How to do Magic Tricks

Advice and Support for Magicians

Merchant of Magic Podcast #5 – Killer Magic Interviews

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Merchant of Magic Podcast #5

In this episode, we talk to some of the magicians in the new magic TV series Killer Magic. Chris Cox, Ben Hart and Damien O'Brien talk about their experience making the show, how they work together, and give some advice for magicians wanting to improve their performance techniques.

 

For a text version of this interview visit here

Merchant of Magic Podcast 4 – Performing Time, Small Hands, and Card Control

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Merchant of Magic Podcast Episode 4Merchant of Magic Podcast Episode 4 : In a dark corner of the Magic Shop, Dominic Reyes, Ben Williams and Paul Knight chat together about:

  • Running out of time when performing magic at a gig.
  • Which tables or guests to entertain first.
  • Overhearing feedback from spectators.

 

 

The team also answer some of the questions sent in to the magic shop, including:

 

  • How easy is magic for people with small hands?
  • Ways to keep your playing cards in control.

 

The Merchant of Magic Podcast is recorded liveat the magic shop.

The motivation behind the Merchant of Magic podcast is to recreate the feel of visiting the magic shop and joining in with the conversations about magic that happen through the day.
Because all the core team are working magicians, we spend much of our time talking about the gig’s we have done that week, and the experiences we have as magicians. We think that there are enoughmagic product review podcasts and shows available to magicians. We don’t want a show that is nothing more than a commercial for the magic tricks the shop is selling.

The Merchant of Magic is in a very lucky position that we are truly grateful for. The success of the magic shop means that our customers fund us to be at the shop, helping magicians and giving advice. The podcast is funded by that support, so it does not need to be a commercial, plug products or promote sales. If you get something out of it, it’s time well spent. After all, we are in the shop talking about magic anyway, so why not record it!

The format
We plug a mic into a macbook pro, switch on Garageband, and record the show. No editing or effects, just a recording of the chat we are having in the shop. Five minutes after we stop recording, it’s live. That’s very easy, fun to do, and feels organic, but it does mean that the show is not ‘produced’.
The other option would be to have regular ‘sections’ within a show. Each section having intros, and running on a set theme each episode. For example:
  • Q&A
  • Our week in magic
  • Magic at a gig
  • Practice tips
  • etc etc
What do you think? Just us chatting in a rambling splurge of conversation with no real direction, goal or structure? Or a more formal show with regular sections? What would you like included?Please share your thoughts in the comments section below:

Podcast 3 : Shakes, the Classic Pass, and Approaching Strangers

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Magic Podcast

Dominic Reyes, Ben Williams and Paul Knight find a quiet corner of the shop and sit down and chat about magic.

Dominic finally picked up a decent mic for the podcast, so this episode doesn’t have the horrible background hiss from episode 2. If you miss the crackle and hiss, just let us know, and one of the team will be happy to post some out to you!
In this episode the team answer questions that magicians have asked:

Steve: ‘Whenever I go out to perform I get the shakes – Any Advice?‘

Connagh: ‘I’m having trouble with the classic pass. Everyone sees it. What can I do?‘

Oliver: ‘I’m struggling with the confidence to go up to people out of the blue, can you help?‘

Malcolm: ‘How do I introduce new gimmicked items like pens or wallets, without people knowing they are gimmicked?‘

 Download the Podcast

Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes

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