Guests 2012

Nicholas Brendon

Nicholas Brendon is best known to audiences as Xander on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a role he played for the seven-year run of the show. His film credits include the cult favorite Psycho Beach Party, My Neighbor's Secret for Lifetime, A Golden Christmas for Ion, Blood on the Highway, and The Portal. He recurs on the hit CBS series Criminal Minds, has guest starred on the ABC drama Private Practice, and also starred on the Fox series Kitchen Confidential. In 2010, he launched the weekly webcomic Very Bad Koalas, with Steve Loter.

YTCracker

YTCracker is a rapper, former cracker, and Internet entrepreneur. YTCracker began producing rap music in 1998 in the genre that has since become known as nerdcore hip hop. YTCracker is a self-proclaimed “jack of all trades”, also making a name for himself as a professional disc jockey, computer programmer, graphics designer and webmaster.

Dr. Awkward

Dr. Awkward is a 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.

Todd Haberkorn

Todd provides voices for several of the most famous anime characters, including North Itality in Hetalia, Ling Yao in Fullmetal Alchemist, Natsu Dragneel in Fairy Tail, and Hikaru in Ouran High School Host Club, among many others. Todd Haberkorn is currently a proud member of the Anime community and continues to be its humble servant by way of english dubbing. Haberkorn received his BFA in acting from Southern Methodist University and continues to work professionally, primarily in Texas and surrounding states, as an actor, director, producer, and writer. And while the FUNimation Podcast is no more, you may have previously seen him star in it.

Catch Todd’s voice as lead roles in Sgt. Frog as Keroro, Suzuka as Yamato, Ghost Hunt as Naru, Claymore as Raki, Holic as Wataknuki, D. Gray Man as Allen Walker, Sands of Destruction as Kyrie, Soul Eater as Death the Kid, and some others he can’t say right now. A few supporting roles include Itsuki in Shuffle, Ichimoruken in Hell Girl, Firo in Baccano!, Kono in Darker Than Black, Hikaru in Ouran High School Host Club and Khoza in One Piece. Check out most of the shows listed above on Hulu.com or Funimation.com. When not in the booth, Todd is a producer with his company, Out of the Office Productions. Todd is represented by The Horne Agency.

LittleKuriboh

LittleKuriboh (AKA Martin Billany) is the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged series and the godfather of the abridged age. He has thus far produced no less than 52 episodes, a spinoff, a prequel, a christmas special and two movies, creating a cultural phenomenon in the anime world. In addition to playing nearly every character in his own series, he has made cameos in the Death Note, Naruto, Sonic X, Trinity Blood, Pokemon, Fullmetal Alchemist and Sailor Moon abridged series. With a mission to revitalize interest in the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise and make it more accessible to Joe Public, LittleKuriboh will continue the original abridged series providing us with priceless entertainment for many years to come. All-round nice guy and community fan-favourite, he is also associated with TeamFourStar (the group behind Dragon Ball Z Abridged, for which he also supplies voices) and has made guest appearances on comic-book video review series Atop the Fourth Wall.

Samurai Dan

Samurai Dan and his wife, the beautiful Lady Jillian (also attending), 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. Their shows and demonstrations uniquely blend history, combative skill, and humor, in a way that will both educate and entertain audiences both large and small. The dynamic duo also collaborated to write, direct, host, and star in a 12 episode TV series entitled "The Way of the Samurai," and Daniel is also an author with several martial arts articles published, and he is currently working on his second full-length novel.

Jason Faunt

Jason Faunt was born outside of Chicago, IL. After years of playing college and then a brief stint in pro baseball he hung up the cleats and decided to move out to L.A. to pursue a longtime dream of becoming an actor.  Initially having some success on the commercial and print side Jason started doing bit work on soap operas which led to his role of ‘Kane’ on Port Charles and ‘Carson’ on Passions. Soon after he booked the lead as the Red Ranger on Power Rangers Time Force, playing two different characters, one from both the present and the future.

Since Power Rangers Jason has had continued success on both the commercial and print side; along with co-Producing and starring in  his own film that appeared and received festival acclaim in several national festivals. The film is entitled 'Pact'.

The past year Jason has been working in the motion capture world as the Leon S. Kennedy, lead character in Resident Evil 6. Jason resides in Newport Coast, CA with his wife Stephanie and two daughters Keira and Makayla. Ages 6 and 4.

Jessica Rey

Jessica Rey was raised in Orange County, where she graduated from Cal State Fullerton with her BA in Business. Immediately upon graduation, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her MBA at Loyola Marymount University. She began working as an actress, appearing in numerous national television commercial campaigns, including Kellogg’s, Jeep, Nokia, T-Mobile, and Gillette.

While finishing her MBA, she landed the role as Alyssa, the White Power Ranger on Power Rangers Wild Force. She has made guest appearances on Days of Our Lives, The Young & the Restless, The Stones, General Hospital, Las Vegas, and Rules of Engagement. Jessica currently designs her own line of vintage-inspired swimsuits: www.ReySwimwear.com and is producing her own television series.

Michael Copon

Michael Sowell Copon is an actor, model, producer, and singer, known for his role of Felix Taggaro in the television series One Tree Hill, playing Vin Keahi in the television series Beyond the Break, and starring in Power Rangers: Time Force.

Michael has also starred as the lead in numerous films, including Night of the Demons, All You've Got, Dark House, Music High, and Bring It On: In It To Win It. He has also starred as the lead while producing or co-producing on Killer Holiday and Boyband.

Michael Copon has also played recurring characters on Beyond the Break, Greek, and That's So Raven, in addition to guest starring on Hawaii 5-0, CSI: Miami, and Reno 911.

Nakia Burrise

Actress, singer, dancer, writer, model…When you take a look at Nakia’s career, it becomes crystal clear that she is a triple threat and entertainment is her passion!

Growing up in Stockton, CA, Nakia was introduced to musical theater and performance in elementary school.  She began performing acrobatics by the age of five and later ventured into theater, musical theater, dancing, singing and modeling.  After graduating from Edison High School in Stockton, California, Nakia auditioned for UCLA’s prestigious theater department.  She was the only African American female freshman accepted into the theater department that year.  By the time she was a junior at UCLA, her professional career had begun.  She booked her first role as a series regular on Power Rangers, as Tanya Sloan, the yellow ranger; while simultaneously recording her first pop album with her singing group Divine.  After Power Rangers Nakia took a break from acting full-time to begin a family. After the birth of her second child she began pursuing acting again and was diagnosed with a lung disease that again took her away from her passion, acting.  In 2008, Nakia was blessed with a clean bill of  health (as her illness was now in remission) and she once again pursued her dream of acting.

She has played an array of characters in such shows as 90210, The Middle, Rules Of Engagement, Melissa and Joey, Bones, Samantha Who, Boston Legal, Nash Bridges, Moesha and even found time to film a sitcom pilot that she wrote, produced and starred in titled, Crazy Daze.  She is currently working  as a series regular on an internet series for Mattel, due to premiere in 2012. Nakia plays the role of Nikki. Along with her television credits, she has appeared in numerous films, national commercials, and print ads.  In addition, her stage performances continue to thrive.  She has starred in musicals such as Bye-Bye Birdie, The Wiz, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Cinderella and the list goes on.  Her resolve to be successful in the entertainment business is relentless.  And her will to overcome life’s obstacles are incessant.  But, her desires do not begin and end with performing. She is determined to reach where it counts the most, the children.

In 2006, Nakia, founded a non-profit corporation, “A Day in the Life”.  The corporation’s mission is to reach inner city children by giving them the opportunity to explore careers, life options and community possibilities through field trips, presentations and field work; opportunities that are not readily accessible to many inner city youths.

In 2012, she partnered up with a dear friend to launch a new Christian t-shirt line "Eternally His Design." Their hope is "that through a simple word or phrase (written on our shirts) offered in love, guided by the wisdom of God, will have eternal consequences in someone's life.

Nakia has learned that with every hurdle, God gives her the will power to leap.  It is her decision to continue the battle or lie in defeat! She chooses the battle!

Rumgumption

Rumgumption is a darkly whimsical, quirkily acoustic band poised between tradition and invention. Rooted in Scottish/Irish traditions, Rumgumption's music ranges from nautical to fantastical, historical to speculative.

Shawn McBurnie, like many great traditional singers, is self-taught - inspired to learn by the time-tested combination of love of song and scarcity of entertainment. His obsession with voice was early and abiding; his passion for wordcraft came later but was no less tenacious. Shawn writes a quarterly article on Scots language use in song for Scottish journal The Kilt and Harp and teaches singing at the Center for Irish Music.

Chad McAnally, 2009 National Scottish Harp Champion, is at the forefront of the continuing revival of the ancient wire-strung Gaelic harp. Chad surprises - both with his startling level of technical finesse and with the robust vigor of his sound. In Chad's deft hands, the sound of the wire-strung harp, hammer dulcimer, and wooden flute is at once evocative of antiquity and exuberantly contemporary. Chad teaches harp and whistle at the Center for Irish Music in Saint Paul, MN.

Dee Brust, guitarist and singer, has a keen ear for melody and breath. Producing full grown tunes from the keys of the defunct pianos of her youth, plucking chords out on mysterious basement guitars, Dee has joyfully exercised the will of her senses to express the music and poetry she wades through each day. Dee has been a favorite performer at the MN Renaissance Festival since her teen years and may still be found there carousing with her husband and four children.

Possible Oscar

Possible Oscar is a Minneapolis, MN based comedy rock act that specializes in original and parody songs. Their musical topics range from video games to nerd love, with stops at comic books and notable Hollywood movie sound effects. Possible Oscar’s sound is two great tastes that taste great together; they usually play rock music, but sometimes a little hip hop is in order.

The Dr. Demento Show has played several Possible Oscar songs, including “Earn Hollywood Earn”, “Talk Nerdy to Me”, and "Get Our Geek On", and a few of them have made Dr. Demento's regular countdown. “Earn Hollywood Earn” was selected to appear on Dr. Demento’s Basement Tapes #15. In December of 2007, their song “That Calls for a Wilhelm Scream” landed at the No. 23 spot on Dr. Demento’s annual Funny 25 countdown. In 2007, Possible Oscar became a Core member of The Funny Music Project (The FuMP) which releases two songs every week for free under a Creative Commons license. Possible Oscar is currently writing and recording material for their third full-length album.

Lewis "Linkara" Lovhaug

Lewis "Linkara" Lovhaug has had the misfortune of being cursed to review comic books on the internet. Somehow this has made him popular on the website That Guy With the Glasses, though many suspect it’s more so people can stare and laugh at the weirdo. On his show, Atop the Fourth Wall, he regularly contends with the surreal, the stupid, and the senseless books that the comic industry has produced over the last eighty years. If that wasn’t sad enough, he also has done a retrospective on Power Rangers (released on the schedule of when a blue moon rises on the 13th hour of the 13th day of the 13th month), actually attempting to grant serious analysis to a series about guys in spandex punching rubber-suited monsters. It’s best not to make direct eye contact with him.

Airship O'Reilly

Long ago a young, or perhaps freshly painted, airship christened the Brazen Beauty set off her first journey from the far-away city of Tennesbury. After years of adventures too far-fetched to repeat, she found herself and her crew lost in a much stranger land... this one. Now renamed Airship O'Reilly, she and her crew come to Meta Con to... well... probably steal something.

Started back in 2007 as the Brazen Beauty, the Champaign, IL based Airship O'Reilly has since evolved beyond just a group of kids who wanted to make movies and have fun. Bringing together several slightly insane individuals, O'Reilly has become a force of entertainment, hosting events in their hometown, making costumes and accessories, and bringing the madness and chaos with them wherever they go.

Erik Burnham

Erik Burnham is a Minnesotan writer and artist that first broke into comics with a series of humorous short stories in the Shooting Star Comics Anthology. These stories featured his original creation, Nick Landime, and culminated in a one-shot: Nick Landime vs. the World Crime League, published by Shooting Star in 2005.

In 2007, Erik produced work for two other anthologies – a short humor piece for History Graphics Press’ Civil War Adventures #1, and a horror story for Gene Simmons’ House of Horror #3, by IDW Publishing. This lead to several other projects for IDW, up to and including his current critically acclaimed run on the ongoing GHOSTBUSTERS comic book and assorted TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES offshoot books. Erik has worked on other projects not related to comic books, and hopes one day to share those with the public at large. In the meantime, he still lives quietly in Minnesota; any rumors about this being because he’s completely afraid of the other forty-nine states (and Canada) remain unverified at this time.

Dan Johnsen

Game mastering table-top role-role playing games since 1983, Dan has run games in every story genre. Having both helping to lead and leading several games at both Gencon and Joncon for several years as well as having a weekly gaming group, he has developed many techniques to lead and create storylines, characters, and methods of game-mastering enhancement of stories for up to 85 people at a time per gaming session. On an educational standpoint, Dan earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, Organizational Persuasive Argument in 2008. He currently lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota with his partner and has a small, energetic dog who likes to bark at squirrels.

Nicole Kruex

Nicole Kruex is a Midwest bred film and theatre actress often recognized for heroine or action orientated roles in the horror related genre. Often noted for her willingness to do stunts and stage fighting, Nicole combines a strong female lead personality with an action packed athletic performance that is a perfect fit for both Horror and Action. Nicole began her career in short films and commercial work as well as theatre. She trained with her favourite coach Lev Mailer, took seven years of competitive dance, and dabbled in singing and music creation. Best known for her roles in 'Faux' and 'After the Dawn' Nicole continues to strive for roles with challenging content and great scripts in all genres but always has horror first at heart.

Mitchel A. Jones

Mitchel A. Jones was born in October of 1984 in Bryan, Ohio. Creatively inspired by the German Expressionistic mind of Tim Burton, Mitchel began spinning short stories of his own and developing stop motion animation films on an old VHS camcorder, and with that his love for the process of film was discovered. His teen years focused his writing efforts into horror screenplays. After high school Mitchel majored in film at the University of Toledo. He branched out on his own to shoot his first short film project with another student entitled The Pilfer. The short was well received and unique for it's time. Having spent a decent amount thus far, Mitchel felt it only wise to put his camera to work for him and began shooting for the country/southern rock group Sierra Shame. Months of bar scenes and line dancing had earned him cash but not much for film experience so when he was offered the opportunity to work with the History channel on a Halloween special for the show Modern Marvels he was more then ecstatic. Now bitten by the production bug he took this as inspiration to start his own production company Chasing Autumn Films, LLC with fellow friend and song writer Dallas McFarland and is currently developing a slate of horror films with partner company TRIWAR Pictures, LLC that he will be producing and directing.