HALLOWEEN MAGIC SHOW!

I performed a Magic Halloween Show Saturday evening at client Diana's house for many kids and even more adults. Here I am performing rope magic...

Magic show for 200 people

 I performed a magic show last night in Agoura Hills and it was awesome! I loved doing magic for 200 people. Wow, what a high!

Birthday Party Magic Show in the Park

I performed a Birthday Magic show for Hadiss at Tapo community Park in Simi Valley. I was surrounded by kids of all ages. I had a great time as always...

Magic Show at David Castagnos House

I performed a magic show at David Castagnos house, founder of "Screamer Magazine". He collects crosses from all over the world! You can see them on the back ground. We all had a blast after the magic show; we hung out and  talked about rock and heavy metal music:)

Jacobs 10th Birthday Magic show

I performed a magic show for 10 year old Jacob on his birthday. I had a blast! It was great seeing by good friends after the show. We were in a band together and they will always be family to me...Thank you John and Lydia:)

Magic from England

Although it's not officially UK week, all the performers came together from London England so it might as well have been. I saw Andi Gladwin and NoeI QuaIter perform close-up magic. I really liked Andi's card magic and his website. I also saw Rob James and Late Performer Alan Hudson in the Parlour.  As always I had a marvelous time. Alan did a great job with only four tricks; blind folded, he revealed the color of  four balloons while they were popped one at a time. He performed a knife and fork counting trick, a mind reading from a book trick and one other which I don't remember. What I do remember was that he had a great personality and really enjoyed himself up there on stage...

The Magic Castle

 Then, last night, I went to the Magic Castle. In the close-up room I saw young performers, Jeff Kaylor and  Henok Negash. They both did a great job demonstrating card and coin magic and wonderful technique.

In the Parlour I saw the skillful Giovanni Livera followed by  the very funny Fitzgeral.

I hung out with Dana who is also a magician. Then saw my friends Otmaro and Lou. I performed card and coin magic in the Hat and Hare room... 

Is it worth the doing?

Hours and hours of practice to improve with a humble effort at art and magic; all that practice just to get a smile or a nod of acknowledgement and sometimes, maybe a look of amazement. You ask, is it worth it? The answer is a simple, but definite, "Yes".

Benny "The Jet" Urquidez 60th Birthday

Me, Matt Salinas (former lightweight California State kickboxing Champion) Pete Cunningham, (former 7 time World  Kickboxing Champion) Benny "The Jet Urquidez" (World Champion Kickboxing Legend) and boxing instructor, Jorge Perez at Benny's 60th birthday! Benny and Pete taught me so much back in the day...

Magic Castle on Ariels Birthday

Here I am with my good pals in front of the Magic Castle. Brittney, Matt Salinas, Scott, Ariel and Adriene. The close up room was amazing. Paul Green did a phenomenal job using only coins and cards. Simon Coronel also performed in the late close-up show and demonstrated mind boggling magic! They both inspired me...

Magic Castle Close-up

I saw two great performances in the close-up room this evening.Veteran Allan Ackerman did wonderful sleight of hand card magic followed by the young and talented Eric Jones. It was interesting to see other magician members performing in the other rooms as well. One magician did his entire performance in Spanish which I enjoyed. I did some card and coin magic for a couple that requested me in the earlier part of the night. My friend Otmaro did a performance in the dungeon that I happened to walk into; we discussed card ideas after the audience left. It was an enjoyable evening...

Magic Castle Amazement!

I saw Derek Hughes in the Parlour show. He was hilarious! Then I saw David Minkin perform in the close-up room. His slight of hand magic is something to strive for. I really enjoyed watching his flawless technique...

Birthday Dinner Magic

A quiet dinner at Mo's restaurant in Burbank for my birthday last night at around 9pm. Lou performed an awesome set of card and coin magic. From the left Danny, Lou Serrano and his girlfriend Dee; myself, Matt Salinas on the far right...

Invited friends to the Magic Castle

I invited Mike Galvin and seven of his friends to the Magic Castle tonight. I enjoyed watching Gregory Wilson in the Palace along with Christopher Hart and Dimmare. The performance was very entertaining. Dimmare did some new material which I had never seen before. I enjoyed it.  In the close-up room, Henry Evans did excellent card magic. What an extremely talented man...

Holly Marie Combs

I met Holly Marie Combs tonight! I was so happy to meet one of the charmed ones. I told her that I was a huge fan and also a magician. Her eyes lite up and she said, "Well, I'll have to keep that in mind".

Friends at The Magic Castle

I went to the Castle Saturday night with a musician friend of mine, Tony. We both attended the Grove school of music long ago. Just got back from another good time with more friends; Lori, Steph, Mike and me at the Magic Castle. We had a blast!

Dai Vernons Kangaroo Coins

An Evening at Magic Castle

I went to the Magic Castle to look at the portraits. I have a better idea now as to what size I will paint a portrait of Milt Larsen, Founder of the Magic Castle. It will be an 18x 24 canvas in the medium of oil...

Dave Thorsen

I saw Dave Thorsen last night at the magic castle. He taught me card and coin magic last year. It was nice to see him again. This picture taken sometime in March 2011. Time flew!

Kickboxing lessons for Magic lessons

Lou Serrano has helped tremendously with my close-up magic. I am very grateful to have a best friend like Lou in my life. We reviewed my card technique for the full hour. Then we worked on some boxing skills. We began with a warm-up, followed by shadow boxing, then focus mitt work. We finished off by hitting the big bag. I demonstrated boxing technique on the big bag which he videoed for the purpose of learning; foot work, continuous head movement, economy of motion, and how to hit with proper leverage...

Magic Castle Night!

Matt Salinas and Milt Larsen at The Magic Castle

Wow! I went to the magicians library and exchanged card magic ideas with my friend Otmaro; he is helping me with seven songs I wrote on the piano a few years ago. We are Musicians and Magicians; I know it's crazy!

Then I asked Milt Larson, founder of the World Famous Magic Castle, if I could paint his portrait and he said yes! I'm looking forward to doing it. It will be a gift from me to him.

To end the evening, Otmaro and I saw Brandon Scott perform in the Parlour. Brandon performed in English and in Spanish and did an excellent job of it. I was very pleased being a Spanish speaker myself:) 

An Evening at Magic Castle

I just saw R. Paul Wilson perform card magic in the close-up room and  Chef Anton perform an amazing shell and pea routine in the same room later that evening. I enjoyed the Palace with Murray Hatfield & Teresa who as husband and wife performed  great illusions with perplexing escapes from boxes of all shapes. If I ever perform stage magic with an assistant, that is the type of magic I would do...

Family

I took my two sisters, my niece, my brother and his wife to the Magic Castle last night. They had never been to the Castle. We all had a good time...

Japan Week at the Magic Castle

I just got back from the Magic Castle. I saw almost every show, but the one that really stood out to me was the  Shinichi Maruyama show in the close-up room. He did card magic for the entire performance. His skill and personality captivated the audience. The most important thing that I enjoyed was that throughout the entire show, he enjoyed himself. His enthusiasm to perform magic achieved a higher level of entertainment...

Magician Sings & Plays the Piano!

 

I haven't played the piano or done any singing for a long time. And here I am singing a Journey song.

Magic Castle

 I saw some very impressive card magic done by Jamy Ian Swiss in the close-up room a few hours ago on Wednesday night. In the Palace of Mystery, Murray SawChuck performed some grand illusions with his side-kick Lefty performing card stage magic and a zombie ball routine. I enjoyed Murrays Metamorphasis routine and Zig-zag box trick. I ended the evening watching Jesse Dee in the close-up room where he did some very impressive coin tricks and ended with a fish bowl filled with water and live fish and fish food under his hat for a finally. 

Kickboxing and Magic

Went over patter and technique for a card trick, "everywhere and nowhere". It's coming along nicely. Moving objects using telekinetic powers was another amazing learning experience. I continued to teach Lou kickboxing by having him punch focus mitts and the big bag followed by two 2 minute rounds of jab sparring...

Magic Castle with Robyn

I went to the Magic Castle last night with my friend Robyn. We saw Adam Wylie in the close-up room and Stoil Stoilov in the Parlour of Prestidigitation. I enjoyed speaking to Stoil in the bar downstairs after his show. We spoke Russian:)

Magic Castle last night

I went to the magic castle last night and saw some magic in the Palace of Mystery that I found useful in my own magic. It was a simple miming illusion done by Tina Lenert  with rings and Ardan James with a hat, but it looked really cool... Bruce Gold performed in the Parlour and Paul Draper performed in the close-up room.

My niece Mia. Chuck E Cheese Magic...

My niece had a birthday party yesterday at Chuck E Cheese Pizza. I did a few magic tricks for her and all my other nieces and nephews. I'm the only one in my family who doesn't have kids... I pulled a rabbit out of a hat for Mia and gave it to her for her special day... No it wasn't a real rabbit:)

At the magic castle I saw George Tovar in the Parlour of Prestidigitation. followed by Phil Van Tee in the same room at different times. George did an excellent job of not only entertaining his audience, but once again showing such confidence in his skill to perform card and coin illusions that looked very magical. My friend, fellow magician, Fred Falk and I really enjoyed his version of the McDonald Aces. He actually put the cards in the spectators hands then made each ace vanish!
Phil Van Tee was spectacular in his handling of the rope tricks.  The knots he produces are beyond magical. That kind of rope magic takes years of practice and it surely paid off in spades. I met Jordan, (MC brother is Brian) and her friend Stephanie, who is going back to Mississippi in a couple of days. I enjoyed performing a few card and coin tricks for them. The pleasure was mine...

Close-up Magic

Arriving at the Magic Castle at 7pm, I  saw Brian Gillis in the close-up room. His sleight of hand card magic was simply amazing. I then saw high school teacher and magician, Jheff in the parlour room who baffled his audience with mind reading magic. In the Palace of Mystery Ice McDonald made birds appear out of thin air. His partner Mystina danced with a dummy like Fred Astaire with amazing color clothe changing to the rhythm of the music. I ended the evening watching George Tovar, in the close-up room, who was a reminder to me of why I love to perform magic. His card magic really looked like magic. He was very polite and respectful to his audience. His humor was subtle and it was very evident that he was an experienced professional. Mr. Tovar truly inspired me...

Kickboxing and Magic Lessons

Just finished learning more magic. My buddy and mentor Lou Serrano taught me the Haunted pack and we reviewed the,"coin in the bottle" routine. It's all in the details to make it look like real magic. As for the kickboxing, we reviewed kickboxing drills on the focus mitts, followed by three rounds sparring, then we finish with kickboxing combination on the big bag. I video recorded this time for learning purposes...

reunions

I invited my friend, Danny Soto and his girlfriend, Leanor who I met again from facebook to the Magic Castle last night.  Danny and I went to Jr high and high school together. We saw the Palace show, the late parlour show with Scottish Alex Proctor. Then we saw my friend  Mad Tad  perform with his mentor McMaster. It was a blast hanging out with my other magician friends, Lou, his girl friend Dee, Zach, Fred and so many others. The girl in the picture just jumped in. She happens to be a friend of my first mentor Magician Armando Lucero.

Kickboxing and Magic

Today I re-learned the coin though the bottle routine. So many details to make it look like real magic. I'm so happy to have Lou as a best friend and mentor. Today, Lou and I sparred. He bought a mouth piece and new hand wraps. After working the thai pads he put on head gear, mouth piece and we did jab and thigh-kick sparring. For his first real fight, not too bad. I did pressure him a little bit, but I never hurt him. Teaching, does not mean hurting your student. There is a difference between pressure and inflicting pain. It is never okay to hurt and possibly discourage a student. We did two, 2 minute rounds. If we keep training like this, he can only get better; by better, I mean if he get's into a fight with a layman, that person will prey there is a god up there...

Scotland week

I saw the very talented and very funny Gary Middleton perform in the close-up room.  Loved his rope trick routine. Also saw Paul Vigil perform his flawless card and coin magic in the late night close-up venue. Cerebral and art-like magic...Dave Forrest did a wonderful magic illustion with a painting which predicted the future from  a dream in the parlour. Pop Haydn and Scott Land performed in the palace. Haydn is soooo funny and Scotts puppet work is extremely entertaining. You may know his work from the movie, "Team America". Also performing magic in the palace was the comedy duo Fifth Dimension .

Integrity

So far, I am doing what I said I was going to do based on my new years resolution. The Chinese New Year of The Dragon, (which happens to be the year I was born) started January 23rd, 2012. As a result, I am restating my goals again for this year based on another new years beginning.

1. Health; I am working out three days a week or more and have lost 6 pounds so far.

2. Wealth; I am paying off my credit card; THANK GOD!

3. Magic; I am practicing new magic everyday without fail...

I realize that when I do what I said I was going to do and don't make any excuses, I feel a lot better about my life. This blog is really about keeping me in check so that I don't slack off, but if it also inspires others to have integrity, then that too makes me happy for them.

Kickboxing and Magic

I just finished teaching Lou Serrano kickboxing in exchange for magic lessons. I learned so much from him tonight. Basically we went over card and coin magic. I'm tightening up the sleights on a coin routine, the matrix which is a card and coin routine and his version of  a card trick called "Everywhere and Nowhere".  On the kickboxing side we warmed up; went over basic boxing drills, then I held the focus mitts while he did various boxing combination's. We ended with big bag combos...

Comedy in magic

Last night I took the beautiful Robyn to the Magic castle. I enjoyed the comedy more than the magic. Hmmm, okay, the magic was way cool too. J. Neal did and excellent job of making us all laugh and impress everyone with his slight of hand.  Fielding West was hysterically funny in the Palace, but again his magic was very impressive too...

Magic Bar...

I took my friend Tatiana and her sister to the Magic Castle last night. David Gabay performed excellent card and coin magic at the bar! http://www.gabbaymagic.com/

Magic Castle renovated

The new close-up room is in a word, "Awesome"! I had a great time hanging out with Lou, Tad, Zach, Fred and too many others to mention.

Close-up Magic

I just saw my buddy, Lou Serrano perform at the magic castle and as always he was phenomenal! I also saw Rich Marotta and he too did an awesome job. I studied in the library for magicians and enjoyed David Roths coin magic for most of the early night... I look forward to seeing the entire Castle renovated on Friday the 13th:) 

House of Pancakes

Just got back from having breakfast- dinner with my buddy Lou Serrano after his performance at the Magic Castle. He was amazing as always. He made sure I was sober enough to drive home by taking me to IHOP after his show. Now that is a friend! I love him for that. Dana Daniels in the Pellar room was funny and the Palace show with Jonathan Pendragon and the Adams family hand guy, Christopher Hart was way cool. Gotta sleep now... I'll be there again tomorrow night to study magic in the library...

Entertainment

Tonight at the Magic Castle, I saw John Shryock and Mari Lynn  perform in the palace theater. The illusions were amazing! I enjoyed seeing Shryock levitate his wife and then make her disappear in mid-air! Eric Buss was very funny.Veteran magician  Mark Matsumoto performed sneaky sleight of hand close-up in the Peller room. In the parlour, Ben Seidman, who writes for Criss Angels TV show, was very talented and witty. His pick-pocketing is truly masterful and magical. 

Coin Magic

I am practicing coin magic from many sources; Alex Geiser's  Prodigy routine, David Roth's coin concealments, Bobo's vanishes, Shanky's DVD and many of the techniques that Lou Serrano taught me along with Armando Lucero's way of approaching magic...

kickboxing lessons for magic lessons

I taught my buddy Lou Serrano kickboxing today in exchange for magic lessons. I learned his chop cup and ball routine. Although I like his, I am going to create my own by combining other routines and adding my own personal touch. Lou suggested that would be the better way to approach magic, and I agree. The Magic castle library will be my main source...

Dinner with close friend Armando Lucero

Last night I had dinner with Armando Lucero. We spoke for hours about magic. Methods, definitions of magic, psychology and the philosophy. It was a perfect way to start the new year. After dinner, we went to a coffee shop. When the coffee shop closed, we went to a twenty four hour open restaurant til about three in the morning. I learned a lot and I am truly grateful for knowing Armando...