September 2008

First off, my new book BAMBOOZLERS is doing great.  I’ve sold over one-third of the first printing in one month’s time.  A full page ad for my book appeared in this month’s issue of GENII magazine.  I began the month by doing a private party at the City Club in downtown Dallas and to my surprise was lucky to meet and entertain Pete Townshend of The Who (seen on the left).  I did another show for Texas Instruments and performed my stage show once again for the McKinney Jaycees at the historic McKinney Performing Arts Center.  Then on the 19th I performed for the DSNews company and warmed up the crowd before REO Speedwagon took the stage. 

The next day I flew to LA and stayed with my good friend Brian Gillis.  That night I drove to Long Beach and gave a lecture.  That same night I went to the 705 Club in Redondo Beach and witnessed the blissful music of Andy Hill and Renee Safier. That night was a blur.  The next day I went to the Lobster Fest in San Pedro and truly got into the spirit of things and got burnt like a lobster.  The highlight there was seeing Pop Hadyn and my friends Brian & Sue work their magic, and partake once again of the incredible music of Andy Hill, Renee Safier and their band Hard Rain.  Andy & Renee are a feast for the ears and I recommend that you buy all of their CD’s immediately!

I couldn’t miss a chance to visit the Magic Castle in Hollywood while being so close so my friends and I attended one night and took in the shows of Shimshi, Chipper Lowell and Asi Wind who were all incredible.  I was pleasantly surprised by my chance encounter with Eric Amazing who’s magic blew me away and left my head spinning.  I’m hoping our paths cross again to witness more of Eric A.’s enigmatic personality.

My two week tour of the west coast then took me to Fresno, CA. where I performed at the headquarters of the largest magic online retailer Hocus Pocus.  Paul Gross, the owner, was super friendly and made me feel at home there.  Paul has one of the most impressive collections of horror and oddity memorabilia that I’ve ever seen.  I hope to return there one day to peruse his impressive warehouse of magic.

From there I went onto San Jose and stayed with my friends John & Rosella Pantalis. They are a super sweet couple who enjoyed showing me the sites.  While in San Jose we dined in a very nice French restaurant and while in Santa Cruz, after touring the boardwalk, we dined at the popular Crow’s Nest.  

One of the highlights for me was finally touring the Winchester Mystery House.  Mrs. Winchester was a crazy rich old bat who hired a team of men to keep building onto the same house (seen on the left) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for a total of 38 years so that the ghosts who were haunting her would relent.  

From there I went on to Las Vegas to lecture at the Denny & Lee studio and stayed with my good friend Chris Smith.  Chris Smith, a.k.a. MagicSmith puts out some of the best magic products on the market today.  Chris Smith showed me the awe inspiring Red Rock Park which is a beautiful site hidden only 10 minutes from the Vegas strip.  While in Vegas I returned to the Orleans casino and played a little blackjack and gave them back some of their money that I took from them on my last visit there.  From there I returned to California and lectured in Irvine, stayed a couple of days back in Redondo Beach to hang with my friends, and then moved on to lecture in Phoenix, Arizona and then again in Tucson. 

While in Tucson I was only one hour away from the historic town of Tombstone.  I couldn’t resist visiting the site and seeing where the gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place.  Although the town of Tombstone has burnt down 5 times, it has been rebuilt to look as it did in 1881 when Wyatt Earp was sheriff.  It was great to see the saloons, horse-drawn carriages, actors in period western wear, etc.  To the left you can see what I might have looked like had I lived in those times!  When in Rome!!

Not counting the miles I flew, I drove 2400 miles on my tour, made lots of money, made some great new friends, saw lots of interesting sites and experienced lots of firsts on this trip that I will not soon forget.