496: Scott Alexander - Stand-Up Guy

Scott Alexander’s magic reached millions on NBC’s season six of “America’s Got Talent” where he advanced all the way with his large stage illusions. With articles in People Magazine and Nations Business, the Oprah Show took notice and Scott was invited by Oprah Winfrey to make a guest appearance on her show. Scott had the honor of headlining on the Las Vegas Strip at Caesars Palace for over seven years and 4,000 performances of large grand illusions fused with stand-up comedy magic. Scott’s magic has been featured on “Penn & Teller’s Fool Us” on the CW, The SyFy Channel, Discovery Channel and NBC. Scott has appeared in Paris on the world class and prestigious Le Grand Plus Cabaret Du Monde. Whether it be the intimacy of a close-up sleight of hand performance, stand up comedy magic, or the all out spectacle of a large stage show, Scott Alexander’s delivery is always lighthearted, somewhat irreverent, amazing, quick-witted and sure to leave you filled with wonder and laughter.

Scott Alexander talks about the development of MAJOKE, the parody of MAGIC Magazine that he helped produce, MAJOKE is probably the most hilarious, controversial, offensive and down right funny thing to come out in the magic world...ever! Similar to the "Weenie" parody of Genii Magazine a few years back, but nowhere near as reserved. We also talk about immediate gratification with immediate digital downloads like the new Magicflix, and the difference between males and females doing magic, the book he is writing on the life of Denny Haney, how he landed his job at Caesar’s Magical Empire,working with Penguin Magic, how he thinks and creates magic and so much more.

We also talk about his wife’s magic show. You can view Jenny Alexander’s promo video here: https://youtu.be/O-KQnN9uRv4

And here is the link to Denny Haney’s daughter’s movie we discussed: https://youtu.be/U42N6VT2USc

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Soctt Alexander’s “Bias Pad” is reviewed this week on the podcast.

Scott Alexander Lecture Notes Winner.jpg

266: Wizard Wars Woman - Billy Kidd

Billy Kidd is a force to be reckoned with. She is a street magician (with a straight jacket escape as her signature trick), but she is best known to the general magic community as one of the Wizards on the SyFy television series "Wizard Wars" (produced by Rick Lax) in the second season. Born in Canada, she now resides in Bath Spa, England with Gazzo. So now you see her connection with street magic.

She actually came into magic later in life than most male magicians who generally get interested in their adolescent years. Billy was 21 when she first saw and was influenced by a stage magician. As a drama major in college, she was already involved with and had a passion for theatre. But she saw the potential of being her own person as a street performer and creating her own stage wherever she was. She met Gazzo who took her under his wing and mentored her in the ways of the street and, well...the dominoes fell.

Street Magician, NIck Nickolas, was the inspiration for Billy Kidd. You can get a sense of his style in this video. You can learn more about Nick at www.nicknickolas.com

Billy traveled with Gazzo on his recent lecture tour of the U.S. and stopped by as my house guest. I talked with Gazzo on a podcast with the intent of bringing over Billy to chat, too; however, Gazzo had so much to talk about that it filled the hour. I felt that Billy would have enough to fill another hour talking about her experiences as a female magician in our male dominated art and the challenges for a woman magician on the street.

I was not wrong.

Mail out magic holiday cards this year from the beautiful Taschen MAGIC Book. 100 postcards for less than $20.00. Order through the link below and help support The Magic Word through the Amazon affiliate program.

Not just a good read for the holidays, but a great read anytime with wonderful stories about magicians and Steve Spill's magical life.

264: Street Talk from Gazzo

With literally tens of thousands of performances over his lifetime, Gazzo is one of the world's best street performers. Don't just take my word for it. On multiple occasions he has taken top honors at street festivals as the "best" street performer. Gazzo resides in Bath Spa, England, but as a globe-trotter, he is really a citizen of the world.

During a recent nationwide lecture tour across the U.S., Gazzo stopped by Houston and visited my home to record a chat. Gazzo talked about his philosophy of life, working the streets around the world, differences (or lack of differences) in appreciating verbal humor among other cultures and non-English speaking audiences, and much more.

Support The Magic Word. Visit our Amazon Associates page and find something you'll love. Here is one example of something you'll really enjoy: Steve Spill's book about magic and magicians and no tricks: "I Lie For Money".