Spencer Peterson and Tatanka Tan's Sleight of Hand Artistry

Raise Rise

cleardeception — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:48:04 +0000

Just uploaded my performance of Ray Kosby’s Raise Rise to YouTube… thought I should post about it here.

ENJOY

Spencer Peterson

Camp Photos

cleardeception — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:23:00 +0000

Here are some photos I took at Tannens Magic Camp last week, had a great time.

See the album HERE

Spencer Peterson

Magic Camp!!!

cleardeception — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:17:33 +0000

Hello everyone,

Spencer and I have just come back from Tannens Magic camp yesterday. It was a week of pure awesomeness. The camp was extremely fun with great lectures, classes, workshops and shows. Many great magicians and entertainers came including David Oliver, Kostya Kimlat, John Pizzi, John Cassidy, Derrick Hughes, Marc DeSouza, Francis Menotti, David London, Doug McKenzie and Ryan Oakes and many more.

At camp we received a lot of magic. In this years kit, we got The Collected Almanac, Reel Magic Quarterly June 2009, Spin Doctor, Acting for Magicians, Thumb Tips, Silks, Half Dollars, Deep Astonishment, Ring on String, Cards and More. Also, thanks to Spencer and the Buck Twins, each camper received a signed orange edition of Andthensome. Along with the kit, we were given a huge opportunity to learn from master magicians from all over the country.

Our daily routine included, a two and a half hour long class on magic that was divided into groups based on skill level and interest in stage or close up. After class we had great lectures from a lot of professional entertainers on various subjects from restaurant magic to a workshop dedicated to the Ring On String effect. We then had workshops which was a class dedicated to various aspects of magic. There was workshops on Kids Magic, Creating Magic, Comedy Magic, and more.

After the Workshops we had Dinner and some chill time before the show. The shows were great and had both close up and stage performers alike. Highlights included Chris Chiappini, Kostya Kimlat, John Pizzi, The Show Off Show, and Harrison Greenbaum.

This was my fourth year at Camp and my favorite so far. Everything was so fun that the week went by so quickly. I believe every person who went had a great time (even Darby). From the late night Jams, to the competition acts, Camp was an experience like no other.

Can’t wait till next year,

Tatanka Tan

2009 Competition Winners:

Junior Close Up

Eli Tannenbaum
Robert Radway
Bhavish Malkani
Matt Richman

Senior Close Up

David Orshan
Joshy Kurzban
Max Cron
Spencer Peterson

Junior Stage

Jeff Prace
Jonah Conlin
Nicole Humberger
Nick Healy

Senior Stage:

Eric Wilzig
Matthew Lescanic
Reuben Moreland
Bailey Ludlum

Congratulations to all of the finalists for doing a wonderful job.

My Birthday

cleardeception — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:50:09 +0000

Yesterday was birthday, I did some imaginary partying. That’s all I have to say about that.

Going to Tannen’s Magic Camp next week, hope to see some old friends and meet new ones.

Peace,

Spencer Peterson

Dan and Dave on Time Warp

cleardeception — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:23:34 +0000

My good friend Dan Buck and his sibling Dave Buck were on the Discovery channel’s Time Warp. I’m sure most of you have already seen this, but for those who haven’t… it’s rather awesome.

Spencer Peterson

Cardsexchange by Chris Mayhew

cleardeception — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 01:05:44 +0000

Hello everyone in interwebzland, I recently watched Chris Mayhew’s Cardsexchange instant download from Vanishing Inc., Josh Jay and Andi Gladwin’s online magic shop that is full of pure awesomeness. Cardsexchange is more than a move with a great name that has inspired me to name a coin move of mine “Coin…sex change”, it’s a useful sleight with numerous applications. On another note, I hear Chris Mayhew is a friend of Tyler Wilson’s… which automatically makes him partially awesome (I shall reveal the details if necessary). Let me start to do a semi-serious review of the download NOW:

The sleight: At first, I thought this was highly similar to the Bow-to-Stern control created by Earnest Earick in his book By Forces Unseen… but I was wrong. The concept of Cardsexchange is similar to Bow-to-Stern, but there are several key differences in each move that accomplish different things. For example, Bow-to-Stern controls a card to the top of the deck and Cardsexchange is a visual color change… two highly different results.

The Color Change: This is a very clever application for the move, the change is very smooth, visual and ends clean. Unlike many color changes recently published, this is visual but there is a second of “mystery” as the card changes… I believe this factor makes the color change more magical since there is a moment of magic.

The Ambitious Card: Although this isn’t my favorite application for Cardsexchange, it is useful and can be applied to any Ambitious Card routine.

The Force: Again, my favorite application for the move is the color change, but the force using Cardsexchange is clever. The nice thing about is is that after the card is forced, you have complete control of it.

Tranny: This transposition is great; it’s quick, visual and ends clean… the way I like my cranberry muffins. I also see some kind of potential in the switch Chris uses in the beginning of the routine. Good job with the Tranny, Mr. Mayhew.

The Teaching: Cardsexchange isn’t a simple move, but Chris does a great job teaching everything you need to know to do the move.

Final Thoughts: I really liked this download, I wouldn’t be writing this review if I didn’t. Cardsexchange gets my recommendation, even though nobody cares about that. On a last note, Chris is rather entertaining… he made me LOL (laugh out loud).

The Golden Gate Gathering

cleardeception — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:17:50 +0000

I just found out that I’ll be at the Golden Gate Gathering (AKA GGG) next week in San Francisco, a fairly small all hardcore close-up sleight of hand convention with non-stop sessioning going on. Check out who’s going to be lecturing here, I’ll be flying out of New York City exactly a week from now with the one and only Ricky Smith and the unstoppable Ben Train. Also, I’ve never been to California which is making me more excited about this surely mighty convention. Immediately after GGG, I’ll be coming back home and leaving a few days later to CAMaraderie in Montreal. Hope to see some of you there.

Spencer Peterson

Identity

cleardeception — Sun, 10 May 2009 22:58:45 +0000

Unlike most magic creators, Richard Sanders magic is ALWAYS phenomenal. The newest effect from Sanders FX is Identity, in which a card is signed on the face and has random lines drawn on the back of the card, the magician shakes the card and the lines instantly transform into the spectator’s name. I have not seen this performed live, nor have I seen the gaffs… but I am sure this will be great, for Richard Sanders doesn’t disappoint. Also, i’m hoping to see Richard at CAM2009 in June.

Watch the preview video of Identity HERE.

Spencer Peterson

CAMaraderie 2009

cleardeception — Thu, 07 May 2009 04:55:32 +0000

I’ll be attending a convention that my friend, Derrick Chung, is organizing in Montreal. The convention starts on June 19th and ends on the 21st, I know it’s going to be a great time. There are so many world-class acts booked for the convention and I can’t wait to meet and see them work. There are 2 workshops being held, the first is a coin workshop with Bob Fitch, and the second is a card workshop with (Drum roll please)… Jason England. The lectures and acts booked are simply phenomenal, check them all out at www.CAM2009.org.

See you there?

Spencer Peterson

Naturalness

cleardeception — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 07:21:40 +0000

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

Spencer Peterson and Tatanka Tan's Sleight of Hand Artistry

Raise Rise

Camp Photos

Magic Camp!!!

My Birthday

Dan and Dave on Time Warp

Cardsexchange by Chris Mayhew

RECOMMENDED

The Golden Gate Gathering

Identity

CAMaraderie 2009

See you there?

Naturalness