A little card trick

I haven’t posted any magic in a while so I thought I would post this video did a month or so ago. Enjoy

When I’m Bored

This is what happens when I’m bored. Last night my wife was watching one of her dumb shows on TV and I didn’t know what to do. So I grabbed the camera and decided to have fun with myself. There are no camera tricks or fancy edits. I just edited a bunch of clips of me jamming for the camera together and this is what I got.

I hope you enjoy. If you are looking for some other of my magic videos click here.

This Friday! Don’t miss it!

I am so looking forward to this!

Bring your family and friends and come have a great time with us! I will be doing magic and there will be tons of family friendly activities, give-a-ways, and snacks. See you there!

Buskapalooza

Last Friday night was so much fun. Buskapalooza is a documentary that is being filmed on the streets of Charlotte by April Denee Check it out here. For one night, all the street performers in the area set up around Trade and Tryon in Charlotte to support the arts and support the documentary.

Magic, dancing, painting, balloon animals, bands, singers, jugglers, acrobats, fire eating, etc…

It was crazy. Check out some of the pictures from the event by clicking here. There are some great pictures that capture the evening like the one above of my good friend Craig Stone.

At the end of the night Mike G and I walked up to watch Eric Treese eat fire. Check out the video I shot just outside of Pheonix and Bar Charlotte.

Best Card Trick Ever…

My tribute the the professor Dai Vernon.

For more of my magic and other videos click here.

Magician’s Magic (a love story)

I have been into magic for almost 20 years. I love the art and mystery, but mostly I love the interaction with my audience. I live for that moment when I get a smile, a laugh, or a gasp. Sometimes a stunned silence can be even better. This is why I study magic. This is why I perform magic. This is why I love magic.

Its easy to forget the reasons we first fell in love. In my day to day life I often have to stop and think about the first night I realized how in love I was with Jes. We stayed up all night talking about our family, our future, and our faith. I have to force myself to remember the things that made me fall in love with her, because its so easy to forget. Its so easy to only think about the here and now.

I never thought about it like this, but I can also remember the first card trick I learned. I read a simple trick out of a self working card trick book and for the next couple days I showed everyone who came within a 100ft radius. I was hooked. I had fallen in love with magic.

No, I’m not saying I love magic like I love my wife. I actually love it more (just kidding Jesalyn).

It is the same way with anything that we commit to for a long time. We forget why we originally fell in love with it. Magic reminded me of this. Last week I watched a young guy (14) perform on the street and get some screaming reactions. He did simple effects that were clear and easy to follow. They were good, not because of the difficulty or the hidden skill, but because of the reaction. The spectators saw a miracle. A 14 year old just made the card in their hand switch with a card in the deck.

AMAZING!

Magician’s break down effects to make them symmetric, linear, framed, etc, but we often miss the simple beauty of the trick because we don’t see it like a spectator. We see it like a magician. We concentrate on fooling people who know every trick in the book. We concentrate on heavy misdirection because its hard to misdirect our eyes. We forget that spectators are easily misdirected, easier to fool, and at best they have only seen page one or two of the book.

Here’s a clip of Shawn performing downtown last week. This is just one of the great reactions he received.

So magic has taught me another great lesson. Sometimes we need to take a break and look at the original reasons we fell in love. It could be a person, a hobby, or a career. Take some time to remember why you first fell in love and remember what it was like to realize your passion and start out on that journey.

On the Street

A little mind reading on the streets of NoDa in Charlotte.

For some other videos make sure to check out my youtube channel and subscribe.

Valentine Magic

This month at UMA was love magic. Check out my routine.

Impromptu Magic

This month at UMA was impromptu magic. I took it as a challenge to use genuine borrowed objects and perform a miracle or two. There were some other great performances from fellow magicians.

UMA Christmas Video Cont.

I had to post this. A friend and mentor in magic doing a silk routine with his adorable daughter. Please do not watch my trick immediately after watching this. That way you will forget how good Craig is and not compare him to my poor performance. Enjoy