513: John Bannon - Scholar, Solicitor, Sorcerer

There are a fairly large number of great card magicians creating original magic. But the man whose card magic has resonated most with magicians in the last 30 years is John Bannon. Why? We think it's because John has just the right cocktail of ingredients: his magic is DIFFERENT than what others are doing. John has shared his magic through a series of books and DVD’s that have revolutionized card tricks. John is a low key, self-effacing, intellectual who is an attorney by day and a card trick innovator on weekends. For the last few decades, John has been part of the Saturday Session with Simon Aronson, David Solomon and David Finkelstein who work on and develop innovative card tricks.

For more about the Saturday Session crew of magicians, Click Here for the online article referred to in this podcast.

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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.

220: My Week at the Magic Castle 2015 - Part One

We're off to be the wizard. We head west this week to the hills of Hollywood a bit early before my week begins because I want to catch the Castle swap meet on Saturday. To kick off this multi-part podcast of my week at the Castle, there is no better way to indoctrinate you than to immerse you in the lore and with stories from the Castle's rich heritage.

In this Part One podcast, we sit down in "Vernon's Corner" to hear stories from Howard Hamburg and Newell Unfried. They tell story after story of legends some of whom are long gone but whose spirit lives on in the Magic Castle. They include stories of Dai Vernon, Eddie Fields, Earl Nelson, Ed Marlo, John Cornelius and many, many others. We also get to chat with Bill Goodwin, the Librarian of The Magic Castle. What a way to kick off this series!

00:07:22 - Howard Hamburg and Newell Unfried seem to top each other by telling one story after another about many of the legendary magicians who have frequented the Magic Castle over its rich years of history. Newell has some great stories about those who have visited the old Hollywood Magic shop and Howard talks about some of the characters from the Castle like Senator Crandall and Dai Vernon. Our discussion is topped by a final story involving Martin Nash and the Professor. Nothing can top this one.

00:50:34 - Close-Up Magician of the Year (and current nominee again for 2014), Bill Goodwin talks about the Castle library and the thousands of videos available among the many tombs of books. He also talks about bequethment of collections and how you can provide for donatoins to the library after you are gone.

513: John Bannon - Scholar, Solicitor, Sorcerer

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

220: My Week at the Magic Castle 2015 - Part One

The Magic Word