Denny and Lee — They’ve Got It Going On

My First Time – So Don’t Make Me Cry.

FRIDAY, APRIL 11TH-7:30 PM (ADMISSION $15.00)-NINE SEATS LEFT!!!! IF YOU LIKE TO LAUGH, DON’T MISS THIS ONE!!!! CHRIS CAPEHART (FROM PHILADELPHIA) Here is one of today’s funniest and most entertaining magicians. I have tried to book Chris for a lecture here for years but his schedule is always so full. Well, we have him now. Chris grew up and got his training as a street performer in Philadelphia and now is booked on stages all over the country. His act just destroyed them at last year’s Abbott’s Magic Get Together in Colon, Michigan. Chris can work anywhere and with any kind of group. His children’s bits are a real scream and his adult work is top notch. Here is a general all around performer who will have something for everyone. You may recognize his name from the Chris Capehart Linking Ring Routine which has been published and is one of the finest three ring routines you will ever see. When he does the rings, he will fool even those who own a set and perform them. The best!!!

MONDAY, APRIL 14TH-7:30 PM (ADMISSION $30.00)-SIX SEATS LEFT!!! MARK WILSON (FROM THE LAND OF ALLAKAZAM) One of the most famous magicians of our time will be here to lecture and tell you all about his rise to television fame. Mark Wilson and Nani Darnell were the inspiration for magic on television. From the Magic Land of Allakazam to the Magic Circus TV Specials, they showed the world that magic on television works!! Here is your chance to meet this famous magician, get your autographs, and learn how it all happened. As a very special treat, Mark has agreed to give away to each person attending, a rare “Land of Allakazam” membership card. He found a few of these in one of his warehouses and will give one to each of you attending. Due to cost of airfares, this lecture will be a $30.00 lecture BUT, when will you ever get a chance to meet and talk with him in person again?? This is a great opportunity!!!

TUESDAY, APRIL 22ND-7:30 PM (Admission $20.00)-SOLD OUT-STANDBY ONLY!! PATRICK PAGE (FROM ENGLAND)

From England comes another true legend in magic. Patrick Page probably

knows more about magic than most any other living magician. We had Patrick here a few years back and he stayed for three days presenting two different lectures ach day. Yes, he knows that much. Our customers were raving about this man. He will only be doing one lecture on this particular evening and it is NOT to be missed.

MONDAY, APRIL 28TH-7:30 PM (ADMISSION $15.00)-(10 SEATS STILL AVAILABLE) MATHIEU BICH (FROM FRANCE) Mathieu Bich is only 23 year-old but he has already created a number of truly scary, original concepts and routines, most of them relying on new methods, new principles, or at least, a willingness to cheat like a crazy monkey. It can get frustrating sometimes as Mathieu loves to fool you with your own tricks based on a different method. He has frightened and intimidated a lot of knowledgeable and respected magicians. Some of them won?t leave the house now!

His lecture contains highly original material that you have never seen before: NEW EFFECTS (how to change the color of the buttons of your shirt, how to freeze time using an…
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John Dearie – Newest Sponsor of Inside Magic

“Inside Magic” Loses by Nose at Derby

With his generous contribution yesterday through our donation program, John Dearie has now become our largest benefactor to date. We had tried to get a NEA grant but we couldn?t think of something obscene enough to qualify. The best I could imagine was touching-up a photo of Houdini to make it look like he was wearing diapers or putting Don King hair on Kellar.

Kathleen (Lakeland) had the idea of writing down all cuss words ever said by great magicians when their tricks failed. Unfortunately, they were the same words ? for the most part ? and but for Dai Vernon?s creative mind, they would have been the same 14 words or phrases. (Vernon?s additions brought the number to well over a hundred).

Making a contribution is easy. You just click a button and the paypal folks take care of the rest. Your money will go a good cause ? Inside Magic?s continued production. Imagine a world without Inside Magic.

Actually, don?t do that, it wouldn?t be that dramatic or different except for us here. Our daily budget is in the fives of dollars and because we use the web as our media, we are able to keep the costs down and we use the computer at the public library so we get to keep our cost down and meet people looking up porn who don’t cover their mouth when they sneeze.

If Not For Inside Magic – Would You Know This Man and His Cheese?

All seriousness aside, we take great pride in providing new, uncovered news and reviews. There are many sites out in magic web world that offers the same stories others have heard or read. There are places that give you press releases from magicians or stores. But may I point out, with great pride that it was only Inside Magic that broke the following stories:

?How Did You Make that One Pence Piece Appear Behind My Ear?? May 14, 1813 ? This was our first article. It looked at the mechanics of a trick that would be later stolen and used by uncles and grandfathers everywhere ? but we had it first!

?How I Twisted a Rubber Tube to Look Like a Poodle: Interview With Latex Visionary,? August 6, 1951 ? Now a days, everyone does balloon animals, but it was Gerry Fandra’s visionary mistake in a lab that started this craze.

“The Inner-Workings of Chung Lee Soo’s Rifle,” March 23, 1918 ? Our first “hands-on” look at how the great illusions work. It was ironic that it was the same rifle that failed later that night in his show ? it seemed to be working fine.

“Rough and Smooth: A Passing Fad,” February 8, 1962 ? We had no idea it would catch on. One of the more memorable quotes, “The worst thing is, it makes some cards stick together and you have to push hard to separate them.”

“The Masked Magician: A Hero for Our Time,” January 12, 1997 ? Actually, this was the result of payola from Fox Television. We didn’t believe a word of the 25 page review. But Fox offered Kathleen a shot…
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Magic Joints Across Country Featured (sort of)

Though Pictured, Joe Givan’s Theater is Not Mentioned in Article.

The Rocky Mountain News featured a strange piece on
April 4th. They selected a few random “Magic Kingdoms.” The rationale
is: “Though rare, magic clubs have taken root in other cities across the country.”

They have listed the “biggest and the best.” They list the Magic Castle
(Hollywood), Magic Island (Houston), Magicopolis (Santa Monica),
Illusionz (Seattle), and the Rick Wilcox Theater (Wisconsin Dells). It
was a strange selection — it left so many great places out and
included both theaters (Rick Wilcox) and magic clubhouses (The Magic
Castle).

Most ironic, though, is that the Rocky
Mountain News neglected to include Doc Eason just a few miles from
thepaper’s newsroom.The article is a neat thought starter.

They also feature a picture of Carol Massie
the show she performs with Gold CupsWinner and FISM Champ Joe Givan.
It’s too bad they don’t give a link to the couple’s new Theater of
Dreams or even a phone number.

Check it out.

Continue reading Magic Joints Across Country Featured (sort of)

Burning Question – Why Do We Do It?

A Nice Fire to Work By

The fire here in the drawing room is indeed roaring and I am beginning to think my wife was correct in her advice to start the fire in a fireplace rather than in a trash can under the drapes. She?s a wise one, she is. She could see the consequences of my actions better than I could and coincidentally, that is what this column is about.

I have essentially five card tricks that I do in every impromptu show I do. If I am performing in a bar, in an airport, on a plane, in an airport bar or by the bar cart on an airplane, I do the same five card tricks. I start with a classic force and a faux muscle read to determine the identity of the card; a riffle force to begin one of the least ambitious, ambitious card routine into a three card ambitious card; followed by a card to wallet or pocket and then Paul Curry?s Out of this World modified (I think by Vernon) to use a non-set up deck. And that?s it.

My stage routine is as it has been for the last four hundred years. In fact, genetically, each of my gametes had half of this routine stored in their partial DNA before I was even born. I do Bob Cassidy?s Chronologue, Gene Anderson?s Torn and Restored Newspaper, Max Maven?s B?Wave and finally a memorized deck routine stolen almost entirely from Bob Cassidy. I have often thought I should drop the Torn and Restored because it is not mental magic but I use it to show how things can appear to be what they are not.

What is my point in telling you the content of my acts? I guess it is this ? hang on, I am going to throw my drink at the…
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Jim Swain Gets Great Press

Jim Swain

Jim Swain is famous to the real world for his outstanding novels on casino cheats, Sucker Bet, Funny Money and Grift Sense. But he is also an incredible card magician who uses his same writing skills to describe and teach some pretty incredible effects.

Random House published an interview with Jim; giving his thoughts on the differences between his hero, Tony Valentine, and himself. Poker Magazine has a pretty lengthy article about Sucker Bet and even our own Genii Magazine wrote about Sucker Bet along with their coverage of the making of the movie Shade.

Jim says something in his interview with Random House that struck me: “The world of card magic and gambling are parallel; many of the top hustlers are also terrific card magicians. Over the years, I brushed elbows with many hustlers and incorporated their techniques into my own performances.” I thought it sort of added a little class to both the hustler and the magician.

It is interesting how far we’ve come from Erdnase and yet how close we remain to our roots. We tend to think of our magic as being a friendly form of entertainment using sleights that might be used by the dark-side of our profession. Maybe we’re even closer than that.

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