No Brand Con 2007 :: Guests
Music: Lisa Furukawa
Anime: Tiffany Grant, Kyle Hebert, Spike Spencer
Mega-sweet (and Anime too): Brazil J. Grisaffi III
Fan Guests: "Anime Robot" Vinnk, Taeliac Studio Cosplay, Verssen Werks Presents
GUESTS OF HONOR
Lisa Furukawa
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Lisa Furukawa is a bilingual Japanese-American singer, songwriter,
educator, and pianist. Originally from Tokyo, she now resides in NC, and
is currently on tour at select events around the US and Canada. Her
third CD, "Reaching the Dragon," was released in April 2006. Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Lisa began studying the piano at the age of three. She has BA’s in Music and Asian Studies from UNC-Chapel Hill, and is an educator and translator as well as a performing songwriter. She has translated everything from pop tunes to state songs into Japanese, and hopes to promote cultural understanding and diversity through music. This is Lisa's first No Brand Con, as well as No Brand Con's first musical guest! Be sure to check out one of her concerts during the weekend, and her panel on learning Japanese through music. |
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Tiffany Grant
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Tiffany is super excited to make her FOURTH appearance at No Brand
Con! Having been the only guest at the first NBC, she's thrilled at how
much it's grown. Plus, she gets to be here with old pals like
Joe "Smells Like Muffins" Grisaffi,
Spike "Mustn't Run Away" Spencer and Kyle "Bringing
Sexy Back" Hebert. Best known as Asuka from NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, Tiffany was the first voice actor hired by AD Vision back in February 1994. Since then, she has voiced characters in well over 850 TV episodes, OVAs & movies including Ayaka in KURAU PHANTOM MEMORY, Satella in CHRONO CRUSADE, Kome in BLUE SEED, Madame President in GOLDEN BOY, Becky in GUN SMITH CATS, Chocolate in SORCERER HUNTERS, Dug Fin in DRAGON HALF, Kaorin in AZUMANGA DAIOH, Altena in NOIR, Bonta-kun in FMP? FUMOFFU, Shizuru in GODANNAR, Marta in FULL METAL ALCHEMIST and Kuriko in MABURAHO. Ms. Grant has written the English dubbing scripts for TV series ANGELIC LAYER, SISTER PRINCESS, HELLO KITTY'S ANIMATION THEATER, MABURAHO, GODANNAR, COMIC PARTY REVOLUTION, AH! MY GODDESS 2 and the live-action Korean action/comedy JUNGLE JUICE. She has also adapted scripts for several of ADV's subtitled projects including fan favorite MIYUKI CHAN IN WONDERLAND and the live-action film TOKYO - THE LAST MEGALOPOLIS. Non-anime work includes the movie ARLINGTON ROAD (with Jeff Bridges), and the independent films FOUR DEEP and NBC favorite, Joe Grisaffi's LAUGHING BOY (pick your DVD today!) which has played to enthusiastic film festival & convention audiences in numerous cities including Chicago, New York, L. A. and Eau Claire, Wisconsin! Tiffany has years of experience in theatre, commercials, industrial films, and many other strange jobs too numerous to mention. She also has an incurable Hello Kitty addiction! For more information, please visit http://tiffanygrant.eva-r.com. |
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Brazil J. Grisaffi III
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Brazil J. "Call Me Joe" Grisaffi was first introduced to
the Wisconsin convention scene through friend Tiffany Grant and his
first independent full-length feature "Laughing Boy" (check out the
Castle Scene!).
As a director, he has also made a short film, "Death and a Salesman"
(not to be confused with the similarly-named "Death of a Salesman"), and
produced/directed the English dub of Cyber Team in Akihabara for ADV
Films.
This is Joe's fourth appearance at No Brand Con, tying with Tiffany Grant!. Joe has been hard at work on his new horror film "Dead of Knight", which -- if you're lucky -- you might get to see some of this year. He's a great, muffiny type of guy! Let's all welcome him back! Watch the trailer for Laughing Boy, or check out a scene from Dead of Knight. |
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Kyle Hebert
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Kyle is an LA-based voice actor who can currently be heard in the
Cartoon Network "Naruto" as Kiba. Some of our older attendees might also
remember him as the voice of teen Gohan and the Narrator on "Dragonball
Z". Other notable roles include Falman on "Fullmetal Alchemist",
Hanayama on "Baki the Grappler", and Karasu on "Yu Yu Hakusho". He hosts
a weekly podcast called "The Big Bald Broadcast" dedicated to news on
all things geeky. This is Kyle's second No Brand Con (in a row!), which means it's your change to get in on one of his Kyle TV segments! For more info, visit www.kylehebert.com. Also, check out his No Brand Con 2006 Kyle TV Segments: |
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Spike Spencer, F. G.
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Spike Spencer has been a voice actor since the early nineties. He
has voiced hundreds of episodes of Anime including such notable titles
as Evangelion (Shinji), Battle Angel, Suikoden, Orphen, Spriggan,
Nadesico, and currently in production on MAR. He has also voiced many
radio and television commercials, video games (including the next "World
of Warcraft", and several other projects). An accomplished actor, he has
worked with such notable stars as Tommy Lee Jones, Sandra Bullock, Frank
Langella, Tia Carrere, and Scott Glenn and has been on set with many
other stars. Spike is also an author, including “How to Be A Frickin
Genius Voice Actor, Step One,” “What Happens At The Con, Stays At The
Con?,” And a “Dating Cookbook.” Spike is also a screen writer with
several projects in various stages. Spike is soon to begin production on
his first feature film that he scripted, “Dwindle Down.” Spike has
traveled to many parts of the world and enjoys a nice hearty Zinfandel
or a frothy pint of Guinness. Spike also has his official website up and running at: WORLDOSPIKE.COM You can also become his Myspace friend at: http://www.myspace.com/spikespencerfrickingenius |
FAN GUESTS
| "Anime Robot" Vinnk | Writer, Japanese Culture Scholar Vinnk is no stranger to No Brand Con. In fact he was one of the original founders of the convention, serving as Con Director for the first three years. By the time the fourth convention came, around Vinnk was living his dream: working in Japan. He thought it would be the end of his involvement with No Brand Con, but the staff keeps inviting him back. This will be his third appearance as a guest speaker. Cheif among his
panels are topics relating various aspects of Japanese culture, ranging
from a form of classic tea ceremony to modern J-pop. Though some
may consider him an expert in cultural circles, Vinnk considers himself
a “Geeky Gaijin with too much free time”. The proof of his claim
can easily be found in his often humorous writings and witty
observations, available for web and print. Vinnk is honored to present his increasingly popular topics for the sixth year in a row! |
| Taeliac Studio Cosplay | Taeliac Studio Cosplay was founded in 2002, shortly after
Samantha "Taeliac" Lemiuex had created a set of costumes to wear to Gen
Con for her and her now-fiancé, Chris "Kellin" Warner. They were both
interested in Anime as well, so Taeliac began putting her sewing skills
to work on creating Cosplay Costumes of the popular characters seen on
TV, such as Inuyasha & Spike Spiegel. Kellin joined in as Assistant &
Prop Maker, offering whatever advice he could and creating props to go
with Taeliac's outfits. After seeing what No Brand Con had to offer in
2003, they signed on as Vendors for the very first time in 2004. They
then became an official business in 2005, and specialized in Cosplay
Commissions through their web site "www.BeAnime.com".
After over 300 commissions and nearly 100 different items added to their
Costume Gallery, they're still going strong, and continue to challenge
both themselves and each other to increase their skills as Custom
Cosplay Commissioners! Samantha (AKA "Taeliac") is the Owner, Operator, and Cosplay Creator of Taeliac Studio Cosplay. She holds an Associate's Degree in E-Commerce, and is currently finishing up her first year of her Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Costume Production in her hometown of Milwaukee, WI. Chris (a.k.a. "Kellin") is the Assistant, Prop Maker, and Spokesman of Taeliac Studio Cosplay. He is currently working on his Teacher Certification in Theatre. Steve (a.k.a. "Spring Roll") is a long-time friend of both Taeliac & Kellin, ever since High School in the late 90's. He's been there with them for every No Brand Con since 2003, and has helped them in the Vendor Hall and, of course, moral support! Becky (a.k.a. "Agent Muffin") is a new attendee to No Brand Con this year, and will also be helping them in the Vendor Hall. She is in the same Costuming Program as Taeliac. All four of them are honored to be considered "Fan Guests" for this year's No Brand Con, and look forward to seeing you there! |
| Verssen Werks Presents | Beginnings: Vanessa and Kaylene met in 2001 at MCAD's School Girls and Mobile Suits, a weekend long anime intensive lecture course. Besides being separated at birth, they discovered something else they had in common: The strong drive to parody the bejezus out of every anime we watched. From this primordial soup of desire, and a partner in crime's art site, Verssen Werks Presents was born. Vanessa (a.k.a. "V") - The Creative Director Vanessa is currently a theatre student at the University of Minnesota. She is the crazy concept, brain energy, head person lady of the group. Her specialty is in directing and editing. Kaylene Ruwart (a.k.a. "Hideko") - Communications Director Kaylene is a film major at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She is the script translator and adaptor for Verssen Werks parody dubs, and the go-to girl in the exploration of the twisted Otaku community they seek to delight. Her specialty is puns and being next to fluent in Japanese. Beth Maus (a.k.a. "the Befu") - Marketing Director Beth is a St. Norbert's grad with a degree in Graphic Design. She is the visual designer and music connoisseur of the group. Her specialties are dry humor and a German accent you could cut with a katana. "With our powers combined... we are VERSSEN WERKS PRESENTS!!!" |