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.

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126: MINDvention 2013 - Day Two

What an amazing, full day of more activities and fun. The scheduled lecturer was canceled because of some passport problems, but was replaced with three outstanding performers: Chad Long, Patrick Redfern and Bill Abbott. After lunch we had a 30 minute lecture by Allison Campbell who talked about being a trade show mentalist followed by another mini-lecture by Paul Vigil who shared an excellent performance piece that he rarely presented but received the most response from his audiences. The brevity of their lectures was because of the extra time that was given to Jheff and Bob Cassidy for an another excellent lecture.

After a dinner break we were treated to a hilarious, R-rated show by Cashetta, a drag queen psychic, who held back nothing. In less than 60 seconds I knew we weren't in Kansas anymore. The fun continued into the evening after his/her show with the Bob Cassidy Roast featuring his good friends telling off-color jokes and stories from Bob's past. Jon Stetson was the host of the roast and included funny/rude stories by Lew Wymisner, Ken Weber, Cashetta, Michael Weber, Jheff, Ross Johnson, and Docc Hilford.

Time Stamps for this podcast:

00:00:11 - Chris Carter talks about working the college campus shows and his creation of the "Anniversary Waltz" card trick

00:11:28 - Eric Citron talks about his upcoming mentalism convention called the East Coast Mind Jam next March 28-30, 2014. This will be an honor for his lifetime of magic and as the owner of Tannen's Magic in New York. More information on this convention can be found at: http://eastcoastmindjam.com/

00:16:36 - Stan Allen gives us a little recap of his MAGIC Live! convention from this past summer and some feedback from the attendees plus maybe a look ahead at what he plans for the next one.

00:20:22 - Chad Long talks about the creation of his character and development of how his stage persona came into being.

00:33:03 - Docc Hilford advises us why and how we as entertainers should tip (provide gratuities) to others and the importance of doing it. He also tells us what he is up to for the next few months. you can order Docc's products by visiting http://DoccHilfordProducts.com

00:52:52 - Paul Draper carries on with the discussion begun in yesterday's panel regarding Magic and Mentalism and whether it can be mixed in the same program. Paul will be traveling on a lecture tour of northeastern U.S. He will be represented by Megan Tholen who will coordinate his trip. If you are interested in hosting his lecture, then please contact Megan at PaulDraperManagement@gmail.com

01:01:32 - In the Dealers' Room, Losander tells why he is a dealer at the MINDvention. When you think about it, the efects that he sells not only look like magic, but they can be presented as mental feats of power to bend physical nature. For more information on his prodcucts, visit http://www.Losander.com

01:04:15 - Lupe Nielsen just returned from the Los Angeles Conference of Magic History and she gives us an update of what happened there at that very exclusive event.

01:11:32 - Pete Poskiparta is a radio host in Finland where he performs mind reading over the radio. He also does voice overs for films in his country.

01:28:20 - Eric Dittelman gives us a follow-up of our conversation last year about America's Got Talent and what happened during the interim in his life including an appearance on the TV show, "Ellen" last April. You can follow Eric on Twitter at @EDittelman and on Facebook Fan Page at http://www.Facebook.com/EDittelman

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105: 2013 I.B.M. Convention - Day 4

The final day of the four (plus) day convention draws to a close with even more stuff packed into the day. It started off with the annual Order of Merlin Breakfast. This is for those who have at least 25 consecutive years of membership in the I.B.M. Immediately following the breakfast was the third and final day of the Big Three Events.

In the afternoon, there were six, one hour events going on simultaneous with each other. It was repeated again one half hour later which meant that you could only choose two out of the six. Well, you can't do it all...but I tried. I slipped in and out of a couple events but the one that had everyone fascinated was the "Carney Knowledge" event by Todd Robbins. He taught us how to walk on glass and also how to hammer a nail in you nose ("Human Blockhead"). Wow! I can check that off my bucket list now. After the Six Pack Sessions, Diamond Jim Tyler lectured on close-up.

Before the show began and the general public was let into the theatre, the contest awards were presented and the transition of the Presidential medals was made. Here are the awards that were given out at the Awards presentation.

Recipient of the McBride Magic & Mystery School Scholarship

Tamer Qafiti from San Diego, Ca.

Recipients of the IBM Endowment and Development Scholarships to the Sorcerer's Summer Safari Magic Camp

Salvatori Adler

Jason Knight

IBM Close-Up Competition

Youth Winners

1st place - Drake Stanton- San Antonio. TX

2nd place - Tamer Qafiti- San Diego, CA

Adult Winners

1st place - Alberto Lorenzo- Miami FL

2nd place - Rune Carlsen - Norway

People's Choice Award - Close-Up and winner of the Obie 4F Close-Up Award

Alberto Lorenzo - Miami, FL

IBM Stage Competition

Youth Winners

1st place and winner of the FANTASMA Prize Package - Eli Portala - Toledo, OH

2nd place -"Smart Magic" Thirawat Kongnugul

Adult Winners

1st place- Ming Ya Liu - People's Republic of China

2nd place - Chris Randall - Las Vegas, NV

People's Choice Award

Ming Ya Liu - People's Republic of China

Karrell Fox Comedy Award

"Caramel Machine" Sadaharu Suzuki and Toshiharu Odjima - Japan

The evening show played to a nearly packed theatre with Todd Robbins doing an incomparable job as the Master of Ceremonies. The show began with Luna Shimada followed by Eugene Burger, Peter Samelson, Francis Tabary, Valerie and closing the show was David DaVinci. After the show ended most people retired to the hotel to say their final farewells at the "no host" bar in the ballroom.

This final mega-podcast has it all. With this being the final day, I knew that I had to get around to everyone in fairly short order in between my attending some of the other event. The time stamps for this Podcast are:

00:00:08 - Todd Robbins talks about the evolution of the one man play, "Play Dead" , that we viewed last night on film. He discussed his association with creative consultants like Teller (of Penn and Teller), and where it might go from here. He also chatted about his association with Monday Night Magic, carnival side shows, and much more. He also talked about the success on television that his young son, Fin, has been receiving on soap operas (that is Fin in the picture above with the realistic looking wooden cigar).

00:45:14 - The Associate Dean of McBride's Mystery School, Larry Haas, talks about what the school does, the importance of scripting, finding good words, developing your character, publishing books and more.

01:05:27 - C.W.O. (Chief Wizard Officer) of Fantasma Magic, Roger Dreyer, talks about the development of his company and association with and dedication to the development of youth in out art. Roger tips his hand with some inside information about the future projects that you can only hear here on The Magic Word.

01:17:00 - Francis Tabary, performer, creator and inventor of a novel rope routine talks about how he created the routine.

01:21:31 - Fielding West talks about how he got started in Las Vegas. He gives us a couple of great stories with celebrities that you will find memorable.

01:41:50 - Jade, one of the previous I.B.M. Gold Medal winners, talks about what she's been up to over the past few years. We also hear a bit from Lance Burton and Fielding West in this segment.

01:49:01 - Sammy Patrick Smith, Editor of The Linking Ring (official journal for the I.B.M.) talks about the new app for the I.B.M. with the digital edition of the journal and the new design of the http://magician.org website. which will be released soon.

01:53:14 - Co-Chairman of the convention, Mike Stratman, is breathing easier now that the convention has ended. Here he talks about the numbers and successes and feedback.

01:59:42 - Walter "Zaney" Blaney tells us a funny story from the early 1960's shortly after he developed his Ladder Levitation. This involves David Hoy and a prank he played on Walter.

02:11:15 - I give a quick wrap up as I walk back up to my hotel room and begin to edit this podcast.

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