Erotica LA, in its ninth year of titillating a famously jaded town, opened strong last night, as a kind of supermall of adult niches. Instead of sprawling haphazardly over the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center, it was cannily carved up into “marketplaces” targeted to specific consumers.
Unlike the Adult Expo in Las Vegas, this show is specifically for consumers, and on Friday night they were turning out big time.
There was plenty for them to see. The large Romantic Marketplace is frank in its appeal to couples. The X Marketplace caters mostly to single men, or couples with raunchier tastes. And the Gay Marketplace is naturally for gay and lesbian buyers.
According to Chad Beecher, Erotica LA vice president, the idea was to allow couples without a yen for the harder product a special place to indulge their passions, and let the hardcore fans get down without having to wander through purveyors of herbal essences and massage therapy.
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Beecher seemed overjoyed by the way it was working out and the paying customers who were piling in. “Erotica LA is continuing its growth,” he said. “There are more people here now than at this time last year. I’ve heard there are long lines at the box office. And we’re expecting a huge crowd on Saturday.”
He was also heartened by the amount of mainstream media coverage; virtually every local television and radio station was there with a crew
The exhibitors seemed pleased too. Right up front, facing the main entrance, were the booths of Wicked Pictures and Club Jenna, the latter one of the show’s sponsors.
“I love the new arrangement of the floor this year,” said Wicked public relations director Daniel Metcalf, “with the Romantic section here. It enables us to connect with our core demographic." Which of course, he added, is couples and women.
Wicked, which has been the major adult presence at Erotica LA ever since its founding, had their contract girls out in full force. We glimpsed Jessica Drake and Stormy Daniels signing for lines of fans.
Early in the evening Club Jenna was fronted by a delectable trio of contract girls: Krystal Steal, Sophia Rossi and Jesse Capelli. A bit later on an enormous line had formed from the booth almost all the way back to the main stage at the far end of the hall. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what all those folks were waiting for. You could literally hear the name on everyone’s lips: “Jenna… Jenna.. Jenna…”
Jenna Jameson took command of her own booth around 6:30 p.m. and held it for what seemed like all night. Looking gorgeous, with her red hair streaming down her back, she gave the fans their money’s worth, chatting, signing and posing for pictures with a smile for a very long time. She seemed completely at ease and unfazed as a legion of paparazzi snapped and flashed in her face. A true class act.
Right behind Wicked and Club Jenna was the big Romantix emporium of Goalie Entertainment, fronted by a galaxy of porn stars. Francesca Le, with hubby Mark Wood, signed and sold copies of her LeWood Productions movies.
There was a big contingent from Pure Play Media, including Justine Joli, Vicky Vette, Flower Tucci and the indefatigable Cousin Stevie. Hannah Harper was there for Sin City, as well as a brand new sweet-faced teen blonde named Ashley Steel, who was signing for Astrux and Metro. Belladonna, who showed up later, drew a crowd of her own.
Next to Club Jenna was a splendid display of the exquisite glass dildos of Phallix, which has branded itself as the ultimate in that particular field. Close by was the ever-popular I Love Vagina Clothing Co., their booth leading into a field of lingerie, leather and sexy clothing booths.
There were booths for just about every taste. “Regain Your Youthful Feel” trumpeted one for Vaginal Tightening. The Romantic Marketplace was in fact a smorgasbord of novel and imaginative products. Like the Anero Male G-Spot Stimulator, or Passion Parties and Brown Bag Party, which add an erotic wrinkle to the Tupperware concept. Then there were Tickle Your Fancy, Titty Tops, Body Bling Design, Intimate Teas, Godiva’s Secret, Plaything Creations, Nipple Huggers, Black Ice (a dietary supplement) and many more. Several were devoted to erotic makeup, like Morphe and Athos Creations Henna Designs and FX, which specializes in body art.
For single males just moseying through it must have been a bit of a relief to pass beneath the portal of the X Marketplace. Facing them was the booth of Red Light District, the quintessential hardcore gonzo provider. With the same house-style setup it used last year, it had babes signing front and back. We noticed Rita Faltoyano, Courtney Cummz, Courtney Simpson, Sunny Lane, and a skinny teen dream with braces named Leah Luv who’s the star of David Luger’s Buttfucked by a Black Man.
Right behind Red Light was its other half, Platinum X Sales manager Debbie Schwartz said that it was the same booth they used in Las Vegas at the Adult Expo; they had it shipped in special. There was a girl signing at each of the four corners.
She and Red Light owner David Joseph were effusive about the two companies finally moving in together in their big new quarters in Chatsworth later this month. Joseph took time to sing the praises of director James Avalon, who has directed the first releases for Red Light District Films. “I’m really happy with him,” he said. “He’s a team player. That’s important at Red Light.”
At Rodney Moore’s booth, his Girl Friday Fran was holding down the fort. “Rodney’s on Rodney time, but he will be here,” she grinned. She said that Rodnievision’s “business is booming” since they hooked up with Exquisite Pleasures. “We’re selling more DVDs than ever. [Owner] Jerry [Estrada] has a really good business flair, and they treat us like family.”
Sharing the same booth were Freedom Distributing and Arrow — and for a good reason: they’re now the same company. Said Freedom’s Paul Interlandi, “It gives Arrow new releases, plus their classics.” Freeedom is still signing independent producers for distribution, like Saint Entertainment and Webcast International. And they’re shooting everything, including Interlandi’s softcore Lifestyles line, in High Definition.
There were other booths from the harder edged adult companies, like Damaged Productions, Dane, Black Widow and Bang Productions, where blonde bombshell Nicki Hunter was drawing a crowd.
At the WantedList.com booth, Playboy Radio was doing an interview show with Christy Canyon, Kylie Ireland and Dee. The three glamourpusses sat with their headsets on, happily absorbed in chat.
One of the few quiet areas of the convention floor was the Gay Marketplace. There were booths from such name brand companies as Chi Chi Larue and Cybersocket, as well as smaller niche marketers like The Lesbian Dating Game and Boy Butter personal lubricant. There didn’t seem to be a lot of customers on Friday night, but that may change this weekend.
Another respite from the hullabaloo was The Erotic Museum, which stretched along one side of the convention floor starting right upfront. The Hollywood Blvd. Museum, one of Erotica LA’s sponsors, brought quite a sampling of their treasures, including impressive erotic drawings and photographs. The most interesting exhibit was The Touch Pool, a wading pool filled with latex body parts that can be squeezed and caressed when the toucher dons rubber gloves.
Toward the back of the hall the Free Speech Coalition had staked out its territory. “It’s actually a good place to be,” said Bill Margold. “We catch everyone on the way to the food stands and the bathroom.” He was looking forward to Saturday when he’d be joined by Anita Cannibal, Lynn LeMay and newcomer Christine Noir to encourage attendees to join up. And he planned a fundraiser for P.A.W. on Sunday.
Right next to him was the Free Speech Action Center where lobbyist Kat Sunlove recruited passersby to sign an electronic petition to members of congress protesting provisions of the Patriot Act. Those who sign get a sticker saying, “I Did It With a Porn Star.” Sunlove said that anyone can sign by going to www.NoStrippingLiberty.com.
Entertainment on the main stage, on Friday, consisted of a highly energetic and sexy group of leather-clad dancers, female and male. Show producer Gary Miller termed them “the Erotic LA dancers,” and they had talent aplenty to flaunt.
A new attraction was Buckfest, a mechanical bull, sponsored by AVN and AVN Online, that attracted riders of both sexes.
Only a couple of events were scheduled for the Seminar area on Friday. “A Practical Guide to Striptease,” a combination how-to and stand-up, from Miyoko Fujimori, was well attended.
Erotica LA continues today from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., in South Halls G, H and J of the Los Angeles Convention Center.
