491: Thom Peterson - The Amazing Guy

Thom Peterson really is an Amazing Guy. His life has been filled with magical adventures on land and the high seas. His lecture repertoire is nothing less than first class with every item a real “worker’s” dream Thom currently resides in the U.K. where he works the corporate and cruise ships markets. His thinking behind every effect is thorough and he squeezes every ounce of laughter and entertainment out of every effect. He recently traveled across the U.S. on a nationwide lecture tour and some told me that his lecture was the best they’d seen…not this year, but EVER! It was that good!

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312: Day 1 - MAGIC Live! 2016

Day One - Sunday, August 14th

24 hours - The Back Room (hang out cdenter)

10:00 a.m. - Registration and Name Badge photos

7:30 p.m. - Anniversary Party

7:30 - 11:30 - The MAGIC Shop (dealer faire)

7:45 p.m. - Grand Prize Giveaway

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:13 - we depart Houston Hobby airport via Southwest Airlines and start off the journey with a couple Dunkin' Donuts and get excited about the upcoming adventure.

00:03:44 - we finally arrived at the Orleans Hotel & Casino and get in line to pick up our registration packet and chat with a variety of people in line: Michael Perovich, Michael Trixx, Kirk DeWeese, Steve Trout, Bob Festa, R. Paul Wilson, Billy Hsueh

00:11:24 - Rory Johnston, one of Stan Allen's "right-hand-men" and co-organizer, chats about some of the organizational challenges, attendance, and the "back room" where registrants are expected to hang out. He talks about the "Art Deco" theme of this year's convention.

00:18:48 - MAGIC Live "custodian", Stan Allen, talks a little about what things he can talk about now without giving away too many "secrets".

00:24:05 - Rick Merrill and Steve Bargatze tell us about their experiences with attending past MAGIC Live! conventions,, plus Rick talks about the first MAGIC Live! inspiring his award winning magic act.

00:32:08 - Ian Rowland presented on the Focus sessions for the past three conventions and this year he will be on the general sessions on stage. He also talks a bit about his "origami cards". He also "confesses" to being the inventor of all of the effects that were in question during the recent Gregory Wilson controversy. LOL

00:42:34 - Chip Romero and Mark Jensen talk about their respective magic collections plus some tips on planning on the disposition of property after one's demise.

00:48:26 - Mark Jensen tells a story of the origination of the Marshall Brodein TV Magic Cards and how Johnny Thompson wrote the instructions.

0051:13 - Nathan Burton talks about his 4:00 p.m. daily show at Planet Hollywood.

00:53:16 - Vinny Grosso is finally able to talk about his recent win on Penn & Teller Fool Us, how he developed the act, all about his experience, when he will appear in the Penn & Teller show at the Rio. He also chats about an update to his book "Exposed and Fearless" which you can hear about in much more detail in our podcast HERE which is also available on Amazon.

00:59:18 - Shawn McMaster celebrates his birthday at MAGIC Live! and talks about his experience of working at some of the past conventions plus working on the magazine.

01:02:48 - Paul Draper has been stage manager of all of the past MAGIC Live! events, but this year he is experiencing this year just as a registrant. During our conversation, we are joined by Chad Long who talks about some of the conventions he has been working.

01:05:40 - Terry Ward talks about the many MAGIC Live! conventions he has attended and some of the memories he enjoyed from previous years.

01:09:14 - Steve Sabo (a Friend of The Magic Word) and his father, Dick Sabo, talks about getting interested in magic thanks to this convention.

01:12:05 - Erik Dobell and Chris Collins talk about how their show "Impossibilites" has been going since we did a podcast with them. HERE. This is Erik's first magic convention ever of any kind and finding it overwhelming.

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Click on the image above to learn more about Mark's fabulous magic collection.

280: And In His Corner...

As we wind down the #MagicCereal on this podcast and before Gregory Wilson returns to present his final comments, I thought it only appropriate to give voice to friends and business associates who know Greg best. They wanted to share their stories which radically conflict with those presented by the many who have already been given broadcast time to defend their accusations against Greg.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:03:00 - Dave Gripenwaldt talks about his 20+ year friendship and collaboration with Gregory on various projects and how they have worked together on Coffeehouse Conjuring and many other projects.

00:15:04 - Erik Casey (creator of "The Poker Test") and attests to the fact that he shared his idea for this with Gregory who offered nothing but encouragement that led to this effect getting marketed. And to this date, Greg has not accepted any remuneration for his assistance with the entire process (creative, marketing or otherwise). Erik is writing up the story on his blog which you can read by Clicking Here.

00:27:37 - Thom Peterson, The Amazing Guy, has been a long time friend of Greg's and seen and heard him in his creative mode. Thom talks about his experiences that attest to Greg's honesty.

00:41:44 - Danny Archer, business partner with Gregory in the Secret Source magic business, talks about why and how he became associated with Greg despite those who tried to dissuade him and tried to discourage him from going into business. Danny tells first hand stories about Greg's truthfulness, honesty and always choosing to do the right thing.

Cologne, Germany - The global boom in mentalism has been taking place for a number of years. Many magicians are now incorporating mentalism effects into their performances. Many others are seeking information on how they can add mentalism effects to… — **Cologne, Germany** - The global boom in mentalism has been taking place for a number of years. Many magicians are now incorporating mentalism effects into their performances. Many others are seeking information on how they can add mentalism effects to their shows. The Mind Summit catered to everyone from novice to expert who has an interest in the field of mentalism.