You know I try my damnedest to not make the journal about me personally.. however sometimes I must go off on some things. Today's subject.. The Magic Castle.

Now I must preface this with I am NOT bitter about the following information personally. Just in general about everything like this situation. Allow me to explain...

I personally dropped off my promo material about 3 years to the box of Ron Wilson. I emailed him about seeing it and his reply was "We regret to inform you we are not hiring this genre of act". Genre of act? WTF does that mean? You mean magic? They're not hiring magic acts at the magic castle. That must suck for the patrons.

Well not being one to give up, I have kept trying. Submitting new material, going thru different channels, etc. Well thru inside sources I have been informed that Ron Wilson is by far the WORST talent booker around and he's gonna stay there till' he DIES!! He doesn't look at the acts he hires, barely looks at promo stuff, and hires the same trite TV fed bullshit that they have been pushing on the populace for years!! Now mind you they DO book interesting acts from time to time. Some good, some enh.

Ok so I sent my stuff to Dale Hindman who didna bother to look at it I gather and sent it to John Lovick and Ron. Well Lovick is a new liaison at the Castle. Handsome Jack by his stage name as he is known to some. I got an email I wish I had saved that pretty much said "You got some good stuff, but we doubt you would fit the castle, etc etc." Ok thaz fyne with me. You LIKE the trite cups and balls, box and dove magicians there fyne. However, I was recently there and saw a performer who not only was waaay out there in a morbid sense but made borderline S&M jokes. It was like Crispin Glover doing Anthony Perkins doing magic. Don't get me wrong it was hilarious. The audience of drunks GOT IT.

So because my style is a little dark and on the edge but yet uses NOTHING profane, vulgar, OR bloody. People of all types have been proven to dig my show.. especially drunks. (The crowd at the castle later in the evening for sure.) Now I will NEVER give up. I am out to prove a point not only to the close minded people at the castle but everywhere. Just because an act is different doesn't make it any less entertaining than the normal BS out there. I will NOT let people stop the unique and artistic individuals trying to broaden peoples minds. We're out here people!! We're coming for you!! Yah can't stop us.. or me for that fact. I'll get you all.. and yer little dogs too!!

Why am I telling all of this to you people who read this? Mostly out of venting. See, when I sent emails to Ron and a reply to Lovick about how unfair I think they judge an act based on how different it is and not even GIVING it a chance I never received a "Whatever leave us alone" reply. I am Disgusted by people who do not reply back to emails in a business sense. Not even a fuk you buh-bye. So I post it here. In my own little world. I don't want to start drama and post it on the Genii boards. This isn't a pity party for Bizzaro. This is just venting and information. I don't care what anyone thinks, I just want to inform.

And issue a warning.. I'm not done yet. Lovick.. Wilson.. watch out.. I got a close up and parlor act too MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAH!!!!

Bizzaro.
Pimp Ninja Jedi

Cuz' I said I would thaz why!!

This weekend saw me in CA for Bat's Day. I did a show, saw the sights and even got to see some old friends. As usual when I hit SoCal I like to visit "Le Magic Castle" (Fuck you v2.0 David Oliver) and got to see Jason Latimer's Clear Cups and Balls that won him FISM. Good idea. A few very old principles used in almost new ways. As was told to me his card work was "enh" but the cups were by far the best. His camera card idea has merit but when I saw it twas' sloppy.

Also saw a gentleman whose name I forget but it was like Crispin Glover does magic... sans the rats. It was AWESOME!! Dark humor and very modern. Kudos to him. Skipped the Palace show. Only so many times I can watch people shoved into glitzy boxes. Also said hello to Joe Monti. Nice guy and a good performer to boot.

All in all had a good time. Why do I tell you alla this? I told an accented pleasant smelling magi I would.

Until next time, the east coast calls.

Bizzaro.

HEEEEEEEEY KIDS!!!


I'll be touring the east coast for a few months so if yer looking for exciting news and posts on my heroin..er.. harrowing adventures then go over to http://www.sideshowtours.blogspot.com

Until then... don't eat too much bacon.

Bizzaro.

I don't normally get involved in stuff like this but..

It kinda goes with the things I like to teach new magicians... and people in general. First it starts with This and swings deftly into That. (Why do I feel like I am doing that damn trick put out by Danny Archer?)

You can read the drama for yourself. The point I am making is thus... First, don't assume just because you do magic in restaurants and kids parties and yer 15 you can roll with the pros and expect to get treated like one. Second, don't, for the love of whatever deity you worship, ala' yer favorite method, listen to a buncha people online who chide you for something. They don't like it? Tough. Can't please everyone and if it's someone whose opinion you don't care for.. screw em'. Be yourself. Don't apologize for yourself.

Lastly, and this is the most important and hardest to do... don't blame others for your short-comings. Sometimes you get called on your bullshit. Own up to it, make a joke, build a bridge, get over it. Life is too short to worry about petty things. There are more important events in your life... I promise. Magic isn't the end.. or beginning of your world.. you are.

Lastly... even tho' that was the last one.. but eh.. screw it. (See I am taking my own advice. Go me!!) If you are so petty and narrow minded that something like an online community, or postings of another person, cause you to get all indignant.. then get out of magic. There are enough idiots already mucking up the system for those of us who DO take it seriously as an art and a career. Take a better hobby.. like stamp collecting.. or animal husbandry.

Now I DO wanna make this clear that this post is not, repeat, not aimed at the subject of the aforementioned drama. He is just the trigger. I see this stuff all too often. Just a little advice from me to you... all 3 of you.

"Let's stop this and start over
Let's go out - let's keep going" - KMFDM

Bizzaro.

"New Magic tricks are like a tattoo. Wait a while to see if you REALLY need it or want it... and be sober."

Bizzaro.

Let's talk about things that aren't in the spotlight. I mean magical effects or goings-on that are just in the peripheral.. some catch em.. some don't. These can be JUST as strong as bits of business as if presented as an effect unto themselves.

What struck this chord was a new effect by some french dood. The idea is solid and the gimmick looks damn near undetectable. As always I research interesting new ideas when they come out and many good things have been said about this.

Now you could easily perform it like this: "Watch this ordinary borrowed deck of cards as I defy gravity and the law of psychics..er.. physics. Etc etc.. now thaz all fine and good but that just draws uncalled for attention to something that is otherwise a 10 second effect.

Now imagine you remove a deck of cards and before you remove it from the box you balance it on your hand, while the other hand searches for a pen. Perhaps you go thru your effect and to free up a hand you balance the deck and hold their card at your finger tips. Sometimes you don't have to draw attention to something to make it work.

Just ask Rich Cowley...

Bizzaro.

So do I have any advice for people who wanna do magic as a living? Yes... and it's not even my advice. (What a shock.) Technically, it's everyone's advice. Those who have been there, done that. When you get a chance to, read the "In their own words" interviews in MAGIC magazine. I'm serious. No but really.

It's professionals telling you what THEY had to go thru to get where they are now. Learn, laugh, and realize that it's not just you going thru tough times. Tom Mullica had to couch surf a LOT, Mark Kornhauser worked MALE strip clubs. If you have what it takes you will succeed... if you never give up.

Want advice? Don't ask people online. Try reading.

Bizzaro.

Here is another lesson brought to you by Bizzaro...

SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION!!

Reminders that you are alive and well and still manipulating people's minds is one of our best tools. To be a presence you must be present.

With that in mind, new footage from a recent show can be seen here!!

Lesson over.

Bizzaro.

To: Magicians of the world
From: Bizzaro. The Optical Illusionist

Dear Fellow Magi,

For the love of all sorts of gods everywhere, please stop describing your show with so many adjectives it makes the hype sound like you are compensating for something. Phrases like "edge-of-your-seat amazement" and "taking the world by storm" are over used and trite. I understand you have to hype up your show but let them make up their mind before you say, "You'll love every minute of it!!". Try being a little more honest and focus on what matters... you. It's not the magic it's what YOU can bring to the venue.

Also, while I am thinking about it, stop putting "Magic for All Occasions" on your business cards. I don't think and Amish Barn Raising needs a magician.. but I could be wrong. Pick a path and GO WITH IT!!!

And for fuk's sake, stop signing your letters "magically Yours".

Magically Yours,
Bizzaro.

(DAMMIT!!)

what IS it with people charging silly amounts of cash for tricks with ties!!?

Just thought I would ask...

Bizzaro.

Revenge of the Asshat...

You know the saying, "You Can't Please all of the People all of the Time"? ("And last night all of those people were at my show" - Mitch Hedberg) Well in magic that saying can really hit home. Some people just will NOT dig your act.. or get it. (Good pal Dan Sylvester wrestles with this constantly. Some people just don't get it. I personally think it's genius.) This is why as entertainers, we need to be more like theme parks... SOMETHING FOR THE WHOLE FAMBLY!!

I recently did an open mic gong show mock up for fun. There were three judges, two females, one male. I had 4 minutes so I decided to do my fire act. (Flame from the zipper, etc.) In the end the two lowest scores were a 5 and the highest was an 8. The two fives came from the gals. This put my show into perspective a bit. Females I think, on a whole, don't dig on fire as much as guys. Now I know that is kind of a generalization but it's like the three stooges. SOME girls like them, but it's mostly dudes who dig them.

If I had done one of my comedy acts I probably would have scored higher. What's my point? I'm glad you didn't ask. A show should have something that can appeal to everyone. In this case comedy and magic for the ladies, fire and slapstick for the guys, and kids (Or drunks, same thing) like it all.

This I think is one of the factors that hurts David Blaine, The Ass Hat. His shows offer little humor aside from the small amount of amusement we get watching him fool some inner city youth. Chuckling to ourselves, "Huh huh he fooled them good and they act like retards huh huh." Yah thaz about it. Even Copperfield in all of his Jewish glory finds time to be funny now and again. (Generally more amusing in his live shows than TV.) It seems even Criss Angel is falling prey to this on his new TV show. Only going for the creepy factor which not everyone will go for. If you are gonna be on TV, you should at least try to be marketable to a wide range of interests. There is indeed a market for everything, but the people who have been the best at it, are indeed a good time had by all. (On the upside with Criss being on TV there might be more of a call for people who do "Weirder" magic.)

So am I saying you HAVE to try TRY and be funny? No. Just pay attention to your crowds, see what works best. Try and have something for everyone. Humor, magic, movement, and for the ADD kids.. something shiny.

Bizzaro.

You Realize this is a Set-up right?

I was reading thru some of Michael Close's writings from his workers books and boy that man sure thinks a lot about magic... which is good. Someone needs to. In one of them he talks about assumptions people make ahead of time about magicians. One of them is that there is no WAY a person would go out of their way to make a prop so convoluted JUST to entertain someone... which is TOTALLY wrong.

I cannot tell you how many hours I have personally spent hot gluing odd things together to make a trick seem "impromptu" or modifying a "normal" prop. This post is about such a trick. I saw this performed by the late Johnny Brown here in TX. It's not his, and it's not hard to find, but the effect is killer and hardly ANYONE does it today. (Which is true of most old effects and books. Vito Lupo made a career off of the stuff out of the Tarbell series. Well that and he's a good performer.)

This fooled the hell out of me in my younger years, and the effect is thus. A fully inspected glass is placed into a fully inspected coat jacket pocket. Then four (yes fully inspected) coins are placed one at a time in the hand. They vanish and heard to AUDIBLY fall into the glass on the other side of the body. There is no help from the other hand and they are both shown fairly empty after each vanish.

This is a coin classic (or was anyway) and I'd like to see some people doing it again. Sadly I cannot as I hardly wear a suit jacket EVER. Now this trick oddly enuff uses a gimmick. It also looks like real magic and total skill. I will not divulge the set-up or where to find it. I want people to do it but not EVERYONE!

This is just one of those effects that while no one would suspect we as performers would go thru so much trouble.. but we do. Prime example, and pure impact. You want beautiful magic that blows people away, get yer lazy ass off the internet and quit looking for the newest thing from Ellusionist and Penguin magic. Try reading some coin books from TX.

We have much to learn from our past.

Bizzaro.

Ok just saw an ad for a new effect coming out and was amused by something in the description...

"...have the spectator use a magnet to search the test area for other magnets or threads."

thaz all.

Bizzaro.

A long while back I made a post about how I thought it was silly someone had to actually name "The Biddle Grip" instead of "Hold the cards like this". Regardless, there are some things in magic I truly do not get. There are thousands of stories in the naked city. This is one of them.

I honestly do NOT get The Lepaul Spread. What is the big deal with this move and why do so many people say it's so damned hard to do. Has anyone ever honestly done the Lepaul spread and have someone go "OOOoooooOOOooooh" over it.

For those who don't know what the hell I am talking about here is a video of someone doing it. Sure it looks kool but why does everyone make a big deal of it. It only mildly looks kool and to get the full effect you'd have to say "Watch this [spread]" and even then all they are gonna do is pick a card cuz' when you spread a deck at someone their mind goes right into that.

Maybe it's just me but I dun get it.

Damn kids and their rock music.

Bizzaro.

Ok I do like to complain about the capitalist sillyness of magicians nowadays. Like the devil's cokebottle that came out a while back. A science experiment someone was charging 1000$ for. It wasn't priced that high for the secret so much I think as the fact that it was the price you pay for not thinking of it first. It was brilliant!! A science experiment disguised as magic. Hell it's not the first time. "Any unfamiliar science or technology looks like magic" You wanna fool some people look at the old chemistry magic books from many years ago. (Do yerself a favor tho' research certain chemicals listed in those old books. Turns out asbestos is bad for you. Who knew?)

Ok so in the vein of "What the hell were you thinking when you priced that" I found a new magical toy that I am pretty sure is priced a tad too much. Now let me preface this with a little disclaimer: I think this is a dandy idea however I do not think the effect exceeds the price.

Ok with that said, I think this product fits into another rant about the pros and cons of online magic demo videos. Watch the video and you tell me how it's done. It's a tad obvious and to anyone who is unscrupulous and has any kind of engineering skill or a hot glue gun could easily recreate it. Why would they do that tho'? Are they evil bastards who dun wanna support an original artist? Are they some terrorist trying to bring down magic from the inside? Hardly. It's more along the lines of there is no way they are gonna shell out 150$ for a gaudy tie puppet on a stick. If it was priced lower then anyone who WOULD make it themselves would prolly rather be lazy and just buy it. 20$ is a great motivator towards sloth.

Now I am sure that the construction is superb (Or it's made all MacGyver like with a rubber band, duct tape, and a prayer.) but I do think that is a bit much especially when the method is very obvious. Now I am all for a demo video if the method is not simplistic or easy to discern. The internet is a harsh place and you could get the same idea from seeing a live demo at a real magic shop however you don't get a couple 1,000 people going in and out of a normal magic shop every hour. When I heard the description I thought "Oh Sean Begonia's dancing hank with a tie." I could dig that for the price... however...

Now someone will ALWAYS say, "Yer buying the secret". Ok fair enuff. Ever get the feeling some secrets just ain't worth that much trouble? Personally I think (Insert guys name here. It's not listed anywhere) should have just kept this idea to himself and sold it in a limited exposure on his website or something. It's a GOOD idea...

Just not a GREAT 140$ idea.

Then again, any trick you get that entertains and works well for you money should be NO object.

Bizzaro.

As things draw to a Close...

Saw recently Mike Close decided, after allowing himself to be barraged by many mediocre magical items for review for ten years, to call it adieu and persue other ventures, like books.

The MAGIC interview (Kevin James on the cover) made a few good points. Magic items are quite prolific in the not so much terrible and great category but in the "enh" spot. Mind you he even mentioned that a review is an opinion. I know that the opinion of a magician is TOTALLY different than that of the people whose opinion really matter.. the layperson.

I released a trick in a limited venue and it got a less than stellar review in Genii. Mind you most of the review was more spent pointing out my writing style than the trick. Regardless, the reviewer, (Who shall remain nameless), wasn't thrilled. Do I care? Hell no. I have been doing this effect for well over a decade and it KILLS. What does it all mean? A review isn't always gospel. The best review is yours and yours alone. See it done, and if yer lucky, someone will show you how it works. Only then can you make an educated guess on whether it will work for you OR fit your style and character. (This is why the internet shops shouldn't be visited as much. Real live magic stores are hands on.)

However for those who can't drive or dun live near a magic shop and the intarweb is yer last bastion of magical placement some smart folks have started My Lovely Assistant dot Com. You might had seen the ads in various mags, but it's worth a look see. I have ever contributed a few of my own special brand of evil reviews there. Knowledge is power and some knowledge should be shared to warn others of shitty magical products *cough*HeNrYeVaNs*cough*

Just remember: Is it you.... and is it worth 25$ for a deck of cards with a hole in the card box and a rubber band? (The correct answer is.. no.)

Bizzaro.

Seedy...

This is an excerpt taken from my brain after perusing the Magic Bunny forums. Someone was (And is always) asking about books, videos, DVD's on CD manip. Here is my shorter reply.

Danny Cole is the person on the first Burton Special and he helped make it trendy for others to start doing. Murray (Tall guy, blonde hair) Does an *almost* all CD act but always gets mixed reviews.

There is not much out there because very few do it and those who do wanna keep it on the down low for people who would want to saturate the market.

While this is just a smattering for the brit boys over there it pertains to so much more in magic. Once one person gets a good idea, everyone wants one. Here is my main problem with CD acts, and most manip acts for that fact:

Consistency

Mind you I could easily have said WHY!? but thaz obvious I think. Watching ol' Murray the major CD manip player in today's magic world got me thinking that what he is producing is nothing more than billiard balls, cards, and doves. Same stuff, just a prop change. (I dunno if he still does it but the production of a "CD castle" is a bit odd and really drives home the question WHY?

Mind you that has not much to do with the little bold word up there. Here is the deal. Some guy produces CD's? Ok thaz fyne. He produces sunglasses, manips the lens, produces a silk... wait.. is this a CD act? I seem to have suddenly forgotten.. to care. Most manip acts suffer this. They produce items for NO reason, (Aside from the fact it's pritty... mind you that is is the same foundation most people's dating life is built on.), and then muddle it up a bit by introducing random characters into the play that may or, more than likely, have NOTHING to do with the theme as a hole (Sp. error done on purpose. Of course if you tend to NOT read this due to my poor purposeful grammatical errors... what the hell do I care what you think?)

So yes try to pick a theme. I saw a guy at a magic competition start out strong and end nowhere NEAR his proposed act setting. (Oddly enuff manipulating CD's) Cd magic is very modern, trendy, and new to magic. (As new as a CD can be I suppose) There is little on it cuz' the people who do it feel that is their "Original" idea. Yup, yer an individual... just like everyone else. Give it up baby, yer not the first one to think a shiny round object was magical.

So yes CD manipulation is going to become into more and more magic acts I fear. Magic with records was done and I am sure some daring soul even tried 8-track magic. If it's done right magic with a cassette tape can be great. It's not the prop kids... it's you. Don't be like everyone else. Don't wait for someone to publish a book or a DVD or a video or a porno... create..

Do not follow... however perchance borrow.

Bizzaro

Run, Run Away

You ever heard the phrase, "Don't run if yer not being chased"? It's a very popular saying in Magic. Right up there with KISS and CHaSD. It applies in life too, except unless yer in South Dallas or Compton. Then you want to run regardless of being chased or not.

As magicians we tend to over-explain lot of stuff. "This is an ordinary coin" well no duh genius you just borrowed it from them. Actions speak louder than words and pictures are worth 1000 of them. IF yer audience isn't "getting" what yer selling, then it's time to change yer delivery. Less is more and I think the less you point out the bloody obvious the better.

Now we, the mirth-makers.. or is that the pill-takers.. whatever you wanna call us, we do tend to have a few things that are JUST to amuse us. There is no need to explain them and, aside from the occasional Jonestown Kool-aid reference or Michael Hutchins joke, are all perfectly safe probably. (Wow all of this just for that one line.)

Remember, just because people seem dumb doesn't mean they are... all of the time.

Bizzaro.

I been writing this journal for some time. A few people read it. No clue how many. Don't care. It's titled Magic Rants (Yes I had it first) but above it sez "Why am I stuck in Magician Hell?" That isn't exactly what some of you might think it means. After doing magic over 20 years you get to a point where it's hard to be fooled and you know how a LOT of stuff is done. You also tend to palm anything you happen to pick up. That ladies and gentlemen is magician hell. Coffee creamers, fruit, cards, coins, small household pets... nothing is safe from the threat of a finger clip or classic palm!!!

With this in mind we seem to forget what becomes effective in the eyes of the mundanes. Remember the first time you saw invisible deck? It prolly blew your mind. (20 bucks same as in town) What about a thumb tip? (I actually never saw this performed before I knew what it was.) I remember the first time I ever saw an ITR performed, back when they looked like crack pipes, and I about wet myself. Something floated RIGHT before my eyes!! I hadda get that!! Now I realize invisible thread is one big pain in the ass to use. Regardless... we forget.

I was flipping thru Penn and Teller's - How to Play with Your Food and they have a trick with a sugar cube very similar to that old voodoo ashes trick. Greg Wilson has something on one of his tapes using lipstick that I recently did when I was bored. Now voodoo ashes is in damn near every magic book on impromptu or good starter magic. It's yeeeeeears old. It's easy. It's effective... and very few people do it. Why? We forget that it BLOWS people's minds!! I personally cannot believe it. Thaz the magic side of me. The side that thinks like a normal-type person remembers that it must be trippy as hell to have that happen to you.

Don't stop using something because YOU have become disenchanted with it's workings. Use it. Change it to fit your needs. Some classics stay that way because they fool people. I don't like linking rings or cups and balls but they still exists for a reason. Don't let hat you know stop you from showing them something THEY don't know.

Forget everything you know.. or think you know... even if yer not Billy Barty.

Bizzaro.

And we live our life...

Like a candle in the wind. Yes folks Jay Marshall, owner of Magic Inc. in Chicago as well as the care and feeder of Lefty the Rabbit has passed on into that great stage of wherever you might just believe in. (Or if yer atheist he's just dead.) Another one bites the dust.... which brings up an interesting point.

What are we gonna do when all of our most current forebearers are gone? The best teachers and inventors will all eventually pass away and take much knowledge with them. Oh sure L&L publishing and Michael Ammar will randomly trick them into putting out a video series but there is so much more that will never see print of any kind. It's style. Very few people have any style anymore.

Many of our classics of magic (Billy McComb, not the linking rings) have what only comes with experience. Ingenuity and panache. With today's modern magi being able to find what they want at the push of a button they have NO idea what it's like to learn from great teacher or work for their skill. Once all the great teachers are gone there will be no more lessons to learn.. and then what?

Too many people don't research the history of their craft.. ANY craft as it is. I don't think you have to start a library and read Discoverie of Withcraft or anything but merely pay attention. (Even those of us who are too poor to pay attention probably should.)

Personally I don't feel here is anyone in today's magic world who has the flair of the older gents who are or soon will be long gone. They were TRUE gentlemen (In some respect or another). Dai Vernon knew how to dress, Bruce Cervon.. does not. (What the hell is up with that neckerchief anyway?) Regardless, knowledge is sometimes a limited time offer. Get it while the gettin's good.

Operators are standing by...

Bizzaro.