058: Abbott's Get Together Day 0 - 2012

It was a bright, cheerful sunny day as I arrived in Colon, Michigan for the 75th annual Abbott's Get Together. After checking in at the motel in nearby Sturgis (there are no motels in Colon), I traveled to "Blackstone Island" where I had been invited to a little "night before" party hosted by David Seebach. Among the guests, I had a chance to visit with Adele Friel Rhindress, perhaps better known as the woman who was the "Elusive Moth" in Blackstone's famous illusion. She traveled with the Blackstone show for the last two seasons. I found it interesting that she had not returned to this idyllic spot since 1948, nearly 65 years ago.

I also had a short chat with the owner of Abbott's Magic Factory and organizer of the Get Together, Greg Bordner. And of course we talked with our host for the evening, David Seebach.

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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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