Award-winning magician and world-renowned sleight of hand artist, Eric DeCamps joins us on the Magic Newswire “Spirit of Magic” Podcast before appearing as a featured performer at the SAM’s 100th anniversary Salute to Magic! Eric has been performing for more than 30 years and was voted Magician of the Year by The Society of American Magicians. He is the second person in the 107 year history of the organization to receive the prestigious Gold Medal of Excellence for Close Up Magic. Join Eric and me to discuss his background in the craft and his upcoming appearance at the SAM’s anniversary show.
The rumors have been many and diverse as to the identity of the magician that is consulting with Michael Jackson to produce magic for his upcoming fifty show London concert schedule. Is it David Copperfield or Criss Angel as has been so widely reported? Nope.. Fresh of the Britney Spears’ Circus tour, it is Ed Alonzo!Ed is pictured above with the Pussy Cat Dolls on tour with Britney Spears.
Hey Dodd,
Thought I would help you put the rumors to rest. I’ve been secretly working on ideas for Michael for the last couple of weeks. I met with Michael in Burbank, CA a couple of days ago and he described his visions for magic and Illusion that he wants in his show. I have been hired to create the Illusion’s that he will perform in his concert starting in July in London for a 50 show run +. I will not be in the show, I’m still on tour with Britney until December now. I’ve been home on vacation from the Circus tour and will work closely with Michael over the next two weeks. So far Michael has two illusions he wants to present. It should be some unbelievable stuff. On my next Circus break, I will teach Michael the routines and help in the staging of the effects. Michael was very friendly and excited about the project. 20 years ago I did a private show for Michael and his 6 guests at his Neverland Ranch theater. It was a one hour Illusion stage show. I hadn’t had contact with Michael since.
Thanks
Ed Alonzo
Ricky Jay seems to be the celebrity of choice in Canada as we lead up to the performance of his new show “Rogues Gallery” in Bathurst May 14-16. The first is “Man of Mysteries: from EyeWeekly, in which the Master Conjuror discusses everything from his early days opening for Cheech & Chong, his mentors Dai Vernon & Charlie Miller, and on to his first meeting with David Mamet, the Director of his stage shows. “David Mamet always used to say that he loved coming over to my house and going through print drawers and files because they’d become the introductions to all these crazy stories,” says Jay. “So we came up with the idea of doing that onstage. Many pieces that I’ve collected over the years will be projected on a screen and part of the show will allow people in the audience to suggest which images I will talk about. Some of these lead to performance pieces and others might lead to other surprising avenues.”
Now Toronto’s Ricky Jay : He’s a Magic Man describes Jay as the “odd man out” in the modern world of professional magicians which they describe as “re-envisioned, self-styled rock stars.”
“You probably will not be seeing people dressed in fringe and severing various parts of their bodies,” Jay says about his act, on the phone from Los Angeles. “My show is a blend of sleight-of-hand, stories and conversation.”
Jay dodges comparisons to his contemporaries preferring instead to discuss his own style.
“One of my inspirations is old magic literature. Even as a kid, I realized that people who were interested in magic would buy the latest trick for sale, and I always wanted what I did to be different. My ideal crowd would be two or three people, but I do love live theatre.”
In this piece, they also offer several audio clips of Jay discussing the show. Listen Here:
“The first night I did it, someone happened to pick an image of my grandfather. I became quite emotional talking about him,” Jay acknowledged, then added, “I am one of these people who can wind up weeping at reruns of Gilligan’s Island.” Still, he found that he “didn’t dislike,” the way he felt, reacting like that in front of an audience.
In addition, Listen to Ricky as a guest on CBC’s “Q” the Podcast:
And.. there’s yet one more…Ricky was the guest of honor on “The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulus” on May 13th, 2009. This one was particulary interesting because you actually get a preview of the show when Ricky comments on some of the images used in the show. Watch Here
Thanks to Silverking for sharing this additional info with us!
Penn & Teller have taken aim at the Transportation Security Administration in their live performances by introducing a set piece which Penn first discussed via Twitter. USA Today recently caught up with the duo and describe it as “a brand new bit for which Penn & Teller purchased their very own TSA-style metal detector creates a platform for discussing the Fourth Amendment, the section of the Bill of Rights that addresses unreasonable searches and seizures.” Penn elaborates by saying,
“The bit is essentially comparing magicians, who earn their living by doing things that are sneaky and disingenuous, with bad people who do things that are sneaky and disingenuous,” Jillette explains.
In addition to that real metal detector, Penn & Teller bring out one of those wands we’ve all had waved over us at the airport when the change in our pocket or the wire from our bra causes the machinery to beep. An audience member is invited up on stage to make sure the equipment is working, and when Jillette’s pocket beeps he hands over a playing-card-sized piece of metal that just happens to have the Bill of Rights printed on it with the Fourth Amendment highlighted. Jillette says it usually elicits a big laugh when he gives the audience-assistant the mini-metal Bill of Rights and tells him how much fun it will be if he keeps it in pocket when going through the security checkpoint at McCarran International Airport.
The Amazing Randi joins us on this episode of the “Spirit of Magic” podcast before appearing as a featured performer at the upcoming 100th Anniversary Salute to Magic show in New York City. Randi began his career as a mentalist and magician before becoming known as a scientific sceptic challenging those who claim to have paranormal abilities. He gained fame in this field after an ongoing feud between himself and Uri Gellar in the mid to late 1970’s. Randi himself rejects the title of “debunker” preferring instead to be seen as an investigator in the field of pseudo-science and is the author of many books on the subjects of the paranormal, skepticism and the history of conjuring. Randi talks with me about his career in these varied fields and about his motivation as a paranormal skeptic. Photo Courtesy of Andy Ihnatko.
As he begins a run of his new show “Rogue’s Gallery” in Toronto this weekend, Ricky Jay is interviewed by The Star and answers some questions from the readers. “What makes this show different from the other scripted ones I’ve done in the past,” Jay says, “is that the audience actually helps decide the shape the evening is going to take by the images that they choose. It winds up turning it into the most autobiographical show I’ve ever done. “I love amazing people,” Jay concludes. “I love dazzling them. That’s why I think performing magic is one of the greatest things a person can do.”
Sal Perotta from Sam Assembly 1 in NYC joins us on this Magic Newscast to talk about the 100th annual Salute to Magic. the longest running annual magic show in the history. For the 100th Annual Salute, they have put together an extraordinary theatrical presentation that focuses on some of the highlights of that amazing history. Several special re-created performances and tributes to past important Salute performers will be featured. The show will also include the world premier of several new magical effects and illusions created just for this event! The Salute show will also include giant video screens on either side of the stage to enlarge the live performers, as well as, show film clips of some classic performers! The performers will include Paul Daniels, Eric DeCamps, David Ben, Mike Caveney, Scott Interrante, The Pendragons, The Amazing Randi, Margaret Steele, Johnny and Pam Thompson and many surprise guests! This is a one night only performance to be held at 8PM on May 16th, 2009 at the Manhattan Center in midtown NY.
Award-winning magician and world-renowned sleight of hand artist, Eric DeCamps joins us on the Magic Newswire “Spirit of Magic” Podcast before appearing as a featured performer at the SAM’s 100th anniversary Salute to Magic! Eric has been performing for more than 30 years and was voted Magician of the Year by The Society of American Magicians. He is the second person in the 107 year history of the organization to receive the prestigious Gold Medal of Excellence for Close Up Magic. Join Eric and me to discuss his background in the craft and his upcoming appearance at the SAM’s anniversary show. 
The rumors have been many and diverse as to the identity of the magician that is consulting with Michael Jackson to produce magic for his upcoming fifty show London concert schedule. Is it David Copperfield or Criss Angel as has been so widely reported? Nope.. Fresh of the Britney Spears’ Circus tour, it is Ed Alonzo!
