HUNTINGTON - Following in the footsteps of a long line of performers, Bryce "The Govna" Graves offers "HELLZAPOPPIN: A Sideshow Revue."
Targeting a younger audience (typically 14-40) Graves combines rock'n'roll with a creepy vaudeville sideshow.
He promises real and dangerous entertainment from talented and unique performers that have been featured on shows, such as "The Tonight Show," "The Discovery Channel," "Ripley's Believe It or Not," "The Learning Channel" and "National Geographic."
They have performed in rock festivals, such as OZZfest and the Vans Warped Tour, with bands, such as Marilyn Manson and Slipknot.
Some of these entertainers include Zamora The Torture King, Cyclops Boy, The Wolf People, The Penguin Boy and Slymenstra Hyman from the rock band GWAR.
Folks who come out to the show will witness sword swallowing, the human block head, fire eating, western bullwhip feats, contortionists and electrical death defying stunts.
The sideshow rolls into West Virginia next week with a pair of shows, the first on Feb. 26 at Charleston's Empty Glass, and the second on Feb. 27 at Huntington's V Club.
HELLZAPOPPIN is an integration of Graves' past experiences and influences.
Some of his relatives were vaudeville performers and his great -grandfather was a famous concert pianist, who toured all over, Graves said.
He has followed that family line.
For the past 12 years he owned a management company, where he produced and directed other shows, rock bands and television personalities.
Tired of managing others, Graves started the sideshow, making it one of the few true sideshows in the past 30 years, he said.
"Aside from being good at it, I fell totally in love with it," Graves said. "It is the love of the game and the art."
For Graves, it is also the love of discovering new talent.
For example, he met stuntman, magician and escape artist, John Shaw, in Istanbul, Turkey.
He met The Penguin Boy, at OZZFest. And he has worked with Zamora The Torture King for almost seven years, on other projects.
"He is the biggest sideshow performer in the world," Graves said.
Despite the entertainment level of the show, Graves focus is on something else; the audience members' faces.
He watches their reactions for what wows them and what might improve the overall show.
"Falling ovations" or fainting, are frequent reactions. Usually, it is the bigger biker type guys that faint, Graves said.
"We take great pride in watching a jaw drop or a grown man faint," he said.
While touring, Graves needed a way for the HELLZAPOPPIN cast and crew to get around.
Nothing is more fitting than an old prison bus from the Arizona State Penitentiary, which Graves gutted.
He built eight bunk beds, installed a refrigerator, microwave and kitchenette.
The old seats were recovered and hardwood floors are intact.
"The outside still looks like a prison bus," Graves said. "We are such an underground show I wanted to keep everything authentic."
And while this sideshow seems very unorthodox, the name comes from a very conventional time, for Graves.
He saw the 1941 film "Hellzapoppin," which included stints from the Three Stooges, with his grandmother.
"I loved the movie so much, and to my surprise nobody owned the name," Graves said. "It works perfect for a sideshow, like my last name - Graves."
For more information, log onto www.hellzapoppin.com.
