426: Adrian Vega - From Spain With Love

Spanish Close-Up Winner, Adrian Vega, has a passion for magic. His love and respect for the art of magic (and cards in particular) shows through with his performance. And his engaging and charismatic personality is the same off stage as it is on stage. At the young age of 28 years old, Adrian has accomplished a lot including touring with Criss Angel's show "The Supernaturalists". Adrian is a graduate of Juan Tamariz' school of magic in Madrid, Spain and now is a visiting "professor" there from time to time.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:07:15 - Adrian Vega talks about Juan Tamariz' magic school in Madrid and how the classes are structured. He also chats about first meeting Criss Angel and working in his "The Supernaturalists" tour

01:13:17 - Product Review: "Imagination Box" by Olivier. In one effect, a small object (i.e. candy) is drawn on the card box then with a "magic pass", it turns into a real piece of candy. Not recommended.

01:18:05 - Product Review: "Card Clone" by Big Blind Media. An updated version of "Color Monte" using facsimiles of credit cards. Clever and recommended.

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425: Raj Madhok - Mysteriouser and Mysteriouser

Physician by day and mentalist by night, Raj Madhok is one of mentalism's true treasures. Over the last 30 years, he has contributed many ideas and routines that have found their way into the repertoires of some of the world's professional mentalists. He has lectured at the Psychic Entertainer's Association (PEA) and MAGIC Live! conference in Las Vegas plus effects published in several magic journals and was a contributor to Banachek's Psychological Subtleties. 3 and the author of "Mysteriouser and Mysteriouser", Raj has been a long time personal friend (and a supporter and Friend of The Magic Word) and I always enjoy a good chat with good friends. I think you will enjoy our conversation, too.

00:05:40 - Raj talks about attending the 50th Annual Awards Academy of Magical Arts in Los Angeles and a brief review of the banquet and "buzz" around the Castle on the evening of the dinner and who he saw performing; his performances as a "part-time" mentalism and how he incorporates his native Indian religion into his performances; advice on "how to attend" conventions (hint: take notes); and more.

00:53:47 - Product Review - "52 To 1 Deck" from Word Magic Shop and created by Wayne Fox and David Penn. It is a very clean "thought-of" card for close-up, parlor or stage. Highly recommended.

00 59:06 - Product Review - "SNITCH" by Peter Eggink from Magic From Holland. SNITCH is a super-fast, no-palming Signed Card to Envelope effect! Recommended with slight reservations.

If you are interested in ordering a copy of this book, then click on the graphic above for more information.

424: Michael Vincent - Hearing Less But Listening More

Michael Vincent lost his hearing overnight. In the process, he learned to be even more attentive and listening more to his audience. He believes his magic has improved as he better relates to his audience. In this podcast, Michael inspires those who are hearing impaired with this chat. So what is Michael's identity: By self admission he says, "I'm a world traveler, I enjoy eating in the nicest restaurants, I enjoy the nicest hotels, I enjoy good fellowship, I enjoy creative conversations, I'm a raconteur, a story-teller. Put a deck of cards in my hands and they come to life. I would not look out of place if you put me in a casino or the 4F convention. This is the world I inhabit."

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:06:03 - Michael talks about visiting a WWII Concentration Camp in Cracow and the impact it had on him; his background as a photo journalist; using social media; how he became deaf and how he deals with it; his sense of loss of his friend Daryl; his testimony for Jason Ladanye; handling nerves; achieving his dreams; his education; what he's accomplished and his future plans.

00:57:00 - Murphy's Magic Product Review - "Key Prediction" by Richard Griffin. A freely selected item (one in four) is correctly predicted and engraved on the key fob. Based on Koran's Medallion and "Room Service" by Don Wayne. Nicely made prop but marginally recommended.

Escape from the ordinary board game. Now available after long last. Click on the graphic above to visit the Houdini-Opoly website to order your new, fun and exciting board game. You can learn more about it in our podcast #341 from January 26, 2017.