Perfect for Halloween!!!

I just love this clip.  We went from Idea to lighting to finished in less then an hour.  Everybody nailed it.  Thanks Andrei for lending a hand.

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What kind of magician are you?

This is just a little general observation from a friendly observer.  A quick side note:  This is not meant to be taken seriously… Or maybe it is.  You make the call.

Let’s break “Magicians” into categories first.  It is very possible to fit into more then one of these categories.

1.  An entertainer that does magic.

2.  A magician that entertains.

3.  A magician who performs for other magicians.

4.  A magician who lectures for other magicians to sells his books and tricks.

5.  A magician that loves to do magic and performs “tricks” for his family, his friends, their friends, random people that they have told they were a magician, the lady in line at the movies that noticed the “I am a magician” T-shirt they are wearing.

6.  A magician realizes that he has the gift of gab and can make a living just doing tricks he has seen other people do or bought from the magic shop.

7.  A person that studies magic and the history of magic.

8.  A person that has no personality other the when he is being “The Magician”

9.  A person that has a normal job but tells everyone that he is a “Professional” magician even though he does less then 5 shows a year.  This category requires a business card even though it is not needed.

10.  A person that only does magic for his webcam just to post it on the internet.

11.  A person that thinks he is a rockstar because he has a crappy TV show on a cable station doing camera tricks, a strange and not very well received magic themed Cirque show, a Wamborughini, and in dire need of a speech coach.

12.  A card magician that is very skilled yet does not perform much but still thinks that he understands timing, misdirection, comedy, and personal hygiene.

13.  A close -up guy that practices all the hard stuff and thinks he is one of “The Guys”….but even with all this skill and bravado when he does a show for people the Sponge balls and invisible deck® come out.

14.  A person who loves magic as an art form and just wants to please himself.

15.  A magician that cares and worries about getting all the credits correct.

16.  A magician that cares and worries about getting all the credits correct… Except when it come to himself.

17. A person that loves magic and chats on magic message boards to ask questions to his friends and brethren in the magic community in hopes to advance himself and his art.  This person always uses his own name as a screen name!

18.  A person that loves magic and chats on magic message boards to ask questions to his friends and brethren in the magic community only to make himself feel superior by voicing his always negative opinion.  If he was standing in the same room with the person he has lambasting online he would never ever say these things and would have a pleasant conversation.  This person never uses his real name in the forums.  His login name will be anywhere from “Houdini42″ to “CardtasticVoyage”

19. A very very insecure person that use magic to gain acceptance in todays cruel society.

20.  A person that has convinced himself and his peers that he is important to the magic community.  This person is normally considered “famous” to magicians and is like a god when his graces magic conventions or events with his presence.  In plain english he is are one big egomaniacal magical loser.

21. A professional working magician who is happy with his life and would not trade it for anything in the world.

22.  A magic castle member.

The list goes on and on.  I guess my point is every single person is here for his or hers own reason no matter how big or small it may be.  I have noticed one thing that seems to run true for all of us.  Even though we are one gigantic dysfunctional group that seems to love to hate each other we are still one big family.  There is just something about magic that  unites us that is impossible to but into words.

Even if after being in magic for many years and have changed our opinions and thoughts even gotten jaded over time everyone of us has the same thing in common.  We can all remember that moment we saw something that brought us a feeling of wonder.  The feeling of excitement it gave us.  That is our bond.  It is like an unwritten secret that we don’t talk about but it is always there.  No matter what you have made of it or how you changed it all boils down to the simple fact that we truly believe deep down that magic big or small is awesome.  That is what kind of magician I think we all are…….

I know EXACTLY what new illusion most illusionists should buy next!!!

I am not sure why I am the go to guy for so many people about their act, but I seem to have at least a person a week give me a DVD or send me a clip to watch.  I mostly get illusionist or Close-up magicians very rarely do I get anything from a comedy magician.  I will get to my theory of why that is later.

Several years ago I did a talk at MagicLive called “Chris Kenner Rants” it was about 30 minutes and I covered several different topics.  One of them must of hit a cord because of the people that were there they either agreed with me or were pissed off and thought I has a total asshole.  Later, I found out that a few people actually walked out.  It is kinda funny to me because my point is something that I thought was so obvious that there was no way that I could offend someone.  It is one of the many “Pink Elephants” in the magic community that everyone sees but does not talk about.

Enough justifying myself.  After almost 20 years of watching up and coming illusionist via video I have seen several very common threads in over 90% of them.  The biggest one and boy is this a tough thing to tell someone and I normally don’t is the person performing the illusions (the magician) and or his assistants need to lose weight.  I am not saying that you can’t be a bit pudgy and look good on stage or that you have to be a sex symbol.  Most of the people that are sending me these tapes are telling me that they want to be on TV, have a touring stage show, or work cruise ships as a serious illusionist.  They are not saying that they want to do good in the local talent show or magic convention.  They want to be famous.  Some people may not agree with this but especially for an illusionist their appearance, understanding of their character, and who their show is for is almost as important if not more then the tricks they perform.

So, What I am saying is the next illusion that most of them should buy is a Tread Mill . I know…I know.  I am a jerk.  There are plenty of pudgy guys doing illusions and making a living.  Name one!!!!  I dare you.  I can name 50 that are only known to magicians that eek out living and I can bet that they all wanted or still think they are going to be the next Copperfield.  I am not talking about the guys doing light hearted comedy style illusions and making funny of themselves.

I know what you are thinking.  Penn is a big guy.  I’ve got you…. What about Penn.  Penn is a perfect example of someone that understands his character.  Penn knows exactly who his audience is and how they perceive him.  Penn is not a magician or an illusionist he is Penn.  That is what makes him so great.  If I got tapes of people doing illusions as a character that was obvious to the audience and not a carbon copy, journeyman, Johnny off the rack, Bob and Mary six pack hack with a shinny shirt there would be a lot more magician out there holding their heads up high.

My good friend Chase Goforth is a big guy that does a bit of everything from corporate cocktail events to large scale stage show with illusions.  Chase is awesome!  Chase is very comfortable on stage and understands that he is no sex symbol but has an audience eating out of his hands.  He has a great time on stage and it is very apparent to the audience.  Just like Penn, Chase is Chase or at least the character that he has made himself for the audience.  If Chase went out there and took himself seriously the audience might say to themselves.  Who the hell does this guy think he is.  He would just fall into that cliche magic joke that so many people have become.  I don’t think most magicians realize just how thin this line is.

Here is what the opening of most videos I get look like.  It starts with a wide shot of the stage.  A large white box sits center stage elevated a few feet by a platform.  The music starts and not to my surprise it is something that I have heard used to open an illusion show before.  Two girls come out dancing around the prop.  One skinny and mildly attractive and the other looks like the friend she takes to the bars to feel good about herself that wears her cloths tighter then she should.  After quickly and not convincingly showing the box empty they dancing off stage not allowing attention to be focused on the obvious shadow box on stage.   The lights go to an almost blackout of the stage.  At this moment in time you could walk an elephant around in the dark back there even though it is not how the trick works.  A shadow of a hand appears on the front on the box…then his arm…his head and finally the rest of his body.  The front door opens as close to the music cue as he can get it.  Standing there is the magician dressed in something Gunther Geble-Williams would be embarrassed to wear in public.  Pausing, smiling, waiting for the crowed to applaud.  I can’t make this up.  It is unbelievable.  When they start to talk they sound like Darth Vader because they are breathing so hard from getting out of the illusion base.

What on earth am I supposed to say to them.  The problem is most people just want to hear that they are good.  No one wants to hear what I or someone else really thinks.  So many of these guys suck and I mean really suck.  They funny thing to me is that all their friends tell them they are great.  ”If you had the money that Copperfield has or if some casino backed you nothing could stop your success.”  Magicians are pretty messed up.  I try not to give much of an opinion anymore.  I just ask them questions so that the answers that they get come from them and not me.

I mentioned that I don’t get many tapes from Comedy magicians.  I think the reason for that is unlike illusions the audience tells them what they need to know.  They are not hiding behind the trick to get applause or reaction.  If they don’t get laughs then they know the gag or bit is not working.  They don’t need my approval.  The answer is staring them right in the face.  It is pretty simple.  Joke that gets no reaction equals back to the drawing board.  After awhile you either get it or become a mentalist.

I am tired and going to bed.  till next time. See ya at the gym

Magicians Hating Magicians

I was out to eat with a few magicians and entertainers from the strip a few days ago and this phrase came up not once but a few times… Let’s examine why shall we?

Magicians apparently hate other magicians. My question is why? since 95% of you are EXACTLY THE SAME.

You all know the same tricks, but then again you all claim that someone stole something from you and now its mainstream… hmmm… OK. At the same time, you are all in competition for the same goal, which I can see where some “hating” can occur. You either want that restaurant gig, that 10 minutes opening up for someone on the strip, a set at the Magic Castle and lately its that reality show… whatever.

In the long run, magicians hang out with other magicians… Why would you hate each other? Why do you even say that? I know PLENTY of people who are magicians and have other magicians as “best friends” that have uttered the phrase “I hate magicians”. In this house, if I were to say “I hate magicians” I would hate 99.9% of the people that come visit me, and I don’t. Yes there are people in the community that I have to clench my teeth and force a smile around, but that is very few and far between. And lets be honest, if someone has tried to screw over your husband or is a constant bother to your family… it doesn’t have to be a magician, you would feel disdain towards them as “people”.

Another thing is it always seems that “Out of work” magicians always have something to prove. What are you trying to do?  Other magicians don’t care if you have “All these great ideas”… They care if you want to show them, and then they think its fair game to “borrow” your idea at THEIR next paying gig… this is where I can see other magicians hating other magicians, but you have no one to blame but yourself if your idea is performed and published in MAGIC a month after you showed your “friend” while you are too lazy to go out and perform your own stuff.

I have also noticed a lot of the time magicians have to call on other magicians for help… if you “hate magicians” but all of a sudden need their help, do you really mean you “hate magicians?”.

This phrase has bothered me for quite sometime… but at the same time I don’t think anyone means it. I can see where a starving artist can be a bit of a thorn in your side, but if you’ve been there then you should understand.

Love,

Katie

If you are fooled you are fooled… Just admit it.

A friend of mine came to the show to night and mentioned something that reminded me of a story.  To tell this story right you need to hear a background story first.

At MagicLive in 2007 I met Asi Wind for the first time.  If you don’t know Asi you should and if you get a chance to sit down and talk to him you will realize that he is a very special magician.  He has a great gift.  He is one of the few people that I have met that  really thinks things through.  Enough about how great Asi is.  Back in 2007 Asi ask me if he could show me a trick.  I said “sure”.  Asi does a trick for me with a dollar bill where at the end of the trick the bill ends up under my watch.  I seen seen HUNDREDS of tricks like this and almost all of them suck or at least don’t even come close to fooling me.  Asi FRIED me.  I felt like a little kid watching magic for the first.  The second he said some line like”time is money” it hit me that the bill was going to be under my watch.  I froze.  I didn’t look at first.  I knew it was there.  My head was spinning.  I mean he did not touch me or at least I didn’t think he had.  I was trying to play the past 2 minutes back in my brain and I could not for the life of me think of when he put the bill there so I looked and yes the damn bill was there.  Well I bowed down to him told him how great it was to get fooled so bad.  I am hard to fool.  I am not saying that I am smart and that is why it is hard to fool me.  I am saying that have seen a lot of tricks over the years so I have seen most things or at least a variation of them.  Afterwards I remember Asi saying he was more amazed that I would admit I was fooled so bad then the fact that he fooled me.  I did not understand, I mean if I am fooled or something is good you can’t take that away.  It is what it is.  I still to this day remember that feeling.

The past several years I have seen this new young crop of card guys do some of the most amazing stuff I have ever seen.  I know…I know there is a lot of bad magic out there also.  I have seen things that have made me smile.  I have seen things that have baffled me.  Most of this stuff is skill based and some of it is incredible.  So, this year at Magiclive I watched a “name guy” now I am not going to give you his name but he is about fifty and every person that is in magic knows him or at least know his name.  This is a very well respected guy.  He asked this 17 year old kid to show him a trick that he has been showing around.  I was standing next to this 17 year old kid at the time  so I watched the entire thing.  The kid does his trick for the “name” guy and I can tell by the way he is watching that he is fooled and fooled bad.  After the trick the “name” guy says nothing to the kid.  Not, great trick, nice use of that principle, Marlo had something like that…. Nothing.  What  a jerk.  He was fried. I ask the “name” guy if he knew how it worked.  It was amazing.  He would not say he was fooled.  He would not even compliment the 17 year old.  I said just admit it you are fooled.  I told Mr. “name” guy “If it helps I was fooled when I saw it”.  I have heard Mr “name” say that these young kids are just whippersnappers and that they don’t respect them art.  WHAT… I hate that.  These kids ARE the future of magic.  No matter how much you don’t like it.  No matter what you think.  This is it.  This is now not 20 years ago.  These kids are and will steamroll right past us and there is nothing to stop it.  I think that us “old timers” have to give these kids the respect they deserve and on simple thing that you can do is stop and really watch what they are doing.  Tell them you are fooled when you are fooled or that something is good when it is good.  That’s it just my rant for the day.

Letter to Baby-From Mom to be.

Dear Baby Girl,

I saw you in my belly via ultrasound today. The countdown continues until your arrival, less than 5 weeks to go now.

There aren’t words to explain the excitement both your father and I have for you to be here in the flesh with us. I feel you kick and flip all day everyday, especially when we are listening to music or I am teaching dance. The best is when you kick in my belly when you hear your daddy’s voice. I know you two already have a bond that is unexplainable but so very amazing already.

I have done everything I can to make sure you are healthy. We see 3+ doctors on a regular basis and your mom has been healthier than ever.

Once you are born, you are going to have to go through a bunch of tests, but don’t be worried you will be just fine. The worrying your parents have been doing the last 9 months will be enough for the three of us for years to come.

I want you to know that we love you so much already without evening meeting you. We can tell you already have a personality, we know that you have your daddy’s mouth from the pictures at the doctor and from what I can tell from your kicks,  you have your mommy’s sense of rhythm.

Once you are born and growing up, I am going to want to show you the world. I want to teach you things and show you right from wrong. Your daddy is going to spoil you rotten, but please don’t hate me for being the one who has to sit you in time out from time to time.

Baby girl, you are a gift. You may not ever realize how special you are to your mom and dad, but please trust me you are a miracle brought to life.

I want you to know that I am going to support you in everything you do. You’re grandma did it for me and I am making a promise that I will 100% do the same for you. You don’t have to like magic or dance and you don’t have to like to have your picture taken or the color pink… If you want to stray far away from show business I will be the one who will be more than happy to take that adventure with you and get you whatever you might need.

I can’t wait for you to become part of this already loving, happy family. You have brought a new life and inspiration to both you father and mother that I wish you could see.

I want you to be a strong individual. I want you to have your own ideas and not be afraid to execute them, even if it fails… I don’t want you to have any regrets.

I promise to love you everyday, no matter what.

That’s all I have for now… Until November, Baby Girl.

Love,

Your Mommy

Letter to Mom

Dear Mom,

I just wanted to write you a formal letter before I become a mom myself.

I want to thank you for being the best mom ever. I understand that I wasn’t always the easiest kid to raise, but at the same time I know that I wasn’t a bad kid either. You have stuck by me through the worst times and the best times of my life. I hope I can offer the same amount of support that you gave me to my daughter.

If ever there was a real prize for patience and love, you would be hands down be the winner. I have told people time and time again that I have a living saint as a mother and I stick by that statement until this day. I don’t think a lot of moms would tolerate all the last minute craziness that I have put you through, I know you put in a lot of long nights just to make sure I had whatever it was I needed for the next day at school… I realize some moms couldn’t have done that the way you did.

You were supportive through all the decisions I made, even if you knew they were bad. You let me learn from my mistakes, I know it was probably hard for you to see me fail but at the same time you understood that I had to grow and get through it. And I did. Now I am a stronger person than I could ever think I could be, and I have no one but you to thank.

I know you wanted to give me the world, but you never did. You taught me the value of hard work and that no good deed goes unpunished, even if you have to wait for it. You were always caring and kind, but when I needed to be disciplined, you obliged. I never got away with too much, but I know that you let a few things slide here an there. Your balance in the way the world works is astonishing. I don’t think I will ever fully understand your own understanding on how the world works, its the most beautiful thing that someone could know about you, but the cool this is that not a lot of people see it when they meet you.

You have set a bar so high as a mom that I don’t think I will ever come close. I will do my best to try, but I just want you to know that I think the world of you, you are a rock in my life that has been there from the beginning and I want to give that feeling  to my child. If I can give her half the gifts and life lessons you have given me I think I’ll be in good shape. You are what every mom should be. You are my best friend. You taught me its OK to get dirty as long as you shower after and you taught me the value of love  comes in all shapes and sizes.

Mom, thank you.

Love,

Katie

It’s that time of year.

Today I watched the Eddie Murphy Masterpiece known as “The Haunted Mansion”, the Disney Classic “Snow White” (which is arguably the scariest Disney cartoon movie) and now Dexter is on the television… Yes, its that time of year again… Halloween!

I have been bitten by the arts & crafts bug, as its happens a few times a year, in the midst of my craftiness I have also decided to change the traditional Halloween colors from orange and black to hot pink and black… just FYI.

I Changed the Traditional Colors.

I also have found a cure for any type of depression… Yorkies in Hot Dog Suits… Good news.. DORI HAS FOUND HER COSTUME!

This makes me happy.

So all in all, I got the creative juices flowing today and I made at least one dog hate me… I have been productive..

That’s all for now.

Love,

Katie

Nathan Burton, Human Nature and I heard it through the grapevine…

Since I’ve had a rough couple weeks of being alone, I am happy to let you know that my mom has come to town this weekend. In celebration of this event, I decided to take her to a few shows today.

The first show we saw today was the one and only Nathan Burton Comedy Magic. This was the first time Mom has seen the show at the lovely Flamingo here in Las Vegas. He performs in the same theater as Donny and Marie, so Mom was quite impressed with the venue. I have given Nathan glowing review after glowing review and this is no different. This time I’m going to let you know that Michael Holly (Juggler) and Russ Merlin (Specialty Comedy Act) who help Nathan out in the show were hilarious. They are a great asset to the show since Nathan has had to cut down some of his illusions due to the unfortunate back problem that surfaced about a year ago. The team had the audience eating out of the palm of their hand since the moment each of them stepped on stage. I haven’t seen Mom laugh like she did today in a long time. It was a good thing…PS: Nathan, take out the beer bottle.

After the show we took Mom backstage to hang out with Emily, Nathan and the gang where she saw Donny and Marie’s dressing rooms… clearly the highlight of her trip.

After some cake and Flamingo waters, Mom and I traveled down to the classy establishment known as the Imperial Palace to watch 4 white aussies do a tribute to Motown… Yes, the Australian vocal group “Human Nature” (only having some delicious Italian food at the “Pizza Palace” near the theater). Now I know what you’re thinking, how can for white dudes from Australia have any soul? Well, I’d like to report that we found the 4 who did in fact have soul and imported them to the United States. When you closed your eyes and listened to their harmonies it was magical, but then when you opened your eyes and say a few of them dance, they may have lost a few soul point there. Not much, but they didn’t hide the fact that they were white boys taught to dance… if you know what I mean. All in all the show was fun and Mom and I found ourselves singing the songs long after the show was over. I will note: Mom is getting pretty good at shaking the male performers hands while they sing to her, now I’m really afraid to take her to the “OTHER” Australian Import show we have in town (Located at the Excalibur).

So I’ve heard this through the grapevine: Someone is casting for a “Magicians of Las Vegas Reality Show” in the coming weeks which will feature 4 professional magicians and 4 amateur magicians making and breaking it in Las Vegas… Break a leg for those of you who are auditioning…

That’s all I have for today… Mom goes home tomorrow, but comes back again next weekend with some other family members that I’m sure I’ll have a tale or two to tell about… awesome.

Love,

Katie

One-nighters, Movies, and meet-n-greets…Welcome to ground hog day.

Maybe I am getting old or something but damn this tour is kicking my ass.  I am lifeless and tired and miss home.  I am sure it has something to due with Katie being pregnant.  I am always worrying about her and it is tough when I know she is uncomfortable and I am not there to help her get through it.

What was I thinking when I approved all these one-nighters.  Was I on crazy pills.  We have done dates like this is the past and gotten through them fine but this time it just seems so hard.  For those of you that don’t understand the concept of a one-nighter.  A one-nighter means that we arrive in a city in the morning and load-in the show.  Load-in is normally finished around 4pm.  We almost always do 2 shows a night.  The house opens around 5pm for a 5:30 show.  We do 2 shows back to back then the crew has to load-out the show back on the trucks.  The truck doors close around 1am and then we are of to the next city to do it all over again.  Now multiply that times 7 and you have a very hard week.

Meet -n-greets are just plain driving me crazy this trip.  I want to be nice.  I want to try to help people but I don’t think that the people asking me for a meet-n-greet realize how much of my time that it actually takes.  On a normal day there are times that I don’t even go into the house once the shows start.  I have a lot of responsibility and from 5pm till the shows end there are certain thing that have to happen no matter what plus I need to be at the ready in case there is any unforeseen problem.  Some of my days are sort of like being on automatic pilot and other days are like nothing can go right.  I have mentioned this subject before and people will make comment like “I am sure that people understand when you can’t help them” or “just tell them the truth that you don’t have the time tonight and David is not doing meet and greets”  Trust me this does not work.  I have tried everything.  Being nice… Being EXTRA nice… Being nice but short and sweet.  Almost every time these people still lurk around after the show saying they are my friend and beg the crew to help them.  The crew is very aware that this happens but they also know that I have a lot of friends that come to the show so not wanting to make a mistake they hunt me down on the walkie talkie and ask .  This can get very frustrating.  I am at a loss on what to do.

Movies.  thats it just movies.  I think Homer, David and I have seen a movie almost every night the run.  Think it is the only thing keeping me from going crazy.

Till later

Chris