Thanks to all for the great IBM Convention in Nashville.

Your hard work showed! We enjoyed it.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Wish I could have been there

Kyle,

I wish you could have been there too.

Bob

You only wish the COOL Kyle could have been there.... you know the guy in the cool RED JACKET> lol

Kyle,

Where have you been?!!! We have really missed seeing you on MC.

David

So who won the contests?

magic mike

David: I have been around. I have just been very busy between work and magic shows and such.

Kyle

Good to see you back.

Lies...he's been constipated and stranded on the toilet....I know cause his wife called me to acuse me of slipping something into his food...Kyle doesn't have any shows...don't let him fool you

Got to put my 2 cents about the IBM Nashville convention.

It was a blast! Got to chum around with one of my best friends and mentor, Steve Varro. Picked up Steve Daly, David and Dania, Jack White, Yuji Yamamoto, An Ha-Lim, and Jason Latimer at the airport. Lots of great experiences (just to name a few); Steve Daly is a hoot, Jack White is a great guy and Jason Latimer is one of the finest young men in magic I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Jason will go far in magic. Got to meet one of my heros, Fantasio. Wow, what an experience.
Met Gene Anderson. Thanked him for helping me make a living with his T&R Newspaper. Gene has one of the best minds in magic. He talked with a group of us about a new project he is working on.

It was like a magic Woodstock. Got to see Bob and Lucy Sanders, Dave Mitchell, Losander, Richard Hatch of H&R Books, Kelvin Chun, Joe Mogar, Michael Lair, Harry Allen,David Ginn, and Hannah Montana (just kidding) in the Dealer area. Saw people I haven't seen in a while like Sammy Smith and Steve Hart. Saw some great acts, Shoot Ogawa, Marc Oberon, Julianna Chen, Shimada, Oscar Munoz, and Steve Bargatze.

And then there are all my local friends from Ring 37 Nashville and 252 Murfreesboro. What a great time. For the facilities, you could not have ask for a better place that Opryland Hotel. Everyone commented about how beautiful the hotel was. The convention ran very well with only a couple of minor glitches.

If you did not go to the IBM convention this year you missed a good one. I'm addicted.

David

Here are a few pics from back stage...I was the quick change artist..lol more to come

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss51/......0277.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss51/......e06a.jpg view from room

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss51/......4928.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss51/......aed3.jpg night view of hotel...and that's just the part we were in

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss51/......0278.jpg

http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss51/......0281.jpg The crew from Korea that kicked but

Here are the Gold Medal Stage aka Theater Finals:

*People Choice Award
Jei Min and Hanna (Show White Themed Act) from South Korea

*First Place
Richard Forget (Newpaper, Rose, Peace Act) from Canada

*Second Place
Peter Pitchford (Mainpulation Cardini Act) from USA

Yo Kato (High Engery Color Wand and Thimble Act) from Japan
*This act was AWESOME if you enjoy a flashy manpulation act.

Minsoo Choi (Star and Astrology Book Act) from South Korea
*Nice Theater Act with lights.

Nathan Kepner (Juke Box Music Act) from USA
Nathan did an excellent job. I have enjoyed watching this act get better and better.

Comments:
The crowd was buzzing because several people agreed the judges blew it once again. Just like they did with the close-up.

A professional real world working Parlor Act with a 10 minute reset time will never win at IBM. Personally, I think they need to rename the contest
The IBM Theater Contest. Seems like the judges usually pick acts that you cannot perform unless your at a magic convention or on a large stage.

Many congrats to Peter.

Dave

CONGRATS TO MY BUDDY PETER PITCHFORD!!!!!! I was rooting for Peter to win, and thought either him or Yo Kato would win. I got to see Yo Kato perform his awesome act in Vegas and was sitting right behind Jeff McBride, and right beside Gay Blackstone who were throroughly impressed by his skills. I know I was fooled SEVERAL times during his act. Nathan Kepner is really on his way. With guys like Ice McDonald working with him, his act is getting tighter and tighter every time I see it.

In regards to Joseph's comment about a real world act not winning IBM, I'm not sure I can agree with that comment. I can't speak for all the acts, but I know Peter Pitchford makes his living doing magic, put himself through college and supports his family using the magic you saw in that act on a regular basis. Peter is a real worker, and his audiences both laymen and magician enjoy the fruits of his hardwork immensely. Him taking 2nd place over the weekend and his booking schedule from the public are evidence of this.

SO, Tell me how you really feel JY? I wasn't there but I can tell you the IBM and the SAM needs a CHANGE (if I can steal that frase) The leadership in both the stage and the close up contest don't do it justice! I know for a fact, first hand that if a certain two directors in both orginizations has an act they feel should win...then "BAM" that act will win! I don't care who you are and what show you do! Now I will say as a person I will talk to both people but I will not compete again at that level. Not because I lost, I didn't I may not have won an award but I did win many friends and many stories...I am not a bit bitter! This is just FACT! So for me I know my act and I know the calaber that I can provide to the regular person/group/etc. that's all I need because I make my living doing what I LOVE! I know many that have won and where are they now??? I do wish I could have seen the contest this year I heard it was a awesome program.

JY has a some good points. I have judged several SAM contests and can speak from first hand.

First, there is no prior knowledge of the acts by the judges at SAM. Unless, they have been seen at another convention, the judges have not seen them before that night.

Second, the scoring system is very detailed. I have set for over 7 hours judging acts and then helping with the other judges to give detailed feedback. There is a wide variety of expertise in the judge's background.

Personally my bias is real world magic. I feel there is little point in making an act that will only work a magic convention. You will starve doing that. Working backstage at a lot of conventions, I also look at some other things that other may not. Does the act set up and strike quickly? Does it leave the stage clean (relatively)? Can this act work in the real world and would you book it?

Peter does have a real world act. I have worked with him and know it. But the act you see at conventions is only part of his show. It is like seeing Lance Burton's dove act. That is not an entire show but only an act. Often the convention acts become a stepping stone to a full show. JY's act is such as it Peter's.

I am not sure the stage contest needs as much work as the closeup contests. True, when there are 6 people backstage setting the entire act for a performer who just does the act; I think a change is needed. Or a 20x20 drop cloth does not contatin all the junk on stage at the end. That is not real world magic.

Closeup is an entirely different matter. In most cases, there is no real closeup magic. It is a standup show. There is music, costuming, and sometimes even lighting cues. Often there is no direct audience involvement or interaction. I see guys rolling in a ata case with their closeup act in it. Give me a break.
I have done FFFF for over 35 years. I know what good closeup is and have seen how it has changed.

The real masters of closeup like Del Ray, Jim Ryan, Eddie Fetcher, Johnny Paul, Karl Norman, and others, are laughing their butts off at what is called closeup now days. I even turned down the opportunity to judge a national closeup contest simply because I did not believe it represents the truest forms of closeup magic.

RJ, you learned quick. I can remember you working the conventions. But that does not pay the bills. Know your act. Know your market. Make a living. It is really that simple.

Sorry about the rant guys.

Richard

Congratulations! are due to many acts at this year's IBM convention.

I don't remember anyone mentioning the special award won by Michael P. Lair for his Shrinking Coke Can. It is not an award automatically given. Michael, Congratulations!

Peter's act is also a classic I love to watch.

Richard, thanks for the perspective from one of the best stage managers I've known.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Thank you, Bob! I was shocked, amazed, surprised...it was an honor and a moment I'll never forget. It was excellent talking with you and Lucy. Your silk line is wonderful. I heard many compliments about your silks during the convention. Also it was great spending time with Joseph Young and his wonderful family. Joseph is a great friend and top-notch magician with an excellent act! I spent time with my all-time hero Fantasio. 6-time performer on The Ed Sullivan Show, and Fantasio spent much time talking with me! He is an amazing person, inventor, friend...and the list goes on. I think of the thousands and thousands of magicians Fantasio has influenced. There was a lot of cool magic being sold and I got to meet and make some new magic friends. Great memories! The hotel itself was magical! Kudos to all organizers.
Michael Lair

Congradulations Michael.

Time with Fantasio is always a treasure. Someone once asked me who I admired in magic most or who would I want to be. Fantasio's name came up. He has not only had a career as a world class stage act, an illusion show and magic manufacturer but he has a wonderful and solid family life. That means a lot to me.

Richard

Del Ray... Wasn't he the guy with the 350-pount electronic close-up table?!?!?!