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241: I.B.M. 2015 Convention - Day Four

The 87th annual IBM convention drew to a close after another full day that began with the Order of Merlin breakfast that honored long time members of the organization. The Big Three events wrapped up by noon then the "Six Pack" events began. This is similar to the Big Three except here, registrants pick two from the six events they want to see. The afternoon lecture was by Bill Abbott.

Before the 8:00 public show, the organization presented its awards at a special 7:00 time slot in the Florida Theatre. The judges did not see an act worthy of the Gold Cups or the Gold Medal this year. Here are the winners:

Close-up
McBride Magic & Mystery school faculty award - Jolie Dreiling
IBM endowment and development fund scholarship to Stephanie Trott and Avi Littky
Sorcerers Safari Camp - Jolie Dreiling
Obie Award for People's choice went to Shin Lim
Second place adult - Ed Ripley
First place adult- Shin Lim
Second place junior - William Zaballero
First place junior - Jolie Dreiling
No Gold Cups
Peoples choice award - Shin Lim

Stage
Second place youth - Hannah Kikuchi
First place youth - Daniel Hernandez
Fantasia Magic Package went to Daniel Hernandez
Second place adult - Trent James
First place adult - Chris Randall
No Gold Medal
Peoples choice award - Hannah Kikuchi

The evening show was hosted by Tom Mullica who featured his new pickpocketing act. Also on the bill was Ken Scott, Soma, David Kaplan, and the Outerbridges. Registrants returned to the hotel where they said their goodbyes at the Farewell Party.

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Time stamps for this podcast:

00:01:04 - Guest of Honor, Fantasio, and maker of appearing/disappearing candles and canes

00:16:26 - David Gabbay, from Los Angeles, California, was a close-up contestant

00:17:03 - Eugene Burger

00:22:16 - Bill Abbott, performer and lecturer

00:33:54 - various magicians in a room comment on what they liked about this convention

00:38:29 - Chad Long, another performer and lecturer at this convention

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.

Click on the banner to visit the I.B.M. website for more convention information.

Click on the banner to visit the I.B.M. website for more convention information.

Posted in Convention Report and tagged with IBM Convention, Jacksonville, Florida, Fantasio, Eugene Burger, David Gabbay, Bill Abbott, Chad Long, Order of Merlin.

July 18, 2015 by Scott Wells.
  • July 18, 2015
  • Scott Wells
  • IBM Convention
  • Jacksonville
  • Florida
  • Fantasio
  • Eugene Burger
  • David Gabbay
  • Bill Abbott
  • Chad Long
  • Order of Merlin
  • Convention Report
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216: Brad Henderson, the Esoteric Escamoteur - Part Two, Tales from the Mansion

We continue our conversation with Brad Henderson telling stories about his good friend Richard Garriott, aka Lord British in Ultima and General British in Tabula Rasa, but perhaps more well known to the general public as a game developer magnate and civilian astronaut. As mentioned in the blog last week, Brad was the curator of Richard Garriott's magic collection though now Richards primary residence is in New York City following his nuptials in 2011.

We begin this second part of our chat discussing more of the practical than the theoretical side of magic. But since we are talking with Brad, it does eventually slide into a little more theory towards the end.

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Brad planned elaborate parties for Richard Garriott, one of which nearly cost Brad his life due to the stress and physicality of the planning. These parties were not your typical birthday parties but elaborate, extravagant events that that attracted the glitterati and Illuminati and literally cost a small fortune. The details and behind the scenes stories are incredible and almost "fairy tale" like.

Many of you are aware of the embezzlement proceedings that involved Hank Lee and Richard Garriott. Well, Brad tells a little more about that affair now that some time has been served, literally. 

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.

Tagged with Brad Henderson, Richard Garriott, Eugene Burger, Hank Lee, Lord British, General British.

March 26, 2015 by Scott Wells.
  • March 26, 2015
  • Scott Wells
  • Brad Henderson
  • Richard Garriott
  • Eugene Burger
  • Hank Lee
  • Lord British
  • General British
  • 1 Comment
1 Comment

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".

View fullsize Chicago Magic Lounge Crew
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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
  • Post a 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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