Friday, November 26th, 1999 - 7:30 - Midnight

THE GREAT OGRE GATHERING

THE LAUGHING OGRE

 

THE SET-UP

I was a bit worried about this. I was kind of in the back of the place in a little room. Wasn't sure if anyone would be able to see me... Set up was slow and relaxing... got there at 5:30. Just chilled out, ate and drank and had fun. Very cool.

THE PERFORMANCE

 

SET ONE: PARODY 1 - PARODY 2 - RHYTHM

SET TWO: HATE* - ABBEY ROAD - LOVE - PARODY 1 - PARODY 2

SET THREE: UNPLUGGED - STRONGER - BURG** - OPEN

PARODY 1 - PARODY 2 - ABBEY ROAD

*didn't do Lurid *only did Bread in the Freezer

 

MAN was this cool. Best crowd response since Gallery Hop, and the HOP just sounded louder because there were so many people on the street. Tonight was just awesome. This was the pre-party to the huge mid-west convention this weekend at the Adam's Mark Hotel. So the majority of these people were from out-of-town, and they were awesome...ahh but that's for the reaction... So how was the performance: LONG. I seem to do this when the crowd is having fun...oh, I don't know - just sing for 4 1/2 hours. Heh heh. My energy level somehow stayed up throughout all of it. Not sure how, but I felt good. Lights were hot tonight though...I gotta get different lights. Now onto the good part...

 

THE REACTION

 

So many people from so many cities, with so many reactions. Thank GOD for email. Everyone loved it, and it was almost always followed with "what are you doing here?"... It was awesome. Now Jeff Smith and the Hollywood producer who is doing his movie was there. (BONE for those of you not in comic book land)...Jeff signed a deal with Nickelodeon to do a movie in 2000... They both seemed to like it and the producer guy gave me his email address to keep in touch. Pretty nifty. Maybe I can be in a cartoon. WOW. :-) It was just an all around good night...and the money...whew. I did this show for free, and ended up making over $200 in tips. $209.33 to be exact. Man the IRS could kick my ass if I keep this "tell everyone what I make" thing up. I may have to chill on the honesty a bit. Some anonymous guy gave me $50. A $50 BILL! Another guy gave me a $20 and bought all 4 CDs for another $40. Whew...it was awesome. They just seemed so grateful. It was definitely a win-win situation. The Ogre ended up making some dough, so did I, and we are all happy. Now let's hope some of these contacts pan-out...

The following week a received this letter from one of the owners of The Laughing Ogre...

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.