I was pretty nervous about going to Tromadance. I was going to the first festival that I had a film in. I was going alone. I was not sure how I was going to get back and forth from Salt Lake to Park City, four separate times. I was staying in a house with a bunch of people that were responsible for making The Toxic Avenger and Tromeo and Juliet. Scary stuff for this small town boy.

Kristan dropped me off at the airport. I carried my shoulder bag, with four copies of eRATicate (3 VHS, 1 DVD), the American Psycho novel, a digital camera, some shirts, socks, underwear, and my sleeping bag wrapped around my toiletries bag. For convenience sake, I was traveling extremely light. Fate smiled on me almost immediately, while sitting in the airport waiting for my flight, I overheard a woman on her cell-phone saying she was going to Sundance. After she hung up, I asked how her group was getting to Park City. Soon enough, I was in-line for a seat on their shuttle.

The shuttle dropped me off in front of the Troma condo half an hour before they were supposed to check in. Luckily, there was an Troma employee named Grey there. We walked down to the Phat Tire Saloon on Main Street, Tromadance "Head-quarters". There I met Jonathon Lees, the guy I'd been talking to on email and Tromadance's lord and master. I was expecting an older guy, but it didn't surprise me much when he was about my age. After all this was Troma, not Sundance. I met some of the other Troma crew, all nice guys. In the corner doing an interview was Lloyd Kaufman, the founder of Troma and the director of many of their "classic" films.

Back at the condo, I met up with more of the Troma crew and a couple of the other filmmakers; Gene Sung - Revolve, Jesse Kerman - Working Stiff, and Chad McKnight - Intergration. Almost immediately Lloyd shoved a camera in my face, interviewing me about what I thought of Tromadance so far. I didn't have much to say since I had only been there for a few hours.

Soon after Gene and I headed out to check out Park City and to find something to eat. We walked down the over-flowing sidewalks of Main Street, checking out prices at each restaurant we passed. Finally we settled down at a deli, the only place to get a meal for under $20 on the whole street. (This place would become our regular stop.)

That night we stormed the streets with Troma signs thrust in the air. With all kinds of unusual characters in our group, including a rowdy group of wrestlers from Portland, OR. Anything to drum up publicity for Tromadance. Because of our exuberance, a Park City local tried to start up a fight with one of the very vocal girls in our group. A few of the boys stepped in to "break it up". Back at the Troma pad it was party time, but by 2am I was wiped out. I went down to the garage, the only place it was quiet, to try and sleep. That first night, I tossed an turned, barely getting two hours of sleep the entire night. Concrete is not a fun sleeping partner.

The next morning, Gene and I went out to hang up Tromadance fliers. There are about eight kiosks up and down Main Street, for all the festivals and filmmakers to hang their ads. Stuff stays on the surface for probably no more than an hour, so you've got to keep refreshing the supply. After running out of fliers to hang, we went to NoDance, mainly cause it was free, to check out a couple of films. Saw a good surfing documentary called "Step into Liquid" and a so-so feature called "The Last American".

After an interesting 45 minute ride, in a broken down Escort, we were in Salt Lake getting ready to see our own films. Gene and I helped put up more fliers inside Brewvies, a very cool pool-table bar/theater. The place sat around 150 people, it was nearly full when my film showed. The crowed really got into, a lot of laughs and two rounds of applause. Quite an experience. I was on a major high the rest of the night. After watching a few of my new friends films, it was out into the bar to get some 3.2% beer (which is nearly impossible to get drunk on) and live it up with the crowd.

And then an amazing thing happened; I found my first official fan. (That being somebody outside of my group of friends and family.) I was hanging around the bar and a Troma employee brought this guy up to me. He started going off about how much he loved eRATicate. It was the most honest opinion I had yet received. It was incredible to listen to the guy talk about how much he loved something that I created. It was incredibly surreal. I wound up giving him one of the three VHS copies I brought with me. (Gabe, if you're reading this, I love you man!)

That night was my best sleep of my three nights there. I laid down, about 20 minutes later a light started to peak through my sleeping bag, I thought it was somebody turning the garage light on, it turned out to be the sun. I never sleep like that, even at home in my own bed.

I got up and went with the Troma crew to help set up that days screening at the Phat Tire. I sat through a couple of the shorts, but I was burnt out on them. So I decided to check out what else Park City had to offer. I went up to NoDance again to see what they were playing. I sat through a couple more shorts, stuff that was more "professionally" made than the Troma stuff, not necessarily more entertaining. I then went to a free panel that Slamdance was putting on. It may turn out to be the best decision I made during the trip. It was a discussion about whether film school is right for you. There were a few former film school guys on the panel. One of them being a producer with his own production company, Ride the Rail. I went up to him afterwards and asked if he'd be interested in seeing eRATicate. He asked me for a synopsis, after telling him, he seemed honestly intrigued. Also told him I was working on a feature script, he said to send it along when I was done. Who knows, nothing may ever come of it, but I'm damn glad that I had the balls to talk to him.

After that I ended up seeing the single best film I saw while I was there, Evelyn: The Cutest Evil Dead Girl. An wonderful Tim Burtonish type short, with a great look and story. Then I saw a film that had won best feature at NoDance, made right here in Seattle, Outpatient. I thought it was a decently done thriller, until the end when it all fell apart.

I headed back to Tromadance to catch the panel they were putting on, Make Your Own Damn Movie, guests included Chris Gore, Richard Elfman, and my new idol Lloyd Kaufman, among others. Overall it wasn't terribly informative, but it was continuously entertaining, with everybody playing off each other well.

After a screening of Troma's "All the Love You Cannes!", it was closing party time. Portland Organic Wrestling put on one hell of a show. On stage celebrity abortions, beheadings, and poop flinging only begins to describe it. It was then time for Satanicide, a homage to the great rockin' past called the 80's. Being a huge fan of G'n'R, RATT, Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister and the like back in the day, I enjoyed the hell out of their show. Afterwards we all headed back to the Troma condo, were we partied till 4am with Lloyd and guests, including my #1 fan. Nice way to close out the trip.

Got up the next morning to a trashed condo, three days and nights with 40 young, rowdy guests will make any place look like crap. It was my time to leave. I had a 7pm flight, but I had to get out of there, I caught stand-by on an earlier flight. I have really never been happier coming back to Seattle. Overall it was an incredible trip, I'm so glad I went, but I was worn to the bone.

I look forward to my next festival, but I know that there will never be another TromaDance experience.