May 13, 2008
News for Zenkaikon 2008:
Zenkaikon 2008 announces third round of guests
VALLEY FORGE, PA - Zenkaikon 2008 is pleased to announce more guests for its 2008 show; musical guest "Ultraball", voice actor Bill Rogers, and otaku bellydancing troupe Raqs Otaku
About Ultraball:
Anyone who has ever been in a band will tell you: being in a band is a lot like being in a relationship. They both start out with casually seeing the other on weekends, but before you know it, you're living together and arguing about the rent. So what do you do when your marginally successful punk rock band breaks up? Drink too much and play Pokemon, of course! In Pittsburgh rocker Chris Campbell's case, this was not merely another grieving process; this was research. In the summer of 2007, he had an epiphany: to sing the unwritten song of each and every creature that inhabits the Kanto region of Pokemon lore. In short: to write one hundred fifty songs for the original one hundred fifty Pokemon. He soon contacted long-time friend and fellow musician, Sami Al-Qaisi, and Ultraball was formed. Playing a variety of genres from punk rock to reggae, synth-pop to metal, Ultraball strives to capture the unique spirit of each Pokemon in song, just as a masterful trainer would in battle. With karaoke-style performances to their own original music and sequenced multimedia video from the Pokemon anime, everyone can count on a great time packed with tons of movement and excitement.
You can catch the two-man, synth punk army at Zenkaikon on Saturday afternoon (10/18/08)! (Time TBA) You can check out some of their works at their Myspace: www.myspace.com/theultraball
About Bill Rogers:
Since his debut in Assemble Insert back in 2001, Bill has been providing voices to some of your favorite characters in some of your favorite shows. If you've watched KO Beast, His and Her Circumstances, Madara, To Heart, Gokudo, or Comic Party you've probably heard his voice. But he is best known for his work in Gravitation (Touma Seguch), Boogiepop Phantom (Yamamoto), Genshiken (Tanaka Souichiro), Shingu (Kanata Mouken) and more recently in The Third (Kevin). He can also be heard on Saturday mornings as the voice of Brock in Pokémon, (as well as various creatures that appear in that show).
Outside of the anime field, Bill has worked on the children's show Tarchin and Friends, and the series of Universal Safety Squad educational films.In the world of video games, Bill has lent his voice to the X-Box game Bullet Witch and M&M's Kart Racing on the Wii console. He has also voiced various Pokémon including Bonsly, Weavile and the legendary Lucario in the Wii smash hit Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
He is looking forward to be meeting everyone at Zenkaikon this October. In the meantime, you can find him at billsvoice.livejournal.com
About Raqs Otaku Dancers:
Led by Rose, a professional oriental dancer and a director/choreographer, this dance troupe brings their love of anime, Asian culture and bellydancing together. Rose has brought the ever-popular Otaku-Dance fusion back home to the United States from Japan.Raqs Otaku are a group of dancers, all representing different styles of belly dance, who dance to cutting-edge techno/hip-hop/anime etc.- fusion bellydance music, the most kicking tunes in the world of anime, and incorporate cosplays of choice into their costuming, joined together by their love of anime/manga, Japanese culture and/or gaming. Not only that, but they also perform comedy skits along with our performance at times, we are artists, and do belly dance workshop panels and Japanese-language panels at conventions.
...In conclusion - Raqs Otaku make bellydance costumes in which incorporates elements of cosplay, dancing to cutting-edge music, and kicking 'ketsu' in general. Rose and her troupe have performed at several other events in both Japan and the USA and we're really delighted to have them at Zenkaikon 2008!
Check out their videos, pictures and info here: http://www.myspace.com/roseraqs and http://www.roseraqs.com/
About Zenkaikon:
Zenkaikon was formed by the merger of the anime and sci-fi con Zentrancon, and the anime con, Kosaikon, both in the Philadelphia area. In 2006 they put on their first event which was a tremendous success. Zenkaikon will return to the Valley Forge Scanticon Conference Center for its third installment on 10/17-10/18/08. The con will kick off its expansion to two days of programming on the evening of Friday, October 17 with concerts, a Cosplay Ball, gaming and other special events. A full day of convention action will follow on Saturday, October 18 with video screenings, concerts, gaming, cosplay masquerade, the new Zenkaikon favorites - the anime version of "Whose Line Is It Anyway" and The Cosplay Dating Game, and so much more!
Pre-registration for Zenkaikon 2008 is up and running! Go to www.Zenkaikon.com to pre-register online and get information on reserving exhibitor space, panel registration Zenkaikon rules and regulations and forms for snail mail pre-registration.
Zenkaikon 2008 Membership
by June 1: One Day (Friday or Saturday) $10.00, Two Day $20.00
by September 15: Friday $13.00, Saturday $15.00, Two Day $23.00
At Door: Friday $15.00, Saturday $20.00, Two Day $30.00
Two Day Group rates also available
Hurry and reserve your place at Zenkaikon 2008 today!
