226: John Gaughan - Magic's Builder

As an epilogue to my six part series from Hollywood, I offer you this special podcast featuring John Gaughan, magic's premiere illusion builder. It was such a thrill to spend time in his workshop and magic salon where we talked about magic, magicians past and present, and illusion building. Then the special guided tour of his salon was quite impressive, too. I recorded the tour with my iPad and posted the videos on YouTube which are linked in this blog.

For those few magicians in the world who may not have heard of John Gaughan as well as those who do know him, I'm certain that all of you will learn something about one of magic's greatest illusion builder.

This podcast came in response to a listener who suggested that if ever I had the opportunity, then I should interview John Gaughan. So, when I knew that I was going to be traveling to the Los Angeles area, I contacted John well in advance to schedule a convenient afternoon when he could spend time and show me his workshop. I was delighted that he was in town and not off somewhere around the world installing or consulting but would actually be in town and have time to chat. I know you will enjoy this podcast as well as the videos.

Antonio Diavolo, the mechanical trapeze artist created by Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin (1805-1871), performed by John Gaughan and Ricky Jay.

John talks about his roots as an illusion builder when he first worked with Leo Behnke and others on Mark Wilson's "Magic Land of Allakazam" when he was just a prop painter. His progression to becoming a master craftsman and woodworker is fascinating. And he talks about some of the illusions he has built for many of the celebrated magicians over the past 50 years. He also talks about what makes for a good illusion and some of his failures. He concludes with a look into the future with where magic and grand stage illusions might be headed.

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.

If you have not yet made your reservation for your hotel room at the Hyatt Regency for the Jacksonville convention which takes place July 15th - 18th, 2015, your time is running out! After June 15th, the convention rate of only $99 will end, and th… — If you have not yet made your reservation for your hotel room at the Hyatt Regency for the Jacksonville convention which takes place July 15th - 18th, 2015, your time is running out!

After June 15th, the convention rate of only $99 will end, and there will be no guarantee of availability of additional room reservations.

If you are planning on attending the Jacksonville convention which promises to be a fantastic event, register for the convention, and MAKE YOUR HOTEL RESERVATION NOW!!!!

You can register for the convention here: https://www.magician.org/convention/online-registration

You can make your hotel reservation here: https://aws.passkey.com/g/20902549 or by calling the Hyatt Regency directly at 1-800-421-1442.

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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".

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.

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

212: Talking Trash with Steve Trash

MAGIC Magazine cover boy, Steve Trash, has been my guest in a previous podcast here on The Magic Word. In this podcast, Steve is recorded as he pontificates and waxes eloquent about street magic, character development, and more. He has a lot to say and he says a lot during our chat. This is not "trash talking" in the sports analogy vernacular, but this is Steve Trash doing all the talking and I did most of the listening. Hence, Talking (Steve) Trash..

He was performing in Houston along with Robert Livingston and he stopped by my home to chat and have a martini or two. After asking a couple of questions, I just sat back and listened and learned. It was like a magic mini-lecture...well, maybe not so "mini" as he talked for nearly an hour and a half. Or at least that's all I recorded. There was more before I turned on the recording device. I think this may become one of my more favorite podcasts. Let me know what you think.

Please take a seat, relax, and feel as if you are with us, enjoying a martini and the smooth jazz in the background as we talk about the early history of street magic in New York City (well, in the 1970's), the importance of pauses, performing "jazz" magic, reading the crowd, dealing with hecklers, knowing who you are on stage (your performing persona), and much 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. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here.