Archive
The Cybertronic Spree Returns for Retro Con 2018!
They rocked our show last year, and they’ll be back again this year to rev up the decibels even higher!
Beyond Good. Beyond Evil. Beyond Your Wildest Imagination.
They are…
The Cybertronic Spree!
More than meets the eye, The Cybertronic Spree are here on Earth with one critical mission: To party like it’s 1986! This band of Transformers has been brought together by the power of rock ‘n’ roll and they can’t be stopped.
Join Hotrod, Arcee, Rumble, Unicron, Soundwave, Bumblebee, Shockwave and a Quintesson as they prove they’ve got the power to light your darkest hour! These rockstars in disguise play music from The Transformers: The Movie, plus themes from hit films, cartoons, video games, and more. They blend their love for the 80’s and 80’s metal into an energon-fueled, unforgettable live show!
The Cybertronic Spree have been rocking conventions and events since 2013. They’ve captivated audiences across Canada and the US with performances at Anime North, Ottawa International Animation Festival, Toronto ComicCon, Nerd Noise Night, Retro Con, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Montreal Comic Con and opened for fellow space-rockers, TWRP, Electric 6, and Magic Sword.
Last year, the band released their first original single, “Cybertronic Warrior”, a fist-pumping robot anthem. The video was directed by cult director Steven Kostanski (ManBorg, The Void) and released to great acclaim. The band are now battling it out in the studio once more, set to record and release a follow-up of gigantic proportions!
The Cybertronic Spree will be attending the show early in the day on Saturday as convention guests, where fans can meet with them and purchase band-related merchandise. Tentative times are 10am to 1pm.
But of course we can’t stop there! The Cybertronic Spree will also be performing a concert that Saturday night (October 13th) at 8pm at the nearby Arnold’s Family Fun Center!
**Cybertronic Spree Concert Tickets Coming Soon!**
Check out some shots of the band’s sold-out concert from last year’s Retro Con!
_ _ _
So come to the Retro Con to hang with the band, and then see them in concert Saturday night! Their concert last year was regarded by many to be the highlight of the convention!!
Follow the Cybertronic Spree at these places:
Win Free Stuff at the Retro Con 2018 Trivia Contest!
We’ll once again be hosting our annual trivia contest at Retro Con 2018!
Hosted once again by our good friend Mike Breaux of The Breaux Show, the contest will be held in the panel area at the convention on Saturday! (Time To Be Determined)
No sign-up is required and there are no age restrictions- Anyone can watch or play! We will reveal each item one at a time, then ask a trivia question related to it. Directly after we will randomly call on a person in the audience with their hand raised to answer. If they get it right, they win the prize on the spot. If not, we ask a different audience member until the prize is claimed!
So stop by the panel area Saturday to test your knowledge of all things geek and win cool prizes!!
Meet G1 Transformers Artist Mark Watts at Retro Con 2018!
We are pleased to welcome artist Mark Watts to our guest list for Retro Con 2018!
Mark attended the School of Visual Arts in NYC and Temple University in Philadelphia, and has been creating great works of art for the past 30 years! With studios in two states, Mark has worked for clients such as Disney, Budweiser, The Rolling Stones, Warner Bros Pictures, Paramount, Sony, Hasbro, Tyco, Crayola, and many more!
Mark has produced many illustrations for popular toy lines such as the Hasbro’s Transformers and Tyco’s Crash Test Dummies. Some of his most recognizable book covers were made into movies: The Odessa File, Day of the Jackal, and The Dogs of War. He also created the logo Illustration for the Clint Eastwood movie Pink Cadillac. His work has been displayed in many shows around the country and also at the prestigious Society of Illustrators Club in NYC.
Mark is responsible for some of the iconic artwork used in the G1 Transformers toy line! He did at least 45 commissioned paintings for Hasbro between the mid 80’s and early 90’s, most of which were used directly for the packaging of the products. Notable packaging illustrations he created include Shockwave, Jetfire, the Constructicons, the Stunticons, and all of the series one Minibots! He also did several paintings used for pack-in mail-away offers for the Transformers line, such as Reflector, the “Time Warrior” Autobot watch, and the Omnibots.
He strove for a metallic, forced perspective look to his Transformers paintings. This helped the characters look more exciting and “pop out” from the background. Many of his Transformers art pieces can be viewed in the book Transformers Legacy: The Art of Transformers Packaging, by Jim Sorenson and Bill Forster.
Mark sells high quality prints of his Transformers artwork at his website:
https://markwattsstudios.com/collections/transformer-prints
You can also purchase Mark’s slick transformable “table art” (as seen and demonstrated in the video above), featuring his Transformers work and more here:
https://www.tableartstudios.com/
Mark will have a booth in our guest section at the show all weekend, where he’ll be selling his Transformers prints, table art, and more. Meet someone that played a big part in the history of the original Transformers toy line!
Please Follow Mark Online!
Main Website: https://markwattsstudios.com/
Mark’s Table Art: https://www.tableartstudios.com/
Transformers Prints: https://markwattsstudios.com/collections/transformer-prints
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarkWattsStudios/
Facebook 2: https://www.facebook.com/TableArtStudios/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkWattsStudio
Garry Chalk to Attend Retro Con 2018! Sponsored by CNS Art!
“Well, that’s just Prime…”
Thanks to our good friend Candice Santora, we proudly welcome actor Garry Chalk to Retro Con 2018!
Garry is best known for voicing the noble leader of the Maximals, Optimus Primal, in the popular 90’s iteration of Transformers: Beast Wars! Garry voiced the character in all three seasons of the show, as well as both seasons of the follow-up series Beast Machines.
Garry is known for numerous other animated roles as well! Man-At-Arms in the 2002 Masters of the Universe series, Guts Man on the 90’s Mega Man cartoon, Pathfinder and Metal Head in the DiC GI Joe series, Grounder on 1993’s Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Optimus Prime in the 2000’s era Transformers Armada Trilogy, Slash on Reboot, and King Hippo on the Saturday morning classic Captain N: The Game Master!
Garry has also been an on-screen actor for over 30 years! You can find him in such shows and movies as Arrow, Stargate SG-1, Watchmen, Supernatural, Freddy vs Jason, Godzilla (2014), The X-Files, Psych, The Fly II, Power Rangers (2017), and many more. You can check out Garry’s wide filmography HERE!
We’d like to give a very special thanks to Candice Santora, who has very kindly offered to sponsor Garry’s trip to Retro Con!! She is the official artist for Garry and you can check out her art page HERE!
We’d also like to thank Sherry Fowler for her assistance!
Please join Garry Chalk’s official fan group on facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/chalk.fans/
Meet Gregg Berger at Retro Con 2018!
We welcome Gregg Berger as our latest guest for Retro Con 2018!
Gregg is best known for voicing the mighty leader of the Dinobots: Grimlock! He voiced the fan-favorite character in all of the G1 Transformers series, Transformers: The Movie (1986), several Transformers video games, and recently revisited the character in Machinima’s new Transformers: Power of the Primes web series!
Gregg can also be heard as Skyfire and Long Haul in G1 Transformers, Spirit and Firefly on GI Joe, Cornfed Pig on Duckman, The Gromble on Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Mr. Little on The Littles, Agent K on Men in Black: The Series, and he has been the voice of lovable pooch Odie for over 35 years!
Gregg is known for on-camera work as well! You may have seen him in Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (he’s even on the poster!), as well as Spaced Invaders (“They blew up our new off-ramp!”).
Gregg will be at the show both days for autographs and photo ops. Prices will be posted as we get closer to showtime.
Meet the voice of Jem, Samantha Newark, at Retro Con 2018!
“Showtime, Synergy!”
We’re excited to announce our first guest for Retro Con 2018: Voice actor and singer Samantha Newark! Samha is best known for giving voice to one of the most iconic characters of the 80’s: Jem!
Through secret technology developed by her late father, young adult Jerrica Benton uses special earrings to communicate with supercomputer Synergy, allowing her to assume the holographic identity of mysterious rockstar… Jem!
As lead singer of The Holograms, the band created eclectic rock music, with much of the sale proceeds going to Starlight House, a home for orphaned and homeless girls.
Samantha voiced the character through all 65 episodes of the Sunbow cartoon series, with performer Britta Phillips providing vocals for the song portions of the show. The show was hugely popular in the mid to late 80’s, and has a devoted fanbase to this day. And recent re-airings of the series on cable have brought new fans into the fold!
Samantha also took part in one of the most significant episodes of the G1 Transformers cartoon. She voiced Autobot “Ariel” in Wardawn, a flashback episode that revealed the origin of legendary Autobot Leader Optimus Prime! Ariel herself would later be rebuilt into the powerful leader of the female Autobots: Elita-One!
Another noteworthy project of Samantha’s was performing lead vocals for the song “In Your Eyes” from the classic 1986 anime film Project A-ko! The song was included in both the original japanese and international versions of the movie.
And for an added treat, Samantha has kindly agreed to be a guest judge this year at Retro Con’s annual Truly Outrageous Karaoke Contest, making this year’s contest Truly, Truly, Truly Outrageous!!
Follow Samantha on-line!
Main Website: https://www.samanthanewark.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samanthanewarkofficial/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthanewarkofficial/
Retro Con 2017 Show and Panel Schedule
Saturday October 14th, 2017
9:00am: Preregistrant Check-in Begins
10:00am: Show Opens
10:30am: Panel- The Rad Years Podcast (Cybertronic Spree guests) (Panel area)
11:30am: Panel- Mr. Lobo and OSI 74: Fall Sneak Preview (Panel Area)
12:45pm: Raffle Session 1
– A-Team Van Lego & Funko Pop Set
– Dr. Who TARDIS/Donkey Kong Jengae
– Playmobil Ghostbusters Ecto-1
– Masterpiece Optimus Prime
1:00pm: Karaoke Contests Sign-ups (Lobby)
1:00pm: Trivia Contest! Hosted by The Breaux Show (Panel Area)
2:00pm: Costume Contest, 14 and Older! Hosted by Eric “The Smoke” Moran (Panel Area)
3:15pm: Truly Outrageous Karaoke Contest! Hosted by Nagi Oki (Panel Area)
4:45pm: Raffle Session #2
– Destro Helmet
– Filmation He-Man signed by John Erwin
– Lego Slave-1
5:00pm: Panel- Captain Kyle’s Cosplay Spotlite (Panel Area)
6:00pm: Show Closes
______________________________________________________________
Sunday October 15th, 2017
9:00am: Show Opens
11:15am- Panel- The Breaux Show and SEO Toy Review (Panel Area)
12:00pm: Raffle Session #1
– Giant Size Skeletor
– Playmobil Ghostbusters Firehouse
– Transformers Generations Fort Max
12:00pm to 3pm: James Rolfe/AVGN signing (Guest Section)
12:15pm: Kids Costume Contest, 13 and under! (Panel Area)
1:15pm: Panel- Behind the Characters: Rob Paulsen & Arthur Burghardt (Panel Area)
2:00pm: Panel- The A-Team! W/ Dwight Schultz & Dirk Benedict
2:45pm: Raffle Session #2
– Super Nintendo Classic Edition
– NES Classic Edition/Yarn NES Controller
– Lego Sandcrawler
3:15pm: Panel- James Rolfe/Angry Video Game Nerd (Panel Area)
4:00pm: Show Closes
The Rad Years Podcast Live at Retro Con (special guests The Cybertronic Spree!)
We welcome The Rad Years Podcast to Retro Con 2017!
A podcast devoted to the nostalgic 80’s and 90’s, the Rad Years will be recording a Live show at Retro Con 2017! Join the fun on Saturday, October 14th as they commandeer our panel area to reminisce about their favorite retro memories!
They’ll also have very special guests joining them: The Cybertronic Spree!
Before rocking the house at Arnold’s Family Fun Center on Saturday night, the heavy metal band from Cybertron will be at Retro Con early in the day and will be stopping by the podcast for an interview. They’ll also be hosting a live screening of their newest music video: Cybertronic Warrior!
Don’t miss the fun from 10:30am to 11:30am on Saturday, October 14th!!
___________________________________________________________
The Rad Years Podcast: https://radyears.com/
The Cybertronic Spree: http://rock.thecybertronicspree.com/
Purchase Cybertronic Spree Concert Tickets: https://retrocons.com/cybertronic-spree-tickets/
Retro Con’s Truly Outrageous Karaoke Contest 2017!
Always a favorite, Retro Con’s Truly Outrageous Karaoke Contest will be back for Retro Con 2017!!
To be held on Saturday at the show, sign-ups will be in the lobby of Hall C (sign-up and competition times To Be Determined soon!). We will make an announcement over the PA system when we are ready to accept entrants. Depending how strong interest is, we may have to institute a lottery-type system to pick our 15 contestants. There are no sign-up fees or age restrictions.
We will have a wide variety of 80’s classics to choose from. Most will have on-screen lyrics to follow along with, but we will also be supplementing these with a few geek-related favorites that will have a *lyrics sheet only*. Consider these “extra credit” choices!
The full list of song choices can be found HERE!
The contest rules are as follows:
#1. No staff or volunteers may enter.
#2. Singing in costume is allowed, but will not affect the judges’ scoring.
#3. No skits are allowed. Dancing in place however is just fine (and encouraged).
#4. Solo artists only, please. No duets/trios/etc.
#5. Songs will be picked on a first-come, first-served basis. Songs will not be held for specific contestants. Also, outside music will not be allowed.
#6. No instruments will be allowed.
#7. All contestants must arrive at the panel/event room *15 minutes* prior to showtime for check-in and singing order assignment. If you are not present at this time, you may have to forfeit your place.
#8. Please no heckling from the audience or other contestants. Anyone found to be disorderly will be asked to leave the panel area.
#9. You MUST rock.
Prizes For 2017!
First Place: A sealed NES Classic Edition!
Second Place: A sealed Transformers Masterpiece Grimlock figure!
Third Place: Three sealed LEGO Star Wars building sets!
So consider signing up and channeling your inner 80’s rocker or one-hit wonder! And if you don’t fancy yourself a singer, stop by and cheer on from the audience!!
Win Free Stuff at the Retro Con 2017 Trivia Contest!
We’ll once again be hosting our annual trivia contest at Retro Con 2017!
Hosted once again by our good friend Mike Breaux of The Breaux Show, the contest will be held in the panel area at the convention on Saturday!
No sign-up is required and there are no age restrictions- Anyone can watch or play! We will reveal each item one at a time, then ask a trivia question related to it. Directly after we will randomly call on a person in the audience with their hand raised to answer. If they get it right, they win the prize on the spot. If not, we ask a different audience member until the prize is claimed!
So stop by the panel area Saturday to test your knowledge of all things geek and win cool prizes!!
Buy Show Tickets Below!
Vendor Table Info Below!
Sponsors!
Retro Con would like to thank all those that helped to sponsor this show!
_ _ _
_ _ _
Cool 98.5 WXPM FM
_ _ _
The Retro Network
_ _ _
Rediscover The 80s
_ _ _
Friends of Retro Con!
Megapodtastic
_ _ _
The Breaux Show
_ _ _
Uncanny!
_ _ _
Garrison Carida
_ _ _
Fandom Spotlite
_ _ _
Toy Spotlite
_ _ _
retrocons.com 