You beat me to it Danny.

Eddini:Performer's like you are not the subject of the Jamy Swiss article or of the majority of opinions on this thread.

There is a huge difference between a performer who studies the Art from the ground up and and develop's a broad repertoir over time,all the while learning presentational and entertainment skills...and I dare say...recognizes that the spectator is the most important person,and not the performer.
Compare this type of performer to someone who believes that there is an express train to Magicville,and [buy's] some tricks'..has no idea how to proprely present them..thinking that the cool method is the all important ingredient.

You said it yourself...folk's come to you at your set-up...you don't go chasing them down to show how clever YOU are.

I hope threads like this can nudge the Blaine/Angel wannabee's torward a more traditional approach to the Art of Magic.They can still perform the effects they like,but at least LEARN do it in a way that is entertaining for the SPECTATOR.

Example:A worker at one of my restaurant's was bragging to other's about how he could slam a coin into a full can of soda.I asked him if he could demonstrate this for me.He said sure he has been blowing people away with this trick.

Well after four or five tries..of course giving away the method in the process..he said he was just a little nervous.

I asked him where he learned the method...he said some guy on Youtube explained how to do it,and he also knew it was an effect put out by a guy named Wayne.

I have tried to steer this young fellow in the right direction to no avail...he is still looking for the express train to Magicville.

Rich

Yes you are right, it is technically called busking. I never understood that until being at the Café for a while. I didn't even know what busking was. To me though I'm in the street (sidewalk) and doing my Magic. Yes Danny, I make up to that. Myrecord so far is $155.00 on a night. It was Labor Day Weekend. It's more than the money though. I get to meet lots of people. My town is a big Tourist Town. Street Performing (as it is called where I live) is legal. You just can't break town ordinances like the use of mics....no drums, no hugely blocking of sidewalks...etc. The side I perform on, the sidewalk is huge with steps. My average crowd is like 6-8 people. Occasionally I'll get up to 50+ people. Sometimes it is just one. I'm not very agressive. I have never used a "Crowd Call". When people step up, away I go. I have patter for each trick, I really have no routine. Why? Because I have so many regulars and people who come up, I have to remember who has seen what so as to avoid doing the same trick twice. Of course this cannot always be helped. Also I go as long as they want me too. I've gone for a hour straight before and I've gone as little as 3 minutes. It's up to them. That's why in my case including Sleight of Hand Card tricks, I have like 30 SOLID top notch effects if I need them. I have my fans. I've been at the same place the same time (Friday & Saturday Nights from 6PM-2AM) roughly. It's fun, under the table, tax free, and I get to make some money. I really LOVE it. Even if I were to ever become as famous as Michael Ammar, writing books, making videos, doing lectures, I'd STILL be street performing. I love doing it, I love the people, and they Love me, Ed, (Eddini).

Not sure I'd publicly claim that income was being taken in "under the table" -- but maybe I'm more paranoid about the IRS than you. =;)

Jay Jennings

Well it doesn't bother me. I won't get into my financial situation (I already have here a few times), but I don't have to deal with filing a tax return, taxes the IRS...etc....lol, Ed, (Eddini).

Generalization of magic is putting it mildly. What we have here is the new age of political correctness working against us. This whole PC thing makes me sick, god forbid someone might use a term or say something that might hurt someones else's feelings. You can't say chink-a-chink, the hippity hop chinamen are a no no, the magic ding dong, yes the magic ding dong is a no no. God sakes people,wake up! Oh my favorite, the Indian Cups and Balls, there's a site that makes an appology that there is no offense meant by the use of the name, wtf is that all about? If ethnic and themed performers are that sensative, well they should probally seek out professional help.

If you're a magician and you perform on the streets, and you want to call yourself a street magician, wether working a market place or the boards, or if youw walk up to people on the street and do magic, you're still a magician. There is no political correct crap about it, the art is the art and what it is.

Throughout the Café, and numerous other forums all this "MY WAND IS BIGGER THAN YOUR WAND" is like a bunch of schoolyard bullying by one group attacking another, it happens on every forum and even here. Go over to the escape artists, they're not magicians, they're artists. Yeah what ever, when you can bust your ass out of a police car doing 55 back to the station and get away, tell me about the true meaning of escape, until then, you're a performer. Then you have the mentalists, weeeeeeee, what a group, these guys believe their own ********. No self respecting, how can I put this, "Gifted" person would A. Share their ability with the mass public, yet alone post on the Magic Café about it and B. See A. Boy if you want to generalize Mental, go see the Mentalists.

Another group and we all share this I'm sure, well most of us anyways, is Exposure, but to voice that Magic Sets are killing magic and is a disgrace to let any layman get their hands on secrets, oh JHC gimme a break! Magic sets have been around since the 1700's, affraid the cat was out of the bag along long time ago. My point to this is like most postings on the Café' "OVERKILL". Do we really think that our art lays in the 4 corners of the earth? That there is this dark secret magical organization. And what if there is? If it's that dark I probally don't want to know about it anyways and certainly would refrain from being that "DEEP" into magic.

While opinions are important in life, what is not needed is this petty, narrowminded postings berading one another to the point of banning, death threats over the phone and emails. The internet seems to have opened the portal for every hypersensative anal retentive to voice his violent threats and frustrations if someone outside their little world doesn't agree with them 100%.

It's amazing too, how many have thier voice in matters by starting a thread about the same god *** thing that is already posted by 90 other people in 90 seperate threads. Again while opinions and discussions are vital, so is learning how to READ, obviously a lot can't because the word "SEARCH" doesn't register with them prior to making thread #91 of the same topic.

Street Magic, Palour Magic, Closeup Magic, Invastion of Personal Space Magic, Bar Magic, Adult Magic, Christian Magic, Bizarre Magic, Theatrical Magic, TV Magic, Kids Magic ( Do not combine kids magic with invasion of personal space magic, you will do time), Clown Magic, you know what it's all Magic and it's what we do in one form or another.

Trends come and go, hey duh, that's why they call them trends. Café memebers will come they will go some will find other forums to post flaming blogs on. But in the end, and I know there are a lot of others like me, when we hang up the phone at night after a 2 hour chat of the silly ******** posted, we lay our heads down and just giggle a bit and say "It's all just Magic".

There are just a couple of things in magic that I don't like:

1. The "become a pro in just hours" advertisements.
2. Cheezy, unfunny, head shots. They make the art look ridiculous. You know the ones. Where some guy looks like he needs to pull a squirrel out of his ***. To whom are these funny and entertaining?

The first promotes the incorrect idea that it doesn't take much to be a magician.

The second promotes the incorrect idea that magicians are cheezy, and un-funny, and magic is not to be taken seriously. Good for kids at best.

If these are found in the magazine I'll be disapoointed. If I buy this magazine it's just because it's a magic magazine, not because it's a "street magic magazine". I think most will do the same.

As far a "street magic". It's an idea made up for TV. Then the tricks and the idea were marketed and people bought them and eventually the people could do "street magic" type tricks.

I can picture teenagers or college kids gathering at a downtown corner and interrupting people and 'doing street magic' in their spare time for people their own age or so. I can also picture them being very very good. some kids join the chess club and get good at chess. Others will practice card tricks and get very very good.

Maybe it's even a trend that is increasing.

It doesn't seem to make sense that this is a career choice, however, because there is no money to be made or very very little (in contrast to busking). This means that those with families and responsibilities are probably not street magicians. They might be buskers but as we all know, that is something completely different.

As difficult as it is for me to picutre, it might be possible that there are a large and growning number of "street magicians".

What a "street magician" is to me, is a magician that enjoys, buys, and performs (for mostly frineds and family) the "popular street magic tricks" that are currently marketed: Visual, hard-hitting magic requiring minimal presentation. Small, easy to carry, effects.

I propose an experiment:
This IS the street magic forum. No better place to ask.
So why don't we just ask...

How many of you are real honest-to-god street magicians. Not buskers. A street magician. And for those that are, please tell us (if you don't mind) what it means to you to be a street magician.

p.s. I do hope the best for the magazine. I'll buy one I'm sure. And when I do, it will be because it is a magic magazine.

Calling all "real" street magicians....

Anyone, anyone?


*chirp* *chirp*

Frank we are here, but tired.

I didn't say street "thug". I said street magician. Go back to bed!!

Hi, My name is Brady. I am street magician.

That is, if by "street magician" you mean someone who does magic for strangers, on a street, hit and run style, then I am guilty.

But in some ways I am not a "street magician." I never walk up to someone and say "hey, hey, look, look." In fact, all the street shows I do are started by people walking up and approaching me. I never buy anything from Ellusionist. I don't own an invisible deck.

That said, I probably do more magic on the street than most "street magicians" and I must admit I do have fun doing it.

Perhaps my motivation is different from the typical "street magician." The reason I do magic on the street is to test and practice new effects and presentations that I plan to use in my paying restaurant gigs.

Perhaps, I am one of the real "street magicians." That is if Blaine and Angel are considered real street magicians. My focus (and theirs) is ultimately a financial reward for doing magic. If that payday wasn't there, there would be no TV specials or shows by Blaine or Angel. A payday may be one of the big differences between Blaine (or Angel), and the wannabees who call themselves, "street magicians."

But, perhaps, I am not a "street magician," because I don't have the street magician image. The image seems to be that of a teens to twenties-ish, with a dark, grunge appearance. What makes him special and acceptable to the rest of society (i.e. those he accosts on the street) is the ability to do magic. It seems that the attitude is "even though you look down on me because of my appearance, my magic makes me accetable in society and maybe even better than those with nice close and cars and all the stuff that 'street people' don't have."

Perhaps, they are trying to live out their comic book fantasies. "I may look like nothing, but actually, I have special powers and abilities (or at least I can make you think I do) far beyond that of mortal man."

The more I think about it, the more it seems that the recreation of the above image is what "street magic" is all about. "Street" does not refer to where the magic is done, but the kind of person, a street person, who is doing the magic. If this is the case, I guess I really am not a "street magician."

Just some thoughts.

Brady

When I first moved to New York City long ago...I was a street performer in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We would work in rotation for the tourists seated on the immense steps of the museum. I would often see John Kassir cruise in to grab a prime time slot and wow the audience with physical illusions. Several mimes, jugglers and other silent magicians all worked in mostly harmony. The cops were very tolerant, they were not so keen on the mimes pretending to pull buses down 5th Avenue with invisible ropes but it was such a good effect the mimes rarely dropped it.
On the walks home through Central Park I would sometimes catch Jeff Sheridan perched on a statue performing real miracles. On an early fall afternoon with the breeze gently blowing the leaves in the trees...there was nothing like watching Jeff Sheridan. Real true Magic.

In Times Square you could still catch Mal Cross in Shubert Alley and as he would finish his flamboyant performing he would gather his earnings and CATCH a limo out of there! Brilliant!

I don't fully understand this catch phrase of "Street Magic"...but I can assure you that once you could catch great magic on the streets of NYC. Street artists these folk were and I am so grateful to have caught them.

Yes Frank.....you rang?

Are you telling us that you're the "other" street magician? That there are really two of you?

I must admit I've been partial to Hit & Run style performing (accosting) for years, long before Blaine and his endless wannabe's, etc...I used to call it Ninja Magic!

Eons ago my favorite place of doing so was on the city bus everyday to work, it actually helped me create a mini fanbase and to this day there are times I run into folk who saw me on the city bus.

Also I used to have a Yogi Skewer (spike thru tongue) and kept it in my car. When sitting at a red light in traffic and if somebody pulls up next to you have you ever noticed they look at you and you look at them?

Everybody does it, some silly human nature thing I learned to exploit for my own sick and twisted entertainment.

So, when sitting at a red light, when the person next to you looks in your direction, smile and wave to them in a very friendly I like you manner.

Then stick out your tongue and stick a spike thru it!

Light turns green...drive away.

This used to entertain my kids to no end and to this day they still request it on long car rides.

:)

Th bummer part is now far too many people are way to used to pierced tongues and such.

Johnny Mystic a.k.a. The Parrot Guy

Johnny Mystic. The world's first "bus magician". So there's a bus magician and 2 street magicians.

*sigh* I thought we'd gotten through all this awhile back! C'mon guys, can't we let the healing begin?

Street magic does exist, we are out there, and to the best of my knowledge no street-mage does it as a living. In a pinch, it will keep you EATING, but it won't pay for much else. Street magic is done because you love to perform magic, and, for one reason or another, can't/won't do busking or parties. I do table-hopping, and I do street-magic whenever I travel (often). I've encountered about 4 other street-mages in my travels, but there are probably a lot more......the hitch with street-mages is that you can't 'see' them like a busker. The only way you'll ever notice one is if he picks you as a mark, or youre nearby when he picks someone else.

I agree with what our freindly neighborhood killer-clown said in his post: Magic is magic, and the labels are nothing. But everyone loves labels & differentiation, so that's that.

As to the apparrent animosity most other magicians seem to have for street-mages, I think we have Blaine & Angel to thank for that. Street-magic has always been (and I suppose still is) the 'bottom-feeders' of magic, and other magicians have brushed it off with disdain. Now however, two street-mages (Blaine & Angel) are at the undisputed top of the food-chain, street-magic is on the map and it's annoying the fanning-powder out of other magicians. Many on this forum have taken the stance that it dosent actually exist. (head-in-the-sand / mabye-if-we-ignore-it-long-enough-it-will-go-away)

Regarding the catuall nature of street-magic, that's been posted several times elsewhere, and I'll leave it be.

Oh Mighty Fool, how have you been of late? Good to have you around, still have religious fanaticals hunting you down for corrupting the innocent street folk or has all settled firmly yet into a coherent lifstyle acceptable to the masses?

NINJA MAGIC was a term/joke me and a couple friends had when we assaulted and battled peoples senses. This was Waaaaaay back in the 80's when Ninjas were uber cool and we exploited that fact

Thank God for Golan & Globus Productions!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=X-U17ajlzbY

:)

Heres a short story made long you may appreciate Mighty Fool...

Back in '87 I dropped outta skool...I hit the road and lived on the streets of some of Washington States biggest cites, I encountered strange religous freaks that ran soup kitchens in which I haunted for need of a hot meal.

I would use magic to eat and get by in loads of illegal ways, I even fleeced some innocent crab fisherman while I worked the boats in Dutch Harbor Alaska.

Maybe I was a bottom feeder...but it was fun and I did it for the halibut! Although while looking back on it all I realise it was a lifestyle intended for the young.

I miss those day's sooooo much...

johnny mystic

Just for ****s & giggles, I thought I'd post this:


Club-worker:(The only magician who uses a W-2)
Frequency-->Uncommon
habitat-->clubs (duh)
Attire-->Tuxedo / dinner jacket
Pay-->very good
Enemy-->Drunk heckler in front row
Signature-->Cutting people in half
Quote-->Thank-you and goodnight ladies & gentlemen

Children's performer:(propping up the entire asprin industry)
Frequency-->common
habitat-->living rooms & backyards
Attire-->Bright, tacky colors, ridiculous hat (think clown without makeup)
Pay-->Average to very good
Enemy-->Child at party with radio-controlled airplane
Signature-->Run Rabbit Run
Quote-->I'll bet your parents DREAM of Summer vacation!

Mentalist:(It was either this or used-car-salesman)
Frequency-->rare, except on phonelines
Habitat-->Phone-rooms & gypsy caravans
Attire-->anything black
Pay-->Hourly wage
Enemy-->anyone with an I.Q. over 90
Signature-->The book test
Quote-->That'll be 4.99 for the first minute....

Escape artist:(Because real-life just isn't dangerous enough)
Frequency-->Uncommon
Habitat-->Wrecking-yards, sawmills, and piers
Attire-->Underwear
Pay-->Nothing to excellent
Enemy-->The grim reaper
Signature-->The straitjacket
Quote-->Regardless of how it goes this will be my last trick tonight!

Busker: (beggary with style)
Frequency-->common
Habitat-->renfaires, festivals, and marketsquares
Attire-->Hat, vest and apron
Pay-->low to good, but highly erratic
Enemy-->Disturbed, armed inividual in crowd
Signature--> the cups & balls
Quote-->Please show your appreciation...

Street-mage:(The rotted-limb on magic's family tree)
Frequency-->very rare
Habitat-->anywhere
Attire-->anything
Pay-->Awful, and even more erratic than busking
Enemy-->the police
Signature-->Ambitious card
Quote-->Whoops! Gotta run!

'Lo johnny!! Nice story....brings back memories!

Well at least he didn't list craftsman and metal spinners
The rotted tree limb bit was a tad bit much. I made good money
working Coney Island and Atlantic City, but hold on. If I made
good $$$ does that mean I'm no longer a street magician or artist
but a busker? Farg!