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. 

     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.

     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.

  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!

 ======================================

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

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.

     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.

     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.

     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.

     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!

      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 ]]>      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.

     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.

     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.

     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!

      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 ]]> Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:50:11 -0700 http://www.grandillusions.com/blog/26/ http://www.grandillusions.com/blog/26/      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 ]]>      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 ]]> Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:17:42 -0700 http://www.grandillusions.com/blog/25/ http://www.grandillusions.com/blog/25/
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.

     There was a break and many cards did many tricks in many hands. Then we got to see Steven Youell.

Many were unprepared...

A lot of great people were able to come with me this year. I drove down with my friends Jim and Roman and once here started seeing a lot of familiar faces. I was so excited meeting folks that I only took one picture! I'll try to use my camera more tomorrow. 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 ]]> 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!!

A lot of great people were able to come with me this year. I drove down with my friends Jim and Roman and once here started seeing a lot of familiar faces. I was so excited meeting folks that I only took one picture! I'll try to use my camera more tomorrow. 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 ]]> Thu, 12 Jun 2008 21:55:55 -0700 http://www.grandillusions.com/blog/21/ http://www.grandillusions.com/blog/21/

Ok, ok. I’m a pretty sporadic Blogger. I admit it, let’s move on. On January 2nd Wayne came to Grand Illusions and, I almost can’t bear to type this is was so tremendously horrific, Houchin came out and snorted a piece of thread up his throat…Then pulled it out of his eye! I kid you not. I stood three feet away from the brother and saw it clearly. It was like a terrible car accident, horrific yet perversely fascinating. Wow. Dude, really…Wow.
	Not satisfied with freaking us out only once, Wayne gave us a few minutes to recover then stopped his heart. Yep…Right here in the shop he apparently died and then came back dazed but no worse for the wear. My peeps dug the party, Wayne did magic and we all ate cake. Hey, what more do you want from life?
On February 20th we had the pleasure of hosting a lecture by Chris Randall. Although Chris is just emerging on the mainstream he’s no newcomer to magic. He’s been on the scene since he was a kid and is well known in the magic “underground.”
Chris’ magic is well tested in real environments and his teaching style was fun and easy to follow. If you missed out, I might still have a couple of lecture notes around the shop…Check here: http://www.grandillusions.com/index.php?productID=722
March 4th brought Joshua Jay to Grand Illusions for his lecture. Josh is prolific, he’s published and influenced an enormous amount of magic for a person as young as he is. Josh arrived early and entertained the regulars with material from his new DVD series, Talk about Tricks; the best if the best from his Magic Magazine column. (http://www.grandillusions.com/index.php?productID=739)
	His lecture was terrific! Josh is an excellent teacher who truly understands pacing, timing and presentation. Many, many effects were stunning and amazing and one in particular, a three coin progressive vanish that left his hand inarguably empty, just blew us away.
In April, on the 16th, we hosted the lecture of my longtime friend and colleague, Tom Allen. Now, it won’t surprise me if you haven't heard of Tom but, believe me, it would surprise the heck out of you to know how much Tom has influenced mainstream magic. He’s been consultant to world famous magicians and, if you look closely, you’ll probably spot him in the occasional L & L video.
Tom’s magic is very “real-world” and do-able in almost any environment. As a seasoned veteran in close up-and parlor, restaurant and nightclubs, Tom’s debut lecture here at Grand Illusions was groundbreaking in that none of my peeps had seen any of Tom’s magic before. We, the audience, were constantly flipping from, “OMG! That’s incredible” to “I can’t believe it’s really that easy” to “I’m going to be doing that trick tomorrow!” And indeed we were because, as amazing as Tom’s magic is, it’s just not that hard. Loved it! Thanks Tom! (And Mary too!!)
May 7th was an interesting treat for me. My once customer, once employee, now friend and colleague, Joe Culpepper returned from the University of Toronto in Canada where he’s finishing out his Doctorate in Comparative Literature. He was fortunate enough to have gained access to the library at Magicana in Ontario (www.magicana.com)and chose rare magic books for his doctoral dissertation. His critical analysis of the book, The Essential Stewart James (http://www.grandillusions.com/index.php?productID=740) was acclaimed by Magicana and Joe was asked to present his lecture on the subject at the 31 Faces North convention in 2008. So successful was his lecture that we asked Magicana to allow Joe to present his lecture here at Grand Illusions. They agreed and a date was set – just after my return from a short trip to the mountains with my friends. Sadly, I was stricken with an abscessed molar (worst pain EVER!) and got no sleep in the two days before my emergency surgery…The day of my excellent friends lecture. So, with a mouth full of bloody gauze and exhausted I slept at home while my peeps got to see Joe’s entertaining and informative lecture on the Great Mr. James. Fortunately for me, there was video tape and I got to see the lecture if not participate. Watch this site for clips soon. (PS: to David and Julie - Thanks for taking such good care of my old friend.)
Which brings us back to Wayne Houchin. After badgering him for months and months, Wayne finally agreed to bring his innovative style of magic to Grand Illusions for a lecture. Not satisfied with having JUST a lecture, Wayne persuaded me to host the Great Wayne Houchin Tailgate Cookout in the back lot here at Grand Illusions. Wayne brought down these GREAT tri-tip roasts and Joel Paschall drove up and grilled 'em to perfection. (Joel can COOK, dear reader, and if you know me you know I have high expectations for food. JP delivered, man.) After all bellies were full and we put away the cookout, we migrated inside the store for Wayne's lecture. For what he said was his first lecture, Wayne was very well organized, smooth and even in pacing, themed neatly and very, very approachable. His lecture was in two parts, the old and the new, and then he finished out with a very informative and friendy Q & A session. Some great questions were asked and answered. (My peeps are pretty smart)
For me, the jewel of the lecture was a piece Wayne titled, “Counterfeit Hollingworth”, a torn and restored business card that was restored, VISUALLY, one piece at a time. So smooth, so clever. I’m working on it as soon as I finish this blog entry.
Which brings us today, dear reader and I thank you so very much for bearing with me on the Great Catching Up of my blog. I will endeavor in the future to stay current. Special thanks to Chris Randall for sending me an email titled simply, “Hey…Your blogs suck” and getting me off my butt to update them. You rock, Chris…Thanks, man. - sj

]]>

Ok, ok. I’m a pretty sporadic Blogger. I admit it, let’s move on. On January 2nd Wayne came to Grand Illusions and, I almost can’t bear to type this is was so tremendously horrific, Houchin came out and snorted a piece of thread up his throat…Then pulled it out of his eye! I kid you not. I stood three feet away from the brother and saw it clearly. It was like a terrible car accident, horrific yet perversely fascinating. Wow. Dude, really…Wow.
	Not satisfied with freaking us out only once, Wayne gave us a few minutes to recover then stopped his heart. Yep…Right here in the shop he apparently died and then came back dazed but no worse for the wear. My peeps dug the party, Wayne did magic and we all ate cake. Hey, what more do you want from life?
On February 20th we had the pleasure of hosting a lecture by Chris Randall. Although Chris is just emerging on the mainstream he’s no newcomer to magic. He’s been on the scene since he was a kid and is well known in the magic “underground.”
Chris’ magic is well tested in real environments and his teaching style was fun and easy to follow. If you missed out, I might still have a couple of lecture notes around the shop…Check here: http://www.grandillusions.com/index.php?productID=722
March 4th brought Joshua Jay to Grand Illusions for his lecture. Josh is prolific, he’s published and influenced an enormous amount of magic for a person as young as he is. Josh arrived early and entertained the regulars with material from his new DVD series, Talk about Tricks; the best if the best from his Magic Magazine column. (http://www.grandillusions.com/index.php?productID=739)
	His lecture was terrific! Josh is an excellent teacher who truly understands pacing, timing and presentation. Many, many effects were stunning and amazing and one in particular, a three coin progressive vanish that left his hand inarguably empty, just blew us away.
In April, on the 16th, we hosted the lecture of my longtime friend and colleague, Tom Allen. Now, it won’t surprise me if you haven't heard of Tom but, believe me, it would surprise the heck out of you to know how much Tom has influenced mainstream magic. He’s been consultant to world famous magicians and, if you look closely, you’ll probably spot him in the occasional L & L video.
Tom’s magic is very “real-world” and do-able in almost any environment. As a seasoned veteran in close up-and parlor, restaurant and nightclubs, Tom’s debut lecture here at Grand Illusions was groundbreaking in that none of my peeps had seen any of Tom’s magic before. We, the audience, were constantly flipping from, “OMG! That’s incredible” to “I can’t believe it’s really that easy” to “I’m going to be doing that trick tomorrow!” And indeed we were because, as amazing as Tom’s magic is, it’s just not that hard. Loved it! Thanks Tom! (And Mary too!!)
May 7th was an interesting treat for me. My once customer, once employee, now friend and colleague, Joe Culpepper returned from the University of Toronto in Canada where he’s finishing out his Doctorate in Comparative Literature. He was fortunate enough to have gained access to the library at Magicana in Ontario (www.magicana.com)and chose rare magic books for his doctoral dissertation. His critical analysis of the book, The Essential Stewart James (http://www.grandillusions.com/index.php?productID=740) was acclaimed by Magicana and Joe was asked to present his lecture on the subject at the 31 Faces North convention in 2008. So successful was his lecture that we asked Magicana to allow Joe to present his lecture here at Grand Illusions. They agreed and a date was set – just after my return from a short trip to the mountains with my friends. Sadly, I was stricken with an abscessed molar (worst pain EVER!) and got no sleep in the two days before my emergency surgery…The day of my excellent friends lecture. So, with a mouth full of bloody gauze and exhausted I slept at home while my peeps got to see Joe’s entertaining and informative lecture on the Great Mr. James. Fortunately for me, there was video tape and I got to see the lecture if not participate. Watch this site for clips soon. (PS: to David and Julie - Thanks for taking such good care of my old friend.)
Which brings us back to Wayne Houchin. After badgering him for months and months, Wayne finally agreed to bring his innovative style of magic to Grand Illusions for a lecture. Not satisfied with having JUST a lecture, Wayne persuaded me to host the Great Wayne Houchin Tailgate Cookout in the back lot here at Grand Illusions. Wayne brought down these GREAT tri-tip roasts and Joel Paschall drove up and grilled 'em to perfection. (Joel can COOK, dear reader, and if you know me you know I have high expectations for food. JP delivered, man.) After all bellies were full and we put away the cookout, we migrated inside the store for Wayne's lecture. For what he said was his first lecture, Wayne was very well organized, smooth and even in pacing, themed neatly and very, very approachable. His lecture was in two parts, the old and the new, and then he finished out with a very informative and friendy Q & A session. Some great questions were asked and answered. (My peeps are pretty smart)
For me, the jewel of the lecture was a piece Wayne titled, “Counterfeit Hollingworth”, a torn and restored business card that was restored, VISUALLY, one piece at a time. So smooth, so clever. I’m working on it as soon as I finish this blog entry.
Which brings us today, dear reader and I thank you so very much for bearing with me on the Great Catching Up of my blog. I will endeavor in the future to stay current. Special thanks to Chris Randall for sending me an email titled simply, “Hey…Your blogs suck” and getting me off my butt to update them. You rock, Chris…Thanks, man. - sj

]]> Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:15:29 -0700 http://www.grandillusions.com/blog/20/ http://www.grandillusions.com/blog/20/  Hi gang,

     Steve here with some cool happenings around the magic store.  I've been keeping pretty busy since I wrote last.  Heck, my last blog entry is from two months ago!  Well, here's some of the things I've been up to:

     We start our 2008 magic lecture season this February with Chris Randall on the 20th of the month.  Chris is a full time pro from Las Vegas and has some effects that are so clever they'll blow your mind.  Tickets are $35 at the door but, as usual, this event is free to Season Pass Holders. (For more information or to purchase a Season Pass online, click or paste this link: http://www.grandillusions.com/index.php?show_aux_page=13 )  To see our current season lineup, (Chris Randall, Joshua Jay, Tom Allen and Wayne Houchin) visit the lecture information pages at Grand Illusions by clicking or pasting this link: index.php?show_aux_page=13

    Wayne Houchin will be a part of our lecture season this year but he'll also be here at Grand Illusions next month for a special event!  Wayne's new DVD, "Control", is released on the 25th of this month and he's coming down to Grand Illusions for a product signing on the 2nd of February.  This is a free event and is open to everybody so get down here and be a part of the fun.  There's gonna be cake!  To see details for this and all other Grand Illusions special events, check out our Google Calendar by clicking or pasting this link: http://www.grandillusions.com/index.php?show_aux_page=15

   I've added a cool new tool/toy to our website:  Live Chat and Help.  In a nutshell, you can tell if I'm currently on-line by an animated graphic button on the left side of www.GrandIllusions.com.  If I'm on, you can click the button to start up a live chat with me or, if I'm not around, click to leave me a message.  Go take a look, I might be on now!

   Well, that's it for now.  I've always got more to say (as most of you know) but I've got to get back to work here in the shop.  Stay tuned, I'll write more soon.

- Steve
]]>  Hi gang,

     Steve here with some cool happenings around the magic store.  I've been keeping pretty busy since I wrote last.  Heck, my last blog entry is from two months ago!  Well, here's some of the things I've been up to:

     We start our 2008 magic lecture season this February with Chris Randall on the 20th of the month.  Chris is a full time pro from Las Vegas and has some effects that are so clever they'll blow your mind.  Tickets are $35 at the door but, as usual, this event is free to Season Pass Holders. (For more information or to purchase a Season Pass online, click or paste this link: http://www.grandillusions.com/index.php?show_aux_page=13 )  To see our current season lineup, (Chris Randall, Joshua Jay, Tom Allen and Wayne Houchin) visit the lecture information pages at Grand Illusions by clicking or pasting this link: index.php?show_aux_page=13

    Wayne Houchin will be a part of our lecture season this year but he'll also be here at Grand Illusions next month for a special event!  Wayne's new DVD, "Control", is released on the 25th of this month and he's coming down to Grand Illusions for a product signing on the 2nd of February.  This is a free event and is open to everybody so get down here and be a part of the fun.  There's gonna be cake!  To see details for this and all other Grand Illusions special events, check out our Google Calendar by clicking or pasting this link: http://www.grandillusions.com/index.php?show_aux_page=15

   I've added a cool new tool/toy to our website:  Live Chat and Help.  In a nutshell, you can tell if I'm currently on-line by an animated graphic button on the left side of www.GrandIllusions.com.  If I'm on, you can click the button to start up a live chat with me or, if I'm not around, click to leave me a message.  Go take a look, I might be on now!

   Well, that's it for now.  I've always got more to say (as most of you know) but I've got to get back to work here in the shop.  Stay tuned, I'll write more soon.

- Steve
]]> Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:23:10 -0800 http://www.grandillusions.com/blog/19/ http://www.grandillusions.com/blog/19/

(Alex and Noah hang with Lee)

(Lee's littlest fan - my daughter, Madelynn)

(Lee cuts the Wintess cake
with a Witness DVD! Now THAT's Hi-Def!)

(Cake Anyone?)

(This WAS a Witness disc)

Ive got some finer details: Fran is Wayne's lovely and charming wife. Her name is pronounced, “Frahn”, like a leaf. I think she's wonderful.
Dana's beautiful lady friend's name is Cindy, like Cinderella. I didn't get to spend as much time with Cindy but I enjoyed every moment that I had.
Yes, Dana and I jammed a little guitar. As you already know, he can rock the box. Very cool to share another art with a friend.

It's too late right now to grab the video and stills. Stay tuned here and I'll post soon, promise!]]> What an excellent time with excellent people and excellent cookies that my dad baked. I was pumped by the turnout today that packed our castle and shared the magic that happens when like minded people get together.
Wayne did some amazing effects including Distortion, Stigmata and Indecent. Answered a bunch of questions and unpretentiously gave advice to willing listeners.
Check this. People came from MILES away. Hours by car but they traveled to see our friends. I was humbled. Our friend Michael worked a night shift, drove his son, Mikey, (Happy b-day, bro!) two and a half hours to Grand Illusions, hung out with us and played. Then..Listen up, Michael and Mikey drove back, two and a half more hours, where Michael went back to work the night shift again. That's love and I'm awed.
'Mas' people came out and soon I will hit this space with some media from the party.

Ive got some finer details: Fran is Wayne's lovely and charming wife. Her name is pronounced, “Frahn”, like a leaf. I think she's wonderful.
Dana's beautiful lady friend's name is Cindy, like Cinderella. I didn't get to spend as much time with Cindy but I enjoyed every moment that I had.
Yes, Dana and I jammed a little guitar. As you already know, he can rock the box. Very cool to share another art with a friend.

It's too late right now to grab the video and stills. Stay tuned here and I'll post soon, promise!]]> Sat, 06 Oct 2007 23:34:04 -0700 http://www.grandillusions.com/blog/15/ http://www.grandillusions.com/blog/15/ Wayne Houchin is coming down to see us this Saturday and he's bringing my latest shipment of Theory11 products with him. He and Dana and Fran are going to drive down to meet my peeps (you!) do some magic and sign some autographs. They should arrive about 1pm so get out here if you can! Stay tuned to this blog for media! - SJ]]> Wayne Houchin is coming down to see us this Saturday and he's bringing my latest shipment of Theory11 products with him. He and Dana and Fran are going to drive down to meet my peeps (you!) do some magic and sign some autographs. They should arrive about 1pm so get out here if you can! Stay tuned to this blog for media! - SJ]]> Wed, 03 Oct 2007 20:02:43 -0700 http://www.grandillusions.com/blog/14/ http://www.grandillusions.com/blog/14/

Arriving back at the hotel after dinner I had just enough time to get up to the hospitality suite which is where Armando Lucero was going to perform and speak.

I need to tell you about this part of town. Like all of the bay area, it's rather hilly and Dave and Nadine's street is no different. Despite this engineering challenge, Dave had managed a very nice, low brick wall and paver patio in the front yard with an assortment of lovely flora from Dusty Miller to tea roses. In the back was a vegetable garden and growing artichoke, tomato and a pack of other crops. I could tell my old pal had married a farm girl. :-) Dave and Nadine are good people and I'm fortunate to have them as friends.

We split from the house and headed back to Crowne Plaza. Dave and I are both talking food and we recruit Dave Egelston, Steven Youell (I forgot to mention that I was called an idiot more than once for missing Steven's lecture the night before. Clearly a mistake that I would hit my head over later...no kidding.) Dave Nelson, Gary Beutler, the Risers and myself. Dave (Nelson) is talking about a place called the Fish Market. It sounds good to the crew so we head out.

Here's the thing: We've got a five passenger vehicle (Gary's) and seven people. Dave's driving and we head, sans Risers, to the restaurant. Dave drops we four and heads back to pick up the couple while we head inside and get a table.

The restaurant has flavor. This place really is a fish market. It has a raw fish counter with some sushi grade products displayed on ice. On every wall is a classic, Victorian or Gold Rush era photo in black and white showing some spectacular or record catch from days gone by. Great ambiance and we would have a waters edge table.

The four waited for the three a very brief time and then we were all together, the seven of us, at the table at the Fish Market. Dinner went fairly uneventfully with the type of nice “get to know you” conversations happening at different places around the table. We ate and it was then that things started to go awry.

To really explain the entire proceeding would be tedious and unamusing. Suffice to say that is all starts with Steven telling an airline story, proceeding with my witnessing the destruction of restaurant flatware, moving to Gary having in his lap around thirty spoons, and culminating with Harry and I getting chewed out by a cranky lady who said we were too loud. I'll say also that Beutler and Youell are a dangerous combination that would be welcome at my dinner table anytime. I wouldn't trade the evening for anything.

We had some tasty libations and then headed up to the “Session Room”, a suite provided by the planners. (A very, very good idea, by the way.) After a bit the room is running low on soda so I hook a ride to Costco and buy a monster bag of tortilla chips, a fifty gallon drum of salsa and several hundred Oreos. The room restocked, I sat down and relaxed. Out on the back patio Gary tosses me a Romeo E Juliet and I light up as Steve Dobson blows my mind with a deck of cards. The cards go around the table a few times and, when they come to me, I ponder my current level of sobriety. Making the wrong decision, I go for my new favorite and fail most horribly. Sincere apologies to P.V.

At eight thirty we head downstairs to watch and learn from Mike Gallo. I was pleasantly surprised when he performed “ie Ball Vase” which is a treasure hidden in Richard's Almanac many moons ago. I'd performed it for years but have never met or seen Mike before. Pretty cool to watch the magic in the hands of it's creator.

After the lecture I headed up to Jon's room and talked for a bit before heading out for some late night food and fun. Back in my room, quite a bit later, I trip and fall backward, clocking my head royally on the entertainment center. I opened my head in about a three inch gash that bled pretty well. Jon and Dave repeatedly tried to get me to go to the hospital but I'd have nothing to do with it. My head is still attached this morning and is only a little tender. Ah, well...Now I have another story to tell.

This morning was a lecture by the great Harry Riser. What an incredibly charming man! The stories that he told us were enchanting and people...Listen people; I held in my own hands one of the four Malini Egg Bags that Charlie Miller had painstakingly created with Mr Riser's wife, Margie. I held it in my hands. It was like touching our history, feeling the art, seeing a ghost. My words are inadequate; I'm awed.

A club sandwich and a Coke later and I'm sitting in the “Bistro” surfing the WiFi and writing this blog. I realize only now that I've forgotten the cable that syncs my camera to my laptop. Sorry guys, looks like no pictures till I get home.

Stay tuned...We're just getting started.]]> After arriving and checking in, Jim and I unloaded our stuff in our room and headed down to the bar area where everyone was beginning to congregate. I immediately found Dave Egelston and then Jon Lopez. The friendly faces were good to see and I could already tell that this gathering was going to be good. It would only be a handful of minutes later that I'm watching Dave Buck juggling cards. Yeah...He's pretty good. :-)

We had some tasty libations and then headed up to the “Session Room”, a suite provided by the planners. (A very, very good idea, by the way.) After a bit the room is running low on soda so I hook a ride to Costco and buy a monster bag of tortilla chips, a fifty gallon drum of salsa and several hundred Oreos. The room restocked, I sat down and relaxed. Out on the back patio Gary tosses me a Romeo E Juliet and I light up as Steve Dobson blows my mind with a deck of cards. The cards go around the table a few times and, when they come to me, I ponder my current level of sobriety. Making the wrong decision, I go for my new favorite and fail most horribly. Sincere apologies to P.V.

At eight thirty we head downstairs to watch and learn from Mike Gallo. I was pleasantly surprised when he performed “ie Ball Vase” which is a treasure hidden in Richard's Almanac many moons ago. I'd performed it for years but have never met or seen Mike before. Pretty cool to watch the magic in the hands of it's creator.

After the lecture I headed up to Jon's room and talked for a bit before heading out for some late night food and fun. Back in my room, quite a bit later, I trip and fall backward, clocking my head royally on the entertainment center. I opened my head in about a three inch gash that bled pretty well. Jon and Dave repeatedly tried to get me to go to the hospital but I'd have nothing to do with it. My head is still attached this morning and is only a little tender. Ah, well...Now I have another story to tell.

This morning was a lecture by the great Harry Riser. What an incredibly charming man! The stories that he told us were enchanting and people...Listen people; I held in my own hands one of the four Malini Egg Bags that Charlie Miller had painstakingly created with Mr Riser's wife, Margie. I held it in my hands. It was like touching our history, feeling the art, seeing a ghost. My words are inadequate; I'm awed.

A club sandwich and a Coke later and I'm sitting in the “Bistro” surfing the WiFi and writing this blog. I realize only now that I've forgotten the cable that syncs my camera to my laptop. Sorry guys, looks like no pictures till I get home.

Stay tuned...We're just getting started.]]> Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:11:29 -0700 http://www.grandillusions.com/blog/11/ http://www.grandillusions.com/blog/11/