861: Up in Colon...Michigan, that is with Al the Only

Al the Only loved performing as a “40 miler” around the Detroit, Michigan, area for many decades. He entertained regularly as a restaurant magician and also as a trade show “infotainer.” He excelled in performing for numerous corporate clients, but his “real home” is where his heart is…Colon, Michigan, the Magic Capitol of the World. Al has been traveling to Colon for decades where he regularly gives tours of the magicians’ graveyard, He has even written a book about it that is updated every so often as another couple dozen magicians are interred there. A few years ago he moved to Lahaina, Hawaii, and suffered a huge loss due to the fires that devastated the town in 2023.

In this episode, Al the Only talks about performing magic in restaurants, working the trade showroom floors, entertaining corporate clients, authoring the book “The Magic Graveyard” and giving tours of the graveyard for over 40 years. He also discusses his move to Hawaii and how his home was destroyed in the 2023 fire that devastated Lahaina.

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853: Michael Mode - Getting in the Mode

One of the regular attendees at the annual Abbott’s Get Together, Michael Mode (from Detroit) used to be a very busy trade show magician specializing in auto shows. Now settled with another full time job outside of magic, he maintains his roots by keeping in the loop each year at Colon, Michigan. For a while, Michael used to coordinate the Amish dinners by providing magicians to perform for their families during the Get Togethers. Back in the days of the iTouch, he and Jeff Hobson developed a joke app that sold very well and is now available as a book entitled “Best Jokes Ever.” Michael is also the creator of the two-colored napkins that magicians use for Napkin to Rose.

This week Michael Mode talks about his work with auto shows, his relationship with Michigan magicians including Franz Harary and Jeff Hobson. Michael discusses the joke app he and Jeff Hobson developed that later became an encyclopedic book. You just look for a subject then find a joke to fit that subject, either clean or mature. Michael also talks about his development of the two-colored napkins used for Napkin to Rose.