April has historically been a productive month for me.  On April 1st I did a show at the House of Blues, in the Foundation Room, for a now regular client who I always love working for.  The month has been filled with fun gigs from birthdays parties, to block parties, to casino nights with companies and more.  All in all I will have performed 17 gigs this month.  Later this month I will perform on site for an interesting client at the Hageman Reserve (see below). On my birthday April 25th I will be performing in the home of a billionaire.

It was nice to have sushi one night with my friends the Baileys at Blue Fish.  Later that same week I dined with my folks, my nephew, sisters and my new brother-in-laws at Benihana’s.  I also dined with friends and enjoyed some good Tex-Mex at Blue Goose in Frisco last night.  It’s nice to have such great friends and family.

It was unexpected to see my friends The Fleischers, unfortunately under sad circumstances, with the passing of my good friend Jeff’s mother Grace.  I’m a performer and not afraid of crowds, but I could never speak at a funeral because I get too emotional.  At the funeral many of her children spoke and Jeff’s story was especially touching. She raised a sweet family and I’m most thankful for her son Jeff who is like a brother to me.

One of the highlights this month was attending the Illusionists show at Music Hall at Fair Park.  I was surprised to see so many friends and clients at the show. I bought season tickets to the shows, but thought I wouldn’t make this show because of a tour I was planning.  I was very disappointed when I had to sell these tickets.

Ironically dates got pushed and I was gifted a pair of second row seats.  The show was great!  I’ve seen many magic shows, hundreds, and this was very well put together.  The live band, the mix of talent, everything was practically perfect.  See a pic of myself and Dan Sperry, one of the show’s highlights, attached here.

Most of this month has been spent planning my upcoming tour that begins April 26th.  I fly to New Zealand, then make my to Australia, then onto five Asian countries.  See the poster for my stop in Hong Kong. It’s 15 gigs over the course of 29 days.  Most of those days will be spent in transit.  For this trip I will board 19 planes!!! It’s going to be quite an adventure.  I’ve never been anywhere in Asia before so this will be an eye opener for me.  Wish me luck!

I left my gig in Houston for home on March 1st.  That Sunday night I ate dinner at my favorite restaurant Javier’s Gourmet Mexicano which never disappoints.  Following dinner I made my way to Music Hall at Fair Park to see the musical Kinky Boots.  The show was good on many levels.  The score, which was incredible, was done by Cyndi Lauper. My seat was great and I can’t wait to return to see the next show there in April.

Later that week I worked a few gigs but one was cancelled due to the ice in Dallas.  The next week continued with more shows and get-togethers with friends like (Tony, Amanda, and their baby Hannah) also my friends (David and Kylie Knight).  Most of the second week of March was spent preparing for my lecture tour on the East Coast.  On Sunday March 15th I flew to Savannah, GA.  I wish I had more time there but I only had one night.  I made the most of it and went to see downtown.  See the pic I took of a huge globe behind one of the buildings I saw as I drove around.

I had forgotten it was St. Patty’s Day weekend and wondered why the streets were combed with crazy-dressed folks and no places to park.  After finding a place to park I walked around and found a Scottish Pub named Molly MacPherson’s.  Seeing how it was a Scottish bar they had my favorite beer on tap, ironically from Scotland, which is Innis & Gunn.  I treated the bartenders and a few patrons to some bar bets and a little close-up magic which they all enjoyed.  I was treated to a group of drunk frat boys singing a bunch of Scottish songs for all to hear.  It was an entertaining place to say the least.  Savannah is a place I’d love to return to.

The next Monday morning I made my way to Raleigh, NC where I lectured that night.  The following Tuesday I lectured in Myrtle Beach, SC.  I was elated to do so because that made 45 states that I have now performed in.  The next day I drove onto Orlando, FL and lectured for the Bev Bergeron ring.  Bev the man himself was there.  His was one of the first lectures I ever attended and I remember much of it.  He’s a great person, and an amazing entertainer, so hearing his praise after my lecture meant the world to me.  I regretted not having extra days to do things in Orlando because there are so many wonderful attractions like Disney World, Universal Studies, WonderWorks, Wizards Theater, Kennedy Space Center (not too far away), plus lots more.  That Thursday I went onto Clearwater, FL and lectured for the group that night.  All of the groups were receptive and fun to hang with.  That Friday I did lots of driving and made my way back to Savannah to return my car and catch a flight home.  Luckily that weekend I got to relax a little and binge watch some TV with my wife.

The last full of week of March I did many more shows and met up with some high school friends later that week.  The last weekend of March I spent at the Texas Pinball Festival in Frisco.  This is such a great event that most folks don’t even know about.  500 pinball games were on free play that weekend.  Many of them were for sale.  There were also several stand-up video arcade games on free play as well.  It was great seeing friends and learning more about the evolution of pinball games.  The latest pinball games were The Hobbit and The Big Lebowski; these are not your grandpa’s pinball machines.  The latest machines have built in LED screens with movie quality scenes.

I also attended the auction at the Pinball Fest and couldn’t resist bidding on one machine called Card Whiz.  I am now the proud owner of this machine.  Those in the know tell me that I got a heck of a deal on it.  It was made by Gottlieb in 1976.  Apparently the machine is rare and also the very last electro-mechanical machine that company made before everything went digital.  When playing it definitely takes you back with it’s humms and bells.  If your in the neighborhood drop by and play a game with me.