Rock & Shock Says Goodbye

It was announced a couple of days ago that Rock & Shock was ending after 15 years. It was announced on the Rock & Shock website here.

I have attended this convention as an attendee, journalist, and vendor. I have interviewed a number of celebrities who have attended the convention as guests.

I am sorry to see this convention go away. There isn’t a lot of conventions like Rock & Shock.

Here are some links of my past coverage of Rock & Shock.

https://jasonharrispromotions.org/2015/10/19/pictures-from-rock-and-shock-2015/

https://jasonharrispromotions.org/2015/10/21/pictures-from-rock-and-shock-2015-part-ii/

https://jasonharrispromotions.org/2014/10/22/pictures-from-rock-and-shock-2014/

https://jasonharrispromotions.org/2013/10/22/pictures-from-rock-and-shock-2013/

https://jasonharrispromotions.org/2013/10/23/pictures-from-rock-and-shock-2013-part-2/

https://jasonharrispromotions.org/2011/10/17/panels-winners-and-more-pictures-at-rock-and-shock/

https://jasonharrispromotions.org/2013/11/01/interview-with-author-joe-knetter/

https://jasonharrispromotions.org/2012/10/11/doug-bradley-talks-about-pinhead-masks-and-clive-barker/

https://jasonharrispromotions.org/2011/10/19/what-happens-when-a-horror-writer-goes-to-a-horror-convention/.

Looking Forward to Rock and Shock

By Jason Harris

 

Rock & Shock begins this coming Friday. I have always enjoyed going to and taking pictures at conventions. This year I’m looking forward to seeing authors Jack Ketchum, Joe Knetter, and Stacey Longo again. They have all attended the convention in the past.

The celebrity, who hasn’t been to Rock & Shock in the past and the one I’m looking forward, is Samantha Mathis. I have been a fan since her first movie, Pump Up the Volume2015-10-11 21.00.05
Lately, Mathis can be seen on the television series The Strain or the now canceled Under the Dome. You can find out about the other celebrities and events happening at Rock & Shock here.

Books and Boos Attends Rock and Shock for the First Time

Rock abd Shock 11

Books & Boos will be sharing space with Fenham Publishing this weekend at Rock & Shock, which runs from Oct. 17 through 19. Publisher Jim Dyer will be representing Fenham Publishing and author Stacey Longo will be on-hand to sign her books (Secret Things, Insanity Tales) at the Books & Boos table. Longo is also a movie reviewer and writer for Jason Harris Promotions. She will be on the Writing panel with Joe Knetter at 12 p.m. on Saturday.2014-10-03 12.13.50

Rock and Shock Starts Promoting Its 11th Show

Rock abd Shock 11

Rock & Shock is getting ready to turn it up to 11! In anticipation of the 11th anniversary of the horror and music convention that brings 3 days of monsters, music and mayhem to downtown Worcester, MA, Rock & Shock is giving the public an extra early sneak peak at this year’s attendees. While there are still plenty of big name acts yet to be divulged, Rock & Shock is pleased to announce that among this year’s guests will be Brad Dourif, John Ratzenberger, Jeffrey Combs, Nivek Ogre and Fiona Dourif. Meanwhile, King Diamond, Machine Head and Twiztid are among some of the convention’s scheduled performers.

Brad Dourif, the voice of everyone’s favorite flame-haired doll turned serial killer Chucky will be making a rare convention appearance at Rock & Shock 2014. Dourif is a legendary character actor who is best known for his appearances in Rob Zombie’s Halloween 1 & 2, The Exorcist III, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers & The Return of the King, Dune, TV’s Deadwood and his breakthrough role as Billy Bibbit in Milos Forman’s 1975 classic One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. To make the event a true family affair, Dourif will be joined by his real life daughter and True Blood star Fiona Dourif. Fiona’s other screen credits include Curse of Chucky, Deadwood and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Academy Award nominated film The Master.

He has danced with the stars, voiced some of your favorite cartoon characters and even fought for the Rebel Alliance and this October, Cheers‘ very own John Ratzenberger will be returning to the place where everybody knows his name. In addition to portraying Cliff Clavin, postal worker extraordinaire on the seminal Boston-based TV series Cheers, Ratzenberger has appeared in films such as Motel Hell and House 2: The Second Story, competed on Dancing With the Stars and has become the voice of Pixar. Ratzenberger is, in fact, the only actor to voice for a character in every Pixar film; most notably Hamm the Piggy Bank in the Toy Story series, The Abominable Snowman in Monsters, Inc. and Mack the Truck in the Cars.

A legend in both the horror and sci-fi communities, Jeffery Combs will be making his triumphant return to Rock & Shock this year. Combs first made his name as Herbert West, the main character in Re-Animator and it’s two subsequent sequels. He followed that up with appearances in several classic horror films including The Frighteners, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, House on Haunted Hill, FeardotCom and most recently, Would You Rather. However, science-fiction fans will best know Combs for his portrayals of several characters within the Star Trek universe, most notably the Vorta clone Weyoun on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Rounding out the early announcements is Skinny Puppy and ohGr frontman Nivek Ogre. Since forming Skinny Puppy in 1982, Ogre has wowed audiences as both a musician and an actor, appearing in films such as Repo! The Genetic Opera, 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams and The Devil’s Carnival.

Speaking of world renowned musicians, this year’s performers are set to include: King Diamond, who will kick-off the event’s pre-party on Thursday, October 16, Machine Head, Children of Bodom, Epica and Battlecross, who will be rocking the Palladium stage on Friday, October 17 and Twiztid, back by popular demand with their Fright Fest festivities and scheduled to close out the event on Sunday, October 18. A very special guest headliner for Saturday is set to be announced in August, so let the speculation begin!

Tickets for Rock & Shock 2014 go on sale this Friday, June 27th at 10am and may be purchased at ticketfly.com, FYE stores or at the Palladium box office. There are still plenty of celebrity guests, musical acts and events yet to be announced so make sure to follow Rock & Shock on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram and visitrockandshock.com.

Jason Mewes and Brian O’Halloran to Host Panel & Autograph Session at Rock & Shock

                      Jason Mewes and Brian O’Halloran to Host Panel & Autograph Session at Rock & Shock

Rock & Shock may be less than two weeks away but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still a few surprises in store! And speaking of stores, one of those surprises includes the addition of Clerks stars Jason Mewes and Brian O’Halloran to the convention’s long list of special guests! The actors will not only be signing autographs but will host a panel entitled “I’m Not Even Supposed to Be Here” on Saturday at Worcester’s newly renovated DCU Center.

Mewes will also be joining actor/writer/director Kevin Smith on stage at the Worcester Palladium on the convention’s opening night, Friday, October 18. The twosome will bring their famed characters, Jay and Silent Bob, to Rock & Shock with a viewing of their new animated film – Jay and Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie. Having brought the characters to life in several of Smith’s renowned films such as Clerks, Mallrats and Dogma, the legendary best buds from Jersey are back on the big screen to dispense weed and wisdom, this time in cartoon form. Audiences will have the opportunity to watch the new movie with its stars and then participate in rip-roaring Q&A and podcast recording afterwards. A special early screening of Smith’s Westboro Baptist Church-inspired horror flick Red State will precede the featured presentation.

‘Sharknado’ Scheduled to Hit the East Coast during Rock & Shock 2013

The national weather service is predicting that a category 4 Sharknado will hit
Worcester, Massachusetts on Friday, October 18 and Saturday, October 19. Meteorologists can confirm that Sharknado‘s director Anthony C. Ferrante (Sharknado, Boo, Hansel & Gretel, Headless Horseman) and star Jason Simmons – (Sharknado, Bloody Mary, Nowhere, Baywatch) will be making landfall directly inside the DCU Center as part of Rock & Shock 2013. All residents are advised to take proper precautions by purchasing their tickets at rockandshock.com.
It’s the movie that caused a social media sensation like no other, and now you have the chance to meet the men behind this contemporary classic; director Anthony C. Ferrante and actor Jason Simmons. Making their first convention appearance ever and hot off the tails of the Sharknado sequel announcement, Ferrante and Simmons will be signing autographs and meeting with fans as part of the 10th annual convention.

Also joining Ferrante and Simmons will be Robert Englund (Nightmare on Elm Street, Hatchet), Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The X-Files), The Walking Dead’s Michael Rooker and Scott Wilson and many more. Live performances include, Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes (Jay and Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie and Podcast Q&A), Danzig with special guest Doyle and Twiztid.

For a complete list of attendees and up-to-the-minute announcements, please visit http://www.rockandshock.com.

‘Cheers’ Star and the Voice of Pixar Coming to Rock & Shock 2013

 

Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name and sometimes you want to go to where horror and music reign supreme. Luckily at Rock & Shock 2013 you’ll get a little bit of both! We are proud to announce that Cheers star John Ratzenberger will be among our many celebrity guests at this year’s event!

TV audiences will remember Ratzenberger’s face from the seminal television classic Cheers, while movie fans will recognize his voice from all of the Pixar movies. As the only actor to appear in all of Pixar’s film, Ratzenberger was most notably heard as the voice of Hamm the Piggy Bank in the Toy Story films, The Abominable Snowman in Monsters Inc. and most recently as Gordon the Guard in Brave. Ratzenberger has also appeared on screen in such films as Motel Hell, House 2: The Second Story, The Empire Strikes Back and Superman 1 & 2.

Ratzenberger will be joining previously announced Rock & Shock guests Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The X-Files), Robert Englund (Nightmare on Elm Street, Hatchet), Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer), Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, American Mary), Jordan Ladd (Cabin Fever, Death Proof), Lew Temple (The Devil’s Rejects, The Walking Dead) and IronE Singleton (The Walking Dead) . For a complete list of attendees and up-to-the-minute announcements, visit http://www.rockandshock.com.

Rock and Shock is a three-day horror and music convention featuring celebrity signings, movie screenings, concerts, panels and more. Now in its tenth year, Rock & Shock has played host some of the biggest names in horror and rock. This year’s event will be taking place October 18-20, 2013 in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts at the DCU Center (http://www.dcucenter.com) and the Worcester Palladium (http://thepalladium.net). Tickets are available online at rockandshock.com.

 

Freddy Krueger Himself, Robert Englund, Slashing His Way Back to Worcester for Rock & Shock 2013

Rock & Shock may be a dream come true for horror and music lovers alike but this year, the nightmare returns. We are pleased to officially announce that Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund, will be slashing his way back to Worcester, Massachusetts as part of Rock & Shock’s 10th annual event.

Englund is bestknown for the groundbreaking horror role of Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street series; having brought the role to life nine times on the big screen as well as in countless TV, video game and even musical performances. In addition to his iconic role, he has most notably appeared in the films Eaten Alive (1977), Strangeland (1998), Urban Legend (1998), Hatchet (2006), Behind the Mask: the Rise and Fall of Leslie Vernon (2006), Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (2007) and Inkubus (2011), which held it’s premiere at Rock & Shock two years ago. His latest work,Sanitarium, recently won the Audience Award at the San Antonio Film Festival.

Englund will be joining previously announced Rock & Shock guests Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The X-Files), Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer), Jordan Ladd (Cabin Fever, Death Proof), Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, American Mary), Lew Temple (The Devil’s Rejects, The Walking Dead) and IronE Singleton (The Walking Dead) . For a complete list of attendees or for more information about this event, visit http://www.rockandshock.com.

Rock and Shock will be taking place October 18-20, 2013at the DCU Center (http://www.dcucenter.com) and The Worcester Palladium (http://thepalladium.net) in Worcester, Massachusetts.