330: Bob Schulien on "Schulien's" Bar Magic

Schulien's was one of the legendary magic bars in Chicago that thrived throughout most of the 20th century. At the soul of the restaurant was its owner, Matt Schulien. Chicago-style magic was born here where the magic came fast and furious as drinks were served and the motto was "GTFM" (Get The F'ing Money).

In this podcast, Robert "Bob" Schulien, the grandson of Matt Schulien worked at Schulien's under his father who was heir to the bar and who encouraged Bob to perform magic for the patrons. He was told that people came to the bar not only for food and drink but also for the magic. They expected magic and so Bob became the "designated magician by default". Other magicians later came to work and perform at Schulien's (like Al James and Chuck Morris) until it closed on January 27, 1999. There is an excellent article online that tells its history at The Chicago Bar Project.

Bob carries on the tradition of bar magic each week at The Chicago Magic Lounge along with a bevy of prestidigitators who entertain every Thursday and Saturday night. You can listen to a previous episode with the owners/managers that was broadcast #213: Chicago Magic Bars and Lounges

Chicago Magic Lounge quickly became 2015's speakeasy for many professional traveling magicians. Not only to perfom but also relax by enjoying the camaraderie of fellow Chicago magicians, as well as honing their craft. I've been collecting fun behind the scenes video and photos taken over the first year of shenanigans at the CML.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:04:36 - Bob Schulien talks about the early years of his grandfather Matt Schulien's Bar in Chicago from its earliest days until it finally closed. Bob regales us with many stories about his grandfather and the magic and pranks he used to perform for and on his customers.

00:56:45 - "Brother Paul" West invented a new product called the CellGrasp which makes it easier to hold you mobile phone while taking selfies. This is a product I keep on my cell phone all the time and I find indispensable. He also has a special offer to listeners of The Magic Word Podcast.

01:03:54 - "Flaming Coffee" by SansMinds is a visual stunner that takes the Fire Wallet to a new level. Recommended with reservations. Also, not available to those under 19.

01:07:49 - "The Deceased" by Jamie Daws is a creepy, dark and bizarre bit of magic that could have your audience feeling the goosebumps. This is a :Living or Dead" test that is well made and can be carried around in your wallet to creep out people at a moment's notice. Recommended.

Order a CellGrasp and receive your choice of any one of Brother Paul's five downloads from his website. Order two CellGraps and receive two free downloads. Oder three, and...well, you get the idea.

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303: What's App with Carl Andrews

Carl Andrews hails from Indianapolis, IN but lived and performed in Hawaii for eight years and now resides in North Carolina.

Carl talks about the old "Illusions" restaurant in Carmel, IN that was a magic themed restaurant that featured now well-known magic "names" like Michael Close, Homer Luwag, Chris Kenner, plus guests like Eugene Burger, Charles Greene III and others. We also talk about magic-themed restaurants.

Video clip from Carl Andrews Mental Comedy Show carlrandrews.com

A brief message about Audio Ape, the best audio companion for Show Cues.

During our discussion, Carl and I talked about an app by Max Krause but could not remember it's name. The app Carl was talking about during the podcast was Mental Killer and it's only available on the iPhone. To see some of the products offered by Carl Andrews, please visit his website at: http://www.carlandrews.com/products.html You can help both Carl and The Magic Word by purchasing his book through Amazon by clicking on the link below in this blog. And if you want to learn more about ShowCues, then visit the Conjuring Cabinet website then order it through the iTunes App store for $89.99.

BTW, during this podcast, I was trying to remember the name of a spy-themed bar in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After this podcast was posted, John Graybeal, a Friend of The Magic Word, reminded me that the name of the place is the Safe House. Thanks, John. It is unquestionably one of the coolest places I've ever visited!

Order Carl's book, "Magic From Maui" that includes all of the effects on his DVD of the same name, and more! Lots of great ideas and tricks for performing Restaurant Magic. It is just as fresh and relevant aas the day it was published in 2003.

Thank you to the Friends of The Magic Word whose financial support helps pay for the shipping of these prizes.

Click the banner to visit The Magic Word online magic store. Help support us with your purchases.

157: Jim Sisti - On The Menu

What was he thinking? Why would someone start a bi-monthly magic publication in the early 1990’s? Desktop publishing was in its infancy in 1990, and I mean dot matrix printing and tractor-fed printers. And when I say low resolution graphics, I really mean pixilated clip art. Wow! And then to make it even more arcane, focus on a small segment of the magic society: restaurant magic. Even at its peak, they only had 500 subscribers. What was he thinking?

But Jim Sisti had a passion and created something that will live as essential reading for the restaurant magician as the Bible of Restaurant Magic. The Magic Menu started with the September/October 1990 issue that carried on for 11 years and eventually bound into two hardback volumes. I believe Jim has a plan for the last couple year’s worth of issues to be bound sometime.

The Magic Menu led the field in educating magicians in how to be a restaurant magician. It remains the longest running and only regularly published newsletter exclusively for the performing restaurant magician. The Magic Menu included advice, tips, tricks, brilliant articles and more for the restaurant magician. Contributors included all the top workers of the day including Al the Only, Michael Ammar, Michael Close, Jay Sankey, Simon Lovell, Paul Green, Doc Eason, Eugene Burger, just to drop a few. I was pleased and honored to have been one of the regular columnists for The Magic Menu for a number of years. I was also the one who designed the artwork for the masthead for the later years of the publication.

Jim was recently an adviser for Criss Angel’s “MindFreak” TV show and now works with Richard Osterlind and seen on many of Richard’s instructional videos. Jim is not only a close-up magician but also a skilled stage performer as well.

In this podcast, Jim talks a little about The Magic Menu, but more extensively about restaurant magic and some of the ideas gleaned from this publication. Jim talks about the real secrets and talks about facts, figures and money.. In addition to talking about the genesis of The Magic Menu, we discussed Bulletin Board Services (BBS) and other early iterations of how magicians congregated online in the days of "dial-up", which was long before the internet.

If you are interested in performing in a restaurant or in a corporate strolling environment, then this is a "must hear" podcast.

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.

330: Bob Schulien on "Schulien's" Bar Magic

303: What's App with Carl Andrews

157: Jim Sisti - On The Menu

Magic & Martinis Thursday

The Magic Word