216: Brad Henderson, the Esoteric Escamoteur - Part Two, Tales from the Mansion

We continue our conversation with Brad Henderson telling stories about his good friend Richard Garriott, aka Lord British in Ultima and General British in Tabula Rasa, but perhaps more well known to the general public as a game developer magnate and civilian astronaut. As mentioned in the blog last week, Brad was the curator of Richard Garriott's magic collection though now Richards primary residence is in New York City following his nuptials in 2011.

We begin this second part of our chat discussing more of the practical than the theoretical side of magic. But since we are talking with Brad, it does eventually slide into a little more theory towards the end.

Brad planned elaborate parties for Richard Garriott, one of which nearly cost Brad his life due to the stress and physicality of the planning. These parties were not your typical birthday parties but elaborate, extravagant events that that attracted the glitterati and Illuminati and literally cost a small fortune. The details and behind the scenes stories are incredible and almost "fairy tale" like.

Many of you are aware of the embezzlement proceedings that involved Hank Lee and Richard Garriott. Well, Brad tells a little more about that affair now that some time has been served, literally.

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215: Brad Henderson, the Esoteric Escamoteur - Part One, Magic As Art

Brad Henderson spends a lot of time thinking about the "art" of magic and how to present it as such. He is well-known in our community as a trick reviewer, magic historian, professional mentalist, author of "The Dance", Mystery School staff member, and curator of the Richard Garriott magic collection.

I have known Brad for many years and although we only live about 259 miles apart (he in Austin and I in Houston...Texas is a big State) we rarely have time to sit down and talk...I mean really talk. So this time when I recently visited Austin (where I was the auctioneer for the annual Austin Magic Auction and Brad was a guest auctioneer), I made time to sit down with him and chat. I'm glad we did because I was able to capture "lightning in a bottle" with this podcast. There was so much covered in our chat that I decided to divide it into two parts so you, the listener (and I), can more easily digest the incredible volume and depth of the material, and perhaps come back for a second listen.

In this first of this two part podcast, our discussion focuses on magic as an art and how we should aspire to make every performance an art and not be a "hack" performing tricks for the sake of the trick. He is an advocate and believer that our performances should be about emotion and creating memorable experiences. This is a rather deep and theoretical discussion that may not be for everyone in that it contains neither trick explanations or stories. But the content is gold. I will suggest you listen for a great performing tip on Kerry Pollock's "Kate and Edith" that is worth the price of admission.

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214: Martin Cox - How Bad Could It Be?

Have you seen the online video of "magic gone bad"? If you have, then you may not have recognized the blurred out image of the magician who, umm, er, uh, had "problems" when he performed the "Smash and Stab" illusion that resulted in what could have been much more tragic. Well, wonder no longer who that person was as his name and face is now known. Enough time has passed that Martin Cox can freely talk about this incident.

Martin Cox performed and lectured in Houston in February 2015 during his recent lecture tour of the U.S. Martin was a stand-out hit according to the 400+ guests at the banquet and his lecture was enjoyed by the 30+ magicians who attended. His "King of Warp" variation on "Card Warp" is particularly good. While in Houston, he was my house guest for a few days and during that visit, we had plenty of time for me to show him some of the sights and tastes of the city's tourists spots and restaurants.

Oh, and by the way...in case you're wondering, Martin did not perform the Smash and Stab at the banquet here in Houston.

Martin Cox promo reel.

During this podcast, Martin talks about magic on television, particularly magic on British telly, and the impact it has on us as magicians. He also talks about how to respond to those who ask, "oh, I really don't care much for magic", or "I wish my children were here." He also talks about approaching tables and how to handle adults talking in the back of the room during your birthday party performances. He tells us some advice on developing your character and on timing and the differences between America and the U.K. There is a difference between children's shows and family shows.

00:31:08 - But perhaps most interesting thing we discuss is the YouTube video of his performance of a trick that horribly wrong and injured a volunteer.

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