Erotica L.A. 2004

You know it is going to be a good show when the first thing you see as you enter the Los Angeles Convention Center lobby is the lovely Juli Ashton in a top that was just....perfect. She was there to host her Playboy Radio show from the convention floor on opening day and we are all very glad she did. Unfortunately her rather demanding schedule prevented me from getting any decent shots of her or even talking to her except for a few brief occasions so you will just have to take my word for it that she is still as beautiful as ever or you can tune into one of her many shows on Playboy TV to find out for yourself.

Erotica LA is different then most of the industry trade shows in that it caters to as many aspects of the industry as possible.  There are booths designed mainly for retailers and buyers, those mainly for the fans and some just for the curious. As with past events it was the non-company booths that set this show apart from all others.  This year they expanded their art showcase to encompass even more floor space and split it into two sections. 

One was provided by the Erotic Museum in Hollywood which highlighted some current and upcoming presentations at the museum.  Of special interest to a lot of convention patrons was an exclusive presentation of "The San Fernando Says Project" which showed the way the adult industry try's to complete the fantasy for millions of viewers and featured many behind the scenes images from around the industry.

The other was the regular Sensual & Erotic Art Exhibition which is in it's 14th year.  This years show focused on new forms of art that utilized Performance, Digital, Video, Photography and New Media.  The theme for this years exhibit was entitled "Inside/Out: Censored and Self-Censored Art" and featured 50 artists from around the country.

For those people looking to make a more positive statement about the industry and society in general there was a Silent Auction that featured large ceramic AIDS ribbons that were hand painted by such people as Jamie and Danny from STAR 98.7, Devinn Lane, jessica drake and Snoop Dogg.  As of press time there was no finally tally on how much money the auction raised for the Video Industry AIDS Action Committee which distributes funds to various AIDS health care organizations and facilities.

If ceramic AIDS ribbons weren't for you then there was also the raffle going on with B.A.D.D. (Bikers Against Drunk Driving) which featured the chance to win one of 5 custom bikes or a hand built re-issue 1967 Gibson Flying V guitar by the Gibson Custom Shop. And come on what self-respecting person wouldn't want to win a custom motorcycle or guitar.  Especially if it also helps raise money for a good cause.

Another aspect of the Erotica L.A. Show that sets it apart from most shows is the seminars during the course of the convention that cover a variety of topics.  The Special Key Note Speaker (and one of my personal favorites) was Dr. Ava Cadell who presented speeches on "Unleash You True Sexual Power" and "Discover Tantric Sex Dr. Ava Style". But if those topics didn't interest you then there were also seminars on "Boobs, Butts, & Botox", "Passion Party - Sex Toy Fun", "Are You Bi-Curious?", "Mating and Dating in Cyberspace" and "Seven Secrets To Fabulous Foreplay" to name just a few.  Needless to say they had a seminar on just about every subject of interest these days with the possible exception of a seminar on "How to Date/Have Sex with a Pornstar" which was probably the topic on most men's minds during the show. Provided they were capable of a coherent thought as they were getting hugged by the likes of Nyomi Marcella or Avy Scott.

There were several new booths that interested me at this years show but chief among them was a company called High Joy Products which in conjunction with Doc Johnson is releasing some toys that allow you to interface with and control them on line.  So that you could be across the country and do a little video chat with your girlfriend or someone you met on line and have cyber-sex with them.  Now this is nothing new but with the High Joy enabled toys from Doc Johnson you could control your partners sex toy from you computer. Which brings a whole new meaning to the statement "being in control".

As for the industry booths themselves Eroticia L.A. continued their tradition of growing in leaps and bounds this year with almost 200 different exhibitors.  You can find a complete list of exhibitors here: 2004 Erotica L.A. Exhibitors.

Among the major studios present were:

Babylon Entertainment with Nyomi Marcela (Is there a more beautiful woman out there?), Alexis Amore and Kimmy Kahn.

DVSX with Cythera, Katrina Kraven, Reina Leone and Katie Morgan

Evolution Erotica with Keiko, Fallon Summers, Heather Gambles and Holly Stevens

Jill Kelly Productions with Cindy Crawford (Did they really need more than that?)

Metro Productions with Ann Marie, Kelly Erickson and Ron Jeremy

Platinum X Pictures with Jewel De'Nyle, Kylie Ireland, Ashley Long, Kimberly Kane, Jessica Dee and Jamie Brooks

Redlight District with Teagan, Rayveness, Missy Monroe, Vanialla Skye, Lilli Thai, Luci Thai and Sativa Rose.

Private U.S.A with Flick Shagwell, Venus, Jana Oso and Katja Kassin

Sex Z Pictures with Shayla LaVeaux, Mika Tan, Sharon Wild, Candy Delight and Liza Harper

Sin City Produtions with Aurora Snow and Hannah Harper

Video Team with Daisy

and

Wicked Pictures with Devinn Lane, jessica drake, Julia Ann, Sydnee Steele, Kaylani Lei and "AVN's Best New Starlet of 2005" Stormy.

Not to be out done by the studios there were several local and on-line retailers present that pulled out all the stops when it came to star power as well.

Mofo Wear was represented by Avy Scott, Olivia O'Lovely, Flower Tucci and the ever popular Belladonna.

Jaded Video had Nautica Thorn, Francesca Le and Candace

TLA Video with Arianna Jolle, Tera Patrick and new Vivid Girl Malezia

Hung Clothing with Adrianna Sage

Romantix which hosted the women from Sin City, Metro Productions and Seymore Butts Productions as well as Shane.

Phallix with Brittney Skye

and if that wasn't enough then...

Suze Randall Photography was there with Jelena Jensen, Taylor Rain, Justine, Sunny Leone and Aria Giovanni

Plus Dee, Gauge, Georgia Adair, Angel Cassidey, Tera Patrick and Lisa Sparxx were on hand promoting their own websites.

Just to name a few.  There were also several women just walking around the show and saying hello to friends and fans alike such as Brittney Andrews, Lola, Monique Alexander, Brooke and Kristal Summers.

For a better idea of who was there check out the 2004 Erotica L.A. Gallery.

And just in case you were thinking that this show was all about the men I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Playgirl TV and Hollywood Men were also present to show that the women were not being ignored.  In fact there are probably more women in attendance at the Erotica L.A. shows then at every other industry show combined.  So it would not surprise me to see the trend of booths geared specifically for women continue to grow.

By the time the show closed it's doors we had seen thousands of people come through it's doors and as they were all leaving you could hear them making plans to come back next year. I know I will be there.