148: Day 2 - East Coast Mind Jam 2014

The second day of the East Coast Mind Jam had the "Mind-Jammers" gathered to see and hear a lot of amazing stuff. The lectures were longer than most time allotted at other conventions. And with the lower number of attendees (about 75 people), everyone had quality time with all the performers and lecturers.

Patrick Redford (George Tait) was up first in the morning following breakfast. Next was Devin Knight, then Jim Sisti (on marketing). Richard Osterlind held court for nearly two hours with an SRO audience. That only left an hour with Ted Karmilovich to give some really wonderful ideas in his lecture.

Scott Wells hosted the evening show with a lot of original introductions that will only be seen once. The bill included Devin Knight, Ted Karmilovich, Joe Atmore (who recreated The Amazing Dunninger's old time radio show) and closing the first half with Patrick Redford (George Tait). The second half was a real treat with Richard Osterlind presenting his one man, hour long corporate show to the audience that included many from the public who came in for the evening show.

The hotel had a private party in the bar, so the festivities closed rather early tonight even though there was a cash bar outside the dealers room until the "late" hour of 11:30.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:00 - Ben Salinas is a card and coin guy with 46 DVDs to his credit. But he is going the way of mentalists and adding more mind reading into his routines. Find out why.

00:09:14 - Joey the See "Mentalist to the Mob" (Joseph Curcillo) talks about how magic and mentalism leak into the courtroom as an attorney.

00:20:30 - Docc Hilford can finally take a breather to relax and chat for a brief moment. He talks about how much he has enjoyed this convention and what makes this one so different from others.

00:25:44 - Ed Russe and Eric Dittelman talk with Joe Atmore about his portrayal of The Amazing Dunninger and the history of this radio great.

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147: Day 1 - East Coast Mind Jam 2014

The East Coast Mind Jam is a one time only event that features some of the top names in the mentalism field today including Docc Hilford, Richard Osterlind, Marc Salem, Ted Karlilovich, Devin Knight, Joe Atmore, Patrick Redford (George Tait) and Jim Sisti. This event is also an opportunity for the convention organizer, Eric Citron, to honor the former owner and president of Tannen's Magic, Tony Spina, with a lifetime achievement award. That award will take place on Sunday afternoon. But first...

Day one featured an extra cost workshop for early arrivals by Patrick Redford and was attended by about 15 people. The evening show opened with a one hour show that was supposed to be filled with attendees who want to perform; however, only one brave soul did: Joshua Lozoff, who put on a great show and was given a great adulation by the audience and by the host, Docc Hilford. Docc filled out the hour, took a break then came back for the first half of a workshop, not a lecture, but a really great instructional workshop. After an hour and a half, he took another break only to return with another two hours of great material and advice. He could have gone on much longer and the audience was right there with him with nary a soul departing, but rather, hanging on his every word.

Here are the time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:00 - Leaving Houston and a recap of what's about to happen over the weekend.

00:04:42 - Convention organizer, Eric Citron, talks about putting together this convention and what we can expect this weekend.

00:12:47 - Richard Osterlind talks about what will be in his eight hour Monday workshop. He is excited about performing his one hour stage show on Saturday night that is rarely if ever performed for his peers. Tim Trono talks about how much fun this convention is because of its small size.

00:16:32 - Attendees, Ed Russe, John Sergott and Andy Hofer talk about why they came to this convention and what they are looking forward to seeing and doing here.

00:24:42 - Patrick Redford (George Tait) talks about what he was teaching in his workshop during the afternoon.

127: MINDvention 2013 - Day Three

The final day continued with exciting activites beginning with one of the best lectures of the convention by Docc Hilford. Lots of great ideas with sound thinking interspersed with humor. After lunch, Cashetta was attired in traditional garb (sans the cocktail dress and make-up) as he talked about development of his character. Nest, Danny and Robert assembled the "Dream Team" of authorities on the the Q&A (Question and Answer) for a panel discussion: Bob Cassidy, Jon Stetson, Michael Weber and Ross Johnson. Of course there was a lively question and answer period.

The afternoon lecture was another treat by a mentalist, (nee Psychic) who rarely attends conventions let alone lectures or performs. John Riggs gave us some real insightful and commercial ideas and material for "readings" and billet work. The evening show, "Masters of Mentalism" was hosted by the hit performer from the previous evening's show, Cashetta. John Riggs opened with some interesting routines using five volunteers. It was interesting that he seated them all on stage but used each for individual effects rather than all in one effect.

Bob Cassidy read the minds of several volunteers from the audience who were unsuspecting "muggles" from the casino who thoroughly enjoyed the show. Docc Hilford closed the show with some very entertaining mentalism using a book test with two volunteers. Danny and Robert closed the convention by presenting Bob Cassidy the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:08 - Paul Vigil talks about magic and mentalism and whether he considers himself as a magician or a mentalist.

00:07:33 - Michael Chaut and Jon Stetson talk about Monday Night Magic (in New York City) and the Mystery Lounge (in Boston, MA), respectively. To see who is on the performance schedule for Monday Night Magic, then visit their website at: http://magicalnights.com/ You can check out the Mystery Lounge (Boston's Original Cabaret) at: http://mysterylounge.com/Home.html

00:19:24 - Jeff McBride talks about his Masterclasses with MINDvention as well as other Masterclasses he hosts. More info at http://www.magicalwisdom.com/

00:29:30 - Andrew Goldenhersh enjoyed this convention and tells us some of what he's been up to in Japan.

00:40:50 - Danny Archer breathes a little easier as he gives us a recap from his perspective as a co-organizer. He also gives us the dates for next year's event: October 11-13, 2014.

00:46:00 - John Riggs talks about being a psychic in the Bible Belt of America plus a glimpse of some unpublished material from "The Messiah Complex Part 2" which may never see print. Listen to find out why. John make fine handcrafted products for serious mentalists. If you are interested, then contact him at JohnRiggs@comcast.net and request a link to his secret website.

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