Gene Simmons at Wizard World St. Louis 2017

With the current pandemic, all comic conventions are in limbo. That doesn't stop Wizard World from bringing great celebrities and cool experiences to fans.

Wizard World has been having virtual conventions and events and they have several more scheduled in the next few weeks. Tonight, they have the voice cast of Goblin Slayer, tomorrow they have the 1996 New York Yankees (1996 MLB World Champs), Tuesday they have the cast of Charmed and the cast of Dallas and more are scheduled after that.

The virtual experiences include live Q&A, live video chats, recorded video messages, and autographs. It's a great way to have some fun from the safe environs of your home. Admittedly, it is not as cool as experiencing this in person, but it is the next best thing. Also, some of these celebrities might not do actual comic cons, but they are doing these virtual events.

During these tough and strange times, we can use whatever bit of (close to) normalcy we can get. We can't go to comic cons yet, but Wizard World is bringing comic cons to us in the best way they can. I am waiting to see virtual selfies popping up online. 

I have met some of my favorite stars at Wizard World over the years. At Wizard World St. Louis a few years ago, I enjoyed a complete Gene Simmons experience, including a photo, meet and greet and a live show. I was literally a few feet from the stage as Gene and his band rocked all night. I figured he would perform a few songs. He performed for a solid two hours. This was an amazing day thanks to Wizard World.

Wizard World has come through many times over the years and they continue to satisfy fans. Yes of course it is a business, but they are doing it well and creatively. Especially in times like now, I appreciate what they do.

Go to WizardWorld.com for all of the details. Also, follow Wizard World on Facebook for more frequent updates, news and other fun stuff.

Gene Simmons, Jack Keenan and me in St. Louis, MO-April 2017.

Friendly Encounters: Gene Simmons and Carrie Gedeon

Friendly Encounters is a weekly series featuring friends who have met celebrities.

Today we are featuring a superstar and a pretty good musician, too. The superstar is Carrie Gedeon, of course. If you don't believe me, ask anyone with the Days of the Dead conventions. Carrie rocks!

As promoter Adolfo Dorta's partner in life and in the shows, Carrie has been a huge part of the DotD scene the last few years. She coordinates the volunteers and does many other things to keep everything running smoothly. She is a tireless worker and a total sweetheart.

Gene Simmons is a tireless worker, too. His musical career is legendary and his other business ventures keep him quite busy, but probably not as busy as Carrie during DotD events.

These two stars met at the recent DotD in Indianapolis and I was there to witness it.  Of course, she did get a picture with Simmons. I'm not sure who was more excited. Carrie is a big fan, but Simmons had some fun with her in the picture.

Actually Simmons was great with all of the fans. Obviously, photo ops have time constraints, but Simmons did the best he could and was very friendly with all of the fans. He even did some pose requests.

Simmons was very professional throughout the whole convention. According to Adolfo, he was great in the whole process of agreeing to do DotD. When a promoter praises a celebrity guest like that, I take it as fact, especially if it is Adolfo. He always deals straight. When he says Simmons was awesome, I believe it. 

When she wasn't with Simmons, Carrie was her usual busy self, but she always has a smile on her face. She's the perfect partner to Adolfo and a great asset to DotD. Somehow things always seem better when Carrie is around.

Check out DaysoftheDead.com for info on the next event. The next event will be in Chicago November 18-20.

Gene Simmons and Carrie Gedeon in Indianapolis, IN-June 2018.

"Gene Simmons" at Wizard World St. Louis 2017

Wizard World is coming to Rosemont from August 23-26. I am featurinbg some of the fun I have had at Wizard World events over the years.

Cosplaying is a popular activity at Wizard World Comic Cons. There are many types of cosplaying, from simple to the extreme. Some people try to be as authentic as possible, while others only put a little effort into it. They all have fun though and it is entertaining to see them (although I am usually disappointed with the lack of people cosplaying as Aquaman).

At Wizard World in St. Louis last year, I saw a fan cosplaying as Gene Simmons. It was especially appropriate because Gene Simmons was the headlining celebrity guest. This "Gene" put a lot of effort and duplicated the real Gene quite well. He was a bit too short though to totally pass for the real Gene.

I was not able to get a picture of the real Gene with the cosplayer Gene. I am sure cosplayer Gene got a photo with real Gene at some point, but not when I was around. I did manage to get a picture with cosplayer Gene, although I would have preferred to have him standing for the full visual effect.

Cosplayer Gene must have been pretty tried by the end of the event, because other fans were constantly stopping him for pictures. I guess if you put that much effort into a costume, you should expect that and actually you probably want it.

This is the type of fun you can see or have at Wizard World. I continue to seek out Aquaman or even other unique costumes. Oh how cool would it be if someone cosplayed as Johngy!

There are still several Wizard World events happening this year across the country. Those cities include Sacramento, Madison, Springfield (MA), Austin and Montgomery. Check out WizardWorld.com for all for the info.

"Gene Simmons" and me in St. Louis, MO-April 2017.

Gene Simmons at Wizard World St. Louis 2017

A couple weeks ago, I was part of the media attending Wizard World in St. Louis.  The celebrity headliner was Gene Simmons.  We were involved in several different events involving Simmons and each was a great experience.  My recap of the weekend is on Patch.com at On the Beat at Wizard World St. Louis 2017 and also on Global Traveler at Weekend in St. Louis.

Our first interaction with Simmons occurred at his panel.  He started it off by walking off the stage to take his place right in front of the audience.  He stated that he wanted to be among the people.  It was a classy move, which was greeted with thunderous applause.  The session was interesting as Simmons discussed his career and current projects and the he took questions.

That was immediately followed by the photo session.  With several hundred people in line to get a picture with Simmons, you know the moment will be quick, but Simmons still made it special.  He greeted us and thanked us.  He also made small talk about the weather.  For an instance like this, it was about as good as it gets.  Once again, Simmons was great.

Later in the day, we went to the Pageant to see Simmons and his band perform.  The Pageant is a cool, intimate venue, seating about 2,000.  The low ticket price had me thinking Simmons might perform a few songs.  I was way wrong.

Simmons rocked the stage for about two hours, mixing in Kiss stuff with his solo music.  He ended with a few songs as a tribute to Chuck Berry.  Simmons also talked a bit from the stage, just enough to keep it fun, but not too much to detract from the show.

Simmons is 67 years old and he still has that charisma and stage presence.  The man is a music legend and he still grabs the audience.  It was an amazing weekend with Simmons and I didn't hear one bad story from any of the attendees.

I give a lot of credit to Simmons.  While one might think this is standard behavior, some celebrities at comic cons are not as personable as Simmons.  When a star (especially of his stature) goes above and beyond, I must applaud it and make it known.

Thank you to Simmons for a fantastic experience.  Kiss was my first favorite rock band.  I have now met three of the original four Kiss members (I'm missing Paul Stanley).  Seeing him brought me right back to that teenager listening to Rock and Roll Over.  Interacting with him was well beyond the imagination of my younger self and I still can't believe it happened.

Thank you also to the staff at Wizard World for their hospitality.  It is a pleasure working with this fine organization.  Check out WizardWorld.com for future conventions.

Gene Simmons, Jack Keenan and me in St. Louis, MO-April 2017.