In our haste to move to our new server, we found several important reviews and articles were stranded. The following review from March 25, 2003 should have been on our new site and now is.
I knew of Aaron Fisher from two sources — both intimidating — his cover story recently in Genii and from very favorable mentions by Lee Asher during his lecture in Las Vegas. You have to figure you don't make the cover of Genii or receive high praise from Lee Asher by doing automatic or simple card tricks.
I got a great seat in the back room of the Garden City Magic Shop and nervously practiced second deals with my Bicycle deck.
John Luka introduced Mr. Fisher and he took the stage with a sense of confidence and polish that
I haven't seen in a lecture since I watched Tim Ellis and Sue Anne Webster's presentation.
Mr. Fisher comes across as a nice guy, someone with extraordinary skills but without a desire to embarrass his lay or magician audiences. It is clear that he cares about what he teaches and, like Lee Asher, takes the time to make sure that all of his attendees learn the sleights he is teaching. He is not as pretty as Sue Anne, though.
Mr. Fisher began his lecture with a discussion of his background in magic. He trained under some of the best and learned the art of theater to help make the tricks he performed more akin to true magic.
The acting lessons we have all heard are important to our success offer nothing if we don't know how to import the lessons into our acts. We need, said Mr. Fisher, to use the lessons of acting in the actual effect and not just the choice of the effect. In other words, we need to use the skills of directing our audience's observation in exactly the way we choose — it should not be left to chance.
If we want the audience to watch the right hand holding the selected card while we reverse the remainder of the deck in our left hand, we need to provide a "reason" for the audience to do that.
The first half of Mr. Fisher's lecture provided great effects that even I could do. They weren't all self-working but they were close enough that I felt confident I could practice the moves necessary to perform the same miracles Mr. Fisher performed. He demonstrated an incredible sandwich effect where the volunteer essentially performs all of the cuts and passes necessary to accomplish the result. It was pure genius.
I told you a while back that Lee Asher blew my mind with his Pulp Friction. I told you that I have never seen a technique so novel and so useful. Tonight, however, I saw three or four techniques that were both novel and useful. That's saying quite a lot.
We took a break and I saw that one of my other heros in the world of magic, Nate Kranzo in the back of the house. He was watching Mr. Fisher's lecture. That also says quite a lot. I reviewed, in the prior iteration of Inside Magic, Mr. Kranzo's Out of the Box DVD. I told you that I haven't seen such a great lecture in years and that "you should waste no time in thinking and that you should buy his DVD immediately if you are interested in commercial, amazing magic." So to see him in attendance at Mr. Fisher's lecture, only increased the lecture's credibility.
We took a break for a few minutes and that gave all of us a chance to see the items Mr. Fisher had for sale. He had great deals but I had no money. I selfishly decided to buy a Filet-O-Fish from Mickey Dee's as well as a Super Sized Diet Coke and so I was short by one dollar the amount necessary to buy The Paper Engine. I was going to walk across the street to the bank but the program was starting. I was frustrated. I wanted so much to get a copy of The Paper Engine signed by someone who I was now coming to respect as one of the finest card workers since Vernon.
The irony of that last statement is that Mr. Fisher will no doubt deny the comparison to Dai Vernon. He is a man respectful of those who have preceded him but, either intentionally or unintentionally, recalls the greatness of The Professor and Ed Marlo.
The second portion of the show was a great experience for me. Mr. Fisher performed miracles and then took the time to show how the half pass was responsible for all that he had shown. I have to tell you that I have avoided the half pass (as well as the "Bluff Pass" demonstrated in the first half of the lecture) but am now encouraged — thanks to Mr. Fisher's intimate instruction methods — to try to use it.
I am a simple man. When I was young, very young, I won the Florida State Magicians' Association convention for best close-up act (all ages). Now I am older and smarter. I would never do one-handed second deals in front of judges and certainly would never try to snap change three cards (one at a time) in front of anyone. I am old now. I've lived through failure and through being caught by my audience. It is a horrible experience.
Mr. Fisher encouraged me to try that which I feared. He demonstrated how to perform the Bluff Pass. He correctly gauged the audience. He guessed we learned (and now feared) the Bluff Pass from Harry Lorayne's texts. I once thought I could get away with it. I was wrong. Each time I tried, I was found out. Mr. Fisher demonstrated his method for the Bluff Pass and by-golly, it works. It is genius. If you need only one reason to book or see his lecture, Mr. Fisher's explanation of how to perform the Bluff Pass is sufficient.
I cannot overstate how important his instruction on the Bluff Pass was to me. I have literally rejected the move as not practical and so all the effects that could been accomplished by using the move, were lost. If you are familiar with the Bluff Pass, you realize there is almost no replacement for the sleight. You either use it or you don't do the trick. When I was young, I used the glide instead of the second deal. But then I learned the second deal and no longer needed the glide. But with the Bluff Pass, there is no alternative. Thanks to Mr. Fisher, I can now do it. That was worth the price of admission.
But don't focus so much on the Bluff Pass that you miss Mr. Fisher's unique handling of the Half Pass. I have tried the Half Pass for longer than I've worked with the Bluff Pass. I think I am doing it wonderfully but the mirror and my audiences demonstrate that I have done it terribly. Mr. Fisher will teach you how to perform the Half Pass to accomplish amazing effects. If you are not a magician — I must wonder why you are still reading this. But if you are a magician, you have no doubt heard of the Half Pass but have never tried it. You've likely tried the regular pass with the obligatory straightening and assembling of the deck. (Again, if you're not a magician, this will make no sense). Mr. Fisher teaches you a method that works without the need to straighten or consolidate the deck of cards.
There is no way I could overstate how Mr. Fisher's lecture affected me. He is, as I said, polished, professional, and able. He really cares about those who attend his lectures and he really cares about our favorite art, magic.
At the outset of this review, I asked whether Mr. Fisher was the "John Lennon" of magic. The question came from a story I heard about my favorite Beatle. John and the boys were traveling between Germany and England. They stopped at the U.S. equivalent of a truck stop. John found a harmonica for sale and purchased it along with a pack of cigarettes. Before they reached their home in Liverpool, John had mastered the harmonica and was able to use it in "Love Me Do."
Mr. Fisher, like John Lennon, cares about his art. He wants to do the best he can do, teach in the most effective manner, and encourage always. He is able to take on a new method or effect and figure out how to use it. That, to me, is a true artist whether it is Mr. Fisher or John Lennon.
If you see only one lecture this year, make it Mr. Fisher's. You will not be disappointed but greatly encouraged and enlightened."
Continue reading Aaron Fisher — Magic’s John Lennon?
We heard from Cameron Fisk fresh off a very successful five
Dennis Regling, 
Tim Ellis and Sue-Anne Webster attended the FISM; each with
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