Warning: This post contains strong content. Parental discretion is advised.
"When I think about kids watching a TV show like American Idol or The Voice, then they think 'Oh, ok, that's how you become a musician. You stand in line for eight ****ing hours with 800 people at a convention center and then you sing your heart out for someone and then they tell you it's not ****in' good enough. Can you imagine? It's destroying the next generation of musicians! Musicians should go to a yard sale and buy an old ****ing drum set and get in their garage and just suck. And get their friends to come in and they'll suck, too. And then they'll ****ing start playing and they'll have the best time they've ever had in their lives and then all of a sudden they'll become Nirvana. Because that's exactly what happened with Nirvana. Just a bunch of guys that had some ****ty old instruments and they got together and started playing some noisy-ass ****, and they became the biggest band in the world. That can happen again! You don't need a ****ing computer or the internet or The Voice or American Idol."
-Dave Grohl Foo Fighters
I know this is a quote about the state of the music industry in today's youthful society but this rung so many bells with me as how I see things progressing within our own community as magicians. So much creative emphasis is being placed on the back end of show production that the front end, the actual show part, is beginning to suffer for it. It's happening every day in our magic community. We see it all the time on the forums here at T11, and even abroad on the Cafe, E, Penguin, etc. Neophyte magicians (not necessarily kids, but magi who have less than a couple years of experience under their belt) running to the forums with the next great "original" card move or trick. it's nauseating. Mostly because these neophytes don't have the foundations they need to be successful as an entertainer. They just see others becoming "famous" via the same process and they want to be a member of that club.
It wasn't that long ago when the young magicians like myself would look up at the stage and say I want to be like him. I want to be the next <insert magicians name here>. Nowadays kids look up and say I want to create the next Triumph effect. -Which isn't a bad thing mind you. But I think it robs the Neophyte of valuable experiences. What ever happened to just sitting down with a Tarbell course and spending a year on each volume alone? You can usually find the complete course for around $200 bucks and it's one of the best investments you can make in yourself. If you're serious about performing mind you. I'd say almost none of my usual posts on theory, performances, and material apply to the weekend warriors in magic. If you're just doing it to have fun you're not playing the game on the same field as I am so yes I'm going to sound like a crass, judgmental, prick. There is absolutely NOTHING WRONG with being a weekend warrior either!!!! Dude if doing card tricks makes you happy, if you enjoy collecting decks of cards, or the newest Danial Madison effect then MORE POWER TOO YOU!!! If you can love the art with your heart as much as I do, then it doesn't matter your skill or professional level. We're brothers. I just have a different goal than you do. I want something different from the art.
I guess at the end of the day we could all stand to benefit from spending more time on the basics than trying to reinvent the wheel.
"When I think about kids watching a TV show like American Idol or The Voice, then they think 'Oh, ok, that's how you become a musician. You stand in line for eight ****ing hours with 800 people at a convention center and then you sing your heart out for someone and then they tell you it's not ****in' good enough. Can you imagine? It's destroying the next generation of musicians! Musicians should go to a yard sale and buy an old ****ing drum set and get in their garage and just suck. And get their friends to come in and they'll suck, too. And then they'll ****ing start playing and they'll have the best time they've ever had in their lives and then all of a sudden they'll become Nirvana. Because that's exactly what happened with Nirvana. Just a bunch of guys that had some ****ty old instruments and they got together and started playing some noisy-ass ****, and they became the biggest band in the world. That can happen again! You don't need a ****ing computer or the internet or The Voice or American Idol."
-Dave Grohl Foo Fighters
I know this is a quote about the state of the music industry in today's youthful society but this rung so many bells with me as how I see things progressing within our own community as magicians. So much creative emphasis is being placed on the back end of show production that the front end, the actual show part, is beginning to suffer for it. It's happening every day in our magic community. We see it all the time on the forums here at T11, and even abroad on the Cafe, E, Penguin, etc. Neophyte magicians (not necessarily kids, but magi who have less than a couple years of experience under their belt) running to the forums with the next great "original" card move or trick. it's nauseating. Mostly because these neophytes don't have the foundations they need to be successful as an entertainer. They just see others becoming "famous" via the same process and they want to be a member of that club.
It wasn't that long ago when the young magicians like myself would look up at the stage and say I want to be like him. I want to be the next <insert magicians name here>. Nowadays kids look up and say I want to create the next Triumph effect. -Which isn't a bad thing mind you. But I think it robs the Neophyte of valuable experiences. What ever happened to just sitting down with a Tarbell course and spending a year on each volume alone? You can usually find the complete course for around $200 bucks and it's one of the best investments you can make in yourself. If you're serious about performing mind you. I'd say almost none of my usual posts on theory, performances, and material apply to the weekend warriors in magic. If you're just doing it to have fun you're not playing the game on the same field as I am so yes I'm going to sound like a crass, judgmental, prick. There is absolutely NOTHING WRONG with being a weekend warrior either!!!! Dude if doing card tricks makes you happy, if you enjoy collecting decks of cards, or the newest Danial Madison effect then MORE POWER TOO YOU!!! If you can love the art with your heart as much as I do, then it doesn't matter your skill or professional level. We're brothers. I just have a different goal than you do. I want something different from the art.
I guess at the end of the day we could all stand to benefit from spending more time on the basics than trying to reinvent the wheel.
