Steve has done it again, sharing the wisdom only Steve can:

HOLY SMOKE

There were two ways I could have played this: downplay the book and be modest yet cool. I went the other way, making this all about me.

I’ve always cared passionately about taking pieces of the world around me and revealing their essence or how they look to me through my lens as a magician. Exposing truths through fakery is a tactic that audiences seem to love as much as I do. Since emerging as a human curiosity I’ve had what some would consider a fair measure of success with a noteworthy, abstruse, eventful career, that has spanned more than fifty years. Sparking audiences with surprise on theatrical, concert, casino, and nightclub stages as well as headlining my own decades-long running show in Santa Monica, California. HOLY SMOKE is my personal bible.

This 325 page hardcover bible includes useful creative-thinking tools, and an examination of the inventive techniques and thought processes employed throughout my career. Developing striking mysteries with presentations that audiences are drawn to, or are curious or care about, or that engage with fascinating or funny ideas, are what I always strive for.

When I face the inevitable obstacles — such as feeling I have no talent, or any burning driving passion, or I feel too old or too young or too jaded — I re-read and use what’s in my HOLY SMOKE bible to overcome these stumbling blocks. When my creativity is running low or there’s a feel or need for inspiration, reading any page at random gives me a boost. I promise when — not if — you see things in a new way and come up with your own special method or presentation, you will feel a swell of pride that’s absolutely precious and important to every performer.

HOLY SMOKE also contains these twelve audience-tested scripted stand-up routines:

NAKED TRUTH

A unique piece of mentalism that’s a powerful routine with a quirky premise inspired by the late great comedy icon Mike Nichols. “It’s happened to all of us. You’ve seen things that were never intended to be seen. Quick example. As a teenager I saw my mother naked…” This mind reading escapade is like no other, with a procedure that appears absolutely fair. And it’s done without any electronics or tricky clipboards or pre-show work.

FRISBEE 360

This is Bob Hummer’s Flying Card as it has never been seen before, because it is impossible to do his famous card trick with a Frisbee. But that’s what this is, and you do it blindfolded. The Frisbee flies 360 degrees around your body twice and a third time as you and the Frisbee spin in tandem. This is strong visual magic.

E-METER

“If someone came up to me on the street and challenged me to read their mind, I know I couldn’t do it. But I have a machine that can.” I am struck by how un-involving and lacking in eye-candy most mentalism can be. Not the case here. More than a mental revelation, the visual surprise impact finish is a cosmic whack that your volunteer participant will never forget.

GRAPES I ATE ANYWAY

“I accidentally dropped a grape in onion dip. I didn’t wipe it off because I like onion dip. I ate it, but it was not great.” If you ever wanted to do a routine about adapting to whatever comes your way using four grapes… this is it. Not a version of the Three Ball Trick. No table, no net, no volunteers, no multiple phases, no pop-up move, no “one goes in the pocket still three in the hand,” and no three balls. What is here is a streamlined chucklesome waggish sequence with a surprise finish in a routine designed for large groups.

SHRINKFLATION

As a fellow magician, I know you spend countless hours wrestling with this question: “How do I do a quirky poignant Diminishing Cards effect that’s a magical metaphor for how manufacturers give consumers less and less and less product and hope we don’t notice because they slap ‘Giant Size’ on the package?” I get it. I got it. Now it’s yours. I call it Shrinkflation.

GHOSTS

Based on the plot of Tommy Wonder’s modern classic “Ring, Watch, & Wallet,” this routine was originally developed to entertain the season 12 wrap party for a horror genre ghost-hunting Travel Channel TV show known as The Dead Files. This presentation romanticizes a crime committed by ghosts. Since I’m not now, nor have I ever been, a believer in the paranormal… this thing is a moral tradeoff of sorts. And while that fact haunts me slightly, I am still a redeemable character since the magic in question here is shared in the form of satirical parody.

CLASSIC CAT

Just because a trick is basic doesn’t mean you can’t un-basic it. And if a trick seems stale, it doesn’t mean your version can’t be fresh. One might say I have a singular sensibility. Taste comes into play when presenting a classic like the Rice Bowls and deciding how best to relate a narrative – this laugh out loud version is presented as a commercial for a new Self-Refilling Kitty Litter designed especially for well-hydrated cats.

IN IT FOR THE MONEY

Can I be honest with you? I hope so, and I must apologize for swearing, but this is the funniest ****ing Miser’s Dream routine ever devised, and there’s no kid or bucket involved.

DUST

Have you heard about the magic dust? This routine documents a unique part of my personal performing history, my Highdini act from the early 1970s. And this bit illustrates the adaptive nature of our craft since the predominate gimmick ideas were borrowed from an odd combo of tricks, Cake in Hat and the Long Pour Salt Trick. Yep, this is the one you read about in my memoir I Lie for Money where I snorted tablespoons of white powder throughout the show culminating in a surprise finish. A quick word to my younger readers from Highdini: in the long run, there are three types of people who can’t handle being perpetually plastered, wasted, loaded, and stoned… magicians, comedians, and everybody else.

SMASHED & RESTORED

After using a champagne bottle for another effect – such as Coin in Bottle or making it appear a la Bob Read – the magician, that’s you, folds a scarf or bar-rag around the bottle, crafting a sack that loosely encases it. He smashes the bottle with a violent whack of a hammer that produces a loud pop and crash sound. The broken glass is shaken inside the makeshift sack. The rough noisy twitch and hacksaw sounding shift of the jagged shards seems to antagonize the ear drums of those watching. With the snap of a finger and thumb, the empty cloth noiselessly slips away to reveal a fully restored champagne bottle.

THUMBS UP

“Has anyone ever had a pack of tarot cards, an ouija board, or a Magic Eight Ball? Yeah me too. Nowadays when I need a little guidance I go with the Sign of the Thumbs.”

A piece of cardboard is displayed, both sides are shown to have a picture of the thumbs up gesture that’s associated with positivity and approval.

“Here’s how it works. On a road trip I find myself in the middle of Kansas fueling up a rent-a-car. The nearest body of water is five states away. Should I go ahead and buy the gas station sushi?”

The cardboard is repeatedly turned over, with each turn the thumbs haphazardly change directions, accompanied by a monologue comprised of crazy queries that make it all make sense. Yep, it’s my own sweet version of the Milbourne Christopher Traffic Sign trick from the 1940s.

BEER SUCKS

Ken Brooke is one of the heroes of British magic. He was a superb thinker, a brilliantly funny performer, and a maestro that’s famous for his Multiplying Bottles routine — a surefire classic performed by pros worldwide, including me… until I stopped. The way I see it, or at least in my hands, I think and feel this unique distinctive “Beer Sucks” version really lifts the effect into a different place, is about something, and has twice the laughs without losing one iota of the magic.

Hardcover HOLY SMOKE book available for pre-order now, ships July 15, 2024

USA: $125 plus $8 shipping/handling – $133 PayPal to info@stevespill.com
International orders: $125 plus $25 shipping/handling – $150 PayPal to info@stevespill.com

I'm so excited for this book! I already have his first two books and I have had Assassin in my cart for the longest time. Looks like that next order just doubled

Steve has shared so much with the magic community. He just keeps giving. How lucky are we that he is willing to share his lifetime of knowledge to inspire us?