosch, Eyeshine, Carrie Savage, and The Man Power.
Spike Spencer has been a voice actor since the early nineties. He has voiced hundreds of episodes of anime, including titles such as Evangelion, Battle Angel, Suikoden, Orphen, Spriggan, Nadesico, Buso Renkin, and Bleach. Spike is also an accomplished actor, previously working with stars such as Tommy Lee Jones, Sandra Bullock, Frank Langella, and Scott Glenn. In addition, Spike Spencer has voiced many radio and television commercials, video games like World of Warcraft, and several other projects. Spike Spencer
Spike Spencer will be running several panels and giving out autographs throughout the QC Anime-zing! 2010 weekend. He will be appearing in addition to voice actors Johnny Yong Bosch (Vash the Stampede, Power Rangers, etc) and Carrie Savage (Fuko in I, My, Me! Strawberry Eggs, Rakka in Haibane Renmei, etc). Anime-zing! also has two musical guests this year, Eyeshine and The Man Power, who will be performing on Saturday in addition to running panels at other times during the weekend.
QC Anime-zing! is the second anime convention to come to Iowa, and the first anime con to be held on the Iowa/Illinois border area. The convention is being held in The Lodge Hotel, a victorian castle themed convention center, in Bettendorf, IA. The convention center is the perfect setting for many kinds of photoshoots (Black Butler, Steampunk, Lolita, D.Gray-man). Rooms at The Lodge are $95 per night and must be reserved before May 17th, 2010.
QC Anime-zing! 2010 will feature events including discussion panels, a martial arts demonstration, interactive workshops, AMVs, anime showings, video games, board games, a Saturday night concert, and more. The convention will also have a ConSuite open to all attendees and late night programming.
The organizers of Anime-zing! are also running the third convention in Iowa called Anime-SPARK!. Anime-SPARK! will be held February 10-14, 2011, Valentine's weekend, in Cedar Rapids, IA.
The people planning Anime-zing! also organized an "instant anime convention" in Illinois, Anime-ZAP!, with less than 72 hours of planning. The event garnered over 150 attendees, and the organizers of Anime-zing! are hoping to run the event again in 2011 to promote the larger QC Anime-zing! convention.
Registration for Anime-zing! is available online at http://www.qcanimezing.com
Registration is $30 through March 20th, 2010, and then increases to $40 through May 20th, 2010. Registration at the door is $50.
Press Release for April 5, 2010
Friday, 19 February 2010
GM
 Animazement is pleased to announce its first round of guests for Animazement 2010. Richard Ian Cox, Chiho Saito, Chika Sakamoto, and Spike Spencer will be appearing as Guests of Honor, and band Uchu Sentai NOIZ will be performing as special musical guests.
Richard Ian Cox has contributed his voice to a variety of animated series, however, he is best known to anime fans as the iconic voice of Inuyasha, in the English version of the popular anime series of the same name. Other notable animated roles include Ranma Saotome in Ranma 1/2, and Allelujah Haptism in Mobile Suit Gundam 00. Richard Ian Cox's acting career took off at the age of 16, playing Mickey Rooney's teenaged traveler and horse rider, Alec Ramsay, in The Family Channel's Adventures of the Black Stallion. Since that time, Cox has appeared on-camera in a variety of feature films in addition to numerous television roles on various shows, including Stargate, Stargate Atlantis, Eureka, Psych, Dead Like Me and Outer Limits. This will be Mr. Cox's first appearance at Animazement.
Chiho Saito was born in Tokyo. Her debut work, "Lady and Sword", was published by Coronet in 1982. Her most well-known work, the groundbreaking "Revolutionary Girl Utena", was made into a TV anime series and a feature film in 1997. Ms. Saito was heavily involved with the creation of both. Other works of note include "One More Marionette", "Flower Crown Madonna", "Waltz in a White Dress", and "Bronze Angel". She is part of the Be-Papas manga artist collective. In 1997, she received the Shogakukan Manga Award in sh?jo for "Kanon". Her works have been serialized in various publications, including Weekly Shojo Comics, Puchi Comics, Takarazuka GRAPH, and Kadokawa Shoten. She is currently working on a manga about ice skating called "Ice Forest", serialized in Flowers magazine, and a period piece, entitled "Viscount Valmont: Dangerous Liaisons", serialized in Rinka magazine. Ms. Saito's hobbies include dance, music, opera, and sumo.
Chika Sakamoto, a voice actor for anime, games, and dramas is famous for voicing Nuriko in "Fushigi Yuugi", Mei in "My Neighbor Totoro", Yaten Kou/Sailor Star Healer in "Sailor Moon Stars", "Kentaro Ichinose in "Maison Ikkoku", Tendon Man in "Anpanman", Kisaragi Shun in "Koko wa Greenwood", and many others. Her most recent role is Kaoruko Shikine in the brand-new "Heartcatch Precure". She likes singing with her band and watching pro-wrestling. She has released several CDs in addition to her voice work.
Spike Spencer has been a voice actor since the early nineties. He has voiced hundreds of episodes of Anime including such notable titles as "Evangelion", "Battle Angel", "Suikoden", "Orphen", "Spriggan", "Nadesico", "Mar", "Pretear", "Buso Renkin", and "Bleach". Spike has lent his voice to many radio and TV commercials. His video game credits include "WOW-The Burning Crusades", "Tales of Vesperia", "Steambot Chronicles", "Star Ocean 2", and many others. An accomplished actor, he has worked with such notable stars as Tommy Lee Jones, Sandra Bullock, Frank Langella, Tia Carrere, and Scott Glenn and has been on set with many other stars. Spike is also an author, including "How to Be A Frickin Genius Voice Actor, Step One", "What Happens At The Con, Stays At The Con?", and "Don't Kill Your Date (And Other Cooking Tips)". Spike is also a screenwriter with several projects in various stages. Spike is soon to begin production on his first feature film that he scripted, "Dwindle Down".
Uchu Sentai NOIZ is a visual kei rock band from Japan. They are famous for their energetic music, wild cosplay-style outfits, and amazing live shows full of energy and on-stage antics. Their music is very eclectic and features many different elements from genres such as punk, J-pop, metal, hip-hop, and electronica.
Animazement 2010 will be held May 28-30 at the Raleigh Convention Center in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina.
ABOUT ANIMAZEMENT: Animazement is an annual convention in Raleigh, NC that celebrates the world of Japanese visual culture through anime, manga, video games, J-rock, martial arts, traditional crafts, and more. The mission of the convention is to promote greater understanding of Japanese language and culture, and to encourage cross-cultural communication through the enjoyment of shared popular culture. Now in its 13th year, Animazement is the largest gathering of anime fans in the Carolinas, with nearly 6,000 attendees in 2009. Animazement is an all-volunteer convention run by fans, for fans. The sponsoring organization of Animazement is Educational Growth Across Oceans, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
For more information and the latest news about Animazement, see:
http://www.animazement.org
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For over ten years, Chris Cason has participated in almost every facet of anime production. He has been associated with numerous projects (exclusively for FUNimation Entertainment) in a voice acting, Anime Diaglogue Replacement directing, or scriptwriting capacity. Some of his work has been featured on Spike TV, The Independent Film Channel (IFC), Nicktoons, The Cartoon Network, and The CW.
