Steven Blum
With literally hundreds of voice-over credits to his name, VO veteran Steve Blum is best known as the voice of “Spike Spiegel” from Cowboy Bebop, “Wolverine” from several incarnations of X-Men (animated movies, games, the Wolverine and the X-Men TV Series and the upcoming Super Hero Squad), “Tom” (the robot) from Toonami, “Green Goblin” from the Spectacular Spiderman series, “Heatblast,” “Vilgax” and “Ghostfreak” from Ben 10, the voice of 7-11, “Guilmon” and dozens of other characters from 3 seasons of Digimon, “Zabuza” and “Orochimaru” from Naruto, “Roger Smith” from The Big O, “Kazuma” from S-cry-ed, “Jamie” from Megas XLR, “Vincent Valentine” from Final Fantasy VII (movie) and Dirge of Cerberus, “Blunk” from Disney’s “W.I.T.C.H”, “Ares” in God of War, “Yakky Doodle” from Harvey Birdman, “Leeron” from Gurren Lagann and multiple characters from Wolf’s Rain, Blood +, Billy and Mandy, Scooby Doo, Afro Samurai, Lilo and Stitch, Chowder, Call of Duty, Madworld, Halo 3, Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean games, G.I. Joe Resolute and way too many more to fit here without causing the page to explode!
For more Stevestuff, check out the new website at steveblumvoices.com
Michael Tremain Sinterniklaas is a voice actor, dubbing director, and founder of the dubbing studio NYAV Post, a dubbing studio in New York City. His most popular roles include Leonardo in the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, and Dean Venture and other minor characters (and other small parts) in the Adult Swim cartoon The Venture Bros., Leo in Fullmetal Alchemist, Mikey Simon in the Nicktoons Network series Kappa Mikey, and Mahad in Yu-Gi-Oh!. In the past, Sinterniklaas has also dubbed such shows as Twin Signal, Night Hunters, Magic User’s Club, and Berserk. He is currently the voice director on the Animation Collective Nicktoon Three Delivery.
Leah Clark is an American voice actress, theatre actress, and ADR Director from Texas. Her production work at ADR includes the series Hell Girl, Mushi-shi, Peach Girl, School Rumble, and Shuffle!. Clark has lent her voice to Red in BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad, Noa in Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa, Nodoka Miyazaki in Mahou Sensei Negima!, and Tora in Samurai 7.
J. Michael Tatum is an American voice actor perhaps best known for portraying Kyoya Otori in Funimation’s hit English language dub of Ouran High School Host Club, Doumeki in XXXHolic, and Komui Lee in D-Gray Man. Other notable roles include Jiro Mochizuki in Black Blood Brothers, Isaac Dian in Baccano!, Eneru in the new dub of One Piece, Toma in Aquarion, and more recently the titular character of Heroic Age. Tatum has also provided voices for many other anime, such as in Romeo X Juliet, Speed Grapher, Trinity Blood, Black Cat, Ghost Hunt, School Rumble, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles, Shuffle, Shigurui, Glass Fleet, Mushishi, and the feature-length film Vexille.
A native of Dallas, Texas, Troy, once the lead singer for “Tripp Fontaine” (FMPM/Universal) First began working as an actor in TV and Radio commercials. He quickly became a mainstay voice actor of the Anime community with such roles as “Frank Archer” in Full Metal Alchemist, “Abel Nightroad” in Trinity Blood, “Gennosuke” in Basilisk and “Action Bastard” in Shin Chan. Troy can also be heard in lead roles for blockbuster video game titles like the Brothers In Arms Franchise (Ubisoft), Red Faction: Guerrilla (Volition), Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Atari), Bloodrayne 2 (Majesco), Aeon Flux (Majesco), Persona 4 (Atlus) Tales of Vesperia (namco), Resistance 2 (Insomniac), Trauma Center:New Blood (Atlus), and Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (FunCom).
Yui is more than just a back-up dancer for KAYA; he is also the mastermind behind most of the choreography. Having worked with such acts as Korean actor/singer Byung Hun Lee, Japanese Pop singer Nami Tamaki, and Japanese urban contemporary duo SOULHEAD, Yui is a predominate face in Japanese dance culture appearing in many music videos, movies, commercials, and more.
Other than being active as a back dancer for Kaya and SOULHEAD, Ryoshin has appeared as a model for Tokyo Collection, GUCCI, and ARMANI AX. He also has appeared as an opening performer for Avril Lavigne’s Secret Live, and was an escort dancer for VOGUE’s JAPAN WOMAN OF THE YEAR 2008 award ceremony. Ryoshin’s activities can be seen in music videos and commercials.
Hiroyuki started out with Jazz dance when he was only 18, then during his college years he stepped into the world of ballet, modern and contemporary dance. He even went on to play the role of Snow Boy in the Broadway musical “WEST SIDE STORY.” Hiroyuki not only has a vast background in dance but great talent as well. He is a back dancer for J-pop singers Melody, Kiyotaka, and Roma Tanakas appearing in many of their music videos and concerts. He is also active in the field of stage performance, TV, dinner shows, guest appearances, and dance composition.
While learning Nihon-Buyo (Japanese traditional dance) as a child, Ayano has been on stage her whole life. As she began to grow, she incorporated her love of jazz and hip-hop, bringing with her a totally unique style of motion capture dance. Soon she was working as a back-up dancer and at times model, for J-Pop singer Mariko Ide, SOULHEAD (choreography / back dancer), and others in their events and shows.
In 2000, KITTY gave up her career as a Dance Event Organizer in Osaka to pursue her dream of becoming a dancer. While in Osaka, she danced at various national club events, worked as a back up dancer for international acts in Japan, and appeared in many music videos for various artists. It wasn’t until she moved to Tokyo in 2005, and began to use dance as a way to explore self, that KITTY came to be.
“Samurai Rock” and vivid Japanese visual expression are here to pierce your skull with the genre-breaking sound of Quaff!
The Clockwork Dolls began in 2007 with a simple concept: to create music that serves not only as a source for recreation but as a means of narration, a storyteller much like the days of old. The trio’s strength rests in their unique combination of skills. Their music combines Allison Curval’s knack for the fusing of traditional classical music with the epic sounds of contemporary musical scores and modern electronica with Helene De Fer’s passion for poetic lyrics and Cedric Mayne’s immersive musical style on the violin. The music of The Clockwork Dolls involves an elaborate world that is simultaneously familiar and strange. It is one that is filled with flights of fancy, airships, and the technology of both past and future. The Clockwork Dolls functions not only as a band but as a group of writers and actors telling a story of adventure, bravery, tragedy, and drama all mixed in with the occasional bawdy tale.
DJ Luminal is a 15 year veteran of the electronic music scene, whose resumé includes credits as DJ, producer, remixer, sound engineer, and lighting designer for renowned electronic acts as diverse as Information Society, Lady Gaga, and Nachtmahr. His unique mix of high-energy dance music has consistently won over audiences at Anime raves for the past five years, and now Luminal is ready to bring the noise to AUSA! Wear comfortable shoes, pack extra glowsticks, and plenty of energy drinks, as his parties are notorious for lasting until sunrise!
Bill Shillito, better known as DM Ashura, is an up and coming electronic musician. He is best known for his work in various music games, most notably Konami’s Dance Dance Revolution and Beatmania IIDX series. Most recently, he was featured on the TechPara release “King of Techno”, which is being played in clubs all across Japan. His music carries a high level of energy, combining driving, pulsing rhythms with melody and harmony you can lose yourself in. Be sure to come on Saturday night for not only a selection of his hits, but some fresh new material as well!
Applegeeks is a bi-weekly webcomic about four college students, a Mac-obsessed robot, an imaginary squirrel, and the often crazy, always strange lives that they lead. The creative team is comprised of Ananth Panagariya (writer) and Mohammad “Hawk” Haque (artist). Applegeeks has been on the web for 3+ years, and Hawk and Ananth hope to be here for years to come. Website: 
Trent and Sampson are just a couple of college freshmen who dream of one day breaking into the gaming industry. When simply impossible situations begin to occur in rapid succession, “real life” takes a back seat and it’s an out of control free-for-all teeming with space pirates, ninja hordes, crazy alien chicks, and more caffeine than the FDA recommends in a lifetime! What does it all mean? What is this missing “Ultimate Power” that everyone seems desperate to find? Can a couple of gamers untangle the mess before summer ends and classes begin? Nothing’s impossible!
Yuko draws comics sometimes, occasionally for money! She can cook pretty okay, compulsively buys books, and has a mild obsession with polydactyl cats. She recently moved to Maryland with a bunch of cool dudes, where they enjoy watching reruns of Battlestar Galactica.
Matt Herms is the co-creator, always illustrator, and usually writer of the fresh, smash-hit webcomic Sticky Floors, hosted on Snafu-Comics.com. Matt also does comics in the traditional dead-tree format, including penciling for Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics) and colorist work in Australia. He’s also done conceptual, promotional, and interactive artwork for cell-phone games and anime conventions, and is a regular on the con circuit, happy to go anywhere he has a couch to sleep on and a ‘fridge to raid.
Webcomics pioneer Dirk I. Tiede is the creator of the graphic novel series, Paradigm Shift. He is a founding contributor to premiere comics portal Modern Tales, and continues to serialize his comics online and in addition to the print collections. His work is also showcased in the books Toon Art: The Art of Digital Comics and Webcomics, and appears in the documentary Adventures In Digital Comics. Dirk can be found at comic and anime shows around the country promoting his books. The rest of the time, this die-hard Chicago transplant lives and works in the Boston area as a freelance cartoonist and professional illustrator.regular on the con circuit, happy to go anywhere he has a couch to sleep on and a ‘fridge to raid.
Yaya Han is a costume designer and cosplay entertainer with over 9 years of experience and 100+ costumes under her belt. After discovering cosplay at her first con almost a decade ago, she quickly absorbed the heart and soul of costume design and creation. To this day Yaya has made a myriad of costumes in the genres of anime/manga, video games, sci-fi and of course from her own original designs. Her intricate and lavish creations have won awards and acclaim nationwide; she has taught a multitude of panels on costume craftsmanship, presentation, makeup, wigs and more; and judged countless costume contests. Yaya has traveled to conventions within the USA as well as internationally to Italy, Mexico, Great Britain and Brazil as Guest. Yaya is looking forward to return Anime USA 2009 with great enthusiasm and would like to share her knowledge and experience in the fields of cosplay and costume design with everyone!
As one of the comic book industries most popular cover artists, Jo Chen has produced the covers and/or interior illustrations for such titles as Runaways, Street Fighter, Serenity, Thor Son of Asgard, Darkminds Macropolis, Racer X, Battle of the Planets, Robotech, Last of the Mohicans, Fight For Tomorrow, Eva Daughter of the Dragon, The Taskmaster, (Batman &) Robin and XBOX’s Fable.
Lori Collins is a 25 year old illustrator from Seattle, Washington. She didn’t intend to become an illustrator, but she’d heard it was more scandalous than the adult industry. Her current projects include a children’s book “The Fabulous Glitter Girl” which is due to publish in early spring 2009. Very passionate about bringing art to young people, she’s taught anime drawing classes both locally and across the country at cons.
Returning for more gaming madness, Gamers Paradise, Xtreme Gaming - GPX for short will be building an even bigger gaming lounge then AUSA had last year. GPX created for Anime USA the Largest Anime Convention Console Room in the East Coast, this year they intend on expanding that lounge to make it even bigger! GPX will be rocking AUSA all weekend with non-stop 24 hour gaming from the moment our doors open until they close! GPX will also be running some of their very popular panels. From MMO’s Unite: World of Warcraft: Wrath Edition, to their “How to Play like a Professional Gamer @ any Fighter”, “How to Become a Professional Gamer” and their signature event “The LAN Show, GPX_LIVE” which is their live audience radio show performed right here at the convention courtesy of WOLR Radio! Got Game? We’ll see! GPX will be running a host of major tournaments all weekend long for the competitive at heart. From Street Fighter IV, Halo 3, Dance Dance Revolution: Extreme and Rock Band 2 all staples of the competitive community, to more nostalgic titles like N64’s GoldenEye. From large screens to projectors, everything is on Industry stanrdard resolutions and refresh rates for lagless competitive play! So come in, relax, play from any of our 70 stations and try out any of our over 650 titles. We got what you need. Here your family.