Michael Close - In Review
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(2) Introduction It is December 23, 2001 as I write this. I am three columns away from completing my 7th year as product reviewer for MAGIC magazine. The first year Mac King and I served as duo reviewers. Mac immensely disliked having to give negative reviews and dropped out after that first year. I continued on. At the MAGIC Live! convention I gave a brief history of the product review section of the magazine. That summary can be found in the September 2001 Marketplace column. Each of the gentlemen who wrote for the magazine brought their own unique viewpoint to the job of product review, and I enjoyed reading their comments. My driving goal was to provide honest information for the magician who had no easy access to a magic shop, and thus had to make his buying decision based on the ads that appear in the various trade journals. My simple purpose was to let the readers of the magazine know whether the product was (in one person’s opinion) worth the asking price. In addition, I have tried to make the column entertaining to read. I do not consider myself a great essayist or a writer of formal criticism. The columns have been conversational in style, and I hope that they are easy to read and bring a smile every now and then. On this disc you will find all the product review columns from May 1995 through December 2001. The columns are in the form that I submitted them to the magazine. I tried as much as possible to catch errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar, but things sometimes fall through the cracks, and I am grateful that the editorial staff of MAGIC managed to catch many of the glitches that I missed. The copy you are reading, however, is my original text. This means that there may be some mistakes. I apologize for them in advance. Another factor is this: sometimes items had to be cut for space. Usually, we tried to include the item in the next month’s column. When this happened I just pasted the review from the previous month into the column I was working on. I didn’t delete the time from the first column. This explains why you may find an item appearing more than once in the columns. I see no reason why anyone (including my mother) would want to read through all these columns from beginning to end. This is not why we are releasing this collection. The beauty of Acrobat Reader is that it has a powerful “Find” function that will allow you to search through the entire collection of reviews. If there is a product you are considering buying, it is a simple matter to type the name of the book, video, or trick into the search engine and track down the review. You can also type in the name of people if you’re looking for products by a certain creator. It is rather staggering to see the number of pages that I have typed in the last seven years. It is also gratifying to hear from readers of the magazine that my reviews have been of value. Please remember, however, that a review is not fact, it is opinion. I back up my opinions with 43 years of experience as both a hobbyist and a professional. But under no circumstances should you take my opinion as being the final word on the subject. The Internet has allowed even magicians who live in isolated areas to seek out information from other magicians around the world. I urge you to use these resources intelligently (which for the most part is a rare occurrence) and ask questions of the other knowledgeable magicians on the Net..
(3) Some thanks are in order. My thanks to Mac King, John Moehring, Stephen Hobbs, Gordon Bean, Jon Racherbaumer, David Charvet, and Brian McCullagh for allowing me to include their guest reviews in this collection. Thanks also to Stan Allen, the publisher of MAGIC magazine, and John Moehring, the editor of MAGIC. Writing does not come particularly easy to me, and, while I never missed a deadline, I’m sure there were times when John and Stan wondered if I was actually going to get the column in on time. If this collection is your first introduction to my writings in MAGIC, you might want to think about subscribing. I have continued on as product reviewer, and the magazine contains great articles and some terrific tricks compiled by our new trick editor Joshua Jay. Visit www.MagicMagazine.com to find out more information. I was rather overwhelmed to find that at 12-point type this document ran to almost 900 pages. More than 1100 books, videotapes, and tricks have been reviewed. Now I know why I have no life. It was with some envy that I looked back at the columns Mac and I wrote together. Some of them only ran 2000 words. The last column I wrote was 6600 words long. Thank you for purchasing this CD-Rom. I would appreciate it if you would not make copies for your friends. The electronic medium is an easy one to copy illegally. If you have a friend that you think would benefit from the information included here, please direct them to my website at www.MichaelClose.com and urge them to purchase a copy for themselves. Thanks again, and enjoy the reviews. Michael Close December 23, 2001 Las Vegas, Nevada.
(4) May 1995 The Mike and Mac Show Mike: You may have heard this story before. There is a reason for retelling it. My mother says that she would sit me at the piano when I was four years old or so, and I would try to plunk out little tunes. When I was six, I received a magic trick for a birthday present, and the bug bit and held. So for 6/7 of my time on planet earth, music and magic have been an important part of my life. I started to make money from music when I was in high school. I played cocktail piano in restaurants and bars, and I worked with a wedding reception band. My degrees are in music, and I have plied my trade in just about every commercial venue possible. It became apparent to me early on that when you make your living from the commercial possibilities of an art form your attitude about that art form changes. You may still love it, but you think about it differently. And a lot of times, you stop loving it, because of what you have to do to make a living from it. Because of this, I never wanted to make a living from doing magic. So, during my first 20 years in magic, my goal was to amuse myself, my magic buddies, and my friends and family. I spent hours in front of the mirror practicing moves and tossing things into my lap. I worked through hundreds of variations of tricks, so I would have some new thing to fool my buddies at the magic meeting. And I “oohed and aahed” when someone brought in the latest prop, which we would play with for hours. It was a happy time and I loved every minute of it. Then, in 1978, I started to do magic in restaurants and everything changed. I discovered that a lot of what I knew was useless in a real-life performing environment. I became less interested in learning a new variation than in learning how to “sell” the original handling. I became more interested in “why” then in “how.” It is still a happy time and I love what I’m doing, but my perspective is different. I mention all this because I am going to be reviewing products. For you to decide whether my opinion has any validity, you need to understand where I’m coming from. I am most interested in books, videos and props which offer new, useful information, and which are practical and performable in the real world. For it is this type of product which moves magic forward. But at the same time, I promise not to forget the magician that I was for 20 years, when the worth of a product was in its self-amusement value. So for me, the game plan is to try to make you aware of those products that educate, enlighten or enrich, while remembering that, for many readers, the only person who needs to be entertained is the one whose reflection is in the mirror..
(5) Mac: And here’s a little bit about me, Mac King. I have been a professional magician for over 13 years. I got talked into this review deal by my friend, Stan, because I told him I was out of ideas for my “On The Road” column. I think what Mike Close and I are trying is an interesting concept. Here’s how it works. Mike and I both take a look at a product. We decide who will write the main review for that item, we link our computers up across the country, and then we have a little discussion about the pros and cons of that particular item. Kind of a Siskel and Ebert on the information superhighway thing. Oh, and I’m a Sagittarius. Roberto Giobbi’s Card College Volume 1 By Roberto Giobbi Mike: Every now and then, I will be asked what book I would suggest for someone who is new to magic and who has an interest in sleight of hand. I would usually suggest Royal Road to Card Magic. I am delighted to now have another option. Hermetic Press has released the first volume in Roberto Giobbi’s monumental work, Card College. While this has been available in Europe for several years, this is the first version in English. Richard Hatch has produced a wonderfully readable translation and the original text has been augmented with additional details and information. Beginners who have found the “Royal Road” to be a bit bumpy should find the Giobbi course to be more user friendly. The instructions for the sleights and tricks are accompanied by hundreds of illustrations, and most explanations are followed by a series of “Check Points,” which serve to reemphasize important details or to offer variant handlings. The material is effectively organized from a pedagogical standpoint; each new item builds on skills acquired in earlier chapters. If I were to slap a label on the material in the first volume, it would be Basic Card Technique. With the exception of the Top Change and a Ken Krenzel’s One-Card Middle Pass, the sleights explained rely more on neat card handling than great finger dexterity. In other words, the cards (and the actions of the cards) are responsible for the concealing of the sleights. Since Mr. Giobbi, like Erdnase, is a proponent of “uniformity of action” he spends much time teaching the proper finger positions and grips for legitimate actions. The first chapter, “Fundamental Techniques,” discusses such things as Dealing Position, Squaring the Deck, Spreading Cards in the Hands, Dribbling Cards, Dealing Cards, and the Little Finger Break. He continues with chapters on the Overhand Shuffle, False Cut Techniques, Card Controls, Force Techniques, Transfer Cuts, Riffle Shuffle Techniques, and the Glide. Within each of these chapters, Mr. Giobbi explains simple but effective stratagems (for example, how to hold the top and bottom stocks during a riffle shuffle), while emphasizing the importance of correctly mastering the basic handlings so that the difficulties in learning more advanced techniques will be reduced. In comparing Card College Volume One and Royal Road to Card Magic, it is interesting to note that Mr. Giobbi does not discuss the palm or the pass, and that the double lift which is explained is used basically to establish the concept; the student will certainly.
(6) discard this handling when others are taught later in the course and more adroitness has been acquired. Delaying the explanations of these sleights until later in the course is an extremely sound decision. Tricks accompany each of the sleights explained, and they are good tricks. Each explanation contains not only the method of the trick, but comments on audience management and a possible patter approach. Some parting shots. Don’t assume that just because you are not a beginner there will be nothing of interest for you in this book. One of Mr. Giobbi’s goals was to gather and collate the most up to date information possible. I discovered techniques and stratagems in this book that were new to me and which I have immediately added to my arsenal. Study this book as you would study your homework. Get a yellow highlighter and mark it up. Make notes in the margins. Pay very close attention to the “Check Point” section. Often the information in there is vital. Acquiring skill with a deck of cards is not simple. It requires an investment of time and the active participation of both the hands and the brain. This book is the finest example I’ve seen of attempting to organize a vast amount of material into a structured program that will make the learning process as efficient as possible. I wish it were available when I was a kid. The Roberto Giobbi Card College will become a standard text. Buy your copy now and get started. Mac: I, too, thought the book was good and that you should buy it, but there are some questions. You pay all this money to learn card magic basics and yet there are no descriptions of the pass or the palm, two of the most useful sleights. What about that? Would you still recommend this over Royal Road? Mike: One problem we have as reviewers is that we can’t see the big picture of the entire card course. In Europe, I believe that the first two volumes were released at the same time, and that these moves are in Volume Two. I do think that delaying the teaching of the pass, palm and double lift until the student has acquired some finger dexterity is a good idea, since these are difficult moves. Mac: Agreed. But he doesn’t delay the teaching of the double lift. He teaches a relatively bad one. Mike: That’s true. The chapter on the double lift should probably have been removed, since anyone who learns that method will drop it as soon as they learn a more natural and convincing method. Mac: So back to my original question. Since this course is four volumes and thus at least $120, would you say that this is for the serious student or the beginner? Mike: The serious student will probably want to “stay the course” and invest in all four volumes. Royal Road is a great book, but there has been much improvement in card.
(7) technique over the 46 years since it was published. The Giobbi books try to incorporate the latest techniques available. As for the beginner, there is enough information to keep them interested. If they choose not to continue, then at least moves such as the palm and the pass haven’t been tipped to them. Mac: Maybe in your role as Mr. Card Magic you should mention some of the incorrect credits. Mike: One thing I forgot to mention in my review is that there are several credits that are incorrect. For example, the “Whoops” control should be credited to U.F. Grant. Publisher Minch has been made aware of this, and asks that readers contact Hermetic Press if they find other errors, so that the Card College books can be made as accurate as possible. Mac: Actually, I think that the second trick taught is also incorrectly credited. It is a spectator cutting the aces effect. Mike: Yes, and I have been using this method for a long time. By the way, here’s a tip: When I used to do this at the restaurant, I would have a child do the cutting, and they would cut to their age. What I mean is, if they were eight years old, they would cut to four eights. With the techniques given in the Giobbi book, this is easy to do. Mac: That is a good tip. Actually that’s another of the things that I liked about this book, even some of the tricks I was familiar with had interesting twists. And Giobbi does a good job (better even than Royal Road) of instilling in the student that all of this stuff comes from living breathing human beings, and doesn’t just appear from nowhere. Mike: Exactly. Any final thoughts? Mac: Enthusiastic thumbs up. Mike: Make it two. Magic and Meaning By Eugene Burger and Robert Neale Mac: Robert Neale and Eugene Burger are, in the words of that esteemed philosopher, Dan Fogelberg, “twin sons of different mothers.” Eugene Burger has written a lot of truly fine magic books about the theory and practice of magic. If you are a student of magic, you’ve no doubt seen some of them and probably even read at least one. Robert Neale is perhaps not as well known to you. He was a professor of psychiatry and religion for many years. In the magic world, some of his published items are the really cool “Bunny Bill” manuscript, and the fascinating book Tricks of the Imagination. He currently writes a column for The Linking Ring Magazine and is something of an origami genius. Their book, Magic and Meaning, is a discussion of, among other things, the quest for self-discovery (who am I?), the history of magic and its origins, the definition of magic (and what the different kinds of magic are), “Sawing a Woman in Half” and, of course,.
(8) card tricks. In addition to these discussions, there are also some actual tricks you can do. As Max Maven says in his Foreword to the book, “the discussions range from the sublime to the goofy.” First, the “sublime.” I didn’t agree with all the stuff put forth in this book. But, please don’t take that to mean that I didn’t enjoy it. Just the opposite. I received great pleasure from reading it. Every one of the 11 essays got me thinking; sometimes about my place in magic, sometimes about my place in society as a magician, and even about a new moneymaking scheme to actually use in my show. As a matter of fact, I found that what interested me most were not the points where I agreed with the authors, but the places where I disagreed with them. I mean, you may not agree with Robert Neale when he says, “A real magic show is a place for us to experience the sacred,” but you’ve gotta admit that it gets you thinking. My favorite of the essays was Neale’s “Matinee Magic,” a discussion of the “Sawing a Woman in Half” trick and the reasons for its popularity. Also, in the category of sublime would be some of the six Robert Neale tricks that are used as examples of applying his theories of magic to tricks. Two of them seemed especially good. “Real Jokers,” his blending of Jeff Busby’s “Into the Fourth Dimension” and Paul Harris’ “Ultimate Rip-off” is my favorite. But, if you are familiar with those two tricks and you respond, “Yes that is a really good combination,” you’d be missing Neale and Burger’s whole point. They contend that because the presentation you are given touches something that is deeply shared by all humans, this mere card trick takes on a metaphorical meaning that it might not otherwise possess. My other favorite trick is “Sole Survivor,” a pretty ghoulish story, and not the kind of thing I would normally perform. I must say, however, that the times I’ve performed this item for my friends, the dialogue given by Mr. Neale has never failed to elicit a satisfyingly uncomfortable reaction. And now my picks for what constituted the “goofy” parts of this book. There are probably people who would find any book that concerned itself with the themes presented here goofy. I happen to be a fan Eugene’s previous books that deal with some of these same subjects. So, for me, there were only two sort of goofy parts. The first was the fact that Eugene’s overly long discussion of the origins of magic includes a (blessedly short) section on “Deception in the Animal World.” The second was that I found Robert’s three gospel magic tricks to be a bit weak. My only other real complaint was that there is no actual dialogue or discussion between Eugene and Robert. While this does not technically fall under the heading of “goofy,” it is a bit disappointing. Three of the essays have seen print before, however, they were in small publications and have been considerably revised for this publication. One unexpected pleasure was how funny I found parts of the book to be. I heartily recommend this book. At least once during every chapter I found myself stopping to write down something I’d never thought of before. We reviewed this book in prepublished galley form. I liked it so much that I may even buy an actual copy when it becomes available on June 1..
(9) Mike: I, too, enjoyed this book very much. One of the things which helps revitalize and stimulate magical thought is to bring in elements from outside of the magical field. There are a lot of books mentioned in footnotes that I’m going to track down and read. Mac: I’d also like to track down that movie short, “Matinee,” featuring the “Sawing a Woman in Half,” that Robert writes about. Mike: You mentioned in your review that you thought the part about “Deception in the Animal World” was a little goofy. I think I see where Eugene is coming from. In this chapter, Eugene asks whether there might not be reasons for human beings becoming interested in magic other than the standard economic-political theory put forth by Mulholland, Christopher, and Randi, which states that the early magician “performed not to entertain but to impress or frighten those who watched into giving the magician extra privileges in the tribe.” Mac: Sort of a Neanderthal Bob Farmer? Mike: Exactly. Eugene’s essay attempts to seek out alternatives to the “magician as power hungry con man” theory. It is in this regard that the animal world is discussed. Mac: So early man sees that animals can use deception and sees that he can use it to protect himself, too? Okay. But to me that’s still kind of a goofy thing to write more than a paragraph about. I mean I understand that he’s trying to offer alternative beginnings for magic but... Mike: Anyway, I agree with you that there are a couple of terrific routines in the book, especially the one called “Sole Survivor.” I was a little surprised that you felt that this routine was “pretty ghoulish” and not the sort of thing you’d perform. Aren’t you the guy who gave the magic world the “Fork in the Eye” trick? Mac: I say ghoulish because that is the reaction that it gets when I performed it. But I have performed it in the same situations where I do the fork trick - sitting around with my friends, not in my act. I could, however, see someone else doing this in a more formal atmosphere. Mike: There were parts of the book that I disagreed with - the essay on card tricks, for instance - but the importance of a book like this is not that you agree with everything, but that it stimulates you to think. Mac: Exactly. As a matter of fact the essay on shamanism... Mike: Which I had a hard time relating to. Mac: It got me thinking about the shamans of today. I believe that comedians have become our shamans. The audience comes in as a group. They sit in the dark. They all.
(10) do the same drugs. The comedian speaks of universal events, and the audience responds, “Yes, that’s just how the world is! You are so right.” Mike: I can see it now... “Howdy, I’m Shaman King. Mac: I’m Shaman King and the gods inform me that you should buy this book. Mike: The only fear I have about Magic and Meaning is expressed in the first sentence of the introduction “This is a book for those who enjoy thinking about the art of magic.” My fear is that these are the only people who will buy this book. That would be a mistake. This is a wonderful book, and anyone who claims to be interested in magic at all should read it, study it and, yes, think about it. Great Tricks Revisited By Robert Parrish Mike: I’m not a prop guy. Every time I see a magician bring out some oddly decorated piece of equipment which could only exist in a magic shop I can not help but think of Pat Hazel’s wonderful patter line for the “Television Card Frame” (“I have here an ordinary deck of cards, some ordinary rubber bands, two ordinary sheets of glass, and…an ordinary one of these.”). But I will admit that there are extremely ingenious pieces of apparatus, and magicians who would love to use them in performance, but don’t, because they lack a good routine. For such magicians, Robert Parrish’s new book Great Tricks Revisited will be like manna from heaven. This book is the second in the “Magic in My Lifetime” series, published posthumously by David Meyer Magic Books. (The first was the delightful book of recollections Words About Wizards.) Robert Parrish was a charming man who gave considerable thought to any trick he tackled. As anyone who studies the routines in this book will discover, his cognitive powers were impressive. The book contains routines for many standard props including “Die Box,” “Spirit Dial,” “Nest of Boxes,” “Mirror Glass,” “Coin Jar,” “Japanese Box,” “Ellis Ring,” Owen Brothers’ “Watch Box,” and “Sand Frame.” In all cases, the goal was to develop routines that would be performable in real life conditions. Two are worthy of special notice: the routine for the “Rapping Hand” is the best of its kind I’ve ever read, and the “Card in the Orange” routine is sensational. There are also several card routines included (a courtesy, I suppose, for those of us who don’t own any props). My two favorites are a handling of the “Milton Sympathetic Clubs,” and a humorous demonstration of “expert” card handling using only two cards. The last chapter contains several routines created by the late Joe Scott of St. Louis. In the introduction to the book, Mr. Parrish writes, “Magic is a minor art because both its emotional and its intellectual content are necessarily limited.” This is not a fact, it is Mr. Parrish’s opinion, and it is on this opinion that the presentations of the routines are based. These presentations are “sketches” in which the props are introduced, explanations are given to justify their odd existence, they do their “thing,” and then they are put away. I.
(11) have the feeling that this presentational approach will be very comfortable for most magicians, who will be able to adapt the patter to their own personalities without much problem. This is a terrific book and reading it reminds me how much poorer the world is for Mr. Parrish’s passing. There are two groups of people, though, who are going to be ecstatic over the book - those magicians who already own the props, and the dealers in used magic who are going to wonder why “Die Boxes” are suddenly such a hot commodity. Mac: I, too, loved the book, especially the “Rapping Hand” routine. I must admit that I had never read a Robert Parrish book before, but this made me want to go out and get the other 16 of ‘em. Mike: I only had the chance to spend time with Mr. Parrish on a couple of occasions, but he certainly had the ability to routine a trick to maximize effect and minimize hassle. And he must have certainly loved cases. Mac: Yes, you mentioned that in every trick the props are taken out, use and then put away. But you didn’t mention that every apparatus trick is taken out of it’s very own carrying case (in full view of the audience) and then put back into that same case. I found that a bit silly, but I must admit that in many of the routines this carrying case fixation turned out to greatly simplify the handling. Mike: So, I say: Prop guys are going to be happy, used magic dealers are going to be happy, and leather workers are going to happy. How bout you, Mac, are you happy? Mac: Yes, I’m happy to have gotten a chance to meet Robert Parrish through his work. I think there is great value here. I can see people performing these tricks exactly as written. Much Ado About Something By Karrell Fox Mac: When I was a kid I was an Abbott’s man. Most of my friends were Tannen’s men. They said the Tannen’s catalogue had more tricks and it was hardbound. There was an actual picture of a magician on the front of the Tannen’s catalog, whereas Abbott’s pretty much just had the word “Abbott’s.” But the main reason I was an Abbott’s guy was the Abbott’s Get-Together. A seven- or eight-hour bus ride away, this was my Mecca. Because I was concerned with everything Abbott’s, I was a Tops subscriber. Every month I awaited more news regarding all the real magicians out there in the real world. Judging from the articles in Tops, chief of all the real magicians was Karrell Fox. Karrell had a column called the “Fox’s Den,” which was also the name of his house. There was a photo of the house every month, and you could tell by looking that miracles were born inside that house. I loved that column and I loved Karrell Fox..
(12) When I finally got to an Abbott’s Get-To-gether and saw Karrell Fox, I was not disappointed. He was funny. He was charming. He knew a lot about magic. And when I actually met him face to face, he was really nice to me. I would say that we are friends. Well, my friend, Karrell Fox, has released a new book of magic tricks. I knew when I agreed to take on this review job that I would have to comment on some books that were written by my friends. I also assumed that one day I’d probably have to say something negative about something a friend had written. I just didn’t know that it would be so soon. I think there are a few decent items in Much Ado About Something, but in order to find anything useful in this, the latest of Karrell’s ten books, you are going to have to do some digging. The things I like best are “The Static Tie,” which is a great addition to the old pop-up tie gag, and all the photos of Karrell and his friends, which are inserted haphazardly throughout the book. The later is a feature of many of the earlier Fox books published by Supreme. If you’re looking for great Karrell Fox material, I’d start with those earlier Supreme books. Help me out here, Mike. Mike: I’m afraid I have to agree with you, Mac. And I’ll try to explain why. If you are familiar with Karrell’s previous books you know that he doesn’t go into great detail with his descriptions. He gives you ideas, tips, quick tricks and presentational ploys, and then leaves the rest up to you. Unfortunately, in this book, there are many items which have seen print in other people’s books. In addition, the drawings by Ed Harris and the various personal photos and memorabilia take up about 84 pages, or 51% of the book. The remaining 80 pages contain the trick descriptions and technical photos. Concerning the Harris drawings: While they may give you the sense of what a particular trick is about, they are often totally incorrect in terms of the techniques of a routine. So read the text carefully. Meanwhile, let’s be realistic. After all, even Mozart wrote some stuff that wasn’t so hot. I do want to mention one trick that I think should have carried some type of warning. There is a routine that involves igniting a sheet of flash paper 12 inches square. The paper is on a piece of poster board that lies flat on your hand. This strikes me as a dangerous thing to do. Mac: I know. That’s why I’m typing so slowly. I can only use one hand at the moment. Mike: Our recommendation: Try some vintage Fox. There is some very fine wine in those old bottles..
(13) June 1995 Double Dealings Mac: I have always been leery of videotaped instruction as a way to learn magic tricks. In general, I don’t think that it provides the ease of use or the freedom of interpretation that a text-based format does. The only area in which I think that video teaching surpasses book learnin’ is in seeing a routine in action before a live audience. This might be looked at as a disadvantage as well. For people looking for a quick fix, just a trick or two to show their friends, video provides everything laid out for them - method, presentation, patter, etc. I don’t think this is necessarily a good thing. The temptation is too great for some people to stop thinking. It is conceivable that even an unadorned secret move (the top change for example) is better learned from a book. By that I mean that maybe even sleights are better if adapted to your hands and mannerisms. Also, there are limitations which video cannot overcome. I watched a video teaching tape once that contained a trick with a stacked deck. The stack was shown on the tape! The guy just called out one card after another until he had named all 52 cards and their position in the stack. There was no way that you could set this up as you watched the tape. You had to write the information down as he said it, and then rig up the deck. For me, the danger in voicing my belief that videos are a bad way to learn magic is that it might lead you to believe that I’m just a technophobe, or that I’m like the stereotypical grandfather… “I learned magic from books, so that’s how you’ll learn magic. You don’t need any of this newfangled gadgetry to be a magician.” That’s not true. I think videotape can play a great part in helping you develop your act. I just think that, with only a couple of exceptions, video is a bad way to teach magic tricks. And what are those exceptions? Maybe it’s a good idea in the case of instructional tapes for kids (or true beginners) as a vehicle to get them interested and to show them what good magic really looks like. The other instance when I think video is extremely valuable is as a chance to see someone you might otherwise have missed. The Dai Vernon tapes (those which actually feature Vernon) and the recently released Ross Bertram videos fall into this category. Mike: I agree with you, Mac. Like it or not, magic is an intellectual activity, and success requires a creative imagination and the ability to visualize. By its very nature, reading challenges the intellect, forcing the brain into action. Watching a video is a passive activity; rarely is the watcher’s imagination called into play. I don’t totally dismiss the use of video in the learning process, but I do think that videos should be a supplement to the written word, and not a substitute for it. There are some things that video does better than print. One example is timing. It is very difficult to convey in words the pacing and flow of a routine. Another use is to evaluate the.
(14) effectiveness and practically of a sleight. There are times when I have read and studied a sleight and thought, “I don’t understand how this could be deceptive.” A demonstration by the originator (or some other competent performer) can answer that question. If you are isolated and do not get a chance to attend conventions, then video is often your only recourse. I would offer one other thought to consider. If the only way you can learn a trick is to have someone teach it to you on a video, then you will always be an imitator. The literature contains thousands of tricks that will never be on a video. They wait for someone to use a creative imagination to turn them into performance pieces. So turn off the TV and open a book. The first person who’s amazed at what happens might just be you. David Roth’s Expert Coin Magic Made Easy Volumes 1-3 Easy to Master Money Miracles Volumes 1-3 Mike: The budding coin man who seeks out video instruction is about to be blown away by offerings from two of the major magic companies. Six videos, more than seven and a half hours of information, and a ton of top-notch material make these an important contribution to the library of teaching videos. To help you make an informed buying decision, I’ll give you an overview of each of the tapes, and then I’ll give you my opinion of each series and how the two series relate to each other. The Expert Coin Magic Made Easy series comes from A-1 MultiMedia, and is designed to take the student from basic to advanced coin magic. David Roth is the instructor, and he is certainly eminently qualified to lead such a course. Volume I is titled “Basic Coin Magic.” Roth discusses the three basic concealment positions (Classic, Finger, and Thumb palms), and vanishes associated with each. Methods for transferring a coin from one palm position to another are taught. The discussion of vanishes leads to the subject of coin switches, and several are taught, including the Bobo Switch and the Roth Shuttle Pass. The Vernon Load and the L’Masque Load are demonstrated, as are the Ramsay Subtlety and the Kaps Subtlety. Tricks taught include “Winged Silver,” a “Copper & Silver” routine, and the famous Roth “Chinese Coin Assembly.” Volume 2 (“Basic to Intermediate Coin Magic”) includes the Roth Retention Pass, the Curl Palm, the Downs Palm, Harvey Rosenthal’s Click Pass, and the Bertram/Marlo/ Skinner Spider Vanish. Some of the routines are: “Coins through the Table,” the Buckley “Coins to Cup,” “Spellbound,” and the Roth “Hanging Coins” routine. Volume 3 is titled “Intermediate to Advanced Coin Magic,” and contains performances and explanations of the Palm to Palm Switch, the Cardini Steal, John Cornelius’ “Metamorphosis Change,” “Milliken’s Transposition,” Slydini’s “Han Ping Chien” routine, an “Expansion of Texture” routine, an advanced “Copper & Silver” routine, and two classic Roth routines - “The One Coin Routine” and “The Purse & Glass.”.
(15) The production value of all these tapes is outstanding. A variety of camera angles are used, and this combined with the use of slow motion replay makes all the sleights crystal clear. Mr. Roth’s years of experience in discussing this material is obvious in the clarity and concision of his explanations. Very often a sleight or a routine is followed by a tensecond tip that gives further helpful learning hints. My negative comments are few. The “Spellbound” routine taught in Volume 2 probably should have been delayed until Volume 3. It is one of the most difficult routines in the series. The One-Handed Spellbound Change should also have been delayed, and for some reason this move is not performed for the lay spectator, it is only explained. This could leave the viewer with the impression that no one could get away with the move in real life. Also, there is an error on the cover of Volume 3. Mention is made of an (“Advanced Chink-a-Chink” routine. This routine is only on the special Collector’s Edition. Easy to Master Money Miracles comes from L & L Publishing, and is a follow up to their very successful Easy to Master Card Miracles series. Once again, Michael Ammar serves as the host/performer/instructor and, with the help of consultants David Roth, Gary Plants, and Brad Henderson, he has assembled an outstanding collection of money magic. (Note that these are not just coin tricks. Also included are tricks with paper money and a couple of routines in which the money plays a peripheral role.) As far as I can tell, there is no pedagogical order to the tapes, so they can be enjoyed in whatever order you choose to purchase them. Each tape contains at least nine items, so for the sake of space I will touch on the highlights. Volume I includes Ammar’s “41 Cent Miracle,” Jack Chanin’s “Continuous Production,” the Stark and Malbrough “Hornswoggled” routine, two different “Matrix” routines, and the Roth “Hanging Coins.” Volume 2 features the world famous Roth and Ammar “Shadow Coins” routine, a standup “Coins Through the Table” routine with a kicker by Mike Gallo, Daryl’s “Cross of India,” the Jacques-Keeny “$2 Bill Tear,” the “Expansion of Texture,” and the Stephan Schutzer “Self-Folding Bill.” Volume 3 includes Ammar’s “Coins Thru Silk,” Fechter’s “Flying Eagles,” Tom Ogden’s amazing penetration effect “$5 and $1,” the Page-Kaps “E-Z Money” routine, and “Bill to Nut,” which is a clever routine based on an idea of U. F. Grant. The production values of these tapes are also excellent. Michael’s slow, clear explanations combined with superb camera work are the next best thing to personal instruction. At the end of each technical explanation there is a segment called “The Real Secret to . . .” It is here that Michael offers suggestions on psychology, presentation, audience management, and discusses ways to maximize the magical impact. Also included are “Super Practice” sessions, in which the effects are performed in slow motion. Each tape comes with a small booklet that gives a time code index to the items on the tape and also provides some further technical information..
(16) “So which series should I buy?” I hear you cry. I’ll get to that in a minute. Before I do, I want to offer two caveats. Both series use the word “Easy” in their titles. This is misleading. Unlike playing cards, there is no such thing as a “self-working” ungaffed coin trick. Even the most basic trick requires the use of a concealment, and this means that some degree of dexterity will be involved. So do not think that you will be able to perform any of these routines without the investment of conscientious, intelligent practice time. Instead of the word “Easy,” the publishers should have said: “Taught with clarity and precision so that your practice time will be as effective as possible.” However, if they had done this, they wouldn’t sell any tapes. “Easy” sells. Just be aware that the purpose of these tapes is not instant gratification. If you have a desire to learn, however, these tapes will put you on the right track. Secondly, I want to touch on the performances of Mr. Ammar and Mr. Roth. With such a large amount of material to present and discuss, it is obvious that routines will be included which are not a part of either gentlemen’s working repertoire. With these routines you will find that the presentations are pretty basic, generally just a verbal description of what you can see. With their signature routines, the performances are stronger. One of the great problems with presenting coin magic is how to make the routines meaningful. Far too often they simply become (in Eugene Burger’s words) “the adventures of the props and the hands.” I would suggest that you pay attention to the presentation for the “41 Cent Miracle” as an example of adding an emotional hook to what would otherwise be a simple vanish and reappearance of three coins. In both series, the challenge of adding meaningfulness has (for the most part) been left up to you. So here’s the bottom line. I feel that the two series have no conflicting intents. The Roth tapes focus on the techniques of coin magic, presented in a logical progression, with routines designed to incorporate whatever sleight is being discussed. If you have no knowledge of coin magic, then this is the series you should go to first. The Ammar tapes focus on repertoire. If you are already comfortable with most of the basic coin sleights, you will probably want to go to this series first. My guess is, though, that if video is your learning medium of choice, then you will want them all. And you won’t be disappointed. Mac: I thought that there was real value here, but man, in-between every segment on the Roth tapes there is an amazingly annoying clinking noise. I think it is a sound effect of a bunch of coins dropping into a glass. Not only is it grating, but it’s also a time waster. I also thought the slow motion stuff was a waste. What VCR doesn’t have slo-mo? My other gripe about the Roth series is much more serious. Why does he start each tape by taking off his jacket? Mike: I don’t know. Some form of Cloutier envy? Mac: Also annoying was the music in the Roth tape. It sounded a bit like porno background music to me. Not that I’d know, of course. But all those silly comments aside, I thought that these were well produced and really would teach you how to be a junior David Roth. I also agree with you that there is really no real way to compare the Ammar and Roth tapes. They are different animals. If I were purchasing a set for my own.
(17) use, I’d buy the Ammar tapes. They seem to have a wider selection of plots and effects. Michael has obviously watched a lot of infomercials and corporate videos. Because these have that same feel, I found them a bit creepy to watch. But the tricks are great, and very well taught. And I did like that the performances took place in a sort of real life situation. Mike: My thought was that beginners might find the Roth videos more useful, while those with some coin “chops” would like the variety on the Ammar tapes. Mac: I agree completely. Although, while I don’t actually perform much coin magic, I would consider myself pretty knowledgeable about it, and I still found some stuff on the Roth tapes that I thought was informative and not referred to by others teaching coin magic. There’s a wealth of fine stuff in both sets. Mike: Right. If you’re unfamiliar with the techniques and the repertoire of coin and money magic these tapes are great introductions. With the background you acquire here, it will be easier to tackle the classic coin texts by Roth, Downs, Bobo and Slydini. The Magic of the Hands Trilogy By Edward Victor The Magic of Edward Victor’s Hands By Rae Hammond Mac: The Magic of the Hands Trilogy collects the three Edward Victor books, The Magic of the Hands, More Magic of the Hands, and Further Magic of the Hands for the first time into one hardbound volume. The first of these was originally published in 1937, and the last in 1946. Together they total about 250 pages of material on cards, coins, billiard balls, matchboxes, handkerchiefs, thimbles, ropes and lots of other stuff. These books are classics. In my mind there are two kinds of “classics.” There’s the classic that you keep in your garage and look at from time to time because it brings you pleasure simply to possess such an item. And there’s the classic that you like to gas up, take the top down, and cruise down the highway into show off. The kind that still runs just as good today as the day it was built. This reprint is an excellent combination of those two classic types. There are, of course, some things in them that are outdated or have been genuinely improved on since the original publication. But also there are some cool items here. I have always been kind of a closet Edward Victor fan, having skimmed through his books at my friend’s houses, but never actually owning a copy of any of them myself. I knew he had contributed a great deal to magic, but I was surprised by the extent of his influence. Many card moves, billiard ball moves, coin sleights, thimble routines, and rope handlings have their basis in the writing of Edward Victor. The books are in the same format as the originals with the same photos, clear illustrations, and page numbers. The highlights for me are (in order of appearance) “My Rope Routine” (the original and still great), “Visiting” (a four-objects-assemble-under-.
(18) two-covers type trick), “The Cigarette Paper Effect” (a clean torn-and-restored and burntand-reproduced cigarette paper), “The Magnetized Cards” (a purely sleight-of-hand method for causing 24 widely spread cards to cling to your hand), a vanishing glove effect (both gloves disappear visibly - one of them while you’re wearing it), “A Salt and Knife Problem” (a paddle type trick), “An Invisible Palm” (this great production of a fan of cards is much in vogue today), and “The Haunted Pack” (with a borrowed deck). Those are all great tricks. But, for me, the really superior stuff is in the new volume, The Magic of Edward Victor’s Hands, by Mr. Victor’s friend Rae Hammond. It has biographical material interspersed with some really remarkable magic tricks. If I saw this on a shelf in a magic store, I’d almost buy it just because of the cover photograph of Edward Victor. It is really cool. There are some more great photos inside. But the best parts of the book are some of the tricks. To me, the finest thing by far is “The Edward Victor Diminishing Pack.” This is a specially prepared pack that enables you to cause a fan of cards to diminish first to half size, then to quarter size, and then immediately back to full-sized cards. All this without adding or taking away even a single card. My other personal favorite is Edward’s handling of the “Nudist Deck.” A deck of cards is fanned and shown to be completely blank. A few cards are printed, and then the remainder of the pack is printed all at once. The deck is then handed out for shuffling (and examination). Also among the highlights are a paddle trick (which Frances Marshall claims fooled Dai Vernon), and the famous “Edward Victor Eleven Card Trick,” which is the basis for modern classics by Gene Gordon (“Dizzy Dollar”), Fred Kaps (“Eleven Bill Trick”), Derek Dingle (“Derek Dingle’s Fabulous Jumping Card Trick”), and David Williamson (“The Famous Three Card Trick”). The one slight disappointment I had was that the pre-publication advertisement says, “There’s even a chapter on his shadowgraphy.” While there is a chapter on shadowgraphy - and it is fascinating - you won’t learn how to do any hand shadows from it. These books are remarkable. If you can just buy one, buy the Rae Hammond volume, but I’d recommend getting them both. Mike: I liked both books a lot. They’re the kind I know I will come back to often. I have found that when I’m trying to come up with something new for my work, the best place to go is one of the older texts. There are often great plots, and with a little work you can make the trick play for a contemporary audience. Mac: But I think it’s wrong to imply that everything in these books will need to be reworked and updated to be usable today..
(19) Mike: Absolutely. In fact, there are a couple of routines that I could incorporate immediately. The four-card assembly done with borrowed business cards is terrific. As is the “Victor Bat” routine and the “Diminishing Cards.” It’s no wonder that Edward Victor impressed people like Dai Vernon. This guy was one clever Mofo. There is a wealth of material in these books, as well as providing insight into the life of a performer who is little remembered today. I highly recommend these books. Mac: Actually, speaking of the life of a performer, did the bio book make you a bit sad? I found myself feeling sorry for Mr. Victor. He so wanted to be a magician, and it seems as if most of his work was actually as a shadowgrapher. Mike: Yeah, I felt that way, too. Once again, it’s the age-old story of having to make a living in a commercial environment that is only looking for a certain kind of entertainment. But looking at the photos of Victor doing shadowgraphy, he was awesome at it, and definitely had nothing to be ashamed of. He had amazing hands. Mac: And I think he’d be proud of these books, and pleased that he’s being reintroduced to the magic world in 1995. Mike: And in books that were obviously prepared with great care and affection for the subject…I can’t type anymore, Mac…I’m getting too misty eyed. Mac: Let’s change the subject. Bound to Please: The Collected Early Works of Simon Aronson By Simon Aronson. Mike: When I first began attending conventions, I had two magical bombs I would unload at about 3:00 a.m., just as a round of sessioning would start to break up. One of these was of my creation; the other was Simon Aronson’s. Simon’s trick always elicited that stunned silence which indicates that magicians have been profoundly fooled. When pressed for the method, I would never tip, however, if hounded enough, I would explain that the trick was Simon’s and was in a book that could be obtained from him. When Simon and I finally met some years later, he told me that my demonstrations were responsible for selling quite a few books. I am delighted to have the opportunity to (hopefully) do that again for a much wider audience, and without the need to have to stay up so late. Bound to Please contains reprints of three of Simon’s early publications - The Card Ideas of Simon Aronson, A Stack to Remember, and Shuffle-Bored, plus items which had appeared in Kabbala and The Last Hierophant. As Simon states in the Foreword to the book, he has not “sought to rewrite, revise, or update these works,” but there are some editorial notes which contain very useful bits of information. Since the original books were less than energetically marketed, much of the material in this reprint is little known and is deserving of greater recognition..
(20) I would imagine that at one time or another I have performed every effect in The Card Ideas book. The first section of the book contains versions of the “Twisting 1-2-3-4” plot, a handling of “The Cards Through Newspaper,” some remarkable card locations, and an absolutely diabolical version of “The Spectator Cuts the Aces.” Section two is entitled “Ideas for Two Deck Effects” and contains the “bomb” which I referred to earlier. (I see no reason to give you any more help than that.) Section three contains ideas and routines for the memorized deck, including a variation of Louis Histed’s “Miracle Divination,” and some card locations that defy reconstruction. A Stack to Remember details the Aronson stack, which is one of the most ingenious card arrangements around. The majority of memorized deck effects can be done with any stack, but Simon’s stack has much to recommend it. Built into the stack are: three sequential poker deals, the Michael Zens “Any Poker Hand Called For” stack, a perfect 7 No Trump bridge deal, a Spelling effect, and some other stuff that even Simon didn’t know was there. The mnemonic system, which is used to learn the stack, is completely detailed with all the necessary word associations spelled out. This greatly simplifies the learning of the stack. (Before leaving this subject, I should mention that quite a bit of material on the memorized deck will be published in the near future. Take this opportunity to learn a stack and you’ll be ready when the flood hits.) Shuffle-Bored concerns itself with one effect, but it’s a stumper: Two spectators shuffle a deck of cards into a face-up/face-down condition. Without touching the deck and without any ambiguities, questions, outs or moves, the magician reveals how many face-up cards are in the deck and the red/black distribution of those cards. Simon’s discussion of this effect is extremely thorough, with full explanations of the method and alternate handlings. The material reprinted from Kabbala and the Hierophant includes three memorized deck routines and a card-stabbing effect using a gaff which was first mentioned in the Card Ideas book. These routines are uniformly excellent. So what else can I tell you? This is terrific material, described with intelligence and clarity, created by one of magic’s most ingenious thinkers. If you already have the original manuscripts, you will probably appreciate the convenience of the hardbound reprint. If you are unfamiliar with this material, then get ready for a treat. Mac: The first thing I noticed when I received this book was the quote on the back dust jacket from Mike Close hyping this book. I must admit that I was ready to pounce on you after your review of this book. I looked extra hard for flaws in the book hoping that I could catch you being soft in your review. I’m glad I read so carefully. You’re right, this is a cool book. All of the tricks are foolers, and most of them are suitable for devastating both laymen and magicians. I do feel it should be mentioned that a few of the tricks seem to be designed more for other magicians than the general public, and a couple of the items are what you might call “intellectual novelties.” By that I mean tricks in which something unexplained does occur, but the response is more “how curious” instead of: “Damn! How the heck did that happen?”.
(21) Mike: You’re correct in your assessment. I would classify some of the material as magician foolers, others are more appropriate in a casual setting with friends, and there are some that can be incorporated into your normal professional repertoire. By the way, the quote from me on the back of the book came from Workers #2, in which I explained a move which I developed to use with one of Simon’s tricks. I endorsed the book there. Mac: Nice Workers plug. Mike: Thanks. This reviewing gig doesn’t pay much, so you’ve got to do what you can. I say that if you’re a card guy, and you’re looking for some fine material to play with (and perhaps actually perform), this is a great book to check out. Mac: Yes, I didn’t mean to imply that I didn’t care for the book. I think it’s really great. Illusionworks 1 – Music for Modern Magical Performances By Steve Wiliford and Rand Woodbury Mike: As I sat thinking about how to review this product, I was reminded of an endorsement Roger Klause once gave, “For people who like this kind of trick, this is the kind of trick those people will like.” Illusionworks has released a compact disc of music specifically composed with the needs of “the illusionist, the manipulator, the dancer, and the choreographer in mind.” Illusionworks retains the copyright for the music, but the purchaser is free to use the music in public performances without any ASCAP or BMI infringements (something many magicians do not even consider when they appropriate recorded music for their acts). To describe music in words is difficult, and to give you any sense of what this disc is about I will need to use musical terms. If you don’t understand the lingo, be sure to talk to someone who does before you invest in any music. Ten pieces are provided, with each piece presented in a longer and a shorter version. The short versions range from 2:03 to 2:40, and the longer versions from 2:41 to 3:30. The purpose of this is to provide more music without the user needing to loop or splice. All the music is upbeat. Tempos range from a quarter note pulse of 108 (this is a metronome marking) to a very brisk 180. All the compositions are in a minor key or imply a minor tonality. The compositional format is to establish some type of rhythmic ostinato figure (either in eighth notes or sixteenths) that generally continues throughout the piece. Over this is layered a strong drum/percussion groove and melodic tiffs which are often of a funky/bluesish nature (several of these using a synth-brass sound). There is a technogroove piece, one which features a latin montuno piano riff, an interesting one with low marimba/fluty combination, and one with low pan pipes with a koto/bell type of lead line. The production on these pieces is excellent. The sound is clean, the drums “snap,” the grooves are solid, and the energy is high. (This is beginning to sound like American Bandstand.) Because of the use of the ostinato figures, I think it would be possible to edit out a shorter version of each piece, if necessary. Also, each piece ends cold (that is, it does not fade out), which should help punch the climax of any routine they accompany..
(22) So, if you are looking for music to use with a stage routine you are putting together, should you buy this disc? I don’t know. You may buy it and discover that none of the pieces suit you. Or, you may find that several of the pieces are usable. As currently advertised, you are buying a pig in a poke. The $29 price rag is about what you would pay for two discs in a record store. And possibly you might find nothing of use on them, and there would still be the question of BMI/ASCAP licensing. I have a possible solution, but before I discuss it I want to mention two other sources for music for your act. In every city of average size there are recording studios. Most of these studios will have libraries of prerecorded music specifically designed to be used as background music. These are on disc, the production values are very high, and the variety is enormous. In addition, most of these pieces are offered in a variety of timings (2:00, 1:00, 0:30, 0:10). If your routine is “set” and is unlikely to change in the near future, you could bring a video tape of the routine to the studio and audition a wide variety of music, and in all probability find a piece which works exactly. The downside is that each piece of music will probably cost you around $100 (a ball park figure). The price will include the BMI/ASCAP licensing to allow you to use the music in your show. The second alternative is if your act is “set” and your intentions are to be as professional as possible. In that case, it may be worth your while to seek out someone to score original music for your show. While this is more expensive, the fact that amazing things can be done with computers and synthesizers does not put this option outside the realm of possibility. And no store-bought music can ever capture the “hit points” and nuances of an act the way original music can. I do have a suggestion for the Illusionworks company. According to the liner notes of the disc, it is their intention to release a second disc with “slower, dramatic music and compositions designed for the presentation of particular illusions and dance routines.” Perhaps when this becomes available they could offer a cassette with 25 or 30 second snippets of each of the pieces of the two discs. This could be offered at a minimal cost, and if the purchaser found that the music was useful he could return the cassette and order the appropriate disc. If a program like this could be worked out, I would have no problem in recommending this music without reservation. Mac: You know a lot more than I do about music. Tell me about this ASCAP and BMI licensing stuff. You mean I’m really going to go to jail if I use a song off my George Clinton album in my act? Mike: Well, here’s the deal. If you use any copyrighted material in your act and have not obtained permission (buy obtaining a license to do so), then you may be breaking the law. What happens is that many venues (bars, nightclubs, casino lounges, hotel lounges, etc.) pay a fee to ASCAP and BMI, which allows performers to use copyrighted material in their venues. That is why I never had to concern myself with this when I played with my trio, or did solo piano gigs in hotels. The hotel paid the fee. To make sure that you are covered, regardless of where you perform, it would be safest to get an annual license for whatever music you use. (There is a terrific article written by James Romeo on this in the July 1992 issue of MAGIC.).
(23) Mac: You know there are some advantages to buying music without hearing it first. When I was a kid, I bought a record album called Music For Magicians, which turned out to be overly dramatic organ music. I had planned to use it for a serious manipulative act. It was so hokey that it turned my whole act into a spoof, thus changing the course of my career forever. Mike: Thank God for hokey organ music. If that album had been good, you might have just been offered $100 million by some Las Vegas casino. One last secret note: H & R Books has just purchased the entire Micky Hades Seattle book inventory. This is probably about 10,000 volumes. Keep your eyes peeled for some great deals from them..
(24) July 1995 The Joke’s on Who? (Joke Book) Mac: Here’s a tough one. Suppose someone wrote a book that you think they have no right to write? A book filled with jokes and gags, most of which the author had no hand in creating. Maybe the “author” even says in his introduction that he “makes no claim that all of the humor in this book is my own.” But perhaps he doesn’t bother to list the sources of many of those jokes. He certainly doesn’t have permission from all the performers whose material he’s stealing. Let’s get this straight; this fellow has broken no actual laws. Still, I think this is a crime. Here’s why. If I’m a beginner I learn how to be a magician by imitation. That’s generally the way it works, and there’s nothing wrong with it. But if I’m a conscientious beginner, I only perform stuff that I’ve bought, been taught by the creator, learned at a lecture, or read in a book. Let’s say I buy the book in question and use a line or two from it. I should be able to assume that I have an ethical right to do so. If my ethical position is that I should only do stuff that the creator of the material grants me permission to perform, then I will be inadvertently violating my own ethical position. This of course doesn’t apply only to the beginner. The majority of magic shows are performed by amateur magicians. They don’t all have the time necessary to track down sources for all the material they perform. They assume that if an author puts an item into a book, then that item is fair game for them to perform. In this case, they’d be wrong. Let’s look at this from a different point of view. Put yourself in the place of the person who created this material. You know that good jokes don’t grow on trees; they are the result of a real effort put forth by a real person. You know this because you’ve sweated and slaved over a pad of paper or a keyboard every day of your life for the last ten years to come up with the lines that enable you to put food on your table and pay your rent. Some guy you don’t know hears your joke, writes it down, and sells it as if it were his own. Wouldn’t you have the right to be a bit steamed? Of course you would. Not only have you not been compensated for your effort, but your material now has less value to you because there’s a chance that people will have heard your material without having had to pay to see you. Here’s my dilemma as a reviewer. There is a new book that is filled with other people’s jokes and gags. I think this book is an ethical nightmare and that the guy who wrote it has committed a terrible act. My opinion is that no one should buy the book. This guy does not deserve your money or your support. I fear that even if I slam the book in my review, I might inadvertently help sell books to those who’d buy it just to see what all the stink was about. I’ve already bought one copy of this book to review. I don’t wish to be responsible for putting another dime in this guy’s pocket..
(25) I don’t know if this is a good solution or not, but you’ve just read my review of this guy’s book, but I’m not going to mention his name, the name of the book, or the publisher. Mike: I’m with you on this, Mac, but I’m going to play Devil’s Advocate for a moment. Considering the space that you have taken to discuss this book, is it fair to the readers not to give them the information so that they can (if they choose to) find the book at a convention or at their local magic dealer peruse it, and then make up their own minds? I’m thinking that we should probably list the necessary info in the “Details” area at the end of the column. Since we’re split on this, let’s let Stan make the call; that’s why he makes the big money. Concerning the book itself, I have a couple of thoughts that I would like to direct to our readers. First: Just as the mere fact that you own a magic trick does not make you a magician, owning a book of one-liners does not make you a funny person. The funny people that I know are funny all the time (they may not be “on” all the time, but they are always “thinking” funny). To quote a recent movie, they are funny in their bones. If you think that the only way you can be funny is to fill your act with other people’s jokes, then I would seriously suggest that you reevaluate your approach to performing. It is the overreliance on this type of material that has so established the public’s opinion of the magician as “wise-guy.” Second: There are lines in this book that, if used without care and discretion, could easily lead the audience to believe that you are an arrogant smartass. There are lines that, if used with care and discretion, could still lead people to think you’re an arrogant smartass. And there are several lines that, if directed to the wrong spectator, could get you killed. Third: If you are so desperate to be funny that the only way you can do this is to use other people’s material, then sit at home and watch the 100 hours or so of stand-up comedy offered on cable each week and write down the lines you like. In a few weeks, you’ll have enough for your act. Then, if you ever work in front an audience of other magicians, you can experience the joy of watching the pens fly to the notebooks when you use a joke they haven’t heard before. And if you do this for a few years, you’ll collect enough material to put out a book. Just don’t expect to get much mercy here. Mac: I agree with everything you said. I think before we move on we should make it clear that your last paragraph was facetious. You’re not actually suggesting that people write down anybody’s lines. Practical Parlor Prestidigitation – A Lecture Demonstration By Marko The Great Eyeless Vision Act By Marko.
(26) Mac: As a child, my mother had only a few rules for the family and me. One of the main rules drilled into me by my mom was, “Practice what you preach.” This set of lecture notes by Marko of Spain begins with a four-page essay called “Some Preaching.” This sermon blasts comedy magicians and their supposedly modern tendency to draw out the length of their tricks by adding gags, bits and one-liners designed to get laughs. He suggests that a lot of magic is naturally funny - the situation provides the laughter. Being a comedy magician myself, I actually agree with Marko that much of what passes for comedy magic isn’t magic at all, and generally isn’t that funny. He also criticizes comedy magicians for relying too heavily on tricks involving audience participation. Since I wish that I had more parlor magic type routines which don’t rely on volunteers from the audience, I was excited that the bulk of this 18-page booklet would reveal five routines that Marko himself actually uses. You can imagine my disappointment when I found that of these five items, four of them involved getting up a volunteer from the audience. Also, there’s really very little that’s new in any of those five tricks. They are: the “Color Changing Hanky” (the sole trick without audience participation); a variation on an old U.F. Grant pick-a-card trick; a decent mind reading trick with cards; a very small addition to a brilliant idea from an early Karrell Fox book; and a routine combining the “Cut and Restored Rope” with the “Professor’s Nightmare.” The one thing here I hadn’t seen was a force of one object out of four. Marko says that credit for this belongs to either Carl Buchelli (a Spanish magic dealer) or Horace Goldin (of “Sawing a Lady in Half” fame). Should you buy this? I say save your money, Marko has obviously never met my mother. Mac: If you’ve ever seen someone do a good job with the “Eyeless Vision,” or “The Blindfold Act” as it is sometimes called, then you know how effective it can be. Many of the great mentalists use it to close their performances. Marko, a Panamanian magician now living in Barcelona, Spain, makes a good case in this manuscript for also using this trick in a “regular” magic show. That’s what he’s done for the past six years. Following traditional magician’s tricks like the “Egg Bag” and the “Cut and Restored Rope,” he closes his act with the “Eyeless Vision” trick. There is nothing here that’s new in the way of technique. Your eyes are covered with coins and adhesive tape, and then a cloth blindfold. Still, you are able to identify objects held up to you by audience members. The most useful parts of this 12-page manuscript are in the routine that is given here (there are two or three touches which I think are great), and the simple encouragement to go out and try this type of trick, even if you are not a mentalist. The manuscript explains everything you need to do the trick. I would recommend this wholeheartedly if it wasn’t written by the same guy who wrote Practical Parlor Prestidigitation..
(27) Mike: I concur with your assessment of these two booklets. In the Blindfold manuscript, Marko assumes that you are knowledgeable and comfortable with the techniques involved. What is really of value here is the routine, and it is obvious that Marko has performed this a lot. He offers the kinds of tips and hints that only can be learned in performance. As far as the Practical Parlor Prestidigitation booklet, I was very surprised that Marko would set forth a thesis in his introduction and then turn right around and contradict it in the tricks he explains. A telling example of this contradiction is in the “Invisible Deck” routine, which is based on Karrell Fox’s idea of making the spectator into an impromptu stooge. In this routine (which has a bunch of the same jokes that are criticized in his introduction), Marko places the spectator in a situation in which she can look foolish. He then turns around and cues a playing card to her, turning her into a stooge. I don’t think this is a sound approach. If my trick hinges on a spectator “playing along” with me, I had better be as nice to her as I possibly can. Otherwise, I think she would be well within her rights to try to screw up the trick in any way she possibly could. Mac: I think that this is a huge stumbling block to all magicians, but especially comedy magicians. There is a tendency to belittle the audience volunteer, and through implication, all other audience members. There are a lot of lines in the earlier review of the book who’s name I cannot utter that put down people. I think Penn and Teller put it best in a recent interview when they mentioned that a magician once asked them, “Whose side are you on?” They responded (and I agree wholeheartedly) that unless you say you’re on the side of the audience then something is horribly wrong with the way that you look at entertaining people with magic. You are always on the side of the audience. Mike: Absolutely. I have a question for you. I don’t think I’m giving anything away if I mention that you do a lot of cueing of your onstage helpers. At the same time, (and I’m thinking of the bill routine here) the spectator is going through some dues. And yet, he cooperates fully with you. Any hints? Mac: No. Mike: Thanks, that helped a lot. Mac: Actually, I think that’s a really good question, and one I’ve thought about a lot. I do cue the guy on stage to do some things. He does get his money burnt up. But, I never ask him to do anything that he would look at as making himself look silly, and I never ask him to do anything of a secret nature while he thinks he’s lost some money. In other words, all the cueing takes place either before he thinks he’s lost money, or after he gets it back. Also, I really do try to be his friend while he’s helping me. He didn’t pay good money to be a part of my show. That’s not what he was expecting. I owe him big time. Also, in my act there are two places where I use audience participation; the success of my show really does depend a great deal on what happens between those people and me. I.
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