910: Brian Curry - Entering The Funny Zone

Brian Curry is a corporate magician from the Washington, D.C. area who often performs comedy magic for executives and politicians inside the beltway. He also performs school shows while balancing a home life with a wife and family. For a long time, he and Mark Phillips shared the stage in a “dueling magicians” type performance that played to great reviews. Known as “D.C.’s most honest con man,” Brian has a regular show entitled “The Good Liar” that plays at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C.

Brian has several stories about performing for politicians that he can’t publicly share, but the interesting ones he can share, he does in this week’s episode. He also gives some advice and tips along the way while sharing some comical stories.

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For more information, please visit the website at: https://ibmring50.org/lecturers/

885: Blackpool 2025 - Day Three Report

Time stamps for this episode:

00:00:17 – Dom Chambers ran into me in the hallway on his way to rehearsal for his show. But he agreed to chat for a bit and tell us about his experience performing here and a quick recap of what he’s up to lately. Dom was the focus of a chat on The Magic Word Podcast on Episode #664 where you can learn more about him.

00:06:12 : Nigel Quinn just arrived for the final day and gives us his perspective of why he came for the day and what he hopes to see and enjoy.

00:12:02 - Ger Godley, from Ireland, talks about this year’s convention compared with last year. He definitely thinks this year’s event is better organized.

00:21:14 - Jamie Allen, formerly known as the iMagician, has an all new show, one of which was directed by Jonathan Goodwin. Jamie was the focus Episode #584 where you can learn more about him.

00:33:48 - Javid with Pelican Stagewear talks about his efforts to take his wares to the U.S., but time and customs prevents his efforts from being profitable.

00:42:35 - Ron Spangler enjoys coming to Blackpool each year. He was one of the organizers of the Magifest before it was turned over to Vanishing, Inc.

00:48:28 - Eric Leclerq was the emcee (compere) of the Friday night gala. His insult comic type of humor is much like that of Mike Hammer, and that is to say that it wasn’t for everyone. He talks a bit about his choices and how he came about to get this engagement and why he chose to stick with what he does best.

00:57:08 - Ian Kendall is another magician who came in for the day from Scotland and watched a lot of lectures and shows. He was the subject of Episode #796 where you can learn more about him.

01:11:15 - we give a quick wrap-up of the convention as I give a quick review of Rick Thomas’ gala finale show. He was the subject of Episode #632 where you can hear a more personal side of him.

Click on the banner above for more information about the 50th (and probably final) WInter Carnival of Magic in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

879: Mark Pocan - "Pocan" the Political Bear

Mark Pocan represents the second congressional district in Wisconsin, near Madison. He is also a long-time magician, but had a passion since his youth for both magic and politics. He is now serving his seventh term in office and for a few years was offering a YouTube channel filled with explanations of how politics works using magic in what he called “Magic Mondays.” Although he ceased production of those videos a few years ago, he plans to get them up and running again in 2025.

Mark came from a family of politicians and, as he says, began door-to-door campaigning for his father at the tender age of six. He pursued politics through college while using magic to defray some of his costs of schooling. He still performs magic at fund raising functions and other charitable events. He is often seen attending magic conventions and has twice attended Vanishing Inc.’s magic retreats including one in Washington, D.C. where he was able to use his influence to allow attendees access to some backstage places in Congress.