#188 - Charlie Randall, the "R" Behind H&R Magic Books

While traveling to Ft. Worth for the 2014 Texas Association of Magicians annual convention, my wife drove the car while Charlie Randall and I sat in the back seat and chatted about the creation of H&R Magic Books which grew into one of the world's leading magic book sellers. Please forgive some of the ambient road noise you hear in the background during this interview. But you should get the feeling as if you were riding along with us as you sat in the front seat and listened to our chat.

H&R Magic Books

Richard Hatch & Charlie Randall - 2006

Charlie talks about the beginnings of H&R Magic Books, its evolution, and how you might consider starting your own business. Today, Richard and Charlie have sold the business to Marshall Peterson and they have taken a back seat as Marshall moves the business forward. Charlie now occasionally helps out behind the booth at magic conventions but he mainly focuses on publishing new books.

In this interview, he also talks about publishing books and what he looks for when people submit material for his consideration for publishing. Charlie also talks about brick and mortar magic shops, the evolution of videos to DVD's, and more.

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Second installment of "Meals with Magicians" featuring a dining experience with Banachek...well, not so much of "dining" as it was an "eating" experience at one of Houston's premiere burger chains, Southwells.

166: Day 1 - IBM/SAM Combined Convention 2014

July 1st was the first full day of magic starting with a close-up show on stage complimented by large screen image magnifiers with an overhead camera, all very well done to assure good viewing for 1,000+ people in the audience. The show was hosted by Shawn Farquhar in place of Steve Bargatze who was unable to attend at the last minute due to some health issues. David Stone opened followed by Shawn and concluding with Henry Evans.

After lunch, we first of the FISM North America Stage contests. Although I understand that the rules were change to allow only residents of North America though it appeared that some of the stronger candidates were not from around these parts. Perhaps they are being considered for whittling down the field for the IBM and SAM competition.

Opposite of the stage contest was the David Stone Lecture. The evening activity was the Fat Brothers: Dani DaOrtiz, Christian Engblom and Miguel Angel Gea. Richard Turner closed out the night with two late night , one man shows.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:0 - Richard Hatch and Charlie Randall, formerly of H&R Magic Books, are standing in line awaiting their Starbucks order. Dick Hatch brings us up to date on the Hatch Academy of Magic in Utah.

00: - Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger tell about the incredible experience of working with the youth program for two full days at this convention.

00: - Greg Bordner, Abbott's Magic Company, tells us a little of what to expect at this year's Get Together.

00: - Dale Salwak and Lance Burton talk about the incredible talent that is coming out of Korea, China and Japan and they talk about some of their mentors and instructors.

00: - Bill Cook and his mother/agent, Chris, talk about the 2010 movie "Make Believe" that featured Bill and how it has influenced his life. Bill also gives tips for young magicians.

00: - Lance Burton brings us up to date on the status of his film project, "Billy Topit, Master Magician" and when we might see that film hit the theaters.

155: Day Three - F.F.F.F. 2014

More fun and more magic than you can shake a wand at, Day three saw a few more people arrive for the weekend and the afternoon and evening shows were outstanding with many acts that drew standing ovations.

The official activities on the morning began with the Pat Page Memorial Workshop, hosted by Mike Powers, that featured "Tricks from Before 1950". For a PDF of the tricks taught, you can Click Here to read it all. The afternoon show, "World Gala Sho" was hosted by Buddy Farnan, followed by the second afternoon show, "4F Friends, Old and New", emceed by Oscar Munoz. The evening show "Friday's Finger Flicking Frolic" compered by Meir Yedid. The evening's show was divided into two parts with a brief intermission that was punctuated by repeated standing ovation. There was no lecture during the day' however, lots of learning went on everywhere throughout the hotel.

Time codes for this podcast:

00:00:15 - FISM Winner, Soma from Hungary, gives us an update on the status of his book about using music. We last talked in Bristol on May 13, 2013. This will be an invaluable source for all magicians from close-up to stage.

00:10:35 - Rocco returned to the F.F.F.F. after a four year hiatus while he has been performing all over the world. Rocco talks about his experiences working at the Crazy Horse in Paris to theaters in Russia, China and many other places around the world. Rocco will be delivering what may well be his last lecture ever. on Penguin coming this July. More details at Penguin Magic. Rocco also talks about his D'Lites and the future of his products. One such product is his stage version of Slydini's jumbo Linking Safety Pins, among other items available through his website at http://DLitesNext.com or http://TheMagicOfRocco.com By the way, the magician from Spain that Rocco and I talked about was Mario Lopez from Spain.

00:28:48 - Guest of Honor, Shawn Farquhar, talks about his many contests he has competed in over the years and the multitude of awards he has received. Shawn will be the incoming International President of the I.B.M. later this summer (at the combined I.B.M. and S.A.M. convention). Here he talks about what he plans to do during his term in office.

00:50:50 - Richard Hatch, formerly of H&R Magic Books, talks about his recent injury and recovery following a fall that resulted in some stitches (thanks, Raj Madhok, for removing them here at the convention).