328: Wilde Man, Wilde

If Oscar Wilde and Edgar Allen Poe joined forces to create a museum, gallery and retail store, then it would look like The Wilde Collection. Nestled in The Heights, a suburb near downtown Houston, this eclectic emporium of the eccentric is more than macabre. Lawyer B. Douglas, the artist-in-residence, manager and one of the proprietors, creates some of the most unusual objects 'd art that you can imagine. Well, I doubt you could imagine like him. For many of his creations come from his...nightmares.

One can spend hours at The Wilde Collection perusing through all of the unusual pieces in every little nook and corner. Some of the items are sold there on consignment from other artists and collectors while other pieces are creations of Lawyer and still others are not available for sale, but there for observing. In a way, it's kind of like visiting the home of the Addams Family.

This special Halloween podcast focuses on the Wilde Collection and its curator, Lawyer B. Douglas for a variety of reasons. There are several things that drew me to recording this podcast not the least of witch...I mean, "which" is that Lawyer is also interested in Bizarre Magic, of course. Another reason this is being featured is because of the seance that they will host on Sunday, October 30th. I was to be involved, but due to another performance engagement, I couldn't make it, but my cohort in the occult, Jamie Salinas, will conduct the seance. It will be for a limited group of 80 living souls who will try to contact the "Willow Witch" of The Heights. If you would like to contribute to the "legend" of the "Willow Witch", then please visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/thewildecollection/ and tell your story.

Owner, Lawyer B. Douglas gives us a tour of the Wilde Collection in The Heights near downtown Houston, TX

Time Stamps for this podcast:

00:03:46 - Lawyer B. Douglas talks about his background being born of a Mexican mother (who is a Curandero) and brought up Catholic and an African American father who has several voo-doo priestesses on his side of the family. After you hear his story, then you can better appreciate where he is coming from and how he came to hold the beliefs he now has. But Lawyer also talks about how he became to learn and enjoy "Bizarre Magik", too.

01:05:53 - "Burn Notice by Takel" is a switching device for a folded playing card and highly recommended.

01:09:31 - "At The Table with Andi Gladwin" is a wonderful lesson in how to get more gigs by using marketing tips to upgrade your website and use social media plus approaching groups, wedding magic and of course, a few great tricks sprinkled in for good measure. Recommended

01:13:30 - "Cold Cash by John T. Sheets" from Kozmo Magic is a wonderful DVD (including the necessary something to make the gimmicks) that is well worth the price to perform a transformation of currency in the hands of your volunteer. Recommended.

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Visit our Magic Store for more information on the tricks reviewed this week and more.

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/

#190 - Creating the Paranormal Experience

October is the month when things go bump in the night. It's also a good time to capitalize on those "bumps". You can create these paranormal experiences at Halloween parties in private homes or public houses like pubs, hotels, and other places that have a "haunted history". In this podcast, Jamie Salinas and Scott Wells share a few ideas on how to create this experience.

Jamie Salinas and I have been performing seances in Houston for the past seven years. We are working on a book but gave a preview at a recent I.B.M. Ring meeting. I turned on the microphone to record the mini-lecture and the Q&A that ensued. Seances are not for everyone, but there is a market for them. To view a calendar of our performances, visit the HoustonSeance website at: http://HoustonSeance.com

ATTENTION LECTURE/CONVENTION ORGANIZERS: Jamie and I can deliver a "double act" lecture with all the information you need to develop, produce, market and perform a seance in your community. The complete lecture includes the all-important information of how to put people in seats. Like any magic show, if you don't have an audience, then "you're just fooling yourself!" You can contact Jamie and Scott by email at: info@HoustonSeance.com

Join us for a night of a interactive haunted experience. Seating is very limited as well as dates. Go to www.HoustonSeance.com for more information.

In this podcast, Jamie and I agreed to release "inside" information on how to put together your own seance. We recognize that this is not for every performer. In fact, it is probably only for a very few. But for those who are interested in a "alternate stream of revenue" and the chance to present something different to your clients, especially during the Halloween season, then this mini-lecture includes information you need.

There are no "tricks" taught during this particular lecture but more of the marketing fundamentals of how to produce a seance, how to find a location, what to charge, determining your character (i.e. psychic, medium, magician, ghost hunter, etc.), high tech vs. low tech, plus some suggestions on where to find some effects to present (i.e. Outlaw Effects and Lebanon Circle Magick Co.)

If you are interested in receiving a copy of our lecture notes (upon which our book will be based) then please visit The Magic Word Shop to order your copy via instant download.

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.

Order Banachek's "Psychokinetic Touches" (and more) through the Magic Inspirations store by clicking the banner above.

Purveyors of Jack the Ripper "From Hell" and Titanic's "White Star" among so many other creepy effects.

Outlaw Effects, makers of the "Luna" book test and other bizarre effects.

A great effect for parlor or stage by Jamie Salinas. An unbelievable miracle at a bargain price of $19.95!

I always love this time of year when Steve Bryant posts his Halloween issue. If you're not a regular reader, then this is the month to surf over and see what's on Steve's mind.