311: 2016 PCAM Convention Report

Running concurrently with Abbott's Get Together, the PCAM convention was happening in Simi Valley, California. Although we do tricky things, being in two places at the same time is not one of our skills.

But thanks to Fred King, a Friend of The Magic Word, and attendee at this year's PCAM convention, he was able to cover part of it with a delightful interview with Shawn Farquhar and Michael Dardant plus a recording of a panel discussion Regrettably, due to personal reasons Fred was unable to record more than these two reports. Thank you, Fred, for taking the time to record this special edition of The Magic Word Podcast that gives us a little insight to the magic family that is the P.C.A.M.

Shawn Farquhar returns to "Penn & Teller Fool Us" television show where he fools P&T for the second time.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:03:20 - Fred King talks with Shawn Farquhar about some of the history of the P.C.A.M. Then after just a few minutes into the conversation, Michael Dardant joins them to enliven the conversation. They both share several fun and entertaining stories. Shawn also talks about his experience of fooling Penn & Teller a second time on "Penn & Teller Fool Us" which he could not talk about at the I.B.M. convention in San Antonio, TX.

00:42:18- Shawn Farquhar hosts a panel discussion with S.A.M. President Jeff Sikora and International I.B.M. President, Oscar Munoz as they talk about their respective organizations and goals for this year.

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218: Steve Spill - I Lie For Money

I'm reluctant to produce a podcast solely for the intent purposes of promoting something that someone wants to pitch; however, there are exceptions. And this is one of them.

Steve Spill has had a magical life...and it's not over yet! One could say that Steve "grew up" in the Magic Castle because his father, Sandy Spillman, was a long-time host and also conducted the seances there for many years. Through his early teenage years he had unprecedented access to hang out with many of the greats such as Dai Vernon, Charlie Miller, Francis Carlyle, Kuda Bux and many, many others. Steve also worked at the Jolly Jester with Bob Sheets in the early days of "bar magic" in Aspen, Colorado. Later, the two of them opened the "Brook Farm Inn of Magic" in Delaware. And for about the past 20 years, he has owned and operated "Magicopolis" in Santa Monica, California.

You can follow Magicopolis on Twitter @Magicopolis and find them on Facebook at http://facebook.com/MAGICOPOLIS (note the all caps for their name plus be sure to look for the "monkey" profile picture so you know you have the correct "Magicopolis")

Steve and I first met over 30 years ago when he came through to perform at Houston's Magic Island and I was one of the House Magicians. Although it was not quite like "two ships passing in the night", we had fallen out of touch with one another since then as we both followed our separate paths. When Steve contacted me with the idea of pitching his new book, I knew that we needed to catch up to talk about all the "water that has run under our bridges."

Steve begins at the end by talking about Magicopolis which he built and owns and where he and his wife, Bozene, appear weekly. He then talks about his many experiences at the Magic Castle and relates stories about the eight mentors at the Castle who shaped his future. He also talks about Bob Sheets and the Jolly Jester in Aspen as well as the Brook Farm Inn of Magic. There a lot of stories from his new book plus some that are not there bu only appear here in this podcast.

You can read many of these stories plus dozens more in Steve's new book, "I Lie for Money" coming out soon and only available through Amazon. You can Click Here for more details and to order your copy.

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Exclusive Interview with Professional Magician & Magic Theater Owner Steve Spill

Order your copy of Steve's book (and support The Magic Word) by clicking on the link below to Amazon.

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109: MAGIC Live! 2013 - Day 4

Every day and every show and nearly every session was great this year with lots of surprises and spectacles. This final day brought more of the same. And the big surprise for the end of the evening was the last performance of The Great Tomsoni and Company. It was as much of a surprise to us as it was for Johnny as he was joined on stage by good friends Lance Burton and Penn & Teller.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:08 - Noel Britten, from Bath, England, talks about the importance of giving back and the rich rewards magicians are given in the form of love when working at charity events and hospitals.

00:18:15 - S.A.M. International President, Dal Sanders, and the First Lady, Sindie Sanders, talk about conventions and the evolution of how the S.A.M. is keeping up with keeping their conventions new.

00:28:56 - Paul Stone talks about his plans for the Innovention convention in 2015 in Liverpool

00:33:12 - Steve Chezaday talks about the recent Abbott's Get Together. Steve was one of the featured performers of this years Get Together.

00:37:02 - Mark Korhouser gives us an update on his "First Trick" video project.

00:40:52 - Doug Anderson, cruise ship magician, talks about this being his first MAGIC Live! convention and relates his experience with this event.

00:43:43 - Auke Van Dauken, creator of metal products (cups, coins and more), talks about some of his exciting new products especially some created from Tommy Wonder's ideas.

00:49:41 - Doc Eason is another first time registrant at MAGIC Live! and he gives his observations on this event.

00:55:06 - Stan Allen thanks everyone for coming as he introduces Johnny and Pam Thompson presenting his last performance as The Great Tomsoni and Company.

00:57:36 - Lance Burton is the first voice you hear then Penn followed by Teller.

01:04:46 - Stan Allen gives us his quick perspective on this convention now that it is over.

01:08:37 - Milt Larsen, the Godfather of the Magic Castle, talked about the 50 years of the Academy of Magical Arts.

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