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213: Chicago Magic Bars & Lounges

Chicago has a rich history of magic bars within the city limits as well as in the outlying areas. The "hay day" of magic bars in Chicago ended around 1998 with the closing of the last magic bar. But Joey Cranford and John Sturk are pumping new life into an old concept with the new nightclub/theater called "Chicago Magic Lounge". This will be a recreation of the early 20th century, prohibition era lounge one night each week on the upper part of Chicago.

Bill Weimer is a local magician who was an integral part of the Chicago magic bar scene from the 1970's through the 1990's. He worked seven of the nine or so Chicago-land magic bars. He has a lot of stories about these clubs in their glory days and in fact, wrote a book about his experiences called "Now You See Them, Now You Don't".

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00:03:18 - Joey Cranford and John Sturk talk about the newest venture that will open on March 5, 2015, The Chicago Magic Lounge. They talk about their vision of the Lounge and what they hope will happen. They will also encourage local magicians to come and hang our and create a "magic lab" where performers can try out new stuff.

00:40:56 - Bill Weimer talks about the history of Chicago-land bars from his perspective of one who has been there and done that having worked at seven of the nine or so magic bars within the city's boundaries over a 20 year period. Bill wrote the book on bar magic entitled "Now You See Them, Now You Don't". In this podcast, Bill shares some of the stories from his book and his perspective as a working performer.

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here.

Open Thursday Nights at 8:00

Open Thursday Nights at 8:00

Order your copy of Bill's book at his website http://www.magicbarbook.com/

Order your copy of Bill's book at his website http://www.magicbarbook.com/

Tagged with Bill Weimer, John Sturk, Joey Cranford, Now You See Them Now You Don't, Chicago, Chicago magic bar, Chicago Magic Lounge.

March 5, 2015 by Scott Wells.
  • March 5, 2015
  • Scott Wells
  • Bill Weimer
  • John Sturk
  • Joey Cranford
  • Now You See Them Now You Don't
  • Chicago
  • Chicago magic bar
  • Chicago Magic Lounge
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#192 - David Sousa - Red Hot Passion for Magic

In 2006, David Sousa took home to Portugal a FISM prize for Manipulation. It was the first time two FISM trophies were awarded to Portuguese magicians (the other was Helder Guimaraes, who won for Close-Up Cards). It helped David secure his position and dream of becoming a full time professional magician. It didn't happen overnight, but was the result of long years and hard work. In this podcast, David talks about his road to success. You can hear the passion in his voice and how committed he was (and is) to be the best.

In our world today with mostly close-up magic ruling the YouTube channels and the lecture circuit, it is refreshing to see a lecture on the art of manipulation and stage deportment, particularly from one who has won top international awards. During October 2014, David traveled around the U.S. for an abbreviated lecture tour of ten cities in early October. While he was in Houston, we sat down to discuss the development of his award winning act.. Though you may not have the opportunity to hear his lecture this time around, you can still learn and enjoy his advice in this week's podcast.

David Sousa returns to the Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde with the Red Envelopes.

Lecture Testimonials:

"A lot of people might think that since David is a manipulator - world class, but still a manipulator that his lecture won't have anything of interest to them because they don't "Do that".  Well they couldn't be more wrong.  David just lectured in Dallas and it was excellent.  He clearly explained the thinking behind and how to perform his Red Envelope Act.  Not only will you enjoy seeing his creative process, but I heard several of our attendees commenting on how they were going to adapt many of David's techniques to what they do ( and these were not manipulators).

David also taught a few things that are great for close-up artists and kid show performers.  One of his items was so well received that I saw one of our areas full time family entertainers buying 3 of the props so that he would be sure not to lose it or wear it out.  I'm not going to tell you what it was, but I got one too and if you want to find out about it do yourself a favor and attend David's lecture." - Mark Jensen, Past President Texas Association of Magicians, Past President Dallas Magic Clubs (October 5, 2014)

"There are lecturers and there are lecturers; David Sousa definitely gave us his all; a great lecture. His material is original, his explanations clear and concise and best of all, a really nice guy. I think what was most refreshing was his willingness to share in-depth knowledge about how he created his act, etc. Nothing was held back. He opened our eyes to thinking out-side-the-box. An idea that many performers just don't get is that you need to HIDE the technique; many like to show this off....WRONG!..... We had a very large and enthusiastic crowd; David was happy and we were happy. We highly recommend his lecture and his Magic. We can't wait for his next lecture to roll around." - George Robinson, Owner/Operator Viking Magic, Collectors Workshop

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David talks in this podcast about competitions and how he started competing that led to FISM. He discusses performance venues along the way, how he "brainstorms" ideas, his creative process, the patience it takes to refine ideas and find what resonates with the audience, the importance of having a silent act that can play around the world to all international audiences, and more.

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. (please note: this RSS Feed subscription system may not work with Android systems). Remember, you can download it through iTunes. See the preview page by Clicking Here.

Tagged with David Sousa, Red Envelope, FISM Winner, Portugal, Ricardo Prater, FLASOMA.

October 9, 2014 by Scott Wells.
  • October 9, 2014
  • Scott Wells
  • David Sousa
  • Red Envelope
  • FISM Winner
  • Portugal
  • Ricardo Prater
  • FLASOMA
  • Post a comment
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107: MAGIC Live! 2013 - Day 2

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This was the first full day of the conference and it was full of exciting shows and sessions. This podcast is not as long as yesterday's because I had more time to sit with friends to chat whereas today was more of attending events. This shorter podcast contains more comments and "registrant reactions" to the sessions. 

The Opening Session was phenomenal and the sessions were good too but the international close-up show was outstanding featuring: Johan Stahl from Sweden, Simon Coronel from Australia, Denis Behr from Germany, Steve Valentine from the U.K , and Yann Frisch (FISM Winner) from France. 

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Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:08 - Rory Johnson, co-producer with Stan Allen, introduced the opening session and laid the theme of this year's event...Friends. 

00:03:15 - Cameron Ramsay, one of my fellow podcasters with Dodd Vickers' Magic Newswire, and I talk about our thoughts on the opening session. 

00:14:17 - As we await entrance into the session on creativity with Mark Settaducati and Lubor Fieldler, I chatted with Dick Olson and Raj Madhok about their assessment of the opening session. 

00:17:48 - Jeff and Laurie Pearson talk about their opinion of the Mike Bent ("Bent on Deception") session that he attended and I gave him my review of the Creative Session that I attended. Due to there being three sessions, we could only select two. We both talked about the Writing & Magic session by Larry Wilmore & David Regal. 

00:24:32 - Trixie Bond and Dick Olson give a wrap of the evening's international close-up show. I then followed with a quick wrap of the earlier evening show by the Long Beach Mystics.

Download this podcast in an MP3 file through FeedBurner or directly by Clicking Here then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here.

Posted in Convention Report and tagged with Cameron Ramsay, Rory Johnson, Dick Olson, Jeff and Laurie Pearson, Trixie Bond, Long Beach Mystics, Raj Madhok, MAGIC Live!, Johan Stahl, Simon Coronel, Denis Behr, Steve Valentine, Yann Frisch, FISM Winner.

August 13, 2013 by Scott Wells.
  • August 13, 2013
  • Scott Wells
  • Cameron Ramsay
  • Rory Johnson
  • Dick Olson
  • Jeff and Laurie Pearson
  • Trixie Bond
  • Long Beach Mystics
  • Raj Madhok
  • MAGIC Live!
  • Johan Stahl
  • Simon Coronel
  • Denis Behr
  • Steve Valentine
  • Yann Frisch
  • FISM Winner
  • Convention Report
  • 1 Comment
1 Comment
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The Magic Word The Magic Word

A Podcast for Magicians, About Magicians, Hosted by a Full Time Professional Magician, Scott Wells

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This week on The Magic Word Podcast, a chat with Christian & Katalina who have been performing their Mind Tripping Show in Indianapolis for 16 years.  https://www.themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagic/908-christian-and-katalina
#indianapolis #m
This week we feature an episode about two magicians 🎩 🎩 who share ideas on how to find your own theatre to perform in, plus learn how to work with a magic partner on stage. Visit the website for more information:  https://www.themagicwordpodcast.co
What a great, action-packed, adrenaline-laced, fast-paced movie. I recommend watching part one (Dead Reckoning) to catch up from where we left off two years ago. Best to see this on the big screen. Recommended!
Eric Leclerc joins us from Canada this week to talk about comedy and his experience being the compere (emcee) at the Blackpool convention 2025. #ericleclerc #canadianmagician #comedymagic #mikehammer https://www.themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagi
My son, Nick, received stem cells today for his leukemia. That means that today is his new "birthday." Let's hope and pray that this treatment works this time. 🤞
And then this happened! I was surprised at AbraCORNdabra with this award. Thank you for recognizing and appreciating my efforts. #abracorndabra2025 #tinybubbles
Three days of reports from AbraCORNdabra in Des Moines, Iowa featuring chats with organizers, registrants, dealers, and talent like @jekiyoo #stevedaly #alschneidermagic @samelsonmagic #abracorndabra2025 #desmoines #magicconvention
IYKYK Happy Mother's Day. Celebrating our annual pilgrimage with Kathy at my side, in spirit.
This week on The Magic Word Podcast, a chat with Christian & Katalina who have been performing their Mind Tripping Show in Indianapolis for 16 years.  https://www.themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagic/908-christian-and-katalina
#indianapolis #m This week we feature an episode about two magicians 🎩 🎩 who share ideas on how to find your own theatre to perform in, plus learn how to work with a magic partner on stage. Visit the website for more information:  https://www.themagicwordpodcast.co What a great, action-packed, adrenaline-laced, fast-paced movie. I recommend watching part one (Dead Reckoning) to catch up from where we left off two years ago. Best to see this on the big screen. Recommended! Eric Leclerc joins us from Canada this week to talk about comedy and his experience being the compere (emcee) at the Blackpool convention 2025. #ericleclerc #canadianmagician #comedymagic #mikehammer https://www.themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagi My son, Nick, received stem cells today for his leukemia. That means that today is his new "birthday." Let's hope and pray that this treatment works this time. 🤞 And then this happened! I was surprised at AbraCORNdabra with this award. Thank you for recognizing and appreciating my efforts. #abracorndabra2025 #tinybubbles Three days of reports from AbraCORNdabra in Des Moines, Iowa featuring chats with organizers, registrants, dealers, and talent like @jekiyoo #stevedaly #alschneidermagic @samelsonmagic #abracorndabra2025 #desmoines #magicconvention IYKYK Happy Mother's Day. Celebrating our annual pilgrimage with Kathy at my side, in spirit.

The Magic Word Has been recognized by FeedSpot as the # 1 magician podcast in the world. Thank you all for your support and for listening throughout the years.

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