687: Luis Carreon - La Bestia ("The Beast")

Luis Carreon has been a regular performer at the Chicago Magic Lounge for over a decade. He “earned his bones” by working at magic shops as a demonstrator and has parlayed his chops into performing for nightclubs (like Nashville’s “House of Cards” and Hollywood’s “Magic Castle” among others) and also for corporate events. He currently is a demonstrator for Magic, Inc. in Chicago and will soon have a “residency” at the Chicago Magic Lounge.

Luis talks about the importance of performing whenever and wherever you can to develop your skills. He also talks about being a Spanish speaking magician. We also go into some detail about what performers can and can’t say in today’s “sensitive” environment like nightclubs. He even talks about the workshops taught at the Chicago Magic Lounge and how to talk with your volunteers and audience. He also talks about the importance of scripting but being able to improvise, too. He also tells a horror story about a problem with a volunteer.

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..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.

233: FISM Italy - Day Two

More great competitors made for some outstanding shows. And some really. Great lectures, too. By Luke Jermay, David Stone, Paul Wilson, Dani Da Ortiz, Luis De Matos, Rob Zabrcky and many others. And the competitions (both close-up and stage) run opposite and in conjunction with the lectures.

the evening show was the "Magic Mentors" featuring Xavier Mortimer, Dan Sperry, Gaetan Bloom, , Juliana Chen, Simon Pierro, Marco Zoppi, Armando Lucero, Raymond Crowe, James More, and as MC, Topas who introduced the following presenters, Max Maven, Lu Chin, Luis de Matos, Marco Tempest, Rafael, Mike Caveney, Tina Lennert, Guy Hollingworth,

And the dealers...oh, the dealers! Such great stuff from all over the world. I have finally started "dipping into the pond" and buying a few things. And the activities go late into the, uh, morning. On this second day, the late night (12:30) show was "he great Jabba extreme freak show"