Hard to categorize, this uniquely talented singer/performer is a major hit on the comic and fan convention circuit and creator of wicked comic books, spooky animated shorts and strange toys. Voltaire’s original music can best be described as a collection of murder ballads, tongue-in-cheek exercises in the macabre, with just enough bawdy songs about STAR TREK and STAR WARS to keep an audience rolling in the aisles. His live shows are full of stories and games, not unlike sitting around a fire while an old friend regales you with odd tales (presuming that old friend has bar fights with vampires, dates zombie prostitutes and wrestles Krakens!) This New Yorker has been touring and writing music for 15 years and has eight albums to his credit, most on Projekt Records.

Citing Ray Harryhausen as an early influence, he began making shorts on super 8mm. By piecing together snippets of information from fanzines, he eventually taught himself how to make miniature foam rubber models and animate them. He then moved on to Bosch-inspired stop-motion inserts on MTV as well as brilliant, award-winning shorts presented at Fantasia in past years. Expressly for Fantasia’s fans, Voltaire will host a mini-conference on the magic of his animated craft followed by an hour of live song. Plus: the world premiere of Voltaire’s latest animated work, ODOKURO, sprung from the darkest corners of his wild imagination!

A darkly comic evening of movies and music by a charismatic entertainer, this is one of the not-to-be-missed events of the festival that will leave you screaming for more, more, more! (Signed CDs, books and toys will be available after the show.)