June 16, 2009

VAMPS add Otakon 2009 to tour

Autograph Session, Q&A Added Due to Groundswell of Support

Baltimore, MD (June 16, 2009) – VAMPS, featuring HYDE and K.A.Z, have added a special appearance at Otakon 2009 to their busy tour schedule. The duo had already announced a special concert in Baltimore on Thursday, 16 July 2009, to coincide with Otakon.

Originally, HYDE and K.A.Z were to depart early Friday for their next concert, meaning they would not be available for any convention appearances. Otakon had arranged for members to submit questions for the band, and the original plan was to answer them via video, and show the video at the convention. However, the groundswell of support from Otakon's membership led the band to reconsider, and in the end VAMPS decided a more personal response was warranted.

"I guess we must have made a good impression on HYDE a few years ago," said Jim Vowles, Otakon's head of Guests, Industry, and Press Relations, referring to HYDE's appearance with L'Arc~en~Ciel in 2004.

"We were delighted to find that he and K.A.Z were interested in working Otakon into their tour. We were able to work out a special pre-Otakon appearance and a bit of cross promotion. When the responses started coming in, I guess everyone got excited. We're delighted and flattered that they changed plans to meet the fans."

Exclusively for Otakon members, VAMPS will give out special passes at their SONAR show on Thursday. These passes will grant priority access to the band's panel and autograph sessions at Otakon on Friday afternoon. (You must be registered for Otakon to attend the panel and autograph sessions.)

Otakon also plans to make special arrangements for pre-registration pickup on Thursday to allow concert ticket holders to pick up their Otakon badges early without missing the concert. (Otakon allows pre-registered members to pick up their badges Thursday evening, prior to the convention.) Details will be posted on the Otakon Web site in the coming weeks.

VAMPS will appear at Baltimore's SONAR on 16 July 2009. The autograph session and Q&A panel will take place on Friday afternoon, 17 July 2009, at the Baltimore Convention Center.

For ticket information for the SONAR concert, please visit http://www.vampsliveusa.com/

For more information and updates, please visit the Otakon VAMPS page at http://www.otakon.com/2009vamps.asp

Otakon 2009 will be held July 17-19 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

ABOUT OTAKON AND OTAKORP, INC.: Now entering its sixteenth year, Otakon is an annual celebration of Japanese and East Asian popular culture, and also one of the largest gatherings of fans in the United States. Otakon celebrates popular culture as a gateway to deeper understanding of Asian culture, and has grown along with the enthusiasm for anime, manga, video games, and music from the Far East. Since 1999, Otakon has been held in Baltimore, Maryland; currently, Otakon is one of Baltimore's few large, city-wide events, drawing over 22,000 individual members for three days each year (for a paid attendance of over 60,000 "turnstile" attendees). Otakon is a membership-based convention sponsored by Otakorp, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based, 501(c)3 educational non-profit whose mission is to promote the appreciation of Asian culture, primarily through its media and entertainment. Otakorp, Inc. is directed by an all-volunteer, unpaid staff – we are run by fans, for fans.

For more information about Otakorp, Inc., see http://www.otakon.com/otakorp/index.asp
For more information and the latest news on Otakon 2009, see http://www.otakon.com/

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