Magic Live 2011 - Look Over

Nov 10, 2007
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It was only 2 weeks before this amazing convention, that I decided to go. The next day I booked my flight, hotel and registration. I knew that I would of possibly fell short of money because of the price of the registration, so I called to see if they did some type of financial aid system. The answer was no, and then I learned 3 registrants could not make it and gladly donated their ticket, I was one of the 3 registrants who received the ticket and I am very grateful for that.

1st day - Sunday August 14th
On the first day the convention did not start until 7:30 but registration was open at 12:00 so I quickly got registered and started to meet new people, at this time it was hard because everybody was registering and getting their pictures taken. So it was not until later that night until the real fun started to happen. The first event was a fun puzzle game in which you had to find, 18 different cover magazines and each registrant had 18 of one cover, so you had to go around and trade your card. This activity was great because you were able to meet new people. After that the AMAZING dealers room opened, this was insane. Everything I ever wanted to buy was in that dealers room, but I could not get it all. That night I ended up meeting 4 awesome card guys, Jorge, Franky, Bobby, and Zach. We jammed through the night and it was a lot of fun. These were the people I mainly jammed with. I had already previously known Ryan Schlutz from my local area, he is a awesome card guy, and will fool you with a bunch of his stuff. He is coming out with a book called, Making the Cut. I have looked through it, and it is really well produced and all the effects are top notch. It should be coming out soon so keep and eye out for that. I also jammed with my old friend Alex Giser, and every time I see him he inspires me to keep practicing. I believe he is coming out with an effect through Theory11, and already has a few things out with Blue Crown, definitely check those out, because Alex truly knows the definition of magic, and when you see him perform you will realize he is not doing a trick he is doing magic.

2nd Day - Monday August 15th
Many people do not agree with this and I am sure I will get scolded for saying it, but when I go to a convention I usually do not hit up the lectures or shows, because I go to meet new people and jam. Thats just me, and I enjoy doing that very much so. I believe it was monday, I got to meet Ray Kosby and Michael Weber. It was great seeing Ray do Raise Rise and person because it looks like real magic, not to mention he has added a few extra touches in it. Michael really inspired me to change my magic, or at least made me realize that magic that does not use such technical abilities are also very good, and in some cases better then not. He was showing me some insane card magic, and he fooled me every time, so I had to pick up his mini book called Memorease. I have not had a chance to look at it yet, but I cant wait to dive in. This second day consisted of jamming, eating, and jamming.

3rd Day - Tuesday August 16th
The highlight of my day here must have been talking to Brad Fulton, he does many of the photography for D&D and is the creative designer. Brad was such a cool guy, we talked for about an hour, and we discussed many different things. It was cool because we were relating cards to lenses, and how he would rather stick with 1 lens and use it then buy all these different lenses and just store them. This related to buying cards, and not using them to wait for the price to go up. This is not a bad thing and it used to be what I do, but I thought about it, and if I am going to buy decks I can keep one or two sealed but I will definitely be using them more. We also discuseed the market to which they sell, to and how learning preferences have changed so much too, books, DVD's and now getting On Demand. Also, this was the day that Joshua Jay was running shows all day, I did not go, but I heard it was incredible. I also got to meet Jay Noblezada and Brad Christian, this was very cool because these were the guys I learned from in my early stages of magic. They were both very down to earth and nice.

4th Day - Wednesday August 17th
This was the day I had to leave the convention early, because of my flight but iwas able to jam with Howard Hamburg a little more and he was telling us some very funny Vernon stories. I also took a few pictures with him, and later took a picture with David Williamson and Michael Weber. At 12:00 I left.

Final Thoughts
I am very blessed I was able to go to this convention as it changed my magic a lot, I am going to take everything I learned from various magicians, and apply it to my performing style. I think I truly realized this is what I want to do with my life, and if I want to make a living it is hard work but possible.

People who inspired me while I was there
Alex Giser - For teaching me to make the magic moment and take it slowly
Michael Weber - For hands off magic with little technical ability
Derek Delgaudio - For showing me his truffle Shuffle and helping me with fine points
Dan Buck - For heavily influencing my style
Dave Buck - For heavily influencing my style
Brad Fulton - For making me realize to use my decks instead of storing them because that is what they are for
Ray Kosby - For inspiring me to keep practicing the technical side of card magic
Ryan Schlutz - For being the king of magician foolers and hands off practical magic
Eric Jakobsen - For inspiring me too learn a stacked deck and showing me some insane card magic
 
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