I'd just like to publically thank all those who sponsored and attended two recent Master Classes by Gazzo. Specifically, Mark (lastnightsfun on here, I guess) hosted the first class at his home and was so kind to open his house up and allow people to crash there as well. We couldn't have asked for any better treatment and the class went well. Everyone did great and hopefully they all left armed with the right tools to go make some money.

A couple of photos from that are linked on the front page of our website. It was great to see Gazzo build a crowd in a new city, and I assure you, it's the largest crowds anyone there have seen. I have a photo with a couple of people on the roof of three story buildings watching the whole thing. Insane. I guess if your crowd can't get any larger on the ground, you have to go up, right?

Next class was put on by Doc at Carolina Magic in Hickory, North Carolina, just outside of Charlotte. Again, amazing kindness from Doc, his wife, his staff, and friends. I guess they'll be restocking the pubs this morning Great to meet Doc and see what a brick and mortar shop should look like. Doc is one of the good guys in the business and you won't find knock-off's in his cabinets. Do yourself a favor and visit his shop or visit him online and support him. The website is http://www.carolinamagic.com/ . With a storefront in a mall and a place to hold lectures/workshops/shows in the back of the shop, it's a great place to learn about magic.

All the guys in that class were great as well. It amazes me just how much you can learn in a hands on workshop. In both classes, we had 25% of the class that had never picked up a cup. 48 hours later, they were doing the complete routine in front of the class. Great job guys.

Thanks to all who attended. We greatly appreciated the kindness, the food, the laughs, and the company of all. Now....I'm going to catch up on some sleep!

Most importantly, many thanks to the wives of Mark and Doc. Needless to say, without them, neither of the classes would have happened.

Best wishes to all-
Steve

I can't thank you enough, Steve. Couldn't have done it without you and Gazzo. (And my wife, who's still looks at me as if I'm crazy). Those are some great pictures. And now that I know about Doc's shop, I'll be shopping there.

Mark

Actually, now that I think about it, I forgot to give a big thanks and plug to magicpitch.com. Guys, I don't do a lot of magic shopping these days. I tend to limit my purchases to Denny's or Steven's. Steve and Magicpitch are in that league. Whether you're into busking or stage magic, Steve carries stuff that you WILL use and you can't find anywhere else. I heartily recommend him to anyone.

Mark

Gazzo and Steve,

Thanks so much for the kind words. I have said it all weekend long and I will say it here again for those that did not hear me say it.."this has been the best magic experience I have ever had". The masterclass and lecture that Gazzo did this past weekend was incredible! Gazzo shared so much information with the group I could not believe it was happening! For two full days he was right there with us. He did not "disappear" after it was over every evening. He wanted to go with us out to the pub, or to eat dinner. Gazzo had amazing stories about Walter Scott, Vernon and magic. I highly encourage anyone that hears that Gazzo is coming to your town to do a lecture or if he does another Masterclass and you hear about it promise me you will do one thing...GO!

Gazzo is an amazing performer, an amazing teacher and very nice and humble man. I cannot think of another performer to spend so much time with a group of guys, teaching them what is the bread and butter of their act. Making sure that everyone is involed and comfortable. Opening their mind to any question asked and answering in a honest way. Everyone that attended the class pretty much said if we had another,even if the same stuff was covered, they would do it in a heartbeat no questions asked!
So, to Gazzo please accept our sincere thanks for sharing with us this past weekend in North Carolina. I will never forget the experience and hope to see you again. To Steve at Magic Pitch, thanks so much for helping set all this up with Gazzo, with out your help this would have never happened and I thank you for that. Please support Magic Pitch and Gazzo, they work very hard and have excellent products that you will use.

Thanks again Gazzo, Steve...

Doc Docherty and the gang at Carolina Magic!(Doc,Ken,Max,Aaron,Steve,Jeff,Marty,Dan,Hannibal)
http://www.CarolinaMagic.com

These guys are right about the class with Gazzo. I was at Marks Class in VA and was one that is less experienced than the others in the class. Gazzo worked with all of us when we did something wrong and gave us advice to corrrect what we were doing. Never made us uncomfortable and was very encouraging when we got it right. He is a FANTASTIC teacher and just one all around great guy.

I have to agree with Doc and quote him "this has been the best magic experience I have ever had!!" Without question!

Peter

The first time I saw Gazzo perform was at one of the Magic Symposiums in NYC honoring Dai Vernon on his 90th birthday. Two weeks later I saw him perform in Boston at Fanieul (spelling?) Hall. It was then and there that Gazzo become one of my idols. He is a master of the craft of street performing...and all that it entails: the magic, the handling of the crowd, getting the money, etc. I was even witness to one show where he began to build the crowd, got part way into the first effect and it started to rain. He stopped, apologized and told the crowd he's going to have to stop but he'll be back, hopefully, once the rain ends. People still came up and gave him money. That's connecting with your audience.

So, on this forum I hear about these master classes. I call and find out the last one on the east coast was this weekend and in North Carolina. I live in New Jersey. I told Doc to book me. It's Gazzo. When was I going to get this chance again?

So I begin my Mapquest trek down the NJ Turnpike and once I leave NJ and cross into Delaware I run into traffic. I was literally in traffic for 4-5 hours from Delaware thru the DC belt areas before it broke. Had this master class been for anyone else except Gazzo, I would have turned around and went home. I hate traffic. No, you don't understand...I HATE TRAFFIC. Because of the traffic I missed the Friday night lecture...I got in at 11:15pm.

The next two days more than made up for it. This was a master class. A chance to study under the master of the street. He gave us the inside dope on working the street, how to find the spots, get the okay to work the spots, draw a crowd, work a crowd, keep the crowd.

If you walked into the class without a street routine, you walked out with one of the best. Gazzo taught his routine to us. Hands on. Made sure each of us got every detail of it. Was willing to go over parts, endlessly if need be, to ensure that we all had it.

It's easy to see that Gazzo truly cares about the art of street performing. This weekend wasn't about him lining his own pockets with money from students. This weekend was about nurturing the future of street performing. He wants us all out there, and all out there doing it right.

Like Doc said, Gazzo was there afterwards as well. To hang with us at the local watering hole while we drank micro brews. He told us stories about Walter Scott, working the street, answered any questions we suddenly thought of. He was very giving.

And late Sunday the Master Class was over. But not really. Gazzo is still there for us if we need help. He's just an email away. Or, if we're in an area that he's in, we're just a ride away.

The weekend was definately well worth the cost (it should have been priced a lot higher) and the traffic jam coming down. It was a chance to learn under the master. Thank you Gazzo, and Steve...your partner in crime.

Now I have to say that Doc Docherty was a wonderful host. He arranged my hotel accomodations which were excellent, he opened his shop to us, and he too was available at all times. There were also two guys in the class, who I apologize for forgetting their names, but one took care of lunch for all of us on Saturday and the other took care of dinner for us on Sunday night after the master class. This was unexpected but greatly appreciated. It was a nice taste of southern hospitality.

I don't know who else would make me drive 10 plus hours to North Carolina for a workshop, but I will definately be contacting Doc for my magic needs. He's one of the good guys and is well deserving of my patronage to his shop. I wish him well in his store and in his future.

To Gazzo, Doc and the rest of the class...I had a blast. Thank you all for your hospitality.

One last thing. The Gazzo pouches are definately worth every dollar charged. I know I wanted to get a hand laced one as opposed to the hand stitched one because I was worried that the stitching might break...no way. After looking at these pouches, they are indestructable and built for a lifetime of work on the streets. I bought a hand stitched one during the class. I still may get a hand laced one, just to get the colors I want...but, if I don't I'm perfectly happy with the hand stitched one.

Live well, Die well,
EVILDAN.

Many kind words here- thanks to all. As far as putting Magicpitch on the list of names with Denny's, etc., well, that's flattering, but we recommend you buy from Denny whenever possible. One of our goals is to try very hard NOT to compete with Denny. We try and offer unique products that most dealers don't carry, most based on Street work. So, if you need something, head to Denny's first!

Doc, thanks again- glad to hear reports coming in from people who attended the class that are already making nice hats! Amazing what 2 days of proper instruction can do, isn't it?

Peter- you did excellent! You picked it all up and did just fine.

Dan- What can I say? The man who fooled Gazzo repeatedly during the cups and balls sessions! Keep us informed on how you make out Dan, I know you'll be out there and pulling some good hats. Speaking of, I think Dan won my vote for the coolest hat (not the one with hair), but the other one. VERY cool hat and really fit Dan's character.

All in all, nothing but super nice guys, all good people as well. Hopefully, it's the best investment you made in magic.

Thanks again- keep the stories coming in. We're loving them.

All the best,
Steve

Steve,

Oh I don't know. You do great service. You don't force a bunch of stuff on people they don't need. You may be more specialized than Denny, but I get the same feeling when dealing with both of you. Not that you should compete with him. . . just that you both leave your customers happy, smarter than when they first bought something from you, and don't have the need to sell the contents of your store to each customer that comes in. I'm putting myself on a magic diet lately, getting rid of a lot of stuff that I never use, and if I buy anything, it'll be only something I need. Magicpitch is the kind of place, as well as Denny's, that I can be comfortable shopping with.

Mark

Sounds like there's a clone army of Gazzos going to conquer every pitch.

Jim

Every pitch? nope...
just a way that gets the dollars.

sigh.

Marty

No clones, no pitch here. Look somewhere else.

Mark

James, I can promise you Marty isn't a Gazzo clone. In fact, one of the most amazing things I saw during his recent Master Classes was the originality and creativity of all of the individuals there. Not a single person struck me as a Gazzo clone in the whole batch.

I think the most important statement about it would be not that Gazzo is creating clones, but rather finally someone is stepping up to the plate and teaching the art correctly. Those following his teachings, like Marty, are already pulling in fat hats and he's totally being himself.

Marty's the only guy I've seen who can squeeze 7 tricks, including Cups and Balls in 15 minutes But, that's Marty. It fits his character and style.

So don't worry about clones, just know that there are properly educated students hitting the streets and making good money.

Wow... is that where you went Marty?

Marty is certainly no clone. Marty works my city streets and is a great magician with a style all his own. Glad to see you persuing this street thing Marty.

It seems to me that these reviews show that a small session lesson, lasting multiple days, is well worth the $25 per hour that a "boot camp" amounts to. Cisco boot camp costs over $5,000 and it is not taught by someone at the top of their field. I hate to think that the animosity shown toward professionals giving personal instruction at reasonable rates will stop them from coming back to the US.

jmk