052: F.F.F.F. 2012 - Day Four

April 28, 2012 - This final day is jam packed with two hours of material; some fun, some funny, some serious and some with some great advice and lessons, but all worth hearing. We started off with a chat in the Dealer's Room with Will Houstoun and John van der Put ("Piff the Magic Dragon") from the U.k. From there we moved over a few booths to Patrick Przysiecki's booth where we talked with him and one of the other registrants,  Gene Gordon. In the Dealer's Room was MVP (Most Valuable Person of the  convention) Denis Behr, from Germany. You must visit his website at  http://archive.denisbehr.de to discover his totally awesome archive and  database of searchable books online. We had a delightful discussion  with Mark Mason (from JB Magic) and Charlie Randall (formerly of H&R  Magic Books). As mentioned earlier, this convention marked the debut of  the new F.F.F.F. book that Charlie published.

After the show we  went to the Room (formerly the Precursor Suite) to get some random  reactions from a sampling of registrants (including Shawn Farquhar) of their highlights from the  convention. We also got a few excerpts from Soma's lecture on using music in your show. He gave some advice on websites for royalty-free music and sound effects. We also chatted with Ed Eckl, one of the orginal creators  and publishers of The Precursor magazine. I then had a chance to have a  quiet chat with the two guys who closed the final night gala, Steve  Bargatze and Rick Merrill who talked about their careers and creativity.

We then went back to "The Room" to chat with Shawn Farquhar, Geoff Williams and Peter McLanachan, from Scotland, for some more comments and fun. Boris Wild closed out the night with excerpts from his lecture that  included invaluable advice that every magician should hear regardless of  skill level. Thanks goes to Geoff Williams helped with the questions for this  interview. If you can only listen to part of this podcast, this last 20 minutes is gold.

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051: F.F.F.F. 2012 - Day Three

Another full day (and night) of non-stop, world class, innovative magic was in store for all the attendees on Friday. The day started with mild snow flurries but it did not deter a hearty band of golfers who regularly play in the frigid weather at the F.F.F.F. annual tournament. But my first chat on the podcast of the day was immediately before and after the Mathieu Bich lecture. Long time attendee Dick Cook, from Ohio, told me a couple funny stories from his attendance at the Columbus MagiFest.

I then caught up with the Man of the Hour, Guest of Honor, David Stone. I caught him when there was no one else around him in the otherwise jam-packed lobby between events. We got to chat about his experience at the F.F.F.F. as well as his take on creativity and what his long term plans are in magic and, well, maybe the movies.

The day quickly slipped past me and before I knew it, it was dinner time. I dined with Chris Capeheart and Ice McDonald who shared some stories and experiences with me. Then to round out the day, I sat down with Mark Leveridge, from England, after the final show. He talked about his bi-monthly publication, MagicSeen Magazine, the Magazine for Magicians and Mentalists. More information at http://www.magicseen.co.uk/ It was interesting to get his take on the English economy, conventions, and publications in the U.K. as they directly impact the English magic community.

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050: F.F.F.F. 2012 - Day Two

The convention got underway officially today with a full day (and night) of magic lectures and shows. I sat down to chat with Marc DeSouza who turned on his recorder as we did a little "dueling podcasts" since he is reporting on this convention for www.MagicOnTheSide.com Also sitting around us in the lobby was Marv Leventhal, Raj Madhok and Chris Hannibal. I chatted with Glenn Brown in the registration room about the numbers plus he told us about the fantastic electronic program he prepared for this year's convention. For those who would like to see it, the document will be posted until the end of the convention at https://public.me.com/magimac (the password is F3ct3rs).

First timer, Francis Menotti shared a bit of what he is up to in the magic consulting business plus what it's like for someone attending the F.F.F.F. convention for the first time. Christian and Katalina talked a little about their experience here this year. Then I started the recording a little late into my conversation with Shawn Farquhar talking about cruise ship stories.

I know you will enjoy today's podcast.

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