Dan & Alishia: The Union Tour
The Groupies
Ariel Guidry
Officiant
Singer, Artist, Reiki Practitioner, Speaker, Mentor, Bi-BIPOC, SciFi Fantasy Lover, Human Cartoon, Mother, Sister, and Friend. These monikers only begin to outline the phosphorescent incarnation of light and soul that is Ariel Guidry. Initially a friend and artistic collaborator of Dan’s, she soon pledged her sisterhood with Alishia, a flame that kindled so synchronously that Jersey City folk often mistake the two. Her spiritual guidance and emotional mentorship have been invaluable to the couple, and it is under her steady hand and flowing heart that Dan and Alishia will make their vows.
Chris Frascella
Groupie
Chris Frascella, Dan's longest-running Dungeon Master, has been along for the ride since the 1st grade. Whether it was running the Super Mario Club during recess, managing his Magic the Gathering Card collection, and eventually inheriting his DnD books when Dan fashioned himself 'not a nerd' for a flash in the pan, Chris has been an indispensable sidebar of logic and analytics for Dan. Even now, although he practices law in the sector of Electronic Privacy in Washington D.C., Chris continues to faithfully live up to his friendship with Dan, accompanying him to countless Elks lodges and still encouraging him rolling dice, try out funny voices, and make horrible puns at the gaming table.
Darren Deicide
Stowaway
Darren Deicide, the outsider bluesman, sympathizer with the devil, and all around rogue joins his partner-in-crime Ethyl Lynn Oxide in making mischief on this tour. Everyone needs an anarchist in the mix, and Darren's got a long history of punk rock, activism, and fire-starting in his coattails. Thank hell we've got a vegan, ne'er-do-well Jersey Devil with a real estate license and a collection of miniature X-Wings in the party!
Edward Stapley-Brown
Groupie
“How old are you?” “How old are you?” These were the first words exchanged on Dan’s front lawn. ‘Twas the summer before Kindergarten in a Berkeley Heights cul-de-sac called York Place. Dan spoke no English, and Ed spoke a lot of it. So between Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Ghostbusters, coming-of-age summers at Camp Good News, and their first forays into backpacking the world, Edward Stapley-Brown and Dan became lifelong brothers. Currently killing it in the arts and entertainment sector of the Hudson Valley as studio manager under successful NY-based artist Judy Pfaff, Ed's been dealing with colorful people all his career: his return to New Orleans with Dan and Alishia should be nothing but a walk in Louis Armstrong Park.
Ethel Lynn Oxide
Groupie
Ethel Lynn Oxide, slightly better half of Darren Deicide, and part-time neighbor to Dan and Alishia has torn her way into their home and their hearts. Master of the singing saw, roller derby beast, interior design diva, and cat sister, Ethel's not only the satanist and goth we didn't know we needed--she's also the one we managed to get! When she's not designing graphics for Spirit of Halloween, gardening in the New Jersey Pinelands, singing with her band, or teaching couples how to lindy-hop, she probably maybe might be hanging out with Alishia!
Jenny Brover
Band Photographer
Jenny Brover, photographer, world traveler and newly citizinized burgess of La Repubblica di Italia, has played the stowaway in Dan and Alishia’s adventures for thousands of miles. When she’s not tootling with those two, she can be found helping in refugee camps, photographing migrants, or laying low in JC, probably suffering from FOMO with her cat, Cocco.
Katrin Alampi
Groupie
Kate Alampi has been Alishia’s closest girl friend since college–they knew they’d be close as soon as they both self-identified as “too cool for this” Freshman Orientation at Rutgers, New Brunswick. Even now, as the Account Executive for Presence Marketing, and the proud mom of a professional teen rock climber, she may still be “too cool for this.” But, after years of living, working at comedy clubs, and sharing in the joys and challenges of motherhood together, it’s with the support and love of Kate that Alishia will take this next step in her journey.
Mike Del Guercio
Groupie
Dan's colleague, travel buddy, and 'best friend at work--' you know, the kind of friend who makes your job not only bearable, but loads of fun? Yeah, that's Mike. Although he's renowned stateside for his years of soccer prowess, playing for Villanova and a professional team in New Jersey, his stint trying out for the Serie B, as well as his studies abroad, and his roots in Italy have turned him into a better Italian than Dan! They've traveled to four continents and countless countries together, and Del's expertise with travel planning, gastronomy, and all things NOLA make him an excellent addition to the group.
Tanya Blanche Voytus
Manager
Whether through a white cue ball, wilderness trail, or Wittgenstein, Tanya Voytus lends intrepidness and a steady hand to our street team. It's not as simple as Solids or Stripes on which newlywed Tanya represents– (jury’s out on custody)--so we’ve made her the Testimony of our promise. If we scratch, she’s there to re-rack, get us back on the path, and help us answer the big questions.
Vamsi Atluri
Groupie
From Alishia’s rebellious adolescence at Montville High comes Vamsi Atluri, a motorcycle enthusiast from India who spent his precocious youth largely on the subcontinent. A longtime architect of networks, he now also designs the framework of rich and fantastical stories. The Crytivat, V’s first YA novel, follows a young boy’s coming-of-age journey to an alien planet; we’re kinda hoping this righteous wordsmith will also guide Dan and Alishia through an equally foreign and potentially hazardous terrain: marriage.
Wenona Taiping-Moccia
Talent Wrangler
Wenona James Malia Taiping-Moccia, as one might expect from the similar surname, comparable countenance, and shared DNA, has known Alishia like, lowkey, all her life. The level-headedness learned from her psych classes at Elon University, the leadership earned from captaining her Ultimate Frisbee team, and the flexibility developed from her days as a gymnast will all come in handy as she faces her biggest challenge yet: playing Mama’s handler, herding Alishia through a busy schedule in, you know, a quiet and rather sleepy town like the Big Easy.