719: Kenton Knepper - Word Wizard

While attending the recent Poe’s Magic Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, one of the presenters was Kenton Knepper. We sat down in a quiet room for a very intense conversation that included his roots and moving to Phoenix, Arizona, and his friendship with noted mentalist, Larry Becker, plus his influences that led him to writing “Wonder Words” for which he is best known for as its author. Kenton has written about 20 different publications over the decades. We discussed NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming) and hypnosis and much more in this week’s episode. Kenton doesn’t often attend major magic conventions so it was a rare privilege to sit down with him for this episode this week.

John was a friend and inspiration to Kenton

In this week’s episode, Kenton talks about the development of his Wonder Words, what it is and how it works, his relationship and inspiration by Larry Becker. He also encourages us to go out and just do it, whatever “it” is and try it. Our conversation went quite deep and I was truly engaged in our conversation so much so that something happened at the end of this episode that has never happened in all my years. Be sure to stay tuned to end of our chat to hear what happened.

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Kenton himself says: "KENTON PRINCIPLES is my legacy book. It compiles and expands on my most important principles in magic and mentalism. It will be the go-to book for the application of my ideas to anything you perform, magic or mentalism. Once you know these principles, anything is truly possible."

108: MAGIC Live! 2013 - Day 3

Day three was another fun and exciting day that began with the Opening Session hosted by Justin Flom A highlight of the show was Xavier Mortimer's incredibly innovative routines. He is currently featured in the Cirque du Soliel show here in Vegas, "Michael Jackson One".. But it was Wayne Dobson being interviewed by Jeff McBride which received a standing ovation.

00:00:07 – Tom Vorjahan, Daniel Herron and Eddie Wade give a recap of the Documentary Live 1 show from last night that featured the Long Beach Mystics hosted by Stan Allen and Mike Caveney. It featured David Deeble, Victor and Diamond, Michael Weber, Dana Daniels, Mark Kalin and Jinger, Armando Lucera, Kevin James, and James Hamilton (as Alexander Hamilton).

00:08:33 – I give a short review of the General Session that was hosted by Justin Flom and featured Master Payne, Bill Abbott, Xavier Mortimer, and Wayne Dobson being interviewed by Jeff McBride.

00:13:00 – I chatted with random people dining at the In ‘N Out and how much they enjoy this place. It is one of my regular, mandatory places to dine while in Las Vegas.

00:15:02 – Simon Coronel talks about creativity and how he developed his routine.

00:26:00 – Photo time with Criss Angel

00:26:50 – David Hira talks about this convention and conventions in general and their appeal to different age groups.

00:34:45 – Scott Hunstler was one of the winners on the Sunday night Welcome Party. He talks about what he won. Mark Weidhaas, S.A.M. Past President, and Errol Lipschitz, from Vancouver, talks about their experience of this convention.

00:39:56 – We viewed the documentary about Ricky Jay’s life, Deceptive Practices. Here I get to talk with a few people who know Ricky and have a perspective and opinion on the movie. It isn’t anything like Siskell & Ebert, but I think you will enjoy this discussion by Peter Samelson, Tim Felix and Jon Stetson.

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102: 2013 I.B.M. Convention - Day 1

The first official day of the convention was not filled with too many activities. Part One of the stage competition began in the afternoon with nearly two dozen competitors. The placement of the stage contest in the afternoon is much better than in the mornings. The afternoon lecture was on quick change (outfits) by Valerie. The autograph session and welcome party was in the evening which included a free poster to all attendees that had pictures of all the talent. This was a great way to see everyone at one time in one place. Following the welcome party was a nice performance from local native, Andre Kole that included his Helicopter Cups, Squeezer and his levitation among other original illusions. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from I.B.M. International President, John Pye. We were then treated to a showing of "Desperate Acts of Magic" followed by a Q&A with the directors, Joe Gold and Tammy Caplan.

Time Stamps for this Podcast:

00:00:10 - Teen magicians Eli Portales, Chase Hasty, and Louis Villamonte talk about their experience with the teen sessions and how much they have learned and are learning. And they give us some of the tips passed on from Lance Burton.

00:12:26 - First International Vice President, Shawn Farquhar, talks about his goals and expectations for what he wants to accomplish when he becomes the International President. He also talks about the health of the organization and the importance of contests and attending magic conventions.

00:34:05 - Co-Producer of Monday Night Magic in New York City, Peter Samelson, chats about some of the things going on in the Big Apple and his inspirations in magic.

00:43:09 - Joe Turner shares some of the most insightful information anyone can hear if you are interested in being a successful corporate magician. He also talks about the Magic Castle cruises with the Crystal Ships. You can read more from Joe Turner by reading his blog at http://TurnerMagic.com/blog To paraphrase "The Most Interesting Man in the World", - I don't follow many people's blogs, but when I do, I read this one.

01:07:12 - Local mentalist (and creator of "Wonder Words"), Kenton Knepper, talks about the robust magic community in Phoenix. Many people don't recognize the depth of knowledge and the notoriety of the local talent that Phoenix has to offer.

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719: Kenton Knepper - Word Wizard

108: MAGIC Live! 2013 - Day 3

102: 2013 I.B.M. Convention - Day 1

The Magic Word