December 2015
What a year! Reflecting back I am amazed at all that I accomplished this year. I couldn’t do it without my network of family and friends that encourage me. In December I did 29 private gigs. I think my record is 30 in a month. Some of those gigs were half an hour long (not counting packing and planning, travel time and set-up and break-down time); most were 2-3 hours long and at least one was 5.5 hours long. On Dec. 11th I drove to Houston (4 hours away) to work a 2 hour luncheon, drove back and did two more shows in different cities that night. December is always hectic and lucrative. I am not counting all of the other parties I attended with friends and family. One gig in December took me to the Winstar Casino in Oklahoma where I entertained a private party of nine in a High Rollers room and then the gentleman who hired me gifted me with a ticket to see Penn & Teller with them. I spoke with both P&T after and they were very cordial. See the pics of myself with them here. I love the one where Teller is looking over my Bamboozler book.
Early in 2015 I flew to England and was one of the headliners at the Blackpool convention. It’s like the superbowl of magic conventions with about 3600 in attendance. It was my second time lecturing and performing at the Blackpool convention and I loved it as much as the first time. I made time while there to see friends in Liverpool and Derby and family in Leeds and Chelmsford.
I attended the TAOM convention in Austin and had a blast with old friends. I was pleased to give a mini-lecture there and perform in the Scam School alumni show with Brian Brushwood and others. I also attended the MAGIC LIVE convention in Las Vegas and had an awesome time with old and new friends. Plus I made some great contacts for future tours. One of the great things to come from it was that Vanishing Inc. and myself will team up for some new product releases in 2016. Stay tuned. The first project is a DVD called Telekinetic that will release very soon!!
Besides my many in-town gigs through-out the year, I made time to lecture across the southeastern part of the US. Getting the thumbs up and verbal approval from guys like Bev Bergeron on that tour is what keeps me going. I shot more episodes of Scam School (see below). I worked the Magic Castle in Hollywood for the 8th time. I flew to NY to film a live lecture for Reel Magic. Plus I returned to lecture across New Zealand and Australia. Returning to the land down under is always fun. Since I had been there before I tagged on another tour across Asia in Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, The Philippines and Indonesia. Doing it was very tiresome but the memories are amazing! Imagine taking 19 flights, and sleeping in 20 different beds in 29 days across 7 countries. I lived it!
I managed to repackage all of my DVDs into 5×5 cardboard sleeves so they weigh less and take up less space. My Penguin Lecture DVD released this year. My effects Magic Math Sticks, 7 Lucky Dice, Diamond Jack, The Squeezer, Mirrors and Quadrare Caan Opus all received rave reviews in this years Linking Ring magazine. I added puzzles to my site like The Diver’s Lung Tester, Ecryptic, Sherlock’s 7 Cent Solution, Cardinal Zen, etc. I released my Half-Dollar Coin Ring with over 1000 sold and have received many custom coin ring orders because of it. I just sent the paperwork in to reprint Bamboozlers Vol. One for the third time. Soon I’ll be adding some new products to my line.
2015 was a busy crazy year but 2016 will top it!
