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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248: Day Four - MAGIC Live! 2015

The General Session for the final day was hosted by Mark Kornhauser who talked about lessons to learn from his monthly column "For What It's Worth:. Charlie Frye talked about the subject of Character and the importance of building one. Axel Hecklau talked about how to produce your own show in your own area. And the feature was the panel discussion hosted by Bill Malone with Ron Conley and Steve Forte as they talked about the differnce between gambling moves and magician moves.

In the Focus (breakout) sessions, Tony Clark discussed Slydini;s "Paper Balls Over the Head:; Mike Bent and Buster Balloon talked about "Monster Kids" and Joseph Barry blew us away with his card handling in "There's Always a Beginning".

The evening show was hosted by Justin Willman who was a standout highlight with an affable character that easily broke the fourth wall. Mark and Jinger Kalin premiered a new illusion and closed with a double "thin model sawing" with a twist. Xavier Mortimer put in not one, but two outstanding, original performances including a self levitation while "jumping rope". Den Den and Hun Lee both did very nice manipulation acts. The Evasons were stellar with their two person mind reading act. Dan Sperry reprised his fantastic, creative and bizarre bird act from the Illusionists tour. But the real highlight that got everyone talking was the 17 year old juggler, Ty Tojo who eaily juggled seven balls with alarming aplomb.

The Farewell Party featured an opportunity for some lucky registrant to win either $500, $1,000, $5,000 or $100,000. The lucky winner played a gamer wherein he selected certain tiles (similar to large Scrabble tiles) that had the value of one of the denominations inside the envelope. Whatever five numbers the person drew would be the amount he/she would win. The winner drew five $1,000 envelopes so he won $1,000.

My signature Coin in Bottle routine being performed at the 2014 TAOM Magic Convention in Fort Worth Texas

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:26 - Sean Popp talks about the Rubic Cube and Show Cues updates that are coming.

00:05:55 - David Deeble talks about being the MC for the morning session and a synopsis of his presentation.

00:13:26 - Master Payne talks about working Renaissance Festivals and Kozmo talks about working on the street.

00:28:35 - Axel Hecklau talks a bit about the presentation he gave on puting together a venue in your own community.

00:37:28 - Kayla Drescher talks about working behind the scenes at MAGIC Live!

00:39:43 - Richard Myer and Steve Bedwell give their comments on highlights from the convention.

00:47:02 - Tony Clark talks about his presentation on Slydini's "Paper Balls Over The Head"

00:53:21 - Giovanni Livera and Ian Pigeon are joined by Rafael Benatar as they talk about some of their highlights from the convention. Ian is the creator of "My Pet Boris" spider app and he talks about the creation of this variation of Jim Pace's "The Web".

01:19:15 - Dan Sperry says hello and goodby then we chat with Rory Johnston about his participation in the production of MAGIC Live!

213: Chicago Magic Bars & Lounges

Chicago has a rich history of magic bars within the city limits as well as in the outlying areas. The "hay day" of magic bars in Chicago ended around 1998 with the closing of the last magic bar. But Joey Cranford and John Sturk are pumping new life into an old concept with the new nightclub/theater called "Chicago Magic Lounge". This will be a recreation of the early 20th century, prohibition era lounge one night each week on the upper part of Chicago.

Bill Weimer is a local magician who was an integral part of the Chicago magic bar scene from the 1970's through the 1990's. He worked seven of the nine or so Chicago-land magic bars. He has a lot of stories about these clubs in their glory days and in fact, wrote a book about his experiences called "Now You See Them, Now You Don't".

00:03:18 - Joey Cranford and John Sturk talk about the newest venture that will open on March 5, 2015, The Chicago Magic Lounge. They talk about their vision of the Lounge and what they hope will happen. They will also encourage local magicians to come and hang our and create a "magic lab" where performers can try out new stuff.

00:40:56 - Bill Weimer talks about the history of Chicago-land bars from his perspective of one who has been there and done that having worked at seven of the nine or so magic bars within the city's boundaries over a 20 year period. Bill wrote the book on bar magic entitled "Now You See Them, Now You Don't". In this podcast, Bill shares some of the stories from his book and his perspective as a working performer.

Order your copy of Bill's book at his website http://www.magicbarbook.com/