Slydini Lecture by Bill Wisch

Bill Wisch stopped through Houston on the last leg of his 18 city lecture tour across the south and some parts of the Midwest. He left behind a string of compliments and testimonials about his lecture, his technique, and his personal character that stands next to none. Not only is Bill a more than adept magician with great talents, but also a wonderful gentleman, kind father and interesting conversationalist.

Bill studied with Slydini for several years in the 1970's and was the only magician with written authorization from Slydini himself to present this lecture. Bill toured in the late 1970's across the country covering over 30 cities as he helped promote the Slydini name and sold his (then new) books, "The Best of Slydini...and More" and "The Magical World of Slydini". On this redux tour, Bill presented some of Tony Slydini's favorite effects, plus he gave a primer of a couple original card moves of Bill's own devising including the "Wisch Wedge", which was given the appellation by Jon Racherbaumer while on this very tour. Bill taught many subtleties used by Slydini but either overlooked in the printed books and some which have never seen print.

Here are sample comments from a couple attendees: 

"I do not usually make comments but this is one time I have to. If you missed last night's lecture than you missed one of the VERY BEST lectures ever in Austin. Bill Wisch is a gentleman and scholar and a darn impressive magician. His stories about Slydini were mesmerizing as well as entertaining. His card work was a joy to watch and make any non-cardican want to grab a deck and start learning. Thanks to IBM Ring 60 and JD (and the boartd) for bring Bill Wisch in. This will be a difficult lecture to top in the future." - Carl Seagren, Austin, TX

"The lectures [in Houston] are almost always excellent but I thought this one was particularly good. Most lectures concentrate on skills and effects. This lecture had a lot of that material too, but used it to tell the story of a magician who was one of the most influential figures in modern magic. I walked away thinking about the way the Slydini techniques could be used to enhance the magic I already perform and am eager to try and create some things using the techniques and ideas that Bill shared with us at the lecture. This is something that every magician would benefit from seeing." - Ed Cotham, Houston, TX

Following the lecture, Bill sat down with me for an hour's discussion on stories about Tony Slydini plus some other interesting bits of business and behind-the-scenes, rarely told tales that only get discussed late at night.

047: Aaron Fisher on Creativity, Passion, and Coaching

Aaron Fisher, author of the best-selling book, “The Paper Engine – Tension, Focus and Design in Card Magic” (and a serious "Dead Head", too), recently heeded the beckoning call to “Head East, young man” as he traveled from the Left Coast to re-establish residency on the East Coast. Along the way, he lectured to well over a dozen cities leaving a tsunami of better equipped and more knowledgeable magicians in his wake.

While in Houston, he visited with me and talked about his creative climb to become a complete card conjurer. He discussed his growth path, his mentors and teachers, his pursuit of his passion and his creative process. There is a lot of good stuff and good advice and good morsels that will help anyone who is interested in our craft.

For more information on Aaron Fisher, please visit his website at: http://www.AaronFisherMagic.com/

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Aaron Fisher visits Houston, Texas

Aaron Fisher has devoted his professional career to understanding a deeper level of magic, craftsmanship, artistry and performance. He has not been on a lecture tour for many years and this particular tour will be his last for many more years. Those who were lucky enough to catch him this time around received tremendous, one-time only discounts on his lecture materials and they certainly learned a lot of good moves and commercial card effects.

But don’t worry; you can still receive personal instruction through one-on-one, online lessons with Aaron Fisher. You can “supercharge” your learning and cut your learning curve in half by subscribing to Aaron’s online coaching classes. For more information, take a look at his website and videos at: http://www.aaronfishermagic.com/coaching.htm

Aaron and Scott enjoying a Scotch while recording the podcast.