In other news...

Well tomorrow I head off to the Magic Castle to perform for Rudy Coby's event that is going on this week, but I will not leave you empty headed!! Pop over to itricks and read the voices in my head!

Bizzaro.

Aural sects...

One of the questions I see time and time again on message boards is about royalty free music for use on stage. It's not hard to find, but it's hard to find stuff that doesn't sound like it was made on a computer or, at the very least, a midi keyboard from the 80's.

I got a lovely email today about a pretty cool deal for some stock music that isn't half bad and ranges a ton of genres. The best part? It's fooking cheap!

So tell your friends and some random strangers online that you have found some usable music for their magical routines.

They might burn you a copy.

Bizzaro.

TIGHTER!!!

Ok so here are some tips that might sounds strange, but trust me on this. I'm your dentist.

I have recently gotten into the habit of doing two things before I go on stage. Both are ways to trick your body to be more "into" what you're doing.

Before I go on, I do want to touch on something... like my nipples. AHEM!! I realized there were some occasions where I was just going out and performing my sets... and that was it. I made the fatal mistake of sometimes not caring. You have to have both for a solid performance to occur. Sometimes it's nigh impossible to muster up giving enough of a damn, but those times should be rare. The rub of course is that you have to WANT to be there in the first place. If you are doing a free performance at a place because you want to, you should still give it your all (or as much of it as you can conjure up).

Now back to some ways to help that along!

1. Stretch: If you get in the habit of stretching before you perform ANY kind of magic. Stage, close-up, comedy, etc you will train your body and mind to get in a "zone" and get into what you are about to do. It's like dangling a leash in front of a dog. That Pavlovian response of HOLYCRAPSOMETHINGCOOLISGOINGONYAY!!

2. Tie your shoes: This sounds stupid, even in my head. However, I have noticed if my shoes are on tight, shit seems real. When your shoes are loose you're comfy. Now I don't mean tie them so tight that your feet hurt and you cut off circulation. Just firm enough to let your body know you mean business!

So that's it. You can rank this up there with those other popular abstract concepts I have thrown your way in the past. Just do me a favor every once in a while...

Try it.

Bizzaro.

T-U-R-T-L-E Power!

You're not as cool as you think you are...

Widen your gaze...

Tonight at dinner a few of us were discussing how we look at things thruout our life is like a camera or movie. When you are younger, your area of vision is very tight and narrow. However as you get older, you get a crane shot that allows you to see a lot more of big picture.

I bring this up because this happened to coincide with something I was thinking about the other day about age and how we perceive our art.

The things that make sense to you and are important to you change over time. What you start out trying to say, (if you indeed are trying to say anything with your art and not just show off how big a tool you are), might inevitably change into something else. Maybe by choice and all at once or gradually it will sneak up on you like a mugger in the night. One day you might just look at your performance, (which you should do often), and say, "You know... this no longer makes sense to me".

That's what it's all about isn't it? What makes sense to us at a certain time and place of our life. Sometimes there is compromise and sometimes there is utter annihilation. If you are serious about what you do, do not fear the reaper Ted. Be open to change and realizing you might not be in love with an idea that you once were.

You'd be surprised how far a little objective observation can go.

Bizzaro.

Did I mention a big surprise a few posts back? I did, didn't I? Well today I have TWO! MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

The reason I have been slacking off here, (aside from the making of sponge balls), is I have been working on articles for a new feature over at itricks! It's called voices and a group of renegades will be offering theirs every week to motivate, educate, and eradicate!

Don't worry, I'll still be posting stuff here as well.

In other news: Bizzaro By Design is officially live! Unique prop construction and creative direction by yours truly. Ever wanted that dove blender? Now you can have it! Want to tweak an existing routine so it makes sense? It is now within your grasp!

Please drive thru...

Bizzaro.