Countdown Entry #10   12:15 PM, Sunday, November 28th, 1999:   Man, when I think of my Columbus gigs, I will think of Brian Boru's, and THIS WEEKEND. WOW. I had more fun this weekend, and felt like more of a badass, than I ever had before.   The ogre gathering... Too cool. I wrote the long drawn out description in the entry, but let me just again that it was amazing. So cool to have out-of-towners DIGGIN' the show. They seemed so grateful. After my sets they would all come up to me and say "thanks, that was sooo original"...and I would reply so sincerely: "Thank you!" It was awesome. So much good exposure. Too much fun. Got a wonderous amount of tips...and ended up playing...shit Marty was right...it was 4 1/2 hours. DAMN. how the hell did I pull off the next show...   And of course the topper, The Columbusmusic.com showcase... Highly cool. Playing at Little Brothers was simply awesome because that big staches sign is up there. Nirvana played Staches...that's just so damn COOL. I took a little backstage footage, some in the green room they hung out in. The night went incredibly as well though I am a bit bummed because this gig could really help get the word out about who I am and what I do (Columbus Alive was there) - but I'm leaving. Oh well. Hopefully it'll make December a bit busier. I just left the gig feeling good. Which is a nice emotion to feel after one crazy ass couple of weeks.   Oh, not sure if I mentioned this but...GO GET A WINAMP, and GO DOWNLOAD MY MP3's on columbusmusic.com's site...they sound AMAZING. I had no idea that MP3's sounded this good. So I got a winamp and was screwin' around...and decided to download LURID off the site. Blew my mind. Threw a CD of it in and couldn't tell the difference. Just do a search for winamp at lycos, or yahoo.com...and download it... I was stunned at how good it sounds.   Other news? Uhm, nope. Thank God. I'm paranoid man about my trailer, and it's now locked in someone's garage. As if my drive to a gig wasn't long enough already. Now I have to drive all the way out there first. OH WELL. I'm NOT goin' through that towin' shit again...   ANYWAY:   -Write back if you got this and are pissed 'cause you don't know who I am, -Write back if you've got a suggestion... -Just write back and say hello.   Oh and go see Toy Story 2....it was insanely cool.   Adam   PS - just got this email from Daryn at The Laughing Ogre. How awesome is this:   Adam,   I arrived at the Ogre after a week of 2-3 hour sleep periods, almost ready to host the Great Ogre Gathering. The two things moderately beyond my control, you and the food, had arrived and were set up without incident (whew, after the trailer thing, I was a little anxious). "That guy back there is an obnoxious asshole" was the first comment I heard. I asked, "What guy?" "Kontras", was the reply, "he's an asshole and he's obnoxious." Although this seems like a bad thing, I knew it to be otherwise. The naysayer in question had a reputation of being really stupid and really wrong, so his complaint made me believe that we were off to a very good start.   I organized a crew of "employees" to operate the hotel shuttle (minivan). I flitted around the party, hosting like a madman. "Did you see the guy in back," I would ask. "Where?" was the standard reply. Our shoppe is rather large and people are always suprised when I take them to the back-back. I would deposit the stunned patron and wander back to the party. I would bump into these people an hour or so later and, without exception, I would hear, "That guy back there is a blast. I've never seen anything like it. Very original."   Since I was hosting, I couldn't spend too much time in one spot, but I did manage to see a few parody songs and a few "real" songs. The comments never varied (great, original, and funny were the theme of ALL of the comments). I would swing in and you would still be performing. "Marty? Has he stopped yet?" "Naw, he's having too much fun to stop." I picked up the tip jug and shook it in front of people as they would leave the room. Most gladly tipped something. Some wanted to tip you personally (hope they did).   Adam, you are quite the professional and will always be welcome to any event I host. Your show held the attention of a varied audience for almost five hours. You went above and beyond what was asked of you and did it with style. You made us look great and I (we) really appreciate it. I hope you and your people had a good time because me and my people sure did. Excellent job.   The next day at Mid-Ohio-Con, the Ogre was the buzz (as usual). But this year, all the "thank you"s included a mention of you. Most of the attendees are out-of-towners with nothing to do but wait for the con to start. Friday night before the con is usually a boring night in the hotel. Giving these people a place to go (for free no less), makes them very happy. I received "thank you"s from younger people, older people, people with families, etc. All of them mentioned the three Adam Kontras buzzwords of great, original, and funny. And we're not just talking one or two people either because I, personally, received around a hundred "thank you"s. The guys at the booth did not count our wellwishers, but described the crowd as very thankful, very appreciative, and having mentioned you over and over.   Sounds like you made quite an impact on a pretty diverse crowd, so, nice work!   Next year's Mid-Ohio Con will be held the weekend after Thanksgiving, so the Great Ogre Gathering will take place the Friday after Thanksgiving. If you are in town, feel free to set up and test your new show out. Otherwise just stop in, say hi, grab some chow, quaff some beverages, and have a good time with a room full of comic book geeks.   I don't know exactly where your path is taking you, but you're headed somewhere which more than I can say for most of your peers. You've got the talent and the ambition, so I see you making good things happen for you. Best wishes in all your endeavors, my friend.   Keep in touch!   D   Daryn R. Guarino   President The Laughing Ogre, Inc. 4258 North High Street Columbus OH 43214-3048 Dial (614) A-MR-OGRE Fax (614) A-MR-BULK   Easy To Find, Hard To Subdue!   PS: If it all goes belly-up, we always have a couch in the back you can sleep on. Otherwise, I'll be looking forward to Adam Kontras and his 4HPs (holographic projectors), performance art in the 4th dimension!   PPS: but I don't wanna pay for my tickets, I wanna be on "the list". Daryn Guarino plus 1. Is that too much to ask? I don't think so.   Thank you Daryn. Thank you.

 

 

NOVEMBER 1999