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Sardonicus New user The Left Coast, USA 50 Posts |
Something I seem to have noticed is that the table hopping magicians who post here and have their locations visible to the left of the post at their avatar seem to mostly hail from the American East coast, with a few Midwesterners showing up occasionally. (Members outside of the US will please forgive my bias.)
I live just outside Seattle. I've always loved to dine out at a variety of establishment types including "kid-friendly" places (with my kids, of course) and I'm in my fifties, so I've been at it for awhile. But I have -never- seen or heard of a magician in a restaurant in this area, with nary a peep from friends or family about one either. I saw a fabulous balloon sculptor once, about a year ago, and I can't recall being so impressed! But never a strolling magician, much to my chagrin. For that matter, I've only ever seen one busking magician. In other cities in other states, sure...but not here. Is table work a regional sort of thing, more prevalent in certain parts of the country than others, or am I just seeing a pattern that isn't really there? Maybe it's simply that magi in the PNW are too busy doing gigs to post here, and I just keep missing them about town. Let's hope so! On a lighter note, web searching for magic and restaurants in a town like mine with such a heavy Asian influence sure brings up a lot of seemingly good places to eat, as a fair number of them incorporate those words in their names. And all of a sudden, I'm really hungry.
"Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic." Carl Sagan, Cosmos
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MeetMagicMike Inner circle Gainesville Fl 3501 Posts |
I don't think it's the rarity of restaurants who want magicians I think it's the rarity of magicians who like restaurant work and are good at it.
I currently work four restaurants and have worked three to six restaurants in my area for over 30 years. I've never had any real competition. I can pretty much guarantee you that if I moved to a new city THAT city would soon have a magician in several restaurants and the area I left would likely have none. |
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Skip Way Inner circle 3771 Posts |
I also think you may be experiencing the "Never Noticed" syndrome. We never seem to notice a particular model car until we buy one, then suddenly they seem to be everywhere. I eat out A LOT and I am very much in touch with our local magic community, yet I am relatively unaware of where my magical peers are working within the city at any given time. Part of this is self-preservation. (Who wants "competitors" sniffing around your gig or stealing your best table-hopping bits?) Part of it is simple laziness or inefficiency in self promotion. Part of it is ego. (Some magicians, mostly those who fail to see the promotional value in restaurant work, are shy about working tables for a few bucks and tips.) I find it difficult to believe that a progressive, tourist-friendly city like Seattle doesn't have a few pros working the area.
How you leave others feeling after an Experience with you becomes your Trademark.
Magic Youth Raleigh - RaleighMagicClub.org |
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M. Tesla Regular user Coral Springs, Florida 154 Posts |
Well, I'm psuedo-retired and living in south Florida now, but when I did restaurant work it was in Phoenix, AZ...
While the amount of water has remained static, the amount of Tequila and Triple Sec available for making Margaritas has expanded enormously. So you see, we have made progress after all. ~Anonymous
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Sardonicus New user The Left Coast, USA 50 Posts |
Thanks for each of your replies, fellas. I appreciate your input on a not-so important observation.
Skip, I agree. I'm sure they're here to be found...somewhere.
"Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic." Carl Sagan, Cosmos
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Blindside785 Inner circle Olympia, WA 4541 Posts |
In Olympia at Tugboat Annie's there are 2 that work at that restaurant, Cary Durgin and Mike Budd.
I think Kirk Charles does restaurant in Tacoma/Seattle as well. I believe Steve Dobson does Restaurant in Tacoma at The Ram. The other magicians there do Corporate/Weddings/Kid Shows. There are other full timers there that don't do restaurant and more do shows, Nash Fung, Rick Anderson, Jeff Evans, Nate Jester. They definitely are there. I'm moving back to the Lacey/Olympia area in a few months |
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Matty Freakin Whipple New user Philadelphia, PA 85 Posts |
Hiya, Sardonicus!
When I was still in the Army, stationed at Ft. Lewis, I used to moonlight at a few clubs in Tacoma. There was Jazzbones and Chopstix, and two more who's names I can't remember... I think one was on Bridgeport Way... Anyway, that was a long time ago and I was in my early twenties. I didn't know any other pros out there, but that's probably because I was still in the Army full time. Now I'm in my thirties and back on the east coast. I live just outside of Reading, PA, which is a suburb of Philly with a population of around 90,000 and in this relatively small area there are three of us working restaurants. It definitely feels to me like that is a lot of us for an area so small, but we are all good friends and make sure we don't step on each other's toes or undercut each other. We actually call ourselves a gang haha! |
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Sardonicus New user The Left Coast, USA 50 Posts |
Thanks for the responses, everyone. I guess I just don't frequent the right establishments.
"Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic." Carl Sagan, Cosmos
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ebackes88 Regular user 153 Posts |
There is a monthly magic show in Renton WA called "that's impossible presents" which features an hour of strolling magic followed by a stage show. Steve Dobson is one of the strolling magicians there.
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JassTan Regular user Singapore 105 Posts |
Getting a restaurant job is very hard. Mostly you need to be really good and also know the owner. Managers can't always hire you.
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MeetMagicMike Inner circle Gainesville Fl 3501 Posts |
Quote:
Getting a restaurant job is very hard. Mostly you need to be really good and also know the owner. Managers can't always hire you. I've never known the owner of any restaurant I've worked at before being hired but I know what you mean. It certainly would help. When I started I was a waiter. I started doing tricks for my customers and it caught on. The manager asked me to do more of that and in a short time I was the house magician. All of the other restaurants I worked at came through reputation. They sought me out. So I say get your foot in the door any way you can. Work just for tips for a while or do the waiter thing like I did. Build your reputation. |
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Matty Freakin Whipple New user Philadelphia, PA 85 Posts |
Quote:
On May 18, 2016, MeetMagicMike wrote: This. So much this. If you do it right, you should really only ever have to pitch one restaurant- the first one. That's what happened to me too. I landed my first restaurant and worked my butt off, perfecting my routines and expanding my repertoire. Now I'm doing it full time and I never had to approach another restaurant because they all came to me. It's awesome! |
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peppermeat2000 Elite user 428 Posts |
A few years ago a friend of mine did an exhausting state to state search in order to find how many magicians were working in restaurants. He used every resource he could think of...magic forums, internet searches for restaurant entertainment, phone calls, Facebook, SAM/IBM contacts and surveys. He spent almost 6 months hoping to make insure he had as close to an accurate number as possible.
He never explained what his purpose was behind this research, but he eventually did come up with a number... I wont share it yet, but if you were to make a guess, what do you think he came up with? More than a 100? Less than 100? |
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Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
How many states?
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
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Sardonicus New user The Left Coast, USA 50 Posts |
If it was an "exhausting" search as you say, surely the number is over 100; I can't imagine it being less. Having said that, though, the fact that you offered a number as low as 100 makes me suspicious.
But of course Danny poses the important question; how exhausting is exhausting? For ebacks88, thank you for the tip!
"Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic." Carl Sagan, Cosmos
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Matty Freakin Whipple New user Philadelphia, PA 85 Posts |
I'm curious now, too!!! Obviously, the number could change dramatically based on number of states and amount of metropolitan areas.... But hey, like I said earlier, I live a relatively small city and there are three of us, so who knows? Don't leave us hanging!
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peppermeat2000 Elite user 428 Posts |
I spoke with the, "Researcher" via Facebook last night. This research was actually part of a statistics project he did while in graduate school (2014). He focused on every state, starting with the 3 cities which had the highest populations for that state. This was a 6 month long project and an important part of his masters thesis, so he tried to be as accountable as possible regarding the research he did in order to get his numbers as accurate as possible.
One he researched the first set of target cities, he worked his way through the cities and towns which fell into the top ten in population size. His idea was sparked by a restaurant magician his family encountered in Europe when he was in high school. The family had never realized such entertainment was feasible at a restaurant and figured it was unique to the place they dined out at in Europe. When the magician explained to them that the practice of restaurant magic was far more popular in the US than in Europe, his family was constantly looking for a place to eat when traveling in the US that offered table side magic, but could never track one down. |
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Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
How could you even begin to track them down? There is almost no way for it to be anywhere close to accurate.
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
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peppermeat2000 Elite user 428 Posts |
Quote:
On May 19, 2016, Dannydoyle wrote: I know, right! |
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Dannydoyle Eternal Order 21219 Posts |
Since nobody is going to guess why not tell us the number?
Danny Doyle
<BR>Semper Occultus <BR>In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act....George Orwell |
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