Did I Mention I Met Henry Rollins? – And Other Tales From Horror Hound Indy

Okay, first and foremost, I want to say that I met Henry Rollins.  Then I got to see him do his spoken word.  Everything else was pretty anticlimactic after that, but I will try to power on and tell you kids about Horror Hound 2019 in Indianapolis.

  I found out the Thursday before that Henry Rollins was going to be at HH19.  I do not follow the sites like my boss, because he is an autograph/photograph collector, has an awesome autographed poster collection, and that’s his thing.  He knows my hot buttons, so whenever one pops up, he tells me.  I had no desire to go when he had brought it up before, because he hadn’t mentioned Rollins.

  The beautiful Sara and her daughter were down for the extended weekend over the holiday, so I forgot all about it, until he reminded me on Wednesday.  He said if I wanted to go, I could share a room with him and JC, so two days before the show, I got the preorder only photo op with Henry, worked two days, and off we went.  The good thing about going with the boss is that you don’t feel guilty skipping out on work if he’s there (Sadly, I have a horrible sense of responsibility, and don’t really care to miss work) 

  After a four hour drive to Indianapolis, with one stop to lunch in the shadow of the infamous Club Coyote, home of an Exotic Dancer, we made it just in time to check in, have the bellhop carry up all the booze and our clothes, and freshen up a bit.  I didn’t have a VIP badge due to poverty, so I had to wait an hour, which I grabbed a catnap (Hail Blizzard), then wandered down to get my weekend pass.  While standing in line, a guy comes up to me and says “Hey man, want a free pass for the weekend, all you have to do is check out our booth when you go in.” .  Now you may not know this about me, but I LIKE free things, and I took that free pass, and I did visit their booth and buy things.  Well a comic.  And I think it was their booth.  So from plans of staying home, I now have a free room, and a free pass for the weekend.  Not going to lie, this is a good start for the weekend.

  Now the doors are open for us peasants, and I start to scope out the vendors, find my friends, locate a vendor selling insulated cups so we can carry cocktails, and make our strategy so they can get their posters signed, and I can, well, wander around, people watch, shop, and see if there is anyone I’d like a picture/autograph with.

  With them getting a head start, and the celebrities actually starting to sign things early, the goals were hit early by them.  More importantly I found an insulated Hannibal Lechter cup, so we went back to the room, made huge captain and diets, dropped off the signed posters, and went back down.

  My first celeb was Scott Ian (Anthrax).  I bought an autograph, got a picture signed, and then got a selfie with him.  He asked if I was getting Charlie’s autograph (Benante), but I already had gotten it at a previous show (Equally as nice, probably a little more outgoing.

  Next up was John 5 (guitar player for pretty much everyone at one point, currently Rob Zombie)  I had met him previously at a meet and greet with Rob Zombie, but I couldn’t pass it up.  I got an autograph, then a selfie, and he actually took the time to have a small conversation, and just an all around good guy.  (Probably the nicest celebrity I have ever met)  The guy before me actually had some KISS memorabilia, and knew John 5 is a huge KISS fan.  The guy offered to bring it to John 5 the next day, and his face lit up like a Christmas tree.  His manager took the guys info, and the guy moseyed away.  It’s nice to see that a guy at his level could still be a fan

  Then I stood in line while JC got Rollins autograph.  It had sold out before I could get one, but did get to bask in his greatness while JC asked about his time on Sons of Anarchy.  You have the great Henry Rollins in front of you, and you ask him about a TV show.  For…Fucks…Sake.  But he was very cordial, and it just whetted my appetite for when I got my picture with him later.

  This is the part where I tell you I met Henry Rollins.  I got the professional photo op, because they didn’t offer a selfie, and waited in line for a half hour or so.  And that was because they dicked around.  Once the line started moving, it went fast.  Luckily I got to stand behind some kid who stole Izzy Stradlin’s style, was playing a guitar with a built in speaker, so I got to listen to him go on and on about some stuffed goat he had, and that it HAD to be in the picture.

  I rooted for Henry Rollins to take that stupid guitar, and smash it over the stuffed goat while the kid looked on in horror, but that didn’t happen.  That would have been bonus points on a great weekend.  I got to meet him, we posed, and it was over in 15 seconds.  But for those 15 seconds, we were best friends.  Not you Heidi….ME!  I was his best friend.

  After that, the rest of the show was anticlimactic.

  Just kidding.  I got my picture, then wandered around looking for my friends.  I look over, and they had moved Giorgio Tsoukalos to the main room, and so I got his autograph, and a selfie.  Then, since he didn’t have anyone in his line at the moment, we chatted about fame, how people miss out on life because of their phones, and how aliens introduced Bigfoot to the earth as humans 1.0.  You know, guy stuff.

  Then, since I had bigfoot on my mind, I went and met Bob Gimlin, and he signed a picture from his original film, the Patterson/Gimlin film, and was a very engaging man.  Small in stature, you could tell that this is a guy who was a badass when younger.  He was very enthusiastic about the other Bigfoot groups, excited to meet people, and just a high energy guy.  This was allegedly his last show ever, he was retiring.  Him and his staff were super kind, and I’m regretting not buying his autographed cowboy hat.

  After that, we freshened up our drinks, then the Boss stayed in the room, and gave me his ticket to see Rollins.  The place was about ¾’s full, and he talked for over an hour, telling us Black Flag stories, his desire to eat leads to his inability to turn down projects, and how he grew up shaped who he is today.  He was engaging, funny, and was a really good story teller.  Definitely a highlight of my weekend.

  We then went back to the room.  The boss had commandeered grub hub, so the room was filled with Chinese food and sushi, which we put a big dent in, while saying we should go down to the hotel bar and people watch.  Instead, we all fell asleep, because we are old, and it was a long day.

  Saturday was more of the same.  We got up early, hung around the room until they got to go in at ten.  I then went back to bed because I couldn’t get in until 11.  As I was about to leave, they made it back, had all their stuff signed that they wanted, so we ate some of the leftovers, drank a few delicious Iron City Lights (provided the week before by the beautiful Sara), made a cocktail for the road and went exploring.

  Saturday I met some cool artists (@artbypizzaface , @The_Lovely_One_  Scarlet & Graves (clothing line), and the lovely @carlaharvey  (singer for @butcherbabies), and then went and saw the man.

  Travis Walton is the reason the movie Fire in the Sky was made.  Mr. Walton was abducted in Northern Arizona, returned a few days later, and became famous because of it.  He was very soft spoken, a bit guarded, but very kind with his time, made it an experience for everyone in his line, and quite intelligent.  I got a poster signed, and he personalized it, and when I was talking to someone else, it seems that he puts something different on each one, or at least has a variety, so you don’t get the same thing if you get multiples.  What a thrill though.

  We spent the day people watching, watched a Harley Quinn lean over and have her boobs spill out, shared some beer with a grandpa from KY (not Kentucky Regan), who hung with us while his granddaughter used the boss’ line skip to get Mathew Lillard’s autograph.

  Later that night, we got to see the great John 5 perform.  He is such a phenomenal performer and musician, you didn’t mind that there were no vocals to his music.  Very flashy, very enigmatic, just an amazing show.  Shoutout to his bass player and drummer.  He set a pace and they played along flawlessly.

  To finish the show, Scott Ian, Carly Harvey, and Charlie came out, and they did two Kiss covers, with Harvey singing lead on the first, and Ian on the second.

  After that, we skipped the mask and costume contests, and went to the hotel bar.  There we had some amazing food, a couple cocktails, and an hour long conversation with Joe Whipp and his lovely wife (sheriff in Nightmare on Elm Street and many other things).  She casually mentioned a few times that Joe was an actor, in case we forgot. 

  As we sat there, Henry Thomas kept walking by and waving and saying “hi” each time.  I’m not the type to go up and ask for a picture, but he seemed like a really nice guy, and loved beer.  No Reeces Pieces spotted.

  Horror Hound is probably my favorite Con to go to.  Though I like comics, I like that they have a little bit of everything for everyone.  It is well organized, the prices aren’t outrageous, and they always seem to have them at places where a hotel is attached, so that you can go back to your room and rest a bit, keep booze stashed so you can mix your own and not get gouged on prices, and escape the noise. 

  Even if the horror genre isn’t your thing, there is always stuff for everyone, celebrities you’ll like, and artists to support.  If not, you can just sit, watch the cosplayers, enjoy the people, and meet a few friends.

  That’s all I have for now.  Go meet a stranger and say “hello”  As always, you can find me on most social media @jaycanchu.