July 2013
First off Bamboozlers Three is doing great. I think it is because I’ve worked so hard to promote it and to create a fun high-quality product. People seem to love this series of books. Every week I ship orders around the world.
This month some of my BAMBOOZLERS appeared in the latest edition of GAMES, MAGIC, and VANISH magazines. I began the month by driving to California making my first stop in Abilene to stay with my friend Jay Zugai. Jay is an amazing carpenter with a huge love of magic. I had fun hanging out with him, Greg Onken and Lonnie Chevrie. I made a pit stop in Tucson, AZ the next day and then went onto Hollywood to stay with my friend Lou Serrano. I attended the Castle that night and watched Lou and many others perform.
The following Monday thru Sunday (July 8-14th) I worked the Parlour of Prestidigitation at the Magic Castle doing three shows a night. The first night, my good friend from Texas, Ward Mathews, flew out to see me and we had a nice dinner, saw some shows and he watched me earn my keep. The feedback was great and it was awesome to work the same week as Michael Carbonaro, Eric Buss, Tony Clark, David Regal, Gregory Wilson, Dan McKinnon, and others. This was my sixth time working the Castle since 1999.
One night I entertained the lovely Scarlett Johansson and spoke to her after the show. I actually own her music CD and told here so. She is known for her acting and good looks but she also has a beautiful and unique singing voice. Here’s a video of Pete Yorn and her song Relator.
The other good news is that The Magic Castle is now stocking all three of my Bamboozlers books in their gift shop. That is definitely a nice feather in my cap.
That same week my good friend, Jeff Davis, hung out with me many nights at the Castle and I stayed in their home one night. That following Monday he surprised his wife Susan with a party to celebrate her cancer being in remission for five years. That same night I attended the Castle as a guest and enjoyed many great shows. One was the main show which featured the always funny and entertaining Chipper Lowell.
From CA I went onto Phoenix, AZ to work the International Brotherhood of Magicians convention from July 16-20th. I worked that week with some of the biggest names in magic like Michael Finney, Andre Kole, Shawn Farquhar, Oscar Munoz, Jade, Jeff McBride and the list goes on and on. I did three lectures and nine close-up shows. I did the shows with Curtis Kam, Tony Chris, Eugene Burger, Peter Samelson and Michael Dardant (seen of the right). During one show Lance Burton gave me two thumbs up as I left the room. That convention was a whirlwind of fun. I made many new friends, played a good joke on my friend Michael Dardant, did a a TV spot for a local station (seen below), made some new contacts, scared the bejeesus out of Fielding West, etc. I was most impressed with Todd Robbins, a carny performer based in NY. I hope to one day experience his one-man show called Play Dead. While in Phoenix I was asked to appear on a Morning News show to help promote the convention in town. See some footage below of my performances.
After that I made it back home as quick as I could to play catch-up. All in all I drove 3000 miles. Scam School aired another episode which features moi; see the video below. My wife and I had the house repainted. I revised and sent off Bamboozlers Two to be reprinted since it is practically out of stock. Now I am preparing for a convention in St. Louis, the TAOM in Dallas, and my big tour this coming September. There just aren’t enough hours in the day.
