906: Eric Leclerc - From My Perspective

Eric Leclerc (pronounced le clair) is a very funny guy. To me, his style is much like that of Las Vegas magician, Mike Hammer, with a quick wit and clever retorts while maintaining mystery at the core of each trick. He has appeared or starred in over a half dozen television shows such as Brain Games, Tricked!, Big Trick Energy, among others. He has also appeared on Penn & Teller Fool Us where he took home the Fooler trophy. Earlier this year, Eric hosted the Saturday evening galas at the Blackpool magic convention and received mixed reviews.

Eric Leclerc has been “on the road” with his school shows across Canada presenting his magic in French to French speaking schools. He joins us this week between shows as he chats about booking the tour, his philosophy on magic competitions, and of course, his thoughts on his recent performance as the compere (emcee) of the Saturday evening galas at Blackpool 2025.

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 Pandora and SiriusXM (formerly Stitcher) by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here or through iHeart Radio by Clicking Here. If you have a Spotify account, then you can also hear us through that app, too. You can also listen through your Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here.

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.

868: TRICS 2024 - Days One and Two

Thursday November 7, 2024

Event Time

Ed Ellis 6:00 pm – 7:00pm
Newcomer 8:00pm – 8:45pm
David Parr 9:30pm – 10:00pm

Friday November 8, 2024

Event Time

Paul Gertner 11:00 – 12:00
Bernardo 1:00 – 2;00
Lunch 2:00 – 3:30
Pipo 3:30 – 4:30
Insights 5:00 – 6:30
Dinner 6:30 – 8:00
Friday Night Show 8:00 – 9:30
Pizza Party 10:00 Until

Time stamps for this episode:

00:00:17 – Join Scott Wells at Starbucks in the Austin, Texas, airport as we prepare to jump on our “magic carpet” to Charlotte, North Carolina, for TRICS Convention.

00;04:57 – Before the first event (Ed Ellis lecture) we visit the dealers’ room where we chat with Roy Kueppers who is showing his wares for the first time. Roy also talks about his brand being stolen and the importance of owning a trademark for your name and why you should consider doing it if you want to own your own brand.

00:11:30 – Rocco talks about joining Franz Harary with his new show in Hong Kong that will be similar to his show in Macau.

00:15:53 – Organizer, Scott Robinso, tells us what to expect this weekend and how it differs from previous years. This year he went international and contest winners (i.e. FISM, IBM, SAM winners, Penn & Teller Foolers, etc.) He tells us there are 160 registrants plus performers here this year.

00:23:06 – a word from our sponsor, the New York Magic Conference, coming up on Saturday November 16th in Douglaston, NY.

00:26:40 – Mike Dunagan, International President of the I.B.M., talks about the conventions he’s attended as president. He talks about next year’s I.B.M. convention being in Houston, Texas, featuring Randy and Kristy Pitchford as the Guests of Honor.

00:35:21 – Following Paull Gertner’s lecture, we chat with Michael Bloemeke who just qualified at MAGIC Texas to compete in FISM Italy in 2025.

00:44:18 – Geoff Williams was another lecturer/performer from a previous year. We do a quick overview recapping what went on today.