Naturalness

Today I had lunch with Eric Decamps and Derrick Chung, and Mr. Decamps brought up a very interesting point. He started speaking about making your actions smooth, natural, motivated and with no tension whatsoever. He proved this point by showing me some different passes that he uses and doesn’t use and showed me what were the pros/cons off each shift. I want all of you to relook the magic you do and ask yourselves if the sleights you are doing are smooth, natural, motivated and have no tension whatsoever. If they do not meet the requirements, try to work on making the sleight flawless and if that’s not possible, try to find a possibly perfect sleight to replace the one you are currently using.

 This man has a SICK pass.

 

Spencer Peterson

Magic in NYC

I’ve been seeing a lot of questions about the magic scene in New York City on the forums and I thought that a little list of magic related things going on in the city would help some people out:

• Maui Tacos Gathering: Every Saturday afternoon, Doug Edwards and a few other magicians get together downstairs at Maui Tacos. Noon-3PM Fifth Avenue Between 32nd and 33rd streets.
• Tannens Magic: The magic shop that me and Tatanka are at during the weekends, very close to Maui Tacos. 45 West 34th Street Suite 608.
• Manhattan Magic: A new show in Times Square, magic and variety. The line ups are very good, in a nice and intimate theater. Wednesdays at 7:30PM at the Sage Theater 711 7th Avenue 2nd floor (between 47th and 48th streets.)
• Pure Magic: Eric Decamps’ parlor show, it’s beautiful and elegant magic that should not be missed. A once in a lifetime oportunity to the this world renowned magician. Sundays at 4PM at The Metropolitan Room 34 West 22nd Street (Betw. 5th & 6th Ave.)
• Monday Night Magic: New York’s longest running magic show, different line up every week. Mondays at 8PM Bleeker Street Theater 45 Bleeker Street (East of Lafayette Street.)

I hope this helps all of the curious people looking for magic in NYC, if you’re a magician visiting the city you can email at s.peterson.magic@gmail.com and maybe you can meet up with me and Tatanka to session or what not.

Peace,

Spencer Peterson

An experiment in Jazzing.

Hey everyone,

First of all I hope you all have a great holiday season.  Now onto the magic.

Jazzing or improv magic can be some of the most amazing magic.  Jazzing is the art of spontaneous magic.  When done well the reactions can be escalated due to the spontaneous aspect of the performance.  However, when done poorly, it seems as if the magician is out of control and has no idea what he is doing (Mike Patrick).  The main thing people do not realize about Jazzing, is that the magician must have a plan or set of outs if things do not go as planned.   For example, always have a killer ending effect, yet if any of your spontaneous miracles occur, you STOP IMMEDIATELY.

Say you remove a card from the deck, and ask a spectator to name it without them seeing the face, and they name the correct card.  You stop immediately.  I do not care if your final effect was your favorite routine that you have been practicing forever.  Do not weaken miracles with other effects, that’s just being greedy.

Now that you have some fundamental rules and tips, here is a challenge or experiment you could do to practice.  Go up to a spectator who is familiar with your magic such as a friend or family member, upjog and remove a card of your choice, and have them name a card.  If it matches, pump the conditions noting how completely fair it is (which it is), and show your miracle.  If the card does not match, think quickly and try to work your way out of it.  Will you cull the correct card out and make a switch?  Will you laugh of the mistake as a joke?  Will you use this mistake to enhance the reactions of the next effect?  Or if the card they name is close to the prediction show them how close you got?  You have many options on what to do just think on your feet and practice Jazzing.  Try it out and do get nervous, a spectator will be able to sense your tension, if you make things seem as if you were doing exactly what you planned, it will cause no suspicion.

Practicing this on random people is just a plain bad idea.  You want to practice on people who will give you constructive criticism and tell you if anything fishy went on.  Now this experiment will help you with presentation, and being able to think on your feet.  I recommend that you read Eric Mead’s Tangled Web for his work on Jazz magic.  Dai Vernon also has great work on Jazzing.

I hope you all enjoyed this post, and please comment on your thoughts on this experiment.  Feel free to comment with videos of you trying this out or write about your experiences with this challenge.

Have a great holiday season,

Tatanka Tan

Two Reviews

Howdy y’all,

Spencer here, I haven’t posted in some time and I thought that now would be the appropriate time to do so. I recently purchased two products and thought I could say what I think about them, here they are:

• Dear Mr. Fantasy by John Bannon, the Chicago lawyer/magician. This book was originally published in 2004 and went out of print until now. I almost bought the book for about 60$ a few months ago but didn’t, so I am extremely pleased that it was reprinted. The book is based on nothing but card magic, but the magic in it is nothing but GREAT. Everything is direct, simple and cleverly thought out. He has 3 different ace assemblies, each one of them has a very strange, offbeat timing, you will understand what I mean by this when you read the book. Bannon speaks about the effects and how/why he performs them for lay audiences, all I can say is that he is a very clever man. The material in the book isn’t extremely technically demanding, but the effects are strong and clear. Bannon streamlined ever trick making sure that there are no unnecessary moves involved. I HIGHLY recommend this book to the intermediate/advanced magician, I believe everyone will get something out of reading it.
• Bebel, enfin le DVD is a brand new DVD by Bebel, it is produced by Fabrice Delauré. As you all might know, I am a huge fan of Bebel’s card magic. This DVD has 6 of his original routines on it, each routine is smooth, magical and well thought out. First, you get to see Bebel perform a routine for audiences in the streets of Paris, where he sets a table up and does magic for tips (how ghetto is he?). He then explains the routine in detail, going over all the little touches and subtleties he has added. After the explanation, he does another performance of the same routine for a different audience. It is very interesting to watch the legendary French magician perform in tough situations in the street because you get to see how he handles hecklers and interacts with his audiences. My favorite routine on the DVD has to be Repro Rétro, but there are two other effects I might start using. The effects are very technically demanding, but once you have them perfected you will have a piece of art in your hands. There is one problem about the DVD, I kept this for last knowing it might be a turn off. This may not be bad for everyone including me, but the DVD is completely in French. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get it, for the explanations are so clear that you do not need to hear what is being said. Also HIGHLY recommended for the advanced card magician. I don’t want to see crappy YouTube videos of Bebel’s magic being done by bad magicians. If you do get this, PLEASE put the time into perfecting the routines.

I hope you enjoyed these two reviews, and that they may help you make a decision for a Christmas gift to yourself.

Spencer Peterson

Happy Thanksgiving and Some Advice

Hey everyone,

I hope you guys have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Enjoy your holiday to the fullest.  For those who have some extra time on their hands today, here is a wonderful tip to practice on card magic.  Keep your breaks small.

Although this seems to be obvious, many magicians including myself keep their breaks too big.  Spencer was the first to show me that every single move requiring a deep break can be replicated with the very tip of your skin keeping the break.  Remember you can always make your breaks bigger for the move but while you are relaxing, smaller breaks will be a lot less noticeable.  Some people ask why do big breaks matter, they’re invisible from the front.  Well they are WRONG, they may be invisible at one or two different angles but smaller breaks are undetectable from most angles. Use this to your advantage and enjoy.

If you didn’t understand this completely, Spencer will make a video about this in the near future.

Once again have a great Thanksgiving,

Tatanka Tan

Playing Cards

If you browse through any of the magic forums like The Magic Cafe or the Theory11 Forum, the same question ALWAYS pops up; What is your favorite brand of Playing Cards?

In the last year, I have received many decks of cards and I have played around with all of them. Some are good and some are really bad, I’ll tell you guys which ones are my favorites and why.

This list is in no particular order:

• Bicycle Rider Back: The most used brand of playing cards, I only use them for practice and sometimes when performing for laymen. Their quality isn’t the best but they’re still usable.
• Tally Ho: These cards come in both Fan Back and Circle Back designs, both are very nice (I personally prefer the Fan Back design). These cards can be purchased easily at drug stores if you live in New York but they’re also available online. They have a great stock and feel nice.
• Bicycle Vintage Fan Back: These cards are pretty much higher quality Bicycle cards with an awesome looking back design. They have a nice, elegant look.
• Split Spades Lions: David Blaine and his associates decided to created a customised deck of cards with a custom box, custom back design and custom court cards with faces of David Blaine, his friend and his coworkers. These cards are BEAUTIFUL, a lot of work was put into designing this deck. Also, the cards have a slightly thicker stock making them last a long time. RECOMMENDED
• Studs: These are a fairly cheap brand of playing cards that you can get at Walgreens. They have a really nice and simple back design and are thin, making them nice and soft.
• Arrcos: These are without a doubt my all-time favorite playing cards. They have a simple vintage back design and they feel incredible. These are the Rolls-Royce of playing cards. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Spencer Peterson

Beginner?

Hey,

If you’re a beginner in magic and don’t know where to start, don’t worry. Here’s a guide of things I would recommend doing and NOT doing when starting out.

-Read the following books:

• Complete Course in Magic by Mark Wilson
• Magic: The Complete Course by Joshua Jay (Book and DVD)
• Tarbell Course in Magic (8 volume set)

-Watch the following DVDs:

• Easy to Master Card Miracles by Michael Ammar (These DVDs are INCREDIBLE)
• Expert Coin Magic Made Easy by David Roth (3 volumes)
• Amazing Magic and Mentalism by Jay Sankey (2 volumes)

-PRACTICE a lot before showing the magic to real people (not magicians). Practice not only in front of the mirror, but try to do it on video until the magic is perfect. Remember this quote “Perfect practice makes perfect” meaning that you can practice something 100 times a day, but if you’re doing it wrong all your time and effort is worthless. Make sure you completely understand what you learn before putting time into practicing it.

-LISTEN to the feedback you get from spectators and other magicians, but don’t take aything personally.

-ENJOY what you’re doing and have fun!

What NOT to do:

• Learn magic on YouTube and other free online sources, free magic online is crap and unethical. STAY AWAY FROM IT!
• Show a trick to family or friends shortly after you learn it, I know it’s tempting but it will be so much better after Perfect Practice.
• Buy every new DVD from Ellusionist or Penguin Magic that only has one trick on it, the older stuff has so much more valuable stuff on it. You get more “bang for your buck” with older DVDs/VHS and books than every new single trick DVD that comes out daily.

I really hope this helps one if not more people,

Spencer Peterson

Performers

Hey guys,

Here is a quick list of performers to watch:

Juan Tamariz: A quirky Spanish magician who can fool any audience and while keeping them entertained.  Look him up online to see some videos of him.

Tommy Wonder: One of the best magicians in the last decade, in stage and close up he brought elegance and astonishment to magicians and laymen alike.  Unfortunately he passed away just as I was getting into magic so I never got a chance to meet this legend.

Jay Sankey: I recently saw his lecture, which really inspired me to add more comedy in my magic.  The spontaneity of this guy is great.  He is a great example on how to use comedy to aid in your magic.

David Stone: The French magician most known for his Real Secrets of Magic DVDs, these videos are an essential rescourse on how to perform restauraunt or walk around magic.  It is refreshing to watch this master perform.

Any of the Finger Flickers: This European group of magicians are known amongst the magic community for their fresh magic and great sense of humor.  Watching their DVD will keep you laughing your ass off the entire time.

Bob Sheets: Wow, Bob sheets is, in my opinion, one of the best close up workers alive.  His persona is disarming in a way that makes the magic much stronger and more memorable.  He knows how to lead you down the garden path and hit you with strong magic.

David Oliver: Although not as well-known as others on this list, but he is one of the best.  I fortunately have had a chance to learn from him, and he is amazing in both close up and stage magic.  His stage magic takes classics to a new level while his close up will have even experienced magicians fooled.

Kostya Kimlat: Known as the master of the cull, Kostya is a full time close up magician who is delightful to watch.  Watching him live is a great way to understand how to stretch the moment of astonishment to its fullest potential.  He is one who combines really good sleight of hand along with strong staging and theater.  This is ever so important nowadays with all of the people who are good with sleights but cannot perform, we need more poeple like Kostya.

John Cassidy: The funniest person I have ever seen.  Though not a magician per say, he is an excellent performer who will have anyone laughing until they cry.  A great comedian, great performer, and all around great guy.  Please, if you get a chance to see him, do it.

David Williamson: Enough Said.

This is just some of the people who have impacted my magic with their performances.  Remember, magic has to entertain as well as amaze.  Just because you fool someone doesn’t mean they are entertained.  Our art today has seemed to not know performance.  Magicians used to take theater classes to help strengthen their magic, today it seems to be all about the sleights.  We need to learn how to take both into account when creating routines and acts.

I know this was a lot to read but it will help out in the long run.

Tatanka Tan