Regular readers of Inside Magic know that I rarely cover any magician or effect that I don’t think the world of. Solyl is no different. He is someone who loves our art and cares about promoting it as well as encouraging young magicians. He didn’t ask to have his story told here. I asked him, based only on my knowledge of Solyl from his writings and his contributions to magic e-sources, to allow me to profile him. He kindly agreed.
I can tell you a lot about Solyl thanks to his correspondence and contributions to various magic periodicals and books. Born in a Bengali family as Salil Kumar Kundu, his parents were originally from East Pakistan now known as Bangladesh. Although Hindu by religion Solyl has respect for every religion in the world.As he progressed through life, he decided to take the big leap into the world of magic. He gave up his job as a Medical Representative — a great job for someone with degrees in Science and Commerce — to become a full-time magician.
For those of us that work in the real world to support our lives as semi-pro magicians, that is a thought that passes through our minds (or at least mine) every day. Most of us let it pass and get to our day jobs. Thankfully, Solyl hung tight to the dream and magic has benefited greatly because of that decision.
How dedicated is Solyl to his career in magic? He hopes to die on stage while performing. That’s dedicated; or something. I personally have died on stage many times but Solyl means it literally. He is not married but has dedicated all of his time to pursuing his magic career. In fact, he is presently serving the IBM as its TVP for India-N (4 terms).
His writing credits include articles in Magigram, Magic Info, New Zealand’s Magicana, as well as the Indian publications Jadu, Maya Mancha, Ian Adair’s British publication,Dove Encyclopedia (Volume 5)and Mayajaal. He has published his own quarterly journal, Gimmick, which is still going after 18 years. He also haslecture notes ?Should I use Doves? Yes, you should!? on doves magic; “EntertainingChildren with magic, – My way? on kids magic; ?Sixer,? ?Magical M?lange,? and ?Simple, but Stunning? on assorted magic.
So when does this guy eat? When does he sleep? I don’t know. I know that when I am on-line, he is as well. When I send of a note, he responds almost immediately and when there is a request on one of the many bulletin boards or listserves, he provides substantive information immediately.
< !DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> I received the email from Bob announcing he would be selling the secret of the Moldavian Switch to only fifty magicians. I read the description and thought, “hmm, that would be a good thing to learn.” I am currently trying to master the Name/Place Routine featured on Bob’s DVD. On the DVD, he explains a perfect billet switch using a lighter as cover. The move is natural and as he says, “it is not a move at all.”
Well, if Bob doesn’t consider the Lighter Switch to be a move, the Moldavian Switch would have to be even less than not a move. It looks so natural and actually feels kind of neat to do.
I won’t tell you the move or even the set-up for fear of tipping the secret but the following is a true statement: If you can use your fingers to hold a billet, you can do the move. Bob claims that “the ‘Moldavian Switch’ is a technique that effectively removes the ‘difficulty factor’ from billet work.” His claim is accurate.
The cost is considerable. The only other time I’ve paid for a move rather than a whole lecture or routine, was in Vegas. I just re-read that and it sounds bad. I meant, the only time I wasn’t buying a trick and just a move was in Vegas. Still doesn’t sound better. When I was in Vegas, I paid $25.00 to learn how to do Pulp Friction from Lee Asher. I considered that money well spent.
The same applies here. You will pay $35.00 for the move and detailed descriptions of how to accomplish it; tips on using it; variations on the move and Bob’s usual very entertaining writing. You will not receive a routine you can do but if you do any billet work at all, this monograph is a must.
The document comes as a PDF file and according to Bob, has been encoded to ensure that it is not duplicated. The layout is professional, the photographs of the front and back views of the move are clear and very helpful. One of my favorite parts of the monograph is the picture of a tipsy Ted Annemann flashing a billet during a show. I have never seen the picture before but it made me feel good that even the greats in mentalism could have flaws in their presentation.
It could be that all 50 copies are gone by now. This is not for everyone. In fact, it is probably not for every one that performs psychic entertainment, but if you are hard core and need a bullet-proof billet switch, this is for you. $35.00 is a great price for this great concept.
The Moldavian Switch is only offered to magicians and psychic entertainers. If you are interested in the monograph, you can email Bob Cassidy at: bobcassidy@mastermindreader.com
Sergey Korbalev is a great guy.He has been recognized by his peers in Russia as a premier illusionist and overall great magician.He cares about the art of magic and cares about the promotion of our magical arts.
He is dedicated to keeping our art alive by inventing new effects and new presentations.He works with his wife and daughter to present a show that would be impressive even by Las Vegas standards.
Sergey sent along information about another magician in Russia, I won?t mention his name for reasons that will soon be obvious.This magician has set up a website and dedicated most of his waking hours to destroying the illusions David Copperfield has worked hard to develop.
Ironically, the unnamed magician on his unnamed website is wrong on at least two of the three illusions he exposes.I don?t want to give this nare-do-well any publicity.I don?t think there is anyone in the world that would suggest that David is flying by magic ? David doesn?t even say that in his public statements.
In reading the Prescott Daily Courier write-up of Ms. Taylor’s “There’s Magic in Books” presentation to an elementary school, I had the notion that she was from the Western United States.
So I checked Google for her website and found a most impressive location on the Internet. It turns out Ms. Taylor is from right around the Mystic Hollow area of Michigan. She is from Ohio, just south of the border. I’ve asked Missy to add her site to the Links of Fame.
It also turns out that Ms. Taylor will be appearing in the South Eastern Michigan area this March. I know Tim will be there – with my digital camera in hand – to do his “up close and personal” review; assuming he can get in. I know he is attending the Toledo Magic Convention and she’ll appear there along with The Pendragons.
I’ve looked a lot of magic web pages but there are two things that stand out about Ms. Taylor’s: it is very professional and it is very up to date. She has included show dates that are actually in this decade. I’ve seen a ton of sites where the show dates are from the late 1990′s. Ms. Taylor apparently cares about the info she is providing and updates it constantly.
The site also is perfectly set up for the corporate or school booking person. It provides a neat path to the decision to book Ms. Taylor for your next event. You learn about her background in magic, her ambitions and her ability to perform for whatever event you have. One of the things I found impressive was her “products” section. The product is essentially an outline of her lecture notes on how to book your own show. She notes:
“Getting a gig is a full time job. If you want to get more work performing, these lecture notes are for you.
I have performed for 20 years a crossed the county, no agent has gotten me the work, I have done it myself and so can you. No one taught me how to book myself, because there was nothing out there to learn from. So now I share my knowledge with the magic community.”
I think this statement does two things: it gains the respect of magicians (with the hope to have those same magicians engage her for a lecture); but, 2) it also tells the corporate or school booking person that Ms. Taylor is an experienced veteran and is able to share that experience with other magicians – she is a magician’s magician. This was very impressive and I wonder if it has that effect on those people responsible for booking.
If Tim does find his way to her show, we’ll include a review of it here. Until then, check out her web site for a very impressive piece of marketing and technology. It works and it works for her.
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