No Stone Left Unturned Archives - Stone Cold Magic Magazine

Lost in Translation – Know Your Audience 4

Jeff Stone — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 07:04:05 +0000

Ahhhh. The wonderful art that is translation. When I released my DVD Stone Cold Magic in 2007, there were some exciting and quite funny moments. I just found a website that I believe is Chinese. At the bottom of the site was a “blurb” written in Chinese characters. I ran them through the Google translator, and this is how some of the phrases from my ad copy translated:

English: Including bonus material
Chinese: Inspection bonus material!

English: Including the “spectral chill” concept, a rockin’ idea…
Chinese: Including the concept of ghosts cold-rockin’

English: Check out the following list of killer effects
Chinese: Check the following list of role murderer!

English: Including 13 killer effects
Chinese: Including the 13 murderers…

English: Get ready to experience 17 effects that will stone cold kill your audience
Chinese: Ready to experience the cold killed stone-throwing your audience.

English: Imagine a playing card vanishing right under your audience’s noses
Chinese: Imagine a pack of playing cards disappear – in your audience’s nose

I Just hope they know what they’re really getting when they buy it!

I bring this up, a) because it’s funny, and b) because there is a lesson here, I think. The lesson is the fourth and final in the Know Your Audience series. Things get lost in translation even when both people are speaking the same language. In this case, the “audience” I’m referring to is the person who hired you to do your gig. Take a moment to make sure that you both are on the same page regarding things like: date and time of event, fee, required equipment, etc. Make sure they know what you actually will be doing.

I was once hired as one of several entertainers at an outdoor party at a huge home owned by a very rich lady. When the gig was over, the owner of the home gave me a piece of her mind and told me how upset she was that she didn’t see me perform at a single table. She said that all I did was just stop by a bunch of different tables and talk to people. Long story short, she thought I was a musician and that I’d be playing a song at each table.

In this case, I can blame the agent who got me the gig. He didn’t communicate clearly with the owner. However, ultimately I’m the one hired, and I’m the one leaving the impression on the owner, so I should have made sure my agent knew what he was talking about. Make sure that everyone is on the same page. This includes your customers at the table you’re approaching as well.

Take a moment to make sure they know why you’re interrupting their meal, party, etc. Make it clear to them yourself, and also work with the host to make sure that they are spreading the word that there is a magician in the house.

You don’t want to end up wit a deck of cards vanishing up your spectator’s nose, so take some time to communicate properly with all parties involved, and make sure that you not only know your audience, but that your audience knows you.

The post Lost in Translation – Know Your Audience 4 appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Heckler Smacker – Know Your Audience 3

Jeff Stone — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 07:04:49 +0000

The past two months, were brief stories about experiences from past gigs that had a lesson to be learned. This month is yet another. The lesson is still about knowing your audience. In this case, I happened to have an audience that was pretty laid back and fun, and so I knew that the subtle simple line would be just fine without causing as stir. However, in another situation it may not work. Think about your venues and audience. Would my “line” work in those venues? If not, what would?

There is nothing more satisfying than casually and subtly nailing a heckler… well almost nothing. I mean it’s hard to beat taking a bath in a tub full of chocolate milk while midgets feed you chocolate chip cookies. But besides that, nothing is more satisfying than a good “gotcha” with a heckler.

Case in Point:

I had a gig not too long ago that was a strolling corporate function. It was up in the mountains at a beautiful campsite right here in lovely Utah. With each group that I approached I opened with a variation of Jay Sankey’s “Die Hard Opener.” The basic premise is simply that a card is chosen, shuffled back into the deck and then you cause “their selection” to fly out of the deck into the air, and you catch it.

However, when you show it, you’re “wrong.” It’s not their card… just a magical phrase like “top change” and suddenly it is their card. It’s a very good opener, and the psychology behind it is brilliant. I’ve always loved this effect.

So I’d successfully performed it about 15 or 20 times without a hitch… the timing was great. Right about when they were thinking, “crap… did he really screw up?” The card was changed and I was Mr. Miracle. It was like that time that I was fishing in a lake of diet coke catching fish with meat hooks and chicken beaks for bait … ah good times.

But I digress … The point is this: On the 21st time I performed it, when I got to the point where the card was “wrong” some smarty pants guy said, “They actually pay you for this?” I had just done the switch right as he said that. The magic happened, and I showed the selection, and simply said, “Yes, The DO pay me for this.”

It was Awesome. The guy’s jaw dropped, the audience laughed and cheered, and he even sort of apologized by saying, “Wow. That was good.” How sweet is that. I mean it’s not as sweet as a forest fully of hollow chocolate Easter Bunnies and sour gummy worms being eaten by invisible insects, but still it was sweet!

I gotta go. I can hear someone playing Stairway to Heaven on the Banjo.

The post Heckler Smacker – Know Your Audience 3 appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Debunking Criss Angel – Know Your Audience 2

Jeff Stone — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 06:04:27 +0000

This month, rather than trying to discuss “theory” about the business side of things, I figured I would attempt to lead by example. Continuing our theme from last month about knowing your audience, below is a story of a gig I had where I had to put together a very specific set for a very specific audience. It’s actually an old blog post I wrote several years ago, but that blog is now dead, so I thought I’d move the post to the magazine. I’ll let you read the story and learn what you want to learn from it. Enjoy.

I just recently had the strangest gig. I had a youth group leader who had some young men who were “believers” of Criss Angel. This may sound harmless at first, and maybe it is. However, the concern that this leader had was that these young men really believed that Criss Angel had real power and could do real “magic.”

If you’re a fan of Angel’s, you’ll note that he himself admits that he has no real power. So this youth group leader hired me to do a show/lecture to prove that Criss Angel does not have real power. Of course, I didn’t want to come across as an Angel-hater, so I structured the show to have three main phases:

Magic isn’t real
A mentalist Show
Brief lecture about magic not being real

Phase 1:

The first phase, “Magic Isn’t Real,” is where I spent a brief amount of time talking about the concept that, just as in a movie, there are special tricks and effects used to create a moment, feeling or emotion, etc., so too does magic use similar techniques to create similar events.

Magic Uses principles like misdirection, psychology, sleight of hand, gimmicks, and lots of practice. So, much like when you watch a movie, you suspend your disbelief and pretend that superman can really fly, let’s suspend our disbelief for the next half-hour or so and pretend that magic is real.

This really set the stage for a great show. The audience seemed to be much more interested in experiencing the moment rather than trying to figure out how things were done. I’ve since testing added this intro to my regular show. I had a show a week later where I used this same intro.

Phase 2:

The show was pretty much my standard show with a few modifications. I tried out a couple of new effects from Sankey’s DVD, Hemispheres. Here are some of the effects:

Lee Earle and Larry Becker’s “Ace Revisited.” – A book test with a dictionary
John Archer’s Komedy Killer (my own modification of it)
Finding Your Inner Superhero – An effect I created – basically a prediction of a chosen superhero

I did a few other effects, but they are ones I’m keeping to myself for now. Anyway, I usually do a different book test, but at this gig, I tried Larry Becker’s Ace Revisited and it killed. After the show everyone was talking about it.

The Archer thing I’ve been doing for years now, and this show, was the last show I’ll ever do it. I love the effect, but it’s just not playing the way I want it to, so until I can come up with a better presentation, it’s out.

The superhero bit has been a staple in my stand up act forever, and this particular show it played better than it ever has. The reason being is that I worked with a script/presentation consultant to improve the performance.

The Sankey effects that I did played well also. I just wanted to comment on the idea of constantly monitoring your show. This particular gig was a turning point for my show. There are new effects in and old effects out.

Phase 3:

In the final phase, I briefly talked about how many of the things I just did, as impossible, as they seemed, there was some trick to it. In addition to the practice, I used psychology, sleight of hand, gimmicks, etc. I then spent some time talking about the fact that even Criss Angel himself admits that he has no power. Part of the presentation included an interview with Criss on the Penn and Teller show.

So the point of all my ranting is that by taking this particular gig, my show was taken to the next level. First of all, I was able to get a new introduction to my show that has now served me well for a couple of shows. Time will tell if it will hold out, but I think it will.

Secondly, I gained a new trick-set that is better than my previous show. I was able to test some new patter that worked well and thus improved my show.

Finally, as much as I’m not really an Angel fan, I gained a new level of respect for him after listening to the interview. So keep on giggin’ and keep on trying new ideas, and constantly improve your show. What did you learn?

The post Debunking Criss Angel – Know Your Audience 2 appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Free Magic Jokes – Know Your Audience Part 1

Jeff Stone — Sat, 20 Sep 2014 06:04:52 +0000

Man o’ man is my face red! The best way to introduce this article is to remind you that the “standard” magician jokes, antics, routines, bits o’ business are not universally accepted in all ages. Not too long ago, I performed for a group of elderly ladies. They were one of the nicest and sweetest groups of people I’ve ever performed for. However, their take on life is a bit different from ours.

Let’s start with Lame Incident number one. How many times have you performed for a woman who jokingly said, “Can you make my husband disappear?” Or vice-versa. It happens all the time. So I thought it would be clever to start my “all women” show by saying, “How many of you would like me to make your husbands disappear?”

That’s funny, right? A moment of awkward silence was preceded by their response: “Can you bring mine back?” You might think that they (and yes I do mean “they”) were joking, but their countenance and their collective sigh told me otherwise. They were dead serious (pardon the horribly tasteless pun).

Lame Incident number two: All Strung Out. This is an effect by David Regal that I love. However, it requires the audience members to thread beads onto a string… Not smart when you have arthritic women with less than perfect vision. Thanks to my brilliant lack of forethought and non-planning, I got several women whipped up into a frenzy as the room began to buzz with faint sounds of “I can’t see the hole” and “I keep dropping the string” and “What color is this bead” and so many more that I’ve since tried to block from my memory.

Finally, Lame Incident number three: Sponge Balls! Oh yeah! I tried to do sponge balls with ladies whose hands stopped working properly years ago. Of course, anyone who does the sponges at some point puts a “single” sponge into the spectator’s hand with strict instructions to keep the hand closed. This is usually accompanied by the magician’s eager, nay, aggressive assistance in closing the spectator’s hand for her.

Of course I darn near broke her hand as I tried to forcefully close it, and I thought I was being gentle. She was just a frail old woman with a severe case of arthritis.

There were more than three atrocities that day, but my crushed ego will only allow me to tell you about these events and no more. In the end, there was a huge lesson to be learned. Despite having to pay for a “challenged” magician (me), they still had a great time. Imagine how much more they would have enjoyed it had I taken the extra couple of hours of thought to customize a routine to their liking or better said to their needs.

The moral of the story is simple: Know your audience. Study them ahead of time. Get advice from others who have gone before.

All kidding aside, I truly enjoyed my time with these wonderful ladies. Even with their late husbands and broken hands, in a world where it’s so easy to complain, these ladies found the silver lining in the cloud of their lives. I love them for that, and I thank them for that. Until Next Time . . .

The post Free Magic Jokes – Know Your Audience Part 1 appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Marketing by Flourishes

Jeff Stone — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 06:04:41 +0000

Show off

You’re probably sick of me braggin’ about how fast I can solve the Rubik’s cube, but just in case you’re not, my average speed is under 35 seconds. My best time is 24 seconds. I never leave home without my Rubik’s cube. I leave one in the car at all times. That way when I’m heading off to a place where I know I’ll be waiting, I bring the cube with me. It gives me something to do while I’m waiting for the DMV clerk to call my number.

Sometimes I bring a deck of cards instead. With the cards, it’s flourishes and finger flicky stuff while waiting. I do this to show off, but for a good purpose.

Transition

So I’m standing in line speed-solving, or finger-flicking; now what? I’d say that better than 90% of the time I do this, someone will start asking questions or making statements (e.g., “wow you’ve got fast hands”, “you’re good with cards”, “how fast can you solve that”, etc.).

With the flourishes, it’s obviously easy to transition to “I’m a magician” or “I’m a magician; do you wanna see something cool?” With the cube, I tell them the true story that I’ve spent the last year trying to master the speed technique so that I could get my speed down around 30 seconds for a magic effect I’m working on. Of course that leads to, “Oh? Are you a magician?”

So What?

What’s the point of doing all this? Remember that the No Stoned Left Unturned column is meant to help you improve the business side of magic: get more gigs, retain clients, marketing tips, etc. I’ve found that fiddling with my cards and/or cube in public usually leads to a conversation about magic, which often leads to a discussion about “do you do shows?”

Be prepared to answer questions and possibly get some phone numbers and/or give out business cards. This is a simple way to turn a 30 minute wait in Apple Genius Store into a few hundred bucks in your pocket (depending on your show fee) by getting potential and actual clients.

Learn a coin roll, or fancy Zippo lighter moves. Learn to solve the cube or some fancy XCM moves. Learn how to get the attention of those around you without taking on the attitude of “look at how awesome I am.”

Often when people ask what I’m doing, I let them know that I’m “keeping my fingers warmed up.” This will, of course, lead to questions. I lead them to believe that solving the cube is just meant to keep my mind and fingers nimble which is true. This can/will lead to you showing them nimble fingers (card/coin effect) or nimble mind (mentalism effect).

So get out there and start finger flicking, coin rolling and cube solving.

Until Next Month . . .

The post Marketing by Flourishes appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Maybe You Should Stop Doing Magic

Jeff Stone — Sun, 20 Jul 2014 06:04:57 +0000

It’s 6:00 PM – Better Do a Card Trick

Why do you do magic? Are you doing magic because it’s 6:00 on a Friday night? Or do you do magic because you love it and have a passion for it? Or some other reason?

There are only a handful of things that I’m passionate about and can spend hours talking about. Magic is near the top of that list. What about you? What do you talk about when you’re not at work? What excites you? What do you think about before going to bed and immediately after waking up?

What topics do you find yourself gravitating toward during dinner conversations, hanging with friends conversations, etc.? If magic isn’t on the short list, maybe you’re in the wrong profession. If you’re doing magic because you were told to, and it that’s how you get your paycheck, and no other reason, you probably shouldn’t be doing magic.

It’s 3:00 AM and I’m Still Awake Practicing my Presentation

Not everyone loves their job. I get it. However, if you work at McDonald’s taking orders and you hate your job, the customers notice, and it’s not a pleasant experience for them either. If you perform magic, but hate performing, or “only do it to bring in some extra cash” then your audience (i.e., your customers) will notice. This month’s Roots and Branches article is about showing your audience the respect they deserve by putting in the time to perfect your performance.

Well, poor performance isn’t the only way you may be disrespecting your audience. When you just “phone it in” rather than putting your heart and soul into your performance, you are doing your audience and yourself a disservice.

If you don’t enjoy your performance, neither will your audience, and neither will your client (i.e., the person who hired you for the venue). The No Stone Left Unturned column is all about the business side of magic. And my advice to you is that if you don’t like the business you’re in, then you won’t succeed in that business. There’s a great 1970’s song written by Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. It’s called Love the One Your With. The chorus line says, “If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with.”

Basically, the message I get from this is that if you can’t be with the person (or thing) that you love, don’t let the person you are with be hurt by that. Give them all of your love . . . love the one you’re with. So let’s apply that to magic. Is magic the “One You Love” or is it the “One You’re With?” Either one is fine, but if it’s the “One You’re With,” then you need to learn to “Love the One You’re With.”

If it’s 3:00 AM and you’re still awake working on your script or figuring out that new routine you wanted to do, then chances are that magic is the “One You Love.” But if you’re dreading your gig tonight, or you don’t feel you need to work hard and/or late to get the script “just right” then maybe you’re not with the one you love. Maybe it’s time to move on. Maybe you should stop doing magic.

It’s Not Only About You

You not liking your craft impacts other people . . . like the people who watch you and the people who pay you. Many others are affecting by your love or lack of love for magic. If you want to be successful in this business, you must have a passion for it. You must have a contagious enthusiasm for it. When you meet with your client, they must feel that passion and know that they must hire you.

If you don’t see yourself as that kind of person, that’s totally okay. I’m not passionate about being a roofer. That’s why I’m not one. I’m not passionate about being a doctor. That’s why I never went to med school. I’m passionate about writing, programming, magic-ing, etc. That’s why I do those things. Think about my work in the magic fraternity. I publish a free monthly magazine. I publish free daily reviews. I don’t make a dime for these efforts, yet I spend countless hours doing them. Why? Because I love it.

If you don’t love it, you’ve got two choices: Learn to love, or leave it. Pick one, and do it. Your audience deserves it.

Until Next Month . . .

The post Maybe You Should Stop Doing Magic appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Get More Magic Gigs

Jeff Stone — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 00:04:50 +0000

Get More Magic Gigs:

This month we have an audio interview from my good friend and local full time magician, Dan Paulus. We spend some time talking about negotiating fees and trade. Dan has tons of tips and insight that can only be offered by a real working pro. We have a lot of fun discussing the variety of items Dan has traded magic shows for. Enjoy!

Take a look at Dan’s website and you’ll quickly see that we’re getting the expertise of someone out there in the trenches. Also, you might recognize Dan’s name as the creator of, what’s been called, one of the greatest self-working card tricks ever: Blind Luck. Here’s a thread on the The Magic Cafe about it.

The Interview

http://www.stonecoldmagicmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/scmm-june-2014-dan-paulus.mp3

Post Your Questions

After wrapping up, Dan remembered a couple of other items he had done trade for. I’ve asked him to make some time and post some comments below regarding some other trades he’s done. Also, he said he is willing to answer questions posted below, so please post any questions you may have regarding trade or just working as a pro in general.

Until Next Month . . .

Credits

Bumper Music:

“Ouroboros” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The post Get More Magic Gigs appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Magic Business Card Design

Jeff Stone — Tue, 20 May 2014 00:04:21 +0000

Business Card Layout

In January 2014 we briefly discussed business cards as they relate to getting people to your website in Magic Business Cards. The following month, February 2014, we discussed the website sign up form in a little bit more depth with Magical Uses for AWeber. What we didn’t discuss, however, is the actual business card itself.

Many of you have an eye for design. I do not. I’m currently training myself to have that eye, but it’s not there yet. I’m good at programming, creating and performing magic. I let other people do the stuff I don’t know how to do.

Hire a Designer for 5 Bucks!

I hire out all of my stuff that I don’t know how to do. For example, the banner for this website. I had some else design it. I gave him the text, tagline and some images of cards and my face. Oh and I gave him $5 bucks. He did the rest.

Yep $5 bucks. If you haven’t already heard of Fiverr, it’s about time you did. Fiverr is a community of people who will do just about anything for only $5 bucks. You’d be surprised the kind of talent you’ll find out there for such a small price. You guessed it; there are business card designers. Give them the details and a fiverr, and you’ll have a killer business card layout in a few days. Submit that to a website like Vista Print and for a few bucks more you’ve got a sweet set of very inexpensive business cards and/or letterhead, logos; you name it; it’s on Fiverr.

Beware of Bunnies

As I mentioned, I’m not the brightest layout guy. However, there are few things to watch out for. Bunnies, top hats, magic wands, capes, stars, swooshes . . . all things you should avoid. So make sure you tell your Fiverr guy not to use any of those elements.

Fiverr Users

I’ve used a few Fiverr users in the past for layout and design. However, my favorite so far has been Design2Thrive. He’s designed every banner I’ve got on all my sites that use banners.

However, it’s very easy to find solid talent on Fiverr by looking at the ratings. I just spent less than a minute and found Samina99

who has over 900 ratings and they’re all 100% positive ratings. You can see samples of his work on his profile page.

Whatever you need, just do a search, and BAM! You’ll find it for $5 bucks.

Until Next Month . . .

The post Magic Business Card Design appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Wallet Magic

Jeff Stone — Sun, 20 Apr 2014 00:04:15 +0000

What’s in Your Wallet?

Not a Capital One Credit Card. But there are 5 esp cards, Max Maven’s B’Wave, Richard Sanders’s Powerball 60, Jay Sankey’s Sound Waves and a couple other things. The only thing that’s not a magic trick in my wallet is my driver’s license and two debit cards. That’s it. Everything else is magic. How often do I use those things in my wallet? Not very. Maybe every couple of months or so.

Be Ready

I have those effects at the ready, and I can do them at a moment’s notice. Typically, it happens when I meet new people and they find out I’m a magician. It’s the inevitable “show me something.” Well why not? Maybe they’ll book you for their upcoming event. Maybe they’re a talent agent or an event planner. You never know. What should be in your wallet? Stuff that fits you and fits your style. Also, my recommendation is that it doesn’t look like a prop but rather something plain and ordinary.

I’ve got enough in my wallet to do a 20 or so minute show of very powerful material. When I made the decision to go this route, I thought long and hard about the contents of my wallet and what stuff I really needed to have in it. I found a great app for the iPhone called CardStar. It lets you scan in all of your loyalty membership cards. Then when you purchase something at the associated store, the clerk simply has to scan the loyalty card bar code on your iPhone screen. That allowed me to get rid of a ton of stuff.

These days, most insurance companies (auto and health) have apps for your insurance card thus minimizing the need for physical cards. My wallet is now thin, sleek and full of magic. What’s in your wallet?

Until Next Month . . .

The post Wallet Magic appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Interviews For Magicians

Jeff Stone — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 00:04:24 +0000

Meeting the Client

Whether you work restaurants, corporate gigs, children’s shows, stage, parlor, etc., somebody hired you. That means that likely you met someone representing the venue ahead of time. The question is, what did they think of you? Did they give you the best fee you could have gotten? Did they like you? Did they hire you? Obviously at various times in your career and at various venues, the answer will differ. But one thing is for sure. If they think your magic is weak they won’t hire you.

So the question is, should you do magic in an interview. Generally my answer is yes. However, there are exceptions. It depends on how things go and what the interview “vibe” is like.

What Should You Perform?

The last thing you want to do is “turn on” some “character mode” during the interview. They should be meeting the same person they’re going to see on stage. The tricks may be different, but the “guy” should be the same. An interview for any job is all about being prepared. You need to be prepared with a few things. First, have something handy that’s quick, surprising and magical looking. For example, something as simple as an easily reachable cigarette pull for vanishing a pen or a rolled up dollar bill.

Also, be prepared for something with a little more meat that can showcase your showmanship. Maybe a simple coin routine or a simple card trick. Nothing too elaborate. Three coins across, not 5. A signed card to impossible location, not a 7 phase four Ace routine. Finally, have a couple of other well rehearsed powerful effects ready to go in case you need them.

When Should You Perform?

As I mentioned earlier, the interview may be such that you don’t necessarily have an opportunity to perform. This is why you have prepared the way suggested above. The quickie effect is perfect for the beginning and/or the end of the interview. Produce your business card from thin air. You can do this at the beginning or end of the interview. That way, if the opportunity to do an effect during the interview doesn’t present itself, you can still leave the client with a memorable moment.

If, however, during the interview you are able discuss the show and talk about why your magic is different from most magicians, etc. (whatever your selling points are), you’re able to show them what you mean. This is the place for the quick coin routine. Of course, if that goes well and things feel right, you can perform one or two other effects as mentioned above.

You’re Not “Other” Magicians

Oftentimes, people have misconceived notions of what a magician is. There is, of course, the stereotype of the top hat and tails. Then there’s the other extreme: birthday clown. You need to show them with your speech, mannerisms, dress and of course, magic that you are different. This is your competitive edge. This is how you set yourself apart and get a phone call back from the client. It also makes it easier for them to swallow your fee if they might have thought it was a bit high for a birthday clown.

Be prepared to prove you’re better than any other magician they’ve ever seen, but say it with actions, not words.

Until Next Month . . .

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