Artist Interviews: Ferguson talks about new DVD

August 23, 2010

Rich Ferguson has made a heck of a career with his brand of magic and mentalism. For years, he has earned repeat performances based on how he blends the two fields — bucking today’s trend of specialists (NBC marketed “Phenomenon” based on finding the next great mentalist, not magician, etc.).

The good news: His latest video, “This is Mentalism,” further explores that mix: It features 11 routines that he has been using to slay spectators. It features strategies and methods direct from his working repertoire that are street-ready and impromptu.

The better news: Mentalism doesn’t have to be such a specialized field. In this podcast interview, he talked more about the benefits of mentalism, how it affects spectators on a deeper level and how it’s more forgiving and resistant to errors. He also dishes a great technique about how one strategy can be incorporated into the magic tricks you already perform.

The best news: “This is Mentalism” is just the beginning. There’s another video in the works. Find out more in this podcast interview with the Icebreaker. Enjoy:

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This is Mentalism will hit our virtual shelves at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 24 (U.S. Eastern). It will be $29.95.

Posted by Joe Hadsall | Filed Under Artist Interviews, Ellusionist Products | 8 Comments

Artist Interview: Wayne Houchin talks about tour

August 7, 2010

Wayne Houchin is currently on a lecture tour, hitting places such as Nashville, Tampa, Memphis, Jacksonville and Tel Aviv, Israel. Before he’s done, he’ll have hit Kansas City, Chicago, San Antonio, Portland and the Dominican Republic.

I made it to his lecture Friday at Steve Lancaster’s Top Hat Magic and Costumes in Tulsa. It was worth the two-hour drive: Houch covered several of his classic effects and a few new ones, including a torn-and-restored card effect that yanked the breath right out of a room full of magicians. He also delivered a 20 minute talk about success that features some must-hear info.

Afterward, Wayne and I went live for a quick, almost-halfway-done-with-tour podcast. There was laughter. There was whistling. There was a hollering of “Boomer, Sooner.” There were Kanye glasses.

Oh, I would like to personally apologize for my bad joke about Texas. Which is the home state of my boss, Jason Brumbalow. I think I’m getting disciplined for this podcast. Enjoy:

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Thanks for a great time, Tulsa! That means you, Steve, John (nice Turners, by the way), Justin (is there a magician you HAVEN’T met?), Rick (I’m off to YouTube!), Dave and all the other cool guys I met. Especially Michael King, who caught a shot of the Kanye glasses, and my failing attempt to hide the price tag:

Posted by Joe Hadsall | Filed Under Artist Interviews, General | 6 Comments

New podcast: Tempest talks tech in magic, EMC

May 3, 2010

No one merges technology and magic quite like technoillusionist Marco Tempest. In addition to blowing us away with his Augmented Reality video, Tempest has also performed for many Fortune 500 corporate clients and on TV worldwide.

Tempest is one of the organizers of the Essential Magic Conference. He stopped by to talk about the three-day, all online conference (of which Ellusionist is a partner), about using technology in magic and how he performs for techno-savvy audience members who might not be as easily impressed as the audiences in “The Prestige” and “Carter Beats the Devil.”

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Posted by Joe Hadsall | Filed Under Artist Interviews | 7 Comments

Gecko getting an extreme upgrade on May 4

April 27, 2010

You already know what the Gecko can do. But wait until you see how creator Andy Amyx has improved it.

The Gecko Extreme is an upgrade package for Jim Rosenbaum’s creation that adds increased functionality and more blink-and-you’ll-miss-them vanishes. The Extreme also lets you transform things just as quickly. And, the package comes with a full-featured training DVD from Andy that goes into more detail.

Gecko Extreme will be available exclusively from Ellusionist on May 4. About a month later, E will host a live, advanced workshop with Andy. You’ll be able to live chat with the creator and other Gecko Extreme users.

Andy is also answering questions in this thread.

Posted by Joe Hadsall | Filed Under Artist Interviews, Ellusionist Products | 2 Comments

UPDATED: Haiti auction items to be restored

January 29, 2010

UPDATE, 9:21 a.m. Feb. 2: As a result of our working with eBay, the auctions will be relisted, but they will start over, meaning that all bids will be lost.

For those of you who had already bid, we realize that is a frustrating answer. Trust us, everyone behind the scenes at Ellusionist is frustrated about this situation. Without going into detail, we feel we were treated unprofessionally by the auction site. However, the auction is for an important reason, and we are going to see it through. Again, thanks for your patience, and we’ll let everyone know when the items are back up for auction.

UPDATE, 9 a.m. Feb. 2: We were informed this morning by eBay that the auctions have become too valuable for our account. The company pulled our auction items this morning. Our staff is working right now to get the items back up and running, with all bids restored. We will update this page with more information as we get it.

Thanks for your patience in this matter, guys. We are working hard to make sure your generosity doesn’t go to waste.

An opportunity to snag some of Ellusionist’s rare items will benefit the American Red Cross and help the people of Haiti recover from a devastating earthquake.

We’ve placed some of our more rare items up for bids in a special eBay fundraising auction. 100 percent of the proceeds will go to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund. The items up for auction include five 1st ed. Black Ghost decks, three uncut sheets of the 1st ed. Black Ghost deck and the ultra-new, ultra-rare Red Arcane Porper Clip.

You already know how rare the Black Ghost decks are. Our supply of the run of 5,000 has dwindled over the years, so opportunities to snag them will decrease. The same goes for the uncut sheets: As rare as the decks are, the sheets are even more rare.

As for the red clips: There are only 50 in existence. They are exactly like the silver and gun-metal clips, only they come in a dark red color. They are every bit as durable and functional as any Porper Clip — they will keep your cards flat, crisp and ready to go. Also, even though the hole is cut to match the Arcane ace perfectly, the aces on other deck boxes aren’t too far off the mark. This auction will be the first chance that ANYONE has had to get one of the red clips.

You can find auctions for each of the items below. Your participation will go a long way toward helping Haitians recover and get back to normal lives.