Hey guys. Just wondering what reactions everyone's been getting using the "Ding Dong" sponge at the end of your sponge ball routine? A magician at a local magic shop here in New York told me it would be a great closer to liven up a disinterested crowd. So far, the reactions I've gotten have been everything from gut-busting laughter, to complete disgust. LOL. Go figure Does anyone else include this to their sponge ball routine regularly? I'm trying to decide whether or not to ditch the idea completely, or just save it for special occasions. LOL.

-T

The person who is offended (or completely disgusted) might have been your next client . . .

Everyone has their own opinion, of course, but I wish this item had never been invented. If you keep the item in your set, you'll never know how much work you lose.

Now watch everyone advise the opposite . .

Riley

It's a routine that will only work for a certain type of crowd. I've even heard that Goshman lost gigs because of the routine, because it was performed in the wrong situations, but I don't know for sure if that's true.

It is a thing that you have to be very carfull of how and where you do it. Even in the most god awfull dive of a bar it could be found very offensive.

Best advice is to not do it at all. Find a sponge ball routine you like and work from there. There are a lot of better ending then the Ding Dong.

I do not own it, but always thought that the perfect music to use with a routine ending with the Ding Dong was

Also Sprach Zarathrusta

which is widely known as one of the main musical pieces used in "2001: A Space Odyssey".

:^)

There's not many situations where this should be used.
Bachelorette parties may be one but I wouldn't consider it as something to do on a regular basis.

Yeah, I figured as much. Last time I take advise from a starving magician in NYC. LOL. Thanks for all the feedback guys.

It gives you an idea why he might be starving.

There was a fellow in Houston who once told me that he was so successful because he knew the secret to entertaining a crowd. "People want sex!" he said.

He worked dives and never worked the best comedy clubs. He had a day gig.

I did magic for a living.

As an aside, I have a friend who is a clown. A local booking agent told him that he would book him into a comedy club if he could dirty the act up a bit. Three lines into the show, he realized he had messed up big time. Clowns are not intended to be dirty. This is not a matter of prudery. It just didn't fit the venue or the genre.

BTW, the booking agent is out of business now.

Sometimes things may look very good in one aspect, but actually be horrible. I had a chance to take a steady gig at a local girlie bar. This was one that had a connection to a major magazine. I was to do illusions with the strippers, etc.

I asked my agent about this, because the money was REALLY good. He said, "That's a good opportunity, but if you book it, I won't be able to book you into any corporate gigs any more."

"You see, a lot of the corporate guys go to these places. They will be afraid that you will blow the whistle on them. They can't take the risk."

So, I turned the gig down.

Here is a story that my Father the late Billy Bishop told me about when he was working a trade show. He was booked and on a lunch break and after having a quick lunch was walking back to his booth and spotted another magician working and it was Al Goshman.

They talked as they knew each other and made a lunch date for the next day.

The next day they had lunch together and Al showed my dad a one handed coin switch and they talked. As it turned out Al Goshman was booked to work that trade show booth that my Dad was working the year before. Dad thought that news was rather interesting.

Lunch was over and back to work. When my dad got back to the booth the company president said to my dad. I noticed you sitting with Al Goshman. My dad said "yes, I see you know him". The president of the firm said, Yes he worked for us at this show and several others last year but we would never higher him again".

Dad asked why?

The president said, "Because he did the ding dong sponge trick (The guy said something else more graphic) on a person that was the wife of a firm that we did big business with. And we lost that business as a client."

So Al lost a trade show client because of the ding dong trick was done on someone that took it wrong and THEY HAD CLOUT! This was a trade show that booked him several times a year at a high fee.

The moral - a performer can always control their own performing material but THEY CAN NOT control the way an audience member MAY REACT to that performing material. And if they react in a negative way a magician or an entertainer may lose business BIG TIME!

For years I have had agents and comedy club managers tell me to do a BLUE XXX sex rated hypnosis show. And to do one would be easy. But just because I can doesn’t suggest in any way that I should. The reason is in Bill Palmer's post above. I can't afford the LOSS of business that would happen if word got around.

I live in the conservative mid west and I like my show the way it is PG!

Obviously you've never seen Shakes the Clown.

What does he shake?

:wow:

Clowns are not intended to be dirty. Just because there are one or two that are, doesn't make it right. That's not the nature of clowns.

In fact, most clowns I know, other than politicians or the like, would dismiss him as some kind of "cancer" on the body of clowning.

Isn't he a cartoon character? I think he is on the Simpsons.

Shakes was a character in a movie starring Bobcat Goldthwait. Crusty is the clown on the Simpsons. Neither do much for perpetuating a good reputation for clowns. Both seemed to come into existence at a time when society began a rampant disregard and disrespect for pretty much everything.

Clowns are too easy to imitate poorly, probably even more so than magicians. Bored housewives in terribly applied makeup, twisting balloon doggies at school carnivals and shopping center openings, along with charity-volunteer retirees with make-up not quite disguising their yellow eyes and teeth and alcohol-breath are partially responsible for this. They became the focus of ridicule amongst the less civil children, and objects of terror among some of the very young. Society as a whole has been allowed to eloborate and capitalize on this.

Clowns were never intended to be dirty, but they have been the focus of taunts and ridicule for some time. Hunchbacks, and buffoons were the clowns of the past. Competent actors played their parts to the fullest.

When portrayed poorly, they have become mocked and ridiculed almost to an art, and not unlike the unchecked cruel tauntings from a group of children, society has continued to add more and more to what clowns must suffer. Are we surprised that they are now allowed to dabble in bathroom humor?

I'm just glad that nobody pointed out that John Wayne Gacy also did some magic.

Wouldn't that have been good for business?

"Shakes the Clown" is a satirical comedy starring Bobcat Goldthwait. It's similar to movies such as "Animal House," "American Pie" and other intentionally over-the-top, outrageous, gross comedies.

Info on it in the IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102898/

Why would you want to make a foam *** appear in someone's hands?

In my ignorance, I thought this thread was referring to a spongey Hostess snack cake! Now I think I understand. I haven't heard of this before.

I'm curious as to how this particular "effect" even came into existence. Was there really some sort of void in magic that somebody thought filling it with a sponge **** was a good idea? I'm rather surprised that this ever got invented in the first place.

I guess there is really no accounting for taste. Count me out on this one.

The advice of any magician who doesn't know the difference between a disinterested crowd - one that is objective, unbiased - and an uninterested crowd - one that not interested - should be eschewed.

Personally I'd keep this trick to just show the wife. Maybe then she'd finally be keenly interested in your magic! How about it guys!?

best regards,
Matt Tomasko

It is this sort of trick that made my wife lose interest in magic in the first place.

Let me take a guess, Matt. You aren't married, are you?