356: Richard Faverty - LIghts, Camera, Hold

Some of the best cover photos ever published on MAGIC Magazine, Genii, The Linking Ring, and M.U.M. were the product of Richard Faverty at Beckett Studio in Las Vegas. But before he was the "go to guy" for creative promo shots, he was "Professor Bubbles" who toured the world with a bubble act and a world record holder, too.

Richard Faverty a.k.a. Professor Bubbles attempts to break his world record and fit 5 people (children) inside a giant bubble or bubblesphere at West Edmonton Mall, Alberta, Canada. 1999/2000 Filmed for Lindford's Record Breakers, and re-edited as late night filler for the Dave channel.

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00:04:21 - Richard talks about his early career with a bubble act then goes into a discussion of getting the right shot for the perfect promo shot. Sometimes the performer finds their "real selves" during the photo session. He talks about the process of creating something different every time, the differences between using traditional film versus digital, stock photos, setting up the shots, getting his photos on the covers of magazines, and stories about shooting some of the "guerilla" shots without being caught (it's always best to ask for forgiveness than it is for permission)..

01:09:17 - Product Review - "Flat Pack" by Andrew Mayne - a very commercial trick that can be carried in your wallet. Highly recommended.

01:11:52 - Product Review - "Bring It!" a three DVD set by Will Fern with his close-up Magic Castle act and his roving magic show explained. A very entertaining guy with wonderful routines and excellent thinking behind why he does what he does. Recommended.

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

Available here: http://bit.ly/flatpackeffect Flatpack takes one of the most powerful effects in magic and squeezes it inside your wallet. It's a credit-card sized effect with a huge impact. Tossed Out Deck: You produce a small card with every playing card printed on it and ask several people to glance at one.

Visit the virtual studio and see what Richard has created for others. He can create a memorable photo that will make you look like the star you are!

350: Hammer Time with Mike Hammer

For the past five years, Mike Hammer has been packing them in while headlining in his own theater in the Four Queens Casino and Hotel on Fremont Street, downtown Las Vegas.  Mike has his own style, and it works for him. He is the "Don Rickles" of magic with a rather abrasive approach where he actually insults his audience...and they love him! The night I visited his show, the room was packed and afterwards I overheard some saying this was a repeat visit to enjoy his show. Two people had paid for return visits to watch his show over 30 times!

Some of you might remember seeing Mike on "Penn and Teller Fool Us" with his outrageously memorable performance using a blow up doll. If not, then you can view the video here on this blog.

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In this podcast, we cover a lot of territory from how he developed his act, working in Las Vegas, routining, trick selection, getting out of bad situations when things go wrong, and keeping his performances fresh. This was a fun and funny podcast that includes a lot of sound advice with some great behind-the-scenes stories.

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

244: Two Daves - Dave Cox & David Kaplan

Two Daves that need shaves. Dave Cox and David Kaplan, both successful creative comedy magicians in their own right. Both were part of the talent line-up at this year's incredibly great I.B.M. convention in Jacksonville, Florida. Both performed and gave wonderful lectures (which I would recommend to other convention organizers). David Kaplan basically followed me from Italy to Florida, from FISM to the I.B.M. convention where he also performed and lectured. And I recently saw Dave Cox perform at the Magic Castle along with Bruce Gold in the Peller Theater as the "Evil Twins" (a wonderful act, BTW).

I caught up with Dave Cox after his lecture to sit down for a chat but before we turned on the recorder, David Kaplan wandered up to see if we wanted to go to lunch. I suggested we talk first, then eat. David acquiesced and joined the conversation which will last longer than the digested food. So, it is to your benefit that we get to hear some advice, stories and chuckles from a couple of the "under-sung" comedians in our industry today.

Magician and Comedian Dave Cox in the 2007 Hack and Slash Christmas Special. This year's show is December 11, 12 and 13th, 2009 in Baltimore. For tickets and Information, visit http://www.HackandSlash.com Also, Visit Dave at http://www.thedavecoxshow.com/

The Great Kaplan comedy, magic, music act

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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.

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In this 30 minute podcast, Jamie Salinas talks about his touches on"Private Eye", a mentalism effect by ProMystic and Banachek talks about Cris Angel's "The Supernaturalists" show.

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ProMystic is dedicated to providing leading edge technology to advancing the art of mentalism and magic. Craig Fillicetti, founder of ProMystic, is an electrical engineer with a masters degree and over 20 years experience in new product development. He is also a working mentalist/magician.