Aaron Fisher was here last Thursday and absolutely rocked the house. He rolled into town Wednesday afternoon and stopped by Grand Illusions with boxes full of DVDs. For a couple of hours we unwrapped the cases so Aaron could autograph each of covers then we closed up shop and headed for some well earned food and beverage. After picking up my wife and daughter we rolled out in our Element to Carmelita’s restaurant where we met up with our pals Alex and Megan. Tacos, enchiladas, cerveza, some very, very hot sauce, a massive bowl of jalapeños and molten cheese, a little taste of the Agave (of course) and we were all smiling and full - Time to head back to the Cave. |  |
 | The Cave…how does one describe the Cave. Well, it’s a “rumpus room”. My house has an attached garage as most do and, in my case, on the opposite side of the garage is a room addition, nothing fancy – in fact it’s a wreck that my wife, Tara, and I will be rebuilding this summer. It does have, however, the Bose Wave Radio and the Disco Ball…thumpin’ ensued. Late, late we hit the beds and awake bleary to get to work. Aaron and I head up to Grand Illusions to prep for his lecture and finish the DVD signing. (Him signing, me stuffing the cases again. Ah, the fabulous, glamorous life of the entertainment biz.) A tedious job but the company was good so the work went fast and that’s when Shantaram dropped by.dropped by. |
| Shan, (sounds like “Shawn”) like many of my old magic friends, was just a little kid when I first met him coming into my magic shop. He lives up North in Eureka/Arcata, is a regular party magician and owns a grocery store. Shan may also be the most positive person I know…just a glowing ball of enthusiasm and drive, in short – I love this guy. The thing is, he’s never heard of Aaron Fisher and he’s never been exposed to the level of card magic that Aaron brings. He walks in with a huge hello and a hug for me, sees Aaron behind the counter neatly stacking DVD cases back into their shipping boxes and makes a very logical conclusion: “Is this your new employee?” asks Shan. Aaron looks up with eyebrows raised. I can read his mind, he’s thinking, “Your freakin’ employee?!” but he says nothing, giving me an opportunity and I’m not missing this opportunity, dear reader: I say, “Yeah! Shan, this is Aaron.” They shake and exchange pleasantries. “Aaron,” I say, “Show Shan a card trick, please.” Aaron smiles at me and takes out his pack. |  |
 | The next twenty minutes is filled with Shan shouting expletives, throwing his hands in the air and repeatedly trying to find his head as Aaron continues to knock it off. Truly awesome to behold, I assure you. Fortunately for Shan’s brains, Wayne Houchin walks in and Aaron’s pounding ceases, we’re joined by Alex and the four of us head to the Elephant Bar for lunch…it was yummy, we laughed, Aaron teased our waitress Britannia, let’s move on. The rest of the day goes fast and before I know it we’re rolling the display cases back and setting out the chairs for the lecture. The house fills up and we have to bring out more chairs, my peeps are excited to see Aaron and they weren’t disappointed. The man walks in and we finish setting up…its show time. Aaron’s lecture was very well structured. It included something that everyone in attendance could take home and use and, more importantly, it was filled with Aaron’s understanding of the mechanics and theories of magic. These allowed each of us to better understand not only what Aaron was showing us that night but also the mechanics and theories of everything we’re already doing or might learn in the future. |
| The majority of the material discussed in the lecture is contained in Aaron’s definitive work, The Paper Engine. If you consider yourself a card magician and you don’t have this book, acquire it immediately: http://www.grandillusions.com/category/aaron-fisher-products. Click or paste that link right now and check out the cool demo video for Aaron’s awesome new effect, The Secret Weapon”. The video was shot and produced my Dana Hocking and Wayne Houchin and was filmed right here at Grand Illusions for a group of my peeps that happened to be in the shop at the time. Take a look…you might see someone you know. (…and I don’t mean me!) In closing I want to thank Aaron for coming out and also all of my peeps who attended and made the lecture a smashing success. If you attended and have comments or stories about the lecture, email me and I’ll post them here in this blog. Thanks for reading! | |
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aaron fisher books california cards carmichael cheating clowns coins costume costumes cups and balls daryl david regal dice easy escape fire flourishes grand illusions harry houdini hats jeff mcbride john bannon joshua jay juggling lectures lee asher levitate magic shop magic store mark wilson mentalism michael ammar mind reading money nathan kranzo nick trost parlor productions puppets rene lavand rope sacramento santa silks theory 11 trick decks vanishes ventriloquism wayne houchin |
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Jim Pace's Lecture was HOT
| Tonight Jim Pace was in the house teaching the Grand Illusions peeps some outrageous close-up and stand-up magic. In fact, Jim’s style stands out in that respect as most of his effects can be performed tableside but also play very large. He started out with a three-coin production and vanish called “Punishment” and oh it was appropriately named. We were all smacked down by the amazingly visual nature of Jim’s moves and designs. Although his scripting was great, the routine was so visual that it could easily be performed in a noisy restaurant. |  |
 | Following came a matrix, coin productions, penetrations of clothing without harm…really an amazing variety of different objects and concepts. My favorite? The Magic List – this effect destroyed me and I’ve been using it to put the beat-down on all of my magic pals here at Grand Illusions. Thanks, Jim…this one alone was worth the price of admission. |
| Then came the fire. Oh, yes…the fire. Jim has an array of professional fire gimmicks that dazzled and shocked everyone in attendance. We we’re all like little kids on Independence Day. Wow, hot stuff! (sorry) Offstage and on Jim is smooth, charming and personable. You can’t help but like the guy and want to share in the magic. His magic is immensely practical and well thought out and his teaching style is fun and friendly. If you have a chance to learn from Jim…take it. |  |
Ron's Review of David
Even though this was sent to me THE VERY NEXT DAY AFTER THE LECTURE it took me two weeks to paste it. (Sorry, Ron!)
Below, find some very entertaining writing from my friend Ron Giesecke who drove for hours to come to David Regal's lecture here at Grand Illusions. Thanks, Ron!
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REGAL REGALIA
I’ve already told David Regal he represents a sort of lo-tech, proletarian Steinmeyer. By that I mean his work bridges the technical gaps for those of us who are genetically predisposed to avoiding carpentry on any level, but do not live in mortal terror of utilizing the fruits of such labor to accomplish a means to an end.
David’s Regal’s lecture at Grand Illusions on January 9th ran with parallel doctrines:
a) That when it comes to apparatus, lo-tech gimmickry has fewer inherent things that can go wrong with it.
b) That broadening ones performance focus from oneself to those for whom the magic is performed will make one’s magic much more memorable.
And both of these principles were on full-fledged display Friday evening, as David peeled off with material from his much-lauded, sizeable, and highly-diverse new book, Approaching Magic. If David was to pull a D.B. Cooper and disappear over the coastal regions of magic with his chop-cup and a parachute, this book would stand as his magnum opus. Never have I attended a lecture in which I simultaneous witnessed so much original material, but also material that had a weird applicable-ness to my own material. Something about David Regal’s child-like noodling around with magnets, band-aids, beer, and double-stick tape make even the most cynical magician realize that the entirety of creative mines have barely been discovered—let alone tapped; and that there are ways to make a difference in the art, in a meaningful and positive way.
I could list all the material performed, but I’ll focus on a few. I could blandly say that two of the highlights of the lecture were a cups and balls routine followed by an ambitious card sequence. But what you didn’t see was a beautiful, two-cup routine, using marshmallows, cocoa mugs and a warm paean to the kind of sensory memories that are linked to childhood. I’m usually averse to cups and balls routines that transmogrify the props too much. Not here. This one will go into my repertoire, unapologetically. And for those of you wanting to pare down your cups and balls approach, this two-cup piece of brilliance is waiting for you. Oh, and don’t let the actual production of Cocoa from one of the mugs scare you off. David’s got you covered. Literally.
Then, there is the “Puppy Trick.” When sitting there, watching David using the contrasting characteristics of his volunteers to great comedic ends, one almost forgets they are actually seeing an ambitious card routine. They are watching an entire moment. Who doesn’t like puppies? Who doesn’t think it’s funny when the puppy obeys the petitions of a little girl, but shirks the comparatively gruff supplications of a grown man? David’s routine isn’t really a lesson on the logistics of an ambitious card routine, but about how to widen one’s focus from the at-times, self-serving” letterbox” performance perspective—to something far more meaningful.
Even if you’ve never wanted to perform a three-card monte routine, you may want to check out “Change for a Five.” Three cards are tossed in standard hype form, and then are immediately show to have changed to three completely different cards. If I told you how it worked, you might demur. But when you see how the “how” is actually accomplished, you actually want to do it, if for no other reason then to see other people’s faces when you do it.
David’s work with coins, beer mats, and a brilliant coin holdout left jaws hanging. But the last thing he performed, at least for me invokes the hackneyed-but-no-less-relevant phrase, “worth the price of the book.”
“Simpatico” went like this: A husband and wife are seated, and asked about how well they know each other. The man is asked to remove one card, and then replace it, while his wife’s head is turned (I also glimpsed it from where I sat). The card is then shown to be no where near either the top or bottom. The wife then takes the cards, and deals them face down into a pile until she’ “feels” she has possibly reached the one chosen by her husband.
She stopped. The card was openly isolated. David spreads the rest of the deck face up. Nothing but that lone card sitting there. The room was palpably on edge for this.
It was his card. I was floored. So was everybody else. Then I found out it was in the book, too. Page 265, baby. And no, you can’t borrow mine.
It should go without saying that David Regal’s comedic instincts are razor-sharp. He is a genuinely funny man, and one very nice guy. Magic’s lucky to have him. Those uninterested in magic would have felt the lecture fee worth the organic entertainment alone.
Approaching Magic is only available from David himself. He does not wholesale it to dealers. And judging by the veritably vortex surrounding him last night, he’s running out fast.
-Ron Giesecke
David Regal's Lecture
David Regal came out to knock out my peeps and I with some incredible magic from his book, "Approaching Magic" (www.DavidRegal.com)
Among the attendees were Wayne Houchin, Mark Kalin, Tom Allen and many other highly talented magicians. David amazed us all with his Uber-clever creations.
Our old friend Gary Berard went around with a camera and a rubber chicken (of all things) and collected a bunch of terrific pictures. (THANKS, GARY!) Check 'em out.
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The final Entry for GGG
| Saturday I awoke feeling terrific. Jim and I called it an early night which means we were in bed before one in the morning. The party was still going on in the session suite but we were beat and needed sleep. It was tough to leave the party because Theron had walked in and put a little surprise in the DVD player. Jimmy Grippo. Admired by princes, presidents and paupers alike, Grippo was the man. Footage of the legend is pretty rare so this was a treat indeed. I’m not sure of the origin of the film we were watching but it appeared to be someone’s home movie shot in an apartment with Jimmy and his wife as guests. Jimmy was entertaining the people and we got to peek in years later thanks to someone’s camera. |
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If you don’t know who Jimmy Grippo was or if you want to learn more about him (and you should) visit these websites: www.leeasher.com/grippo_video.html - www.gotgrippoed.com or simply Google “Jimmy Grippo” Needless to say it was a difficult thing to walk out on rare Grippo footage but we were beat and we knew we had only one more day of GGG to enjoy – we wanted to make the most of it. Jim and I hit the breakfast buffet, barely making the cutoff time and, once fed, we were ready to see Allan Okawa. A master of coins and other objects of magic, Allan had come from Hawaii with Curtis and Kainoa and was not only an expert magician, he had an enthusiasm that was completely infectious. He taught us magic, yes, good magic and lots of it but the thing he taught us that I keep hearing in my head was that we must create and maintain an emotional connection between our audiences and ourselves. Without this connection there can be no magic, only trickery. Magic happens in the mind of the spectator when we draw them in, when we tell a story. Allan was very adamant about having good stories to accompany our craft. He’s quite right, you know. |
| We saw magic with coins, with cards, with seashells (Yes, you read it right, seashells) and other objects but the last thing he did, and he didn’t tip it folks, he did with a rock that he had found on the beach in Hawaii. You know that old classic trick with the big metal domino and the spots that keep multiplying when you turn it over and over? Yeah, Allan did it with a rock. His rock had three holes in it – he showed it quite closely and clearly. He turned it over and it had four holes – then two – then five. A ROCK, people. Freaked me out thoroughly. Still does. I’d say that Allan Okawa’s lecture “rocked” but that would be a pun and I’d never do that. |  |
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Completely stunned by Okawa’s magic and totally inspired by his childlike enthusiasm for magic, Jim and Roman and I headed back to the suite to hang out and contemplate lunch. We got sidetracked by a pack of 808s and our colleagues and never got lunch by the time it was Paul Cummins’ turn to lecture. Hungry for sustenance but far hungrier for magic, we headed back to the Princeton room and managed to get front row seats before the room filled up. The room now filled, our illustrious host, Kent Gunn, took the front of the room and began his announcements when someone’s phone rang in the front row. Kent went crazy.
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| Enraged, shouting his outrage, Kent snatched the phone from this fellow’s hand and, to the shock of all, raised it high and brought it down hard and fast on the back of a chair…Repeatedly. The phone exploded, shattering into bits of plastic that rained down on the front row and its former owner. Everyone froze. Then Kent introduced the hapless phone owner as Scott Emo, a surprise guest of the convention…It was all a setup and I fell for it big time. Geez, I though I was strict about cell phone use. Wow! |
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Joke over, Scott took the “stage” with a new effect he had designed; he brought up an empty diaper box, (One I’m all too familiar with) placed it on his head and proceeded to shove a large number of umbrellas into the box and apparently through his face and head. This was the classic “Swords Through the Head” effect brought beautifully into the modern using household objects. I had never met Scott before this day but he certainly made an impression as a creative thinker and dynamic performer. I wasn’t sure whether to gasp or laugh…So I did both. I had an opportunity to speak with Scott after Paul’s lecture and he furthered my good impression of him by being charming, intelligent and engaging. I hope to cross paths with him again one day. Scott’s performance finished, Kent then introduced Mr. Paul Cummins. I had never seen the man work before but was very aware of his reputation as a seasoned pro. I wasn’t disappointed. |
| Now, I could go on and on about Paul’s skill with a deck, about his prowess in timing and audience control, about his deep thinking on engineering effects, about his God-like side steal, but instead I’m just going to say this: Paul Cummins destroyed every person in that room. Just…Totally…Annihilated…all of us. You get a chance to see Paul Cummins…You sit and watch - that’s my advice. Add to this the fact that he’s very grounded, approachable and willing to help and advise anyone who happens to engage him. He’s the real deal working in the real world, a hard-to-find commodity in this business. I was sorry when his lecture ended. Especially sorry was I to realize that it was over. Not just Paul’s lecture but the Gathering as a whole. We were done and it was time to go home so, with heavy hearts and handshakes and hugs for all our friends both new and old, Jim, Roman and I packed up our bags and climbed in the car. Only eleven more months till GGG 2009 - Mark your calendar. I’m out. - SJ |
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The end of Day Two
| Steven Youell is a dynamo. A whirlwind on a triple espresso. Meet him off-stage and you'll talk to an entirely different man than the one you see performing. Off-stage Steven is fairly quiet, introspective, gentle and polite. If you watch his act, however, it's probably not a good idea to be in the front row. That's where Daniel was sitting. |
 Steven Youell and the card casualties |
 Steven teaches us magic |
Steven's lecture this year was one I had hosted here at Grand Illusions a few years back. It's a terrific class on a variety of principals including excellent uses of Darwin Ortiz's method of shuffling a new pack into a Si Stebbins stack. In the first ten minutes of this lecture Steven opens, shuffles and destroys a couple of dozen decks of cards. He viciously destroys the boxes as he rips open the cellophane and cardboard to produce the fifty-two like some horrific pasteboard Cesarean section. The ad cards and jokers are spun forcefully and haphazardly into the crowd who ducks and dodges, delighting in the antics and thankful that they weren't chosen as volunteers. |
| Oh yes, Daniel. Steven had volunteered Daniel and drug him up on stage. Then he beat the hell out of him. Wait, I'm ahead of myself. Let's back up. A handful of months ago I was in Grand Illusions imparting to Daniel how to shuffle into a stack and some of the things I had learned from Steven in his past lecture here in Sacramento. I failed to mention to Daniel that these methods were imparted to me by Mr. Youell. This led to Daniels tragic mistake: Steven shuffled the deck, spread it face up and said, “A shuffled, unprepared deck, yes?” The “Yes” was directed at Daniel and that's when his common sense failed. He said, “Well, you could have shuffled into a stack.” |
 Dan's in trouble |
 Dan shuffles the cards |
Oh, dear. The laser point of Steven's attention focused on Daniel and the resulting shenanigans had all of us in the audience crying salty tears of mirth at the expense of our tactless hero being abused horribly by Steven Youell. Did he have it coming? Well, yes, I suppose, he should have kept shut about his knowledge of stacks but I and the rest of the crowd were certainly pleased that he spoke up - I doubt anyone in the room had seen a magic lecture like this one. |
| After the abuse has subsided and the first two rows were covered in cards of all types, Steven began to teach his methods and systems. As I said before, this was an entirely different man. This fellow was kind and gentle, welcoming questions with a warm interest and enthusiasm. Approachable and informative - The polar opposite of his performance. So we got the best of both worlds this afternoon - We saw our colleague and friend take a somewhat deserved beating and we got to learn from a smooth and informative teacher. It's been a good day. Off to the session suite. |  He's a good sport |
Golden Gate - Day Two - Still going!
 Brad and Bandit |
Everything about lunch was excellent. The Red Robin in Foster city was the decision of the group that grew like a weed in the hotel atrium. Among the lunch bunch in this crew was my old friend Brad Bonar. (Pronounced Bah-Ner, to disappoint the more sophomoric reader) Brad had brought his pal, Bandit, a young Australian Shepard Miniature. |
| Bandit's a good boy, a cute pup and a service dog which means he gets to go everywhere with Brad. He slept under the table while I devoured a delicious bacon cheeseburger with crunchy-outside fluffy-inside French Fries. Lunch munched, we all walked back to the hotel for round two of the day. |  |
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After Lunch was Ron Bauer's lecture. This was out of the ordinary for a magic lecture but right up my alley as Ron spent the majority of his presentation speaking about theatrical vehicles like context, subtext, pacing and foreshadow. He definitely showed us some great tricks like “Owed to Poker Dan”, “Four Squares and a Knot” and the crowd's favorite, “Hornswoggled Again”, each one a routine in his Private Studies Series. |
| These more than two-dozen booklets each teach another of these aforementioned theatrical vehicles, a tool that many magic texts are lacking, and doesn't skimp on the full explanations of why the performance is structured in the way that it is and how that effects the reaction of the audience. In these classic routines, explained and refined, one with little to moderate magic experience and a need for stronger presentations might find the methods to improve ones acting abilities and thusly ones overall craft. You can tell Mr. Bauer made an impression on me. There was a break and many cards did many tricks in many hands. Then we got to see Steven Youell. Many were unprepared... |
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Golden Gate - Day Two, Continued.
I'm not sure how long the party went last night. No, to those many who are inquiring, I did not hit my head on the entertainment center...This year. Last night I wore out at a little after midnight and Jim and I, after a little late-night tour of the local Foster City establishments on our pilgrimage to the mecca that is Safeway, hit our beds in anticipation of todays lectures and sessions. We were wise. Jim and I took care of the three S's and headed downstairs to grab a little grub in the Crown Plaza's restaurant. I'm pretty sure that, after we ordered, we waited almost two whole minutes before a pack of cards came out and we started discussing methods and effects. I'm disappointed; tomorrow I think we can do it in under sixty seconds. Jim Lambert is good company, very well studied, a true gentleman and a good friend to me. Needless to say we had a great time waiting for our food. |
 It was an adventure. |
 Our view from the restaurant in the Crowne Plaza |
Our waiter hits the table with our tasty fuel and we dig in, occasionally pausing to pick up the pack of 808s. Jazz-magic, eggs and sausage. Life is good. Breakfast was pretty good too and I was surprised to eat that well in a restaurant I was bad-mouthing just last season. Maybe I'm becoming less of a food snob. Yeah, right. Maybe they just shot the old chef and got a fresh one. Unconcerned with the employment roster of the kitchen staff, Jim and I paid our check, took our leave of the eatery and found Roman in the hotel lobby. The three of headed off to the Princeton Room to get good seats for Kainoa Harbottle's lecture. |
Again, we were wise. That room filled up quick but we managed to get great seats in the front row. Kainoa is a good friend of and, dare I say, protege of Curtis Kam, one of our excellent teachers from last season and a past lecturer at Grand Illusions. We had high hopes for his abilities and we weren't disappointed. Kainoa was as smooth with a pack of 52 as he was with a stack of coins. His creations were clever and usable in the real world - difficult at times but he explained well and we understood. To the delight of the Gatherers, Kainoa showed and telled some amazing and entertaining feats including the most fluid linking ring maneuvers I've ever seen. (Kainoa didn't tip the ring routine) Jim and I would later passionately discuss our theoretic solutions of the rings – he, certain it locked or was new in design and me, utterly convinced it was a classic key. We amiably disagree on the subject to this moment. |
 Curtis Kam and Kainoa Harbottle |
 How many Magicians... |
Among Kainoa's spectacles was his duo act with Curtis in which they replaced the florescent light bulb directly above his position as speaker in the room. For some reason the bulbs in this particular fixture had gone missing and, after a daring chair act from the back of the room, two bulbs were handed forward and Curtis, with some help from Kainoa, did the maintenance job to the great amusement of the group. |
Lunchtime, people. I'm out for now. Two more lectures this afternoon. - sj |
 ...does it take to change a lightbulb? |
Golden Gate - Day Two
One of the many things I love about the gathering is that the company never parts. Kent, David, Dorian and Theron, our excellent hosts, booked a suite for us to hang out in and man, the suite is pretty sweet. It's spacious and comfy with a big screen T.V. that no one has bothered to turn on. No need. The action is on the tile of the kitchen counter lined by barstools, it's happening on the glass coffee table surrounded by easy chairs and the couch, the big, rectangular dining table near the big glass doors and, of course, the back patio table on the balcony. |
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Everywhere there's a horizontal surface there are fellows huddled over together, watching a performance, sharing a secret, telling tales both tall and true. The sound of coins, cards moving against each other, the low, steady hum of conversation and stories and the frequent blast of laughter, applause or both. These are my people. |
I keep shifting from group to group every few minutes. I know so many people here and there's just too much to see. I realize I can't get it all so I finally settle down and relax on the balcony. The breeze from the bay is cool and clean, the company is fun and engaging and my beer is cold. I'm out for the night. - sj |
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Golden Gate Gathering, Day One
| My long wait is finally over. After a year of dreaming about coming back to the Golden Gate Gathering, it's finally come and I'm in San Francisco at the Crowne Plaza Hotel learning and playing with like-minded pros and amateurs. | |
| Already, over dinner, a very nice fellow named Howard (I haven't gotten his last name yet) taught me a really terrific in the hands Triumph. It's gorgeous and, get this, easy enough for even yours truly to get a grip on. Thanks, Howard!!
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| I've just come from Steve Dobson's lecture. What a great guy! Steve is a real sweetheart on and off “the stage” and his magic is just plain ruthless. His lecture ran from a visual, tabled coins across to a matrix that fooled a room full of magicians. Steve took some time to cover the finer points of the Hermann Turnover Pass and also how to really top-palm a card from the deck and then fried us all with an insurance policy...Yes, an insurance policy and it was great! I've got to get back to the session suite... More soon! Thanks for reading, - sj |
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