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.

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.

261: Project Alpha with Mike Edwards

After viewing the highly acclaimed documentary, "An Honest Liar" about the career of James "The Amazing" Randi, I wanted to talk with Mike Edwards, the "psychic" who was "tested" along with Steve Shaw (Banachek) over a three year period in the late 70;s to the early 80;s. I have discussed Project Alpha with Banachek many times privately, on the podcast and on an L&L Video (Psi Series Volume 4 - Psychokenisis) but I had never met or spoken with, Mike Edwards, his partner on the project.

The stars aligned with my travel plans to Phoenix, Arizona and Mike's availability so we were able to find a relatively quiet corner in an otherwise busy restaurant and record this chat. It is a completely different perspective from the one I have heard from Banachek and the revelation during the last few minutes of our conversation figuratively "bowled me over". I was not expecting that news. You might be surprised and excited once you hear it, too.

Recorded: 5/27/2010 Original Alpha Kid, Michael Edwards pays a visit to the foundation and recalls some of the behind the scenes tricks that he and Steve Shaw (Banachek) did during the MacLab test. From Wikipedia: Project Alpha was an elaborate hoax orchestrated by the stage magician and skeptic James Randi.

Click on the banner to visit the page where you can buy "all things by Banachek".

Order the DVD from Amazon and help support The Magic Word.

Rent the movie from Amazon and help support The Magic Word.

212: Talking Trash with Steve Trash

MAGIC Magazine cover boy, Steve Trash, has been my guest in a previous podcast here on The Magic Word. In this podcast, Steve is recorded as he pontificates and waxes eloquent about street magic, character development, and more. He has a lot to say and he says a lot during our chat. This is not "trash talking" in the sports analogy vernacular, but this is Steve Trash doing all the talking and I did most of the listening. Hence, Talking (Steve) Trash..

He was performing in Houston along with Robert Livingston and he stopped by my home to chat and have a martini or two. After asking a couple of questions, I just sat back and listened and learned. It was like a magic mini-lecture...well, maybe not so "mini" as he talked for nearly an hour and a half. Or at least that's all I recorded. There was more before I turned on the recording device. I think this may become one of my more favorite podcasts. Let me know what you think.

Please take a seat, relax, and feel as if you are with us, enjoying a martini and the smooth jazz in the background as we talk about the early history of street magic in New York City (well, in the 1970's), the importance of pauses, performing "jazz" magic, reading the crowd, dealing with hecklers, knowing who you are on stage (your performing persona), and much more.

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. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here.