767: Randy Wakeman - I've Been Around for a Long, Long Years

Randy Wakeman has been around for many decades and was often seen lecturing and performing at magic conventions. Nonetheless, I have always seen him as an “underground” magician who appeals to the true sleight-of-hand experts. He is one of those guys who has “been there, done that, has the t-shirt” as he was one of the regular performers about the Chicago Bar Magic Scene before the turn of the last century. He has written several books on magic (card magic mostly) and is still relevant in our community as a performer, teacher and author.

While at the recent Senior Tour close-up convention in St. Louis, The Magic Word spoke with Randy as part of the convention report content. He was preparing for a workshop, so we didn’t get a chance to go in-depth as I had wanted. But we agreed to get together at the 4F convention in Buffalo a couple months later. True to his word, we sat down to complete our chat which results in this episode. The content of our chat in both places was a little disjunctive, so the editing required us to put the second conversation first then plug in the chat in St. Louis and finish with our talk while in Buffalo. This sounds more confusing that it actually is, but I know you will understand and enjoy our chat.

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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.

444: Don Wiberg - Part Two: Chicago Magic Roundtable History

Don Wiberg is a Past International President of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. Hre is the historical information on the Chicago Round able as reported on the website of the Chicago Magic Lounge:

The Chicago Magic Round Table was originally established in 1929 as an informal gathering of professional and amateur magicians, meeting daily for lunch at De Lazon’s restaurant. Luminaries like Jay and Frances Marshall, Dr. Harlan Tarbell, Harry Blackstone Sr., and Werner Dornfield, held court in the spirit of camaraderie and a shared love of the art of magic. Word quickly spread, and the Round Table came to be a headquarters for magicians.

The gatherings continued into the mid-1950s, and endured a few changes of location, eventually settling on a daily lunch at the Drake Restaurant. Eventually though, meetings tapered off, sometime in the 1960s, and the first iteration of the Round Table slowly vanished.

The Chicago Magic Round Table had a brief resurgence in the late 2000s when Dan Mindo, Tracy Atteberry, and David Parr revived the informal gatherings beginning at the Green Door Tavern under the name "Chicago Magic Round Table". However, that too, faded away as schedules and availability had their eternal clash, and schedules won...

In 2018, the Chicago Magic Round Table has been re-established with a new permanent home: the Chicago Magic Lounge. An association of practicing, amateur, and hobbyist magicians, our goal is to create a community for practitioners and lovers of magic. Be a part of the grand history of Chicago magic. Click the link below for more information.

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here or through iHeart Radio by Clicking Here.. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here