475: Jamy Ian Swiss with Stan Allen and Tom Gagnon - Three-Fer

While attending the 2019 MagiFest, I posted daily updates for each of the three days of the event and featured short conversations with talent, registrants, dealers, and organizers. Two of the conversations were longer than I normally like to include with such updates but shorter than the usual one hour of content for a “normal” podcast. So this week we feature the two conversations that were each less than a half hour but make for a satisfying hour podcast filled with different subject matter and points of view.

Jamy Ian Swiss has developed perhaps the most compact, amazing, and practical "Card on Ceiling" ever published, and now he shares the work on video for the very first time - a method you will carry with you every day, always ready to perform this unforgettable feat at a moment's notice. Visit our Online Magic Shop: https://www.themagicwordpodcast.com/magic-store/5rf6keh5dqmz7z6h241rolotrp30dj

Time Stamps for this podcast:

00:02:44 - First up was a conversation I was having with Stan Allen about the upcoming MAGIC Live! convention then we started talking about critics in our craft and the lack of good critics. As fortune would have it, Jamy Ian Swiss was walking by when we cornered him to talk about giving advice and constructive criticism. How fortuitous.

00:26:38 - Later that evening (much into the late night actually), we had a conversation with Tom Gagnon who talked about his projects both old and new and his passion for continuing to learn and move forward with innovative card ideas. He also talks about his friendships and passing relationships with notable magicians like Ed Marlo and Jon Racherbaumer.

01:03:11 - “Card on Ceiling” by Jamy Ian Swiss: This DVD includes three different versions created and used by professionals including Scotty York, J.C. Wagner and Jamy Ian Swiss. On this DVD Jamy includes the history of the trick, nods to those who have made it a signature piece of their shows, performances of all three methods by Jamy at the W.C. Fields Bar at the Magic Castle, plus a thorough explanation of the methods of each. It also includes a great idea by Jamy for having this effect always ready and where and how to hide the “secret stuff”. Excellent. This is a “must-have” for anyone wanting to perform this trick. Highly recommended.

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378 - Tom Frank - Street Wise

Tom Frank crossed the U.S. on a major lecture tour in early 2017. While he was in Houston, Texas, I had a chance to chat with him about some of the things in his lecture plus some of the things that weren't. Tom performed on Universal Studio's "City Walk" for a number of years until he was bumped by Harry Potter.

Tom Frank lectured for the Houston Association of Magicians and took some time to sit behind the new microphones to chat with Scott Wells for The Magic Word Podcast. Be sure to listen to our chat at https://www.themagicwordpocsast.com/scottwellsmagic/378-tom-frank

Time Stamps for this podcast:

00:08:18 - Tom talks about the importance of "Back of the Room Sales", pitching, and how magicians are leaving money on the table; performing on the street; advice he received from Cellini; lessons he's learned while on the street and on the road; operating a brick and mortar magic shop; and more.

01:06:24 - Product Review: "Cube 3" by Steven Brundage is not a gimmicked Rubik's Cube, but it is a super smooth working model complete with an online instruction video and PDF. This is NOT a self-working trick but will require work to perform. Recommended.

01:11:44 - Product Review: "The Yarn" by Manuel LLaser (Vernet Magic) is a signed bill/card to ball of yarn. Recommended.

335: Howard Hamburg - Voices from the Past

Howard Hamburg has been around a long time...a very long time. And he has conferred with and confided in the some of the legends of our magical art. You name them, and Howard has a true, first hand story about them. Howard brings history alive with his marvelous stories of personal relationships with legendary magicians. There are some great stories in here and some performance tips along the way, too. At the beginning of this podcast, Howard talks about his attendance at "Escorial" in El Escorial, Spain which is an invitation-only card magic convention hosted by Juan Tamariz.

A spectator places ANY 2 face-up spot cards on the table the magician removes a joker from his deck and places it face up onto the table as well. The performer mentions that the number 7 is considered a lucky number among Americans, the number 8 is considered a lucky number by the Chinese, but 13 is the performer's lucky number for certain cards in the deck.