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:: Journal of Magic March 15th, 2005 Issue #19 :: Rick Carruth - editor Copyright© 2005 ~~~~:~~~~:~~~~:~~~~:~~~~:~~~~:~~~~:~~~~ Hi Friends
Hope this issue finds you well. I must first offer a sincere 'Welcome' to all the new subscribers. You ladies and gents are the reason I publish this journal. ------- My wife and I spent last weekend at the Winter Carnival of Magic at Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge with a couple of hundred other magicians. We stayed at Ramada Limited, along with Jeff McBride and his lovely wife Abbi, Michael Finney, John Tudor, Scott Hitchcock, and Stephen Bargatze. Thanks to my friend John Tudor, who is a friend of Jeff McBride, I was escorted through the crowds that constantly surrounded Jeff to get my 'face time'. We talked about my blog ( Street Magic Bullets ) and doing an interview when he gets back from Asia... where he should be as we speak. Finney, Tudor, and Bargatze have all graciously agreed to interviews as soon as I can get the questions together. Michael has lost about forty-something pounds, and it suits him well. John Tudor has completed his TV special 'John Tudor's Magic Theatre', and Stephen Bargatze has a contract with the Tennesse Dept. of Education that enables his to perform before more than a million people each year. All three performers have overcome major obstacles to perform at magic's pinnacle, and each has an inspiring story to tell.... I look forward to telling it.... ~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~ :: Making Magic "Magical" (again) :: :: Getting back to our roots :: David Breth The year was 1995, St. Louis Missouri. As a novice magi I recall going into a local magic retailer and saying ..."what do you have that is new"? Due to the fact that the store was a novelty, costume, gag, gift and "magic" supply shop the "magician" behind the counter proceeded to introduce me to several ‘hot’ new items that were a sure fire way to knock the socks off all whom dared to watch this amazing up and coming magician (me). I bought several of the items presented to me that day. Of course I could not wait to get them out of their packages and perform each one IMMEDIATELY! The entire secret had been revealed to me upon buying the tricks, therefore I must be in the know of how to execute each one so as to "drop-jaws". Today I look back in dismay, yet sheer delight as only one (senior) magician (Bob Cole) in the shop stated to me that I ..."should practice what I had just purchased and hone the entertainment part a bit more before proceeding to show off my new found "magic tricks"... (Thank you to the late Bob Cole). Mr. Cole made a suggestion; he said something so absurd that a couple of my friends thought it "dumb". Bob said ..."if you would like to learn more about magic and how to perform well, come back often and I will help you in any way possible". Where and how does a beginning magician learn to become prolific in their art of magical entertainment? Not from buying tricks!!! This is not in any way a put down to our friends that have magic tricks for sale on-line. I purchase magic on the Internet! Not long after my encounter at the magic shop I began to make frequent trips up to the magic shop in St. Louis driving 2 hours each way several times per week (I took no thought of the time, gas or distance to go many times, I knew that the advice I was receiving was valuable and would become a help later on...if not instantly). Though there were a few magicians in the local town where I was, I knew I needed more insight from a senior working pro. One MAJOR bit of advice that the younger, "hip" magicians never suggested for me to do was to buy a lot of books. Mr. Cole did NOT suggest this to me, he TOLD me I had to have books - or fail as a good magician. What you are about to read below is a valuable article posted at www.dennymagic.com I have enclosed this article, due to two facts. One, you may be asking "what do you know...I have never heard of you Davd Breth?" Two, This letter is compiled by two of the worlds greatest magicians! A Word from Denny. (of the famous Denny and Lee Magic Studio Baltimore/Las Vegas - www.dennymagic.com)... ------------------- Requiem for the Real Thing... "There has been quite a bit of talk lately about the "extinction" of the real magic shops. Because of this, I have decided to include the following words from my friend, Kenton Knepper, instead of my own personal words. I think Kenton has said this very well"......... Denny This holiday buying season, allow me to make a suggestion: Visit an actual, physical magic shop. You know, the ones you have heard about that are in real buildings. The kind you can physically walk into and touch things and experience them before buying. Why do I suggest this? Because this may be the final year you get to do so. We all love the Internet and I buy as much on it as anyone -- probably more. I do that, as I don't have to take the time to go anywhere; I can get other people to order for me, and so on. That's the "up" side. But such benefits do not make up for other precious commodities, soon to be too few. If you have not been to a real magic shop lately, you would not understand. While I may sound like ELP (who?) talking about "behind that glass is a real blade of grass" -- and appear overly sentimental -- I will take that risk in hopes it may save a few of you. Magic shops you can walk into are about to vanish from America, and perhaps elsewhere. The Internet has taken over. Billy who lives in his parent's house and does not pay rent, let alone own a building, can be a "dealer" and sell things at a 5% markup. To him, five dollars is "big bucks". He can undercut all legitimate dealers who must make a living, pay for a place, pay taxes, buy legal copies of manuscripts and all sorts of other things an actual business does. He gets Mommy to pay for his food, so he can be a big boy with little work. He knows the bare minimum about magic, but thinks he's a pro. Okay, some of these guys don't live with Mom and Dad. On the Internet, these people create the illusion of a real, professional shop. Some of these shops are legitimate of course. Many are mere facades of a Billy hidden behind the curtain, whilst his projected image and "shop" looms large upon the computer screen. Perhaps we should not care about that at all. Does this change magic or mentalism? Is it not great that we can buy things ever cheaper? I will leave aside the nasty truth about what is starting to happen on the financial side for now. Let's look at what it does to YOU on levels that are much more important. Ask most pros about how they began, and they will usually mention two things: Books and magic shops. We all know books are damn near useless to magicians these days. But when were magic shops ever more than a place to buy things? For most of us, a "magic shop" was a place to learn and practice our craft. Many of us worked in such shops as we continued growing in magic -- I worked in several. You can't help but learn to perform if you have to actually DO all the stuff you sell. It makes you learn more than you thought you wanted to learn, and educates you in principles as well as bad magic tricks. You learn the things that fool magicians and mentalists today: Things such as great packaging does not make for great tricks. Crappy old books contain some of the best secrets in the world. The latest thing everyone is buying and reviewers love often sucks. You begin to learn to discern the real gems from the junk not by appearance, but by studying it ALL. Putting aside that many pros learned their craft working in physical magic shops, there is a more important reason why you ought to visit such a shop while they still exist this year. Most pros grew up hanging out with "the boys" not at fancy clubs or the latest mall huckster, but rather in the dingiest back rooms and counters of the regional magic shop. The biggest names stopped by the shops when they were in town. As long as real magic shops exist, they still will. Sometimes you did not get waited upon when you wanted to buy something as quickly as you wished -- because the "boys" were chatting up the latest news and moves. If you were wise, you remained patient and listened carefully. Soon your ears learned more from these whispers and joking than the trick, you were later to buy. Secrets of profound proportion were swapped in these old, musty, cluttered shops. It was as if you had entered a private order, to which you hoped to one day belong. I am speaking to you as if you are not "one of the pros" solely because the pros know all about this. Hear that I am in any town, and you will often find me waltzing by the local magic shop, if it is a real one. Ask any pro -- most all do this -- even the biggest names that may otherwise have security around them. I learned more and created much by hanging out with people in magic shops. I hate to tell you this, but "discussion boards" are simply not the same. In magic shops, ignorance and disrespect was soundly snubbed by the working pros, or they shunned you. Silence or being shown the door answered whiny and loud protestations of stupidity. In real magic shops, you could not afford to get the answers and secrets while being a lazy and obnoxious brat. You had to grow and learn or get kicked out. Just a few years ago, I was visiting a famed magic shop. It is almost as celebrated as the pros that go there. The owner of the shop was talking to an insolent child who thought he knew everything about magic. He wanted quick fixes and not to have to work for his success. The owner asked if the boy had a certain book. He said no. The owner suggested another book. The boy said he didn't want to take the time to read, he wanted to do such and such a trick. The owner told him to get the expletive out of his shop. He kept at it until Brat Boy left. You don't get that on the Internet. A year later I was back at this shop and a similar thing occurred. The owner turned to be after this new pain in magic left and said wryly, "I kick people out only when names visit from out of town". This was not actually the case, but we did have a great laugh. The kind of knowing laugh binding one person to another. You don't get that at the Internet shop. Locally I was speaking to a dealer to whom I turn for hard to find props and books. He was telling me that soon he would not have a shop. He cannot afford to compete with Billy the Butcher Boy who sells magic at barely above his cost. That may be democracy, one could argue. Let me remind you what Billy-Boy cannot give to you: He will not know which book something is in if it was written later than last month. He will not know how to pronounce properly the names of performers about which you might only read. He cannot tell you what it was like hanging out with the names in magic from days gone by. He cannot show you the latest trick except on video after 2000 takes. Then it looks like a trick you should buy. Too bad it won't look that way when you do it. He cannot give you honest feedback -- he can't afford to do that. He cannot tell you the legitimate inside scoop on any performer. He cannot recommend anything other than what he gets the biggest price break on or what reviewers and people who sell to him say you should buy. He cannot introduce you personally to his good friend who wrote the classics in magic. But he can save you a buck. That he CAN offer. You get what you pay for in the end. I talk to a handful of real magic shops when I am working on ideas, or on my performance. I call up these guys and I ask questions. They give me historical information, obscure references, inside stories and all sorts of stuff I need. All of the folks I call and speak to this way that own shops tell me next year they may be out of business. If most of my famous friends and I cannot call these people anymore, who will we call? Our consultants, I guess. But then whom will YOU call? Hanging out and buying things in a "brick and mortar" magic shop may soon be extinct. You may not be able to tell your children or students about the good old days" because those days won't be anything other than what the kids have access to now -- only at faster speeds. So, don't do any magic shops any favors. Do yourself a favor. Stop by, hang out, and buy from real, physical magic shops while they still exist. You may get far more than the items you buy if you do. It's a gift you really ought to give yourself this year. Of course, you can always visit our store, which is only on the Internet, at www.wonderwizards.com Meanwhile, I will be thanking Denny, Barry, Magic Dave, Greg, Sandy, Jack, Tolee, Al, Tim, and a handful of others. I hope some of you are fortunate enough to have access to them when you need them too. -Kenton ------------------ Hope this helps, David Breth www.davidbreth.com ~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~ :: Jeff Wessmiller likes to cheat and tell. :: "On a rainy afternoon, Wessmiller, 20, sits in a booth at the smoky Village Café on Grace Street. A junior at VCU, he wears baggy jeans and a baseball cap, his 6-foot-4, 160-pound stature obscured by a table. He palms a deck of cards, resting his wrists upon a black velvet mat that resembles a large mouse pad. He loses himself here for hours. Coffee and cigarettes are partly to blame, but mostly it’s the cards." Style Weekly - Richmond Va. Would you know a good ol-fashion 'Hand Mucking' if you saw one? What about a Table Faro, Tap Shift, Zarrow Shuffle, Bottom Deal, or Riffle Stacking? Check out Jeff's new video on cardsharking, 'Weapons of the Card Shark - Underground Cheating Techniques Exposed." while you view some of the excellent videos at his site. Some of these may be just the key to helping you over a hump. Learn these sleights and others at: Link is not working.. You may try Googleing.. ~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~ :: Mind Bender - A Review :: R.Carruth Most magicians in the world know nothing about spoon bending magic. As a matter of fact, the few magicians that do perform magic spoon bends are limited to using complicated techniques and expensive gimmicks - until now.. Chad Sanborn's 'Mind Bender' DVD shares the secret to his spoon bending routine using an ordinary, ungimmicked spoon. What I like about Chad's technique is that his method is the only method I know that allows you to keep the spoon in FULL view the entire time.. Lets face it.. no spoon bend uses real magic; there's always a gimmick or a special technique. Also, NO spoon bend fools everyone all the time, I don't care where you got it, or how much it cost.. Chad teaches you his method, step by step, and prepares you to perform this slick trick anywhere-anytime. Probably the most difficult aspect of Chad's technique is finding enough cheap spoons to keep you content. Because when you see the video, it's 'off to the dollar store'... Because everything is 'out front', you need to practice what you learn before taking this trick to work. But, if you will work it, and do what Chad shows you to do, you will be entertaining your audience with this special 'move' for a long time.. The 'other' Mind Bender of Chad's dvd is 'The Holy Grail' - a three coins across type coin trick that will have you perpetually rewinding. Three coins appear - then disappear - in a very creative routine that , once mastered, will make you the envy of your magician friends. If you frequent the forums, I'm sure you've read the stir THG has created. Only three coins are required, and no magnets, pulls, shells, or gaffs are needed... Just three half dollars and this dvd. It's coin magic in it's purest form. Now..I'm not a big coin guy, but this effect alone was worth more than the price of the dvd. The day after I got it I was in the bank getting fifty cent pieces. I'm serious! editors note: Since Bob Solari sells the dvd for a very affordable twenty bucks, I would avoid the 'instant downloads' available for Chad's magic and buy the dvd. This is something you will want to share with your friends. And besides, the quality of the dvd is far superior to the downloads. I know, I've seen 'em both.. DVD $20.00 ..from Bob Solari Magic http://www.gmrcreations.com/bob/ ~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~ :: Steve Forte - Interview :: "The 'crossroader' is a dying breed of cheater who once specialized in many of the older scams, notoriously known for being gutsy, bold and direct. For these reasons their methods don't fare well in today's environment. So the likelihood of one being on your game is very small, as is the damage you can expect from these types of cheaters. This said, we can still learn a lot from their methods and thinking, as many of the modern scams are just variants on moves and scams that have existed for decades. This is especially true in regard to the psychological aspects of how these cheaters once operated. The modern cheater,advantage player and card counter all use similar ploys to some degree." As a successful professional black'jack and pok'er player for many years, and considered by many insiders as perhaps the best card manipulator in the world, Steve Forte learned "both sides of the table" from real live experiences. You can read a very in-depth interview Steve did with Ca'sinoDealers.net and a variety of questions he answered from dealers from around the country. http://www.dicedealer.com/the_biz.htm ~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~ :: Magic Experts :: Do you need a panel of magic experts to answer your questions about magic, performing, tricks, illusions, and related subjects? If so, maybe you can find the help you need at www.allexperts.com . Allexperts offers several different 'experts' to help you with your problems. (I make no guarantees! I'm just passing the link along.. RC) Do me a favor - If they help , let me know and I will republish this link.. http://www.allexperts.com/getExpert.asp?Category=2221 ~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~ :: Street Magic Bullets :: Have you visited my blog lately? If not.. why not? I know.. not everyone has a website, and some of you may find the marketing related post boring. But if you DO have a website then I promise that there is something at SMB that will help you improve the quality of your site, and maybe your traffic as well. If any of you have a specific question you would like for me to address, whether it's content, building traffic, meta tags, search engines, or double lifts... let me know. I will answer it on the blog and share it with all.... http://StreetMagic.info/blogger.html ~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~::~~~~ Thank You for sharing a little part of your day with me and my ramblings. Time is precious... you could have been practicing! May my next issue find you well... ---------------- "Desire to know why, and how- curiosity, which is a lust of the mind, that a perseverance of delight in the continued and indefatigable generation of knowledge- exceedeth the sheer vehemence of any carnal pleasure.." Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher ---------------- "Men give me credit for some genius. All the genius I have is this: When I have a subject in mind, I study it profoundly. Day and night it is before me. My mind becomes pervaded with it... the effort which I have made is what people are pleased to call the fruit of genius. It is the fruit of labor and thought.." Alexander Hamilton, American statesman ------------------ ~~ eMail Me ~~ ------------------ ~~ Visit Street Magic Secrets ~~ ------------------ Later friends.. Rick Carruth ~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~ Magic Roadshow ~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~:::~ |
