395: Andre Kole and Company

According to Genii's "Magicpedia", Andre Kole is an American magician and inventor of magical effects. He is also a committed Christian and is a public speaker for the evangelical group Campus Crusade for Christ International. But more than than, I know him as a friend and creative genius. He has received numerous awards in and outside of the magic community. One such accolade I remember him receiving was the "Guest of Honor" when the I.B.M. hosted its annual national convention in Phoenix, Arizona in 2013. That convention was covered by The Magic Word Podcast.

Regrettably we did not get a chance to chat with Andre then when his health was better. Now it seems that it is hard for him to remember and recount his life's adventures. But in this week's podcast, we do get to hear from him briefly as we talk with his son, Tim Kole, and other friends, Les McKinney and Craig Greenwood.

Andre Kole performing one of his early creations with his son Tim. This footage is of a program in April 2010. Different music was dubbed over the actual performance music.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:06:15 - Tim and Andre Kole talk about the disposition of their illusions. They are indexing all of their illusions to put up for sale.

00:21:00 - Les McKinney talks about cruise ships, getting "flight time", developing an act, packing small and playing big,listening to your audience, and selecting volunteers.

00:41:39 - Craig Greenwood tells us a few "stories form the road" after working with Andre Kole for 35 years around the world.

00:47:39 - Product Review: "Sonic Stab" DVD by Loki Kross (Sansminds) - a modern day update of the classic card sword stab using...smart phone ear buds. Different and recommended with reservations.

00:51:16 - Product Review: "Moving Home” DVD and gimmick (Sansminds) - the home button on an iPhone visibly moves from one end of the phone to the other. Recommended but requires home made gimmick and “pocket management”.

00:55:34 - Product Review: "Intro to Sponge Balls" DVD by Michael Dardanelles - good information for those wanting to learn sponge ball magic. Not really great production value of the video, but good quality information, tips, tricks, moves and full explanations. Recommended for beginners.

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235: FISM Italy - Day Four

It may have been a little overcast outside, but the weather and the magic was perfect in the convention center. After viewing the stage competition from 8:30 to 12:30, I got to walk around the dealers a bit more, chat with friends, and attend a couple lectures. And of course, it was Thursday which meant magic and Martinis in the evening with friends at the bar.

After watching Luke Jermay's one man show, was the evening gala featuring: Cyril Takayama and Eun Gyeol Lee as co-MC's with Mike Chao, Topas, David Kaplan, Tony Frebourg, Alberto Giorgi, Rob Zabrecky, Sos & Victoria and Samuel.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:01:10 - Reuben Moreland

00:06:39 - Michael Perovich

00:11:23 - Rainer Pfeiffer and Martin Eisele

00:18:18 - David Kaplan

00:34:34 - Will Houstoun

00:42:43 - Bill Herz

00:57:14 - Phil Cass and Philippa

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139: Kevin Spencer - The Healing of Magic

One of the highlights of the 2013 MAGIC Live! convention was the talk given by Kevin Spencer. More than an illusionist, this peripatetic prestidigitator is also a "healer". Well, maybe not in the traditional sense, but he has the ability to help heal by using magic. Specifically, over the past few decades, Kevin has been working with therapists around the world and teaching them "simple" magic tricks to use in their physical therapy sessions.

Kevin's short talk made an overwhelmingly positive impact on everyone present. His stories and video brought tears to nearly everyone in the audience as we could see the emotional and long lasting impact "just a little trick" does for those who are physically impaired. And his story about the autistic child...well, he relates this story again in this podcast.

In this podcast, Kevin talks about his career, the impact Doug Henning and later Jim Steinmeyer had/has on his performance and life. After you learn a little about who Kevin is, then you won't find his story surprising toward the end of this podcast as he talks about his true passion: the healing of magic.

You can visit his website to find out more about The Healing of Magic by Clicking Here or read an online article by Clicking Here.

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. (please note: this RSS Feed subscription system may not work with Android systems). Remember, you can download it through iTunes. See the preview page by Clicking Here.

Magic & Martinis' Thursday

I found my new magic van for Magic & Martinis' (M&M's) Thursday!