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

#205: Mile High City to the Big Apple - Tickets and Shows

I recorded a podcast with several owners/operators/performers of small theaters from California to Florida. In this podcast we go into this area a bit deeper to not only talk about other shows and how to find a theater, but also how to sell tickets online. This is an interesting podcast that features two separate chats: one with William Rader, who moved from Oklahoma to Colorado to follow his dream, and the second is with an alliterative duo, Max Mayhem and Logan Lethal who had a dream and made it a reality by finding a venue in downtown Manhattan.

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William Rader is up first talking about his mentalism show and why he moved from Oklahoma to Denver to develop his show. He discusses how he markets his "Mind Reading and Mystery Show" called "An Enchanted Evening", how he finds performing space, talking with the theater managers, networking, and how he puts people in the seats. He also goes into detail about how he has developed his new ticketing platform, "Well Attended dot com". This is an exciting opportunity for all of us to sell tickets online for our audiences.

00:32:52 - Max Mayhem and Logan Lethal are the two known as "Nightmare Brothers Circus" that host a cabaret show in "Times Scare" in New York City that's filled with sideshow activity and comedy. They have been influenced by Michael Finney and Dan Sperry, kind of an unlikely duo. They talk about their vision and how they found the venue where they perform and what's in their show. They have a very unique way of accepting tips after their show, too!

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.

Click the banner above to go to a ticketing website to buy your ticket to the Circus.

Click on the banner above to get more information on how you can sell tickets to your next show.

Time is running out to save $100 on registration. Do it now before January 15th. Click on the banner above for more info.

100: Michael Finney's 17th Annual Dry Heat Classic - 2013

Michael Finney's 17th Annual Dry Heat Classic brought out 144 players and the fun loving souls from around Phoenix and across the country. Michael and his wife, Lori, along with an army of friends and volunteers put together a fantastic, fun event. This year the two day golf tournament was played on two courses but had the evening mega-shows in the theatre of the Wild Horse Casino and Hotel. Each of the two nights showcased a different set of comedians and magicians plus auctions of some valuable merchandise and one-of-a-kind items. Although not yet tallied, it is expected that this year may raise over $60,000 in donations and ticket sales to the evening shows. The money raised will go to some pretty important charities.  Michael tried to cram five hours of entertainment into three and a half hours each evening which made each performer carve out their best stuff.

This "prequel" to the I.B.M. convention was a treat for early, early arrivals  Michael coordinated this year's event so it closely coincided with the convention. It is doubtful this alignment of the stars will ever happen again. 

00:00:17 - I chatted with the co-chairman of the I.B.M. convention, Mike Stratman, about what we might expect at this year's convention.  He talked about some of the celebrity magicians who will be in attendance such as Lance Burton and others. He also discussed the "convention within the convention" for the youth.

00:08:42 - One of the evening's featured entertainers, Oscar Munoz, talks about his first time playing golf in this tournament and what a thrill it was working with all the comedians.

00:17:09 - Michael Finney talks about the golf tournament and the charities they support plus working cruise ships and more, all packed into a tight podcast.

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here then right click to save the file. You can also download the MP3 media file directly from the RSS feed by Clicking Here.