There's More To It!

[Craig Browning]

Yesterday I thought it would be a neat idea to start threads here and at E that would give us a kind of "Secret Santa" advantage. . . members would list effects exclusive to that particular site that they would love to have for the Yule Tide holiday; similar to the Wish Lists you find at Amazon.com -- your friends & family can see the list and maybe get one of those things for you.

My problem, especially when it comes to T-11, is that 99% of what is offered is a card trick and contrary to popular belief, there's a hell of a lot more to magic than bloody card tricks.

Card Magic is a cancer. . . I'm not being a drama queen or trying to be funny when I say this, anyone can see this truth by stepping back and taking a look at what the majority of magic literature and other media focuses on. Look at how much "new" material gets on the market in which playing cards are a key part of the effect/routine.

Yes, I have a bias when it comes to card work, one that stems from two key points; the horrid number of terrible card workers in the world and the essence of what this thread's rant is over -- far too many of us are addicted to the paste-boards -- Myopic!

I understand the key argument in regards to the fact that they are an inexpensive medium via which one can accomplish hours of amusement with. . . catch is, the public will rarely tolerate more than 10-15 minutes of such things (if that), they want variety. Unless you are able to capture the public mind in ways comparable to Bill Malone or Martin Nash doing nothing but card magic is impractical; having balance however, especially if you're doing close-up, is where the key to success actually lays.

Whatever happened to learning about Dice Routines for an example? Dice Stacking, etc.?

Ring & Chord routines. . . Chink-a-Chink . . . there's a long list of classic bits let alone coin work that seems to get set off to the side . . . hell, I've not seen a new paddle effect introduced to the market in at least 20 years, I'd be shocked to find many in today's new generation of magic lovers, even familiar with paddle work it's been so long.

I love solid card work but it's very rare. As a rule however, I think anyone claiming to be a "Magician" needs to not only learn more, we must be more. . . a lot more!

I was unbelievably frustrated yesterday, as I attempted to find a list of effects (just four or five items) that interested me, produced through T-11 and its affiliates (listed here). It was very disappointing, given how many great creative minds we have here. Then again, maybe this obvious short-coming is the cornerstone to "our" New Year's Resolution -- for all of us to focus on other areas of Magic and for sites like T-11, E, etc. to start producing more than another pile of card tricks, few of which are legitimately "original" (a well known reality in magic is that the bulk of "new magic" in any era, is rehash of someone elses earlier work . . . whether you realize it or not).

It would be a move in the right direction, especially when it comes to the commercial focus of this company, in that reaching out to the broader market via products that appeal to performers interested in other mediums and even effect themes.

Ok. . . enough from the old fart

 

[William Draven]

Challenge accepted. I'm going to come up with something new to do with the paddle. It's a great effect and Hot Rods were an early addition to my close up.

The first thing that comes to mind is using a cross instead of a rod. Paint it white and on one side cover it with blood. Maybe it's not blood maybe it's some kind of spectral ectoplasm? Maybe the plot can be some bizarre effect where the cross is used to detect the presence of powerful spirits wishing to communicate with us?

 

[TylerRouss]

I cannot think of the name of the magician... but two years ago at Magic in the Rockies I got to see a very unique paddle routine. He presented a high paced, almost flourish-like transposition routine using paddles; it was great to watch. About cards, I'm sorry Mr.Browning but I am addicted.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

I'll be honest here. While I do enjoy card magic personally, I don't do do much of it for others. I enjoy learning and executing the sleights, but I don't find card magic to be magical in general. There are some effects, of course, but for the most part it's just the magician showing off what he can do.

I can see why it would be frustrating to see so little done with some of the more classic magic out there. But on the other hand I don't really want to watch most of that magic. I find the vast majority of magic that uses random stuff like paddles to be purely about the trick, not having much in the way of presentation behind it. I saw a guy a little while ago do a lecture at Hocus Pocus. He did a paddle routine where dots appeared, disappeared and seemed to move. He did it extraordinarily well, and I still didn't care about it. I can't even remember his name because he did the same type of material that everyone else does so he is simply filed in my mind as, "Magician."

So maybe it's not a bad thing that these routines are going to the wayside. I'd much rather see something like Derren Brown's Svengali routine. I don't want to watch magic that happens to props. That doesn't interest me at all.

 

[Luis Vega]

I agree..whenever I see a trick descripton starting with "a card is selected..." I just pass it...I do like card tricks but even when there is an unlimited ways you can do card tricks...the same old tricks are the ones performed...boring...

I did came out with a paddle trick some months ago...with those wood sticks of starbucks...I really didn´t care a lot, but after this thread maybe I should do a PDF and share it...

anyway... thanks for the read my friend!!!

 

[Randy]

I am very picky and choosey when it comes to card magic. Most of my favorite things are usually things that have been out for ages or things that workers use a million times over the years. I do however have one gripe with most current card magic. It's not that it's boring or lame. It's that it relies less on interacting with the audience and more on worrying about speed or your hands.

Doc Eason had a great line about magic that makes a lot of sense. He mentioned that it shouldn't be about your hands, but about the people you are performing for. He even mentioned that guys like Bob Sheets have a TC that Stevie Wonder could see a mile away, yet he never get's caught. Also the other thing that bothers me is that most people don't stop to think about misdirection and timing. (While this could also be a problem with books and DVD's in general).

But on the plus side, I can understand the need to develop your skills further and further. I think most of the smart guys, COULD do knuckle busting fancy stuff and probably are capable of it. They just choose not to when performing for most people.

 

[SchmidtiZio]

I'm all about card tricks, when I started magic I actually did only cards, but, thanks to Calen Morelli, I recently found a passion for magic with trivial objects (pencils, bottles, cups, sunglasses, clothes, etc.)! So I'd love to see more of it!

 

[Craig Browning]

Well, I'm certainly not out to start a Paddle Trick trend, I used this only as an example to things I've not seen anyone speaking of let alone cultivating. I think I mentioned dice routines in there too and hopefully implied that there are a myriad of other things in our world that get pushed to the side because of the Card Trick Tsunami that's out there. . . and yes, I can appreciate good card work while at the same time, I still do the same dozen-ish bits I learned 25-30 years ago that don't require all the knuckle-busting and still leave my audience's laughing and impressed [shhh, this is a secret. . . most of the guys that work commercially also leave the knuckle-busting at home when they work, rarely using it for more than anything than impressing magicians at lectures] Funny thing is, many of us know this particular secret and yet, we ignore it; like junkies needing a fix, we can't wait till the next lecture just to learn one more move with the paste-boards, or a new storyline to a yesteryear classic effect.

My challenge has to do with setting the cards on a shelf for the next year or two and learning or developing effects that have nothing to do with them in practically any form. . . I say it that way because it would be quite cool if those that love cards got creative in cultivating effects using the Tarot or Post Cards and other such devices in which card techniques can be applied. This is the kind of material we should have seen falling from the skies over the past decade because of the boom in Mentalism and the fact that there are huge psychological advantages presenting a mystery using props other than playing cards, to do what is essentially a "card trick" . . . I don't mean Ambitious Card or Triumph, mind you, but then I think most of you already knew that.

And as I noted, commercially this is something I believe T-11 in particular, can benefit from in that the offerings via their inventory or the The Wire, become diverse and something that attracts more and more patrons vs. those focused solely on card magic. The alternative of course, is to change the company image and step out as a site that deals in nothing but cards. . . we're already seeing this happen with other "newer" sites however so it's a bit late to take such measures.

When I was a kid finding a "magic shop" was difficult and usually meant having to take a 45-90+ minute drive down the highway and even then, what you usually found was a practical joke & costume store with a magic counter in the back room. It was very rare to find a "real" magic merchant even though Ohio (where I spent much of my youth) had several such facilities. These were places where you actually found all kinds of magic -- the stock stuff used in kiddie shows, the various type of tables, silks, bird & animal harnesses, production props, rope . . . everything a "real" magician would need. I can count the number of such suppliers on line now days (as in new ventures vs. brick & mortar shops with a web site) that host this level of inventory on one hand. . . I understand why but I also see how such "specialty" suppliers are stifling our craft and not encouraging the learning curve that's necessary for keeping magic alive and unfolding. This is where my real concern lays and I believe that concern is legit enough to warrant saying what's been said. The rest is a matter of the communities taking action.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Well, as I said, professionally I don't do card work. I keep that to myself and do it for friends and such.

There's a part of me that really doesn't want to see people start trivializing Tarot with card tricks, but that's a personal preference. I do have one routine that uses them which is not just Tarot Reading, sort of a storytelling deck, but using various Tarot Cards instead of playing cards.

 

[Craig Browning]

Well, as I said, professionally I don't do card work. I keep that to myself and do it for friends and such.

There's a part of me that really doesn't want to see people start trivializing Tarot with card tricks, but that's a personal preference. I do have one routine that uses them which is not just Tarot Reading, sort of a storytelling deck, but using various Tarot Cards instead of playing cards.

I agree but my personal "out" on this issue is that I only use the Rider-Wait deck for doing such things, or one of the more comical decks like the Smurf or Peanuts type. It is quite rare that I'll do anything using my working deck, the exception tends to be when I'm faced with a person that's being a deliberate brick wall and critical; I'll resort of subtle trickery in order to break them down and draw them into the session.

The bigger reason I mention the Tarot is the interest held by those tied to Bizarre Magick who will incorporate the Tarot regardless; many relying on ideas found in Stephan Minch's "Book of Thoth" (quite excellent) as well as some of the ideas shared over the years by Jim Magus, Brother Shadow, etc.