Desert Island Tricks
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Desert Island Tricks
Sam Strange | Young & Strange Part Two
In this episode, we bring you the whimsical world of Sam Strange, one half of the captivating magic duo, Young and Strange. Sam takes center stage to share the journey of their 15-year partnership, recounting memorable moments and some of is much loved illusions. You'll get an insider look at their lighthearted approach to magic and the deep camaraderie that shapes their performances, along with a sneak peek into Sam's thoughtful guesses on Richard Young's episode.
We chat about the legendary David Copperfield's iconic flying routine and dive into nostalgic tales of how early experiences influence our magical preferences. Beyond the personal connections, we also tackle the practical side of magic, exploring how the Extractor and object-to-impossible-location tricks can leave even the most skeptical audiences spellbound.
The grandeur of stage illusions takes the spotlight and Sam sheds light on the technical challenges behind these awe-inspiring acts, emphasising the importance of respecting the creators by purchasing official props. We also capture the excitement of discovering new tricks at the Magic Live convention and share a unique card trick perfect for engaging audiences on tour. With a blend of magic, humour, and behind-the-scenes camaraderie, this episode promises to enchant and entertain, showcasing the charm and expertise of Young and Strange.
Sam's Desert Island List:
1) Osmosis
2) Card Manipulation
3) Destination Box
4) E2 - Extractor
5) Million Dollar Mystery
6) Chest of Nostradamus
7) Coin Under Watch
8) Random Card Generator
Book) Magic Tricks by Keith Fields
Item) His Kids
A podcast about being an artist from a practical perspective. The series will...
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Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk
Thank you for watching.
Speaker 2:Hello and welcome to another episode of Desert Island Tricks. I am very, very excited today because if you knew the concept from last week's episode, spoiler alert. If you haven't listened to last week's episode, spoiler alert. If you haven't listened to last week's episode, listen to that. First, because we have a wonderful magic duo. Now these two chaps have been performing together for I think when we just spoke about 15 years. I certainly saw them many years ago and, like I mentioned in that previous episode, I'm not going to go through it again one of my magical moments of the things that I experienced was from these two, from seeing them in a very small church hall in london and being absolutely blown away by one of them disappearing and transporting somewhere else. Um, it felt unfathomable and it felt absolutely magical. Now, what I love about this is that both of them haven't conferred, so young hasn't spoken to strange, strange hasn't spoken to young. So we're gonna see number one if there's any overlap, and b, if they each get each other's guesses right, because last week richard guessed what Sam Strange is going to put and we all know what his last item was. So I wonder if Strange is going to accidentally get his own back without, without realizing we're going to find out anyway.
Speaker 2:Today's performer in his own right is absolutely phenomenal. He is the other half of Young and Strange. What I really love about both of them as well is they tend to not take themselves too seriously, which I love, and that really comes across in their performances. They're not afraid to take light of themselves and just be fun and engaging. So I know that if you've not heard of them before, my goodness, please go to youtube.
Speaker 2:Um, obviously, listen to this first. Listen to this first and then go to youtube, watch some of their videos. They're very, very funny. Check out their full-loss performances. I know that richard young last week gave us a little teaser that they are returning back to full loss, which is going to be very exciting. I'm sure that's going to be phenomenal, as always. Um, they are all over tv. They've done loads of stuff on tv. They're very well known around the magic industry. Definitely check out their podcast, which is the magicians podcast, which is richard young, um, who we had on last week, but I'm babbling on now. Um, but you're gonna love it. I'm so excited to see what they're gonna say. Um, I do have richard's list here from last week so we can see if richard was correct about sam strange's choices um. So, with that being said, we have the absolutely wonderful mr sam strange.
Speaker 3:Hello sam oh, thank you for having me. This is exciting. Really appreciate it. This is my favourite magic podcast actually out of all the ones that's out there Young's podcast. He does it on his own, actually, I don't have much of an involvement with it. Occasionally I'll step into Hudson's shoes when he's ill or something, but it's very much Young's project and it's good to listen to, isn't it? He's one of the few and you alluded to it before we started recording is that he's one of the few people who asks the question to?
Speaker 2:the guests and then shuts up. It's brilliant, yeah, yeah, he's wonderful. And that podcast, I would say, is probably the most sought after one. It's the one that I think most magicians have listened to, most performers and I dare say that there probably are comedians and crossover artists that listen to those podcasts as well because they're just phenomenal. They're a great library of interviews of some of the biggest names in the industry.
Speaker 3:Really, he does a great job with it yeah, I mean, I haven't spoken to him for years, so, um, I I just I just hear his dull tones through the podcast, so give me my best when you speak to him well, he, uh, yeah, he left us a very last final item, which you're gonna have to listen back to um to to hear that.
Speaker 2:So, uh, yeah, he was. He wasn't too mean, but he was mean enough, he was mean enough, we'll put it that way. So let's begin by talking about the choices that you think young put down Now. Obviously we've had his, so I can tell you if you were right, we can have the first big reveal here.
Speaker 3:And he did all eight, did he?
Speaker 2:He did eight tricks, one book and one item, but for you, he only guessed three things.
Speaker 3:Okay, you know what. He knows me well, so he will guess what. I'm sure One of the things about being a double act is you do spend a lot of time in a van together or hanging out in a theatre somewhere and basically you explore every crevice of every conversation related to magic or each other's own personal interest. So I'm ashamed I've only I think I've got I reckon I've got five for him that, but I'm surprised that he's only got three for me, but anyway. So do you want me to tell you what I think I've got for him?
Speaker 2:yeah, go for it. We'll play richard young bingo and we'll see how many you hear.
Speaker 3:This is going to be easy. So he's going to have a couple of stage illusions in there, because he loves stage illusions, one of which will be the first illusion he ever bought, which is origami. Is there like a ding or something? When I get it right.
Speaker 2:I'll let you list your list and then I'll divulge after that I've got a story about his origami.
Speaker 3:Did he tell you the story about his origami that he bought?
Speaker 3:no, I mean sorry origami, for I don't know whether you've touched on this in young's episode, but origami is a stage illusion where you traditionally put a glamorous assist inside of a box. You then shrink that box up to the size of a small cube and then you take the sword that's hanging off the back of the mirror and then you stab that through the the small cube. It's a really impossible, deceptive illusion to the point where you go I do not know where she's gone Completely vanished. So there was Young's ever first, ever stage illusion that he bought maybe actually second, I think maybe he had a cube zag before that and he lived with his parents at the time and had no place to store it like nowhere, it's um and he bought it and then ended up and obviously had nowhere to perform it because he's only like 17 or 18 or something at the time.
Speaker 3:So he bought it, just. You know, all credit to him. He bought it out of just passion, but without really thinking it through, and he bought it off of Scott Penrose, I think, and he then had to store it in his bedroom under his bed. So he had to put his bed on top of the origami, where it would remain as the storage place. I mean presumably for months, because he I mean the first theater show he did was, I think, with me, so that was 20 2010, so I mean he must have been in his bedroom for years. Anyway, origami tick one one for me.
Speaker 2:Well, I tell you now, origami was not on his list. That was my opening bid. That is not on his list. No, it wasn't even an honourable mention.
Speaker 3:I don't know the guy at all, it's just a facade.
Speaker 2:Well, you said you've done five, so you've got four more guesses. All right, okay.
Speaker 3:All right, okay, we're going to go with trisection, which is again a I mean, you're looking at your paper there like it's not on the list Right. Trisection is an illusion where you put your arm through this sort of box and the box splits in the middle so you can lift the central section up and the arm is sort of trisected into three. But there's a beautiful reveal to it that when you then open the base, you can clearly see all around the arm and it's a really deceptive illusion. You're like what am I looking at? That's incredibly deceptive. Hans Klok's done some nice additions to it and it's really it's a really deceptive. Visual optical illusion is what it is. And he again bought that when he was young and had a love for it, and I think he still got it in the garage. Actually, we used it for a couple of pr bits because it's quite a practical illusion that you can do and does look good if you get the angle right. Um, so is that on the?
Speaker 2:list. Trisection is not on the list either, I'm afraid, also not as an honorable mention. What? I'm afraid Also not as an honourable mention.
Speaker 3:What I'm learning from this is that I need to shack up with either Morgan or West, who I've heard have gone the separate ways. I think I'll probably get on better with them, anyway, right, ok, we're going to go with. This is OK. Oh my God, if origami and tricycle OK.
Speaker 3:A tenyo trick, that's an umbrella one, some sort of plastic tenure Crystal cleaver what's Mr Danger? Something like that. I think he probably had a love for Mr Danger. You know, mr Danger, the tenure trick where it's this outline of a man. Then you put the stakes through and you came up with this nice idea. One of the illusions that young and I do and, um, love doing is the cardboard box illusion where you put uh, I put young into a, into a box and I put loads of stakes through. It's the victory carton illusion. Um, and what we thought actually, when doing a full show is it is that, mr danger might be a good prelude to that, because you can talk about the first ever trick that I got when I was a kid, and then it inspired this next illusion. So Young had a great passion for this Mr Danger illusion and I think that passion was killed, pretty much dead, when we performed Mr Danger in a place in Texas called Arlington and it got nothing, it got nothing.
Speaker 3:They hated it. I mean, it's a great little puzzle, isn't it? But on a camera in a big theatre it was just not. It was not good. So I don't know. I'd imagine that's not on the list, but I'd imagine something like Crystal Cleaver is.
Speaker 2:I wonder if someone in the world is going to create a human sized version of that. Surely someone's going to one day.
Speaker 3:Well, there's that light bulb thing, isn't it? That's again a stage illusion, I forget the name of it. You stand in this cabinet and then these light bulbs are pushed through you like sort of strip lighting, you know, and then the illusion's opened halfway through to see the strip lights sort of partially going through you, and it's a really good visual illusion. That's kind of, I guess, the closest thing. But no, mr Danger, it's a good puzzle. I enjoyed it, but the Arlington audience didn't.
Speaker 2:Well, let's start with this specific version there. So Mr Danger was not on his list. But let's talk about Ateneo Trick. So you said Ateneo Trick at large is not on his list, but let's talk about a tenio trick. So you said it. A tenio trick at large is not on the list. There are no tenio tricks on that list either.
Speaker 3:I think he's done this game because he knows I'm about to play it and therefore he's chosen all sorts of abstract things like dynamic coins or or whatever. Just just just some, some things he knows. I won't say, right, I'm going to have another go, I'm going to have another go. He loves Copperfield, obviously, and, as we can all agree, one of the greatest pieces of magic ever is the flying routine by Copperfield and the method in that looks like a lot of fun. So, uh, I would guess copperfield's flying. I mean, let's stick the owl in there as well. The bird of prey, sorry, let's get that in. So that's what I think some sort of contraption, avoiding methods for flying.
Speaker 2:So I will say he did go for a Copperfield trick. There is a Copperfield trick in there.
Speaker 1:Car it's a car.
Speaker 2:However, it was the portal vanish he went for. But then we get on to number eight of his list. But then we get on to number eight of his list and he mentioned some sort of rig that would be used for a flying effect.
Speaker 3:Maybe a flying rig. That's interesting.
Speaker 2:So absolutely spot on with that one. Yeah, so in one of his lists he spoke about having some sort of rig for flying.
Speaker 3:He didn't mention any specifics, but he did allude to the copperfield one, so I'll give you that a hundred percent yeah, but I'm not happy to say that really, because I've had four other guesses prior to that, so it does it, doesn't. I mean there's no joy in me getting that right after attempt. Five is there well he.
Speaker 2:He may also not have got any of yours right. Remember leviosa, there's another one, leviosa All he talks.
Speaker 3:All he does is he just goes round whenever we're hanging out. He'll just do Leviosa, and he does this stupid little when he does it. So is that in there?
Speaker 2:No, Is that going to be your last guess?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That was his third trick. It was Leviosa, so you got two out of five there. That's not bad. He's only done three for you, so you could still beat him overall. Okay, okay.
Speaker 3:When I come to do my ones, if I'm suddenly hit by a bolt of lightning that makes me reflect on some passion of his in magic, I might throw out another couple of options for him.
Speaker 2:But what I love about your list, though, is it just shows how much you both know each other, because all of the choices that you said there were about the first tricks that he had and the fact that he used to have one to put his bed on and store it that way. So it just shows how far your history goes back and the choices that you made, those informed choices, are based on the idea.
Speaker 3:It's also an interesting format for the podcast, isn't it? And I've listened to some other episodes of the podcast and I bet actually trying to untangle the nostalgia from it all is a difficult thing to do, because a lot of people are choosing tricks, presumably because they have that childlike wonder when they bought it when they were 12. And it's probably not a very good trick. But you know, let's listen to Liam Mortimer. Actually, liam Mortimer was talking about dynamic coins and you go yeah, I mean it's not an absolute baffling trick.
Speaker 2:But because he got it, because it was one of his first tricks, he can't untangle that emotion yeah, I think that's what's been interesting about it and I I alluded to this in another episode with someone else is that when we started the podcast, we we didn't really think that there were so many avenues for people to go down. So some people have done like liam he almost did a journey through his career. So these were the ones that I started at the very beginning that I loved all the way through. You've had some people think about it from a point of view that they don't have enough time to do these tricks. So if they had infinite time, these are the tricks that they would then do.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, I think loads of people have come up from a different point of view, in a different perspective. Darren's obviously was his ultimate trick. So if he was almost doing a show for the rest of his life, what are those eight tricks? Those eight things that he would take out of his previous works to perform for for forever? So I don't think there's a right or wrong way. I think it's really interesting all the way through everyone's different versions of it can I have another go at one of young's um guesses?
Speaker 3:because this was. This is a cheap joke, right? If he's gone for this, he's terrible because this is cheap, because I considered it and I did not put it on my list. But we are the proud owners of probably the only people in the world who own this illusion an appearing sailboat. Right, what it is is a appearing sailboat. It's like 14 foot high and I appear on it wearing a life jacket and a captain's hat and there's a comedy routine that comes with it. Right? But no other sort of illusionist is going to make an appearing little sailboat appear, because it's kind of quite trivial and quaint in terms of its appearance. But if he's gone with that because he thinks it's a funny idea on a desert island to have a sailboat and therefore sail into the distance, it's too obvious a joke, has he?
Speaker 2:done that? He hasn't. You're safe. He hasn't stooped to those levels.
Speaker 3:That's my estimations.
Speaker 2:But we do need to find out about your, about your list. So if you've not heard this podcast before, if this is your first time, number one really do go listen to young's one first, because they are young and strange, in that order, um. So do go check that out first. Um, but if you've never heard this before, the idea is that we are about to maroon sam on his own desert island. When he's there, he's allowed to take eight tricks, one book and one non-magic item that he uses for magic particulars. Who's there, uh, how many people are there? How big the island is, are there an audience or they're not? All that sort of stuff, we do not mind. That's in sam's own imagination. The idea is that if he could only perform these tricks for the rest of his days, this is what he would do. So, with that being said, let's see if young had it right. Uh, what did you put in your first position?
Speaker 3:you know what I've got? The eight. I'm not prissy about which position they're coming in, because I love them all. So, but my one of my favorites illusion of all time, and it's a stage illusion, which is an illusion called Osmosis. It's created by Jim Steinmeier and it's basically this huge cabinet, vast thing with a central pole in the middle. In fact, most magicians will remember it because it was the method that Lance Burton used to vanish on stage before he appeared on the chandelier. Do you remember that famous line Look, I'm up here on the chandelier and then he'd descend.
Speaker 3:But you go in his live show, or certainly for the television clips I've seen he would vanish in an osmosis illusion and it's absolutely brilliant. Rick Thomas does it, hans Klopp does it, james Moore had a version of it. It's just beautiful. You know, you just vanish into this pole. And I don't know whether partly the reason I love it is because I know the method, and the method is fantastically brilliant and exciting and slightly Victorian in its creation.
Speaker 3:I think any stage illusion that uses, you know, mirrors, wires or something like that is really intriguing and I just fell in love with the moment I saw it and I was lucky enough to sort of spend a bit of time with one in LA.
Speaker 3:A friend of ours owns one, so we had a good old play about with it and so Osmosis by Jim Steinmeier is coming on there. The shipping cost is going to be a fortune, by the way, because it's a big prop, and if there's anything we're qualified to talk about, it's the cost of shipping props around the world. We had to do it actually for some shows in London. We had to ship our illusions over from America, where they're stored, to do some shows in London, and just the shipping costs alone, I mean it was like nearly. It's coming on like 18, 20 grand to ship just a container across and then back again, and air freighting is like four or five times the cost. So, um, um, you might I don't know what the rules are but just bear in mind that that's going to cost a lot of money to get that on the desert island well, it's your island, it's your dream island.
Speaker 2:So, uh, there are no shipping costs. How about that? Or maybe it will appear on that sailboat, maybe it will just appear on the island but I can tell you something that sailboat is not at all seaworthy. If you put that anywhere near water, it would it would sink like a submarine well, I think that's a great choice, and let's play sam strange bingo um with richard young now.
Speaker 2:He has been very general with his suggestions and he said that you will have a few grand illusions in there so if we're going by that and osmosis, he would already have one correct on his list it's easy, easy, guessing it easy um, but great. So it's interesting to see. I mean, that's quite a big illusion straight away. So it's going to be interesting to see if you go smaller, or I feel like we should play um, play your cards right. Is it going to be bigger or smaller? Um?
Speaker 3:for yourself. It's going to be a lot smaller a lot smaller okay we're going to ruin this.
Speaker 3:Option. Number two we're going to go to the deck of playing cards, but specifically red-backed B playing cards. Okay, and that's because one of my things I genuinely love and I do a bit of it, but it's nothing to be proud of. The stuff I do is card manipulation. Right, it was one of the first things I learned when I was like 16, 17. And what's great about learning card manipulation if you've never done it is it's instant gratification when you're standing in front of a mirror because what you're seeing is the optical illusion as you're doing it. You don't need an audience at that point to do it to to get that. Oh my God, that looks amazing. Do you know what I mean? And, uh, so, and of course, it's so varied and there's so many different ways of producing playing cards and showing your hand empty and then then peeling off more. It's just there's so many different techniques and so much technical uh exploration that you can do with card manipulation that actually that would be a really nice therapeutic thing to take onto a deck of cards. So it's a Des Island.
Speaker 3:The other thing I do love, which isn't magic, is cardistry. Not many. I think a lot of magicians have a little bit of. I don't think they're into the cardistry. A lot of magicians they find it too flashy or don't get it.
Speaker 3:But when I first saw Dan and Dave Buck, do you remember the Buck twins? Sorry, they're still alive, but do you remember the Buck twins? I watched them on a DVD called Roadkillers and they only had a bit at the very end. In fact it might even be in a VHS where they were doing card flourishes to the camera and I was blown away by how beautiful it looked and they were breaking you ground at the time. I mean, cardistry now is a huge thing and there's conventions aren't there and you can't move for online content containing people doing brilliant edits and uv cards and all the stuff but it. When I first came across it, when it was kind of in its infancy, I was really fascinated by it. So I do do a few card flourishes again, nothing brilliant, but I like doing them in, in the same way that I guess a I don't know a pianist would love the the you know, sitting down and playing the piano. I like the therapeutic aspect of it so two questions number one why bees?
Speaker 2:I think I I know why, um, but I don't know a huge amount about carb manipulation, um. And number two, if someone's listening and they're interested I know we've had carb manipulation on the podcast before and I know jeff mcbride was cited as a good resource to learn from. Where would you recommend people start learning about it?
Speaker 3:Well, I mean, you know what that series, the Art of Card Manipulation by Jeff McBride. It was spread over three DVDs which I think you can still get. Actually, I think the third DVD supposedly it would progress in difficulty and the third and final dvd, the half of that is devoted to, like, the history of playing cards and things. So. So actually just the first two dvds were brilliant and if you can get past the dated, this sort of presentation of it, then the actual mechanics of what jeff mcbride is doing is just so good to watch. It's so exciting to watch someone and go how. I cannot believe it. And then he very clearly shows you from a multi-camera setup of how to do it, and I love that. So that's a really good resource. Obviously, there's now a huge wave in the last sort of 10 years or so of these career manipulators coming out, and so you've got the likes of An Halim and Yeo Ho Jin and he's 1%. He's got a DVD called 1%. I think An Halim's DVD is called Monster, if you look at it. There's another manipulator called Anson Lee. What's his actual name? Lee An Hanson, but Anson Lee is his Western name and he's got another DVD out. And they're just some of them are knuckle busting, but those those jeff mcbride moves are pretty manageable in terms of picking up something visual that looks good, like the cardini single production. If you can back palm, you know, 20 cards or so, which is which is very doable then you can just produce 20 cards at your fingertips and you'll get a great response. Yeah, but so why bees? I mean, the reason that Jeff McBride uses bees actually is that the red and white backing is probably the most flesh-coloured of the conventional playing cards. So if you can keep your hand moving when you're doing it, then it's a bit more forgiving. I mean, there's a whole again world of manipulation cards now which can be black hearted or can be flesh colored or, critically, can be really thin so that when you're back palming 20 bees, for example, you can now back palm 60. For example, you can now back palm 60 um. But the problem with um manipulation cards is that because they're thin, it doesn't mean that just manipulating them for some of the other moves is more challenging. Imagine if you've got to display a packet of cards or a single card between your fingers with a very squidgy, thin card. It's almost, I mean I find incredibly frustrating to do that, um, but with a b card you get a really good rigidity and um, and I think actually some of the top manipulators will have different playing cards for different moves. You know if you're gonna, if you're gonna have an uh, uh.
Speaker 3:Have you seen anhalim's act? It's just relentless. It's um. He's a korean manipulator. He was the first person to come up with the colored cards concept, so he'd be doing productions and then it'd be colored cards, colored cards and. And what I love about his act is it's just, it's quite simplistic. It's literally I'm going to produce a load of playing cards in the next four minutes, five minutes, and it's going to be a relentless onslaught of it and um. It doesn't seem to have like a poetic narrative, like Yo-Ho Jin's, with the scarf and it coming full circle. It's literally like. It's like a machine gun of playing cards, but I think at different parts of that he's using different types of playing cards for different moves.
Speaker 2:I think there's a real elegance in it as well. Even when you look back at older performances like lance burton and uh, you know, yeah, and and jeff mcbride, when you look at some of those old performances, there's just a sophistication and an elegance in in what they're doing. It must be, like I said, I've never really done a lot of it. It must be such a therapeutic, like you said earlier, really therapeutic and just enjoyable, going over those motions and practicing yes, it really is.
Speaker 3:I mean, obviously we've all played about with knuckle busting moves and there's periods in that process where it's just agonizingly painful. Then you just go. What is the point? But once you start to get it and you can start to do it with some level of consistency, then it becomes really pleasurable and you can wander around doing cuts or flourishes in your hand and then it becomes an enjoyable thing as opposed to why doesn't that move when I do? That thing with my finger. It's so frustrating, you know.
Speaker 2:Well, let's go back to Sam Strange Bingo for a second.
Speaker 3:Go on.
Speaker 2:The first thing that Young said on his list of things that he thought you would say was card manipulation. So, that is 2-0 to Richard Young.
Speaker 3:It's making him look good. It makes it look like he listens to me. To be honest, whenever he speaks, it's mostly white noise, so maybe I just need to show more of an interest in him. What's his name again? Young Richard. Young, that's it.
Speaker 2:So he's got one more to give us.
Speaker 3:I know what he's going to go with because I'm sort of mocked for this passion of mine, which is on my list. It's not number three but it's on my list, so let's jump to it. And I love an impossible location, right, so an object to impossible location and he always rips it out of me. My close-up act is basically object to impossible location, perform multiple, multiple times. There's no interesting, you know creative arc or um varied effects. It's just literally like how the hell does that object get in there? And I've always loved that.
Speaker 3:I think that's that passion, what has been instilled in me ever since I saw my first ever close-up magician. I was 16 years old, maybe actually 15 years old, and I went to a party and Paul Megram, colonel Custard um, lives in Aylesbury. Um, paul um, and he was booked as a close-up magician and he did a card to impossible location and it was just. I just could not get my head around how, how the box could be set on the other side of the room and that sign playing card be in there before the card was ever signed. And I think what happened is at that point I fell in love with the concept. I mean, even in our stage act we do watch in tin, which is watched to a nest of boxes inside a tin, and so it does seep into every part of my close-up magic and probably some of the stage stuff. I bet that's on the list, isn't it?
Speaker 2:I bet he's got that Well before we find out if it is on the list. Let me ask you I'm going to be devil's advocate here. Please do so. If you had to only do one object to impossible location and you couldn't do any others, which one would you do?
Speaker 3:right. So I've gone through a lot of iterations of impossible locations and you cannot move in the magic market for boxes with playing cards. I made a little list kennedy box, kennedy box too, clarity box, if you remember that david penn's mystery solved destination box, danny garcia's mint box, and that's just. That's just the boxes and that's just a handful. You know you go once you start then going, what if you're categorizing a card to impossible location as appearing inside a sealed envelope or a Bob Cola black envelope or or a card in shoe, you go. You could sit here. You could probably sit here all evening just listing cards to impossible location. So but having said that, I've played about with most of them and I think my fave, my favorite, is destination box and I can go into why if you're at all interested in that. I mean, I'm not some great magical mind that's mused on this.
Speaker 3:The thing about lots of other you paper clipped by jay sankey or whatever you know is that if that card is in full view the entire time, it to me it's a bit too good. It's like the. It's a bit too good, whereas destination box is is a step back from that. If your destination box is john allen's box, by the way, it's like a. It's like a small wooden box with a lock on it. You open it inside.
Speaker 3:Inside of that is an old pill pot like a metallic pot, and then a secondary object. What happens is the secondary object helps facilitate the trick, right? So the secondary object can be anything, and what's good about that is that because it's hidden in a locked box, out of sight it's a little bit more believable it could have been in there the entire time than with something like the clarity box where the card is visible all the time. And you must know there's also with the destination box. Is that really there is a moment of you handling the box? But the final beat of the spectator opening that pill pot is handled by them. So there's another level of greatness there and probably in the sands of time they would probably forget you ever handled the box. But yes, it's a destination box by John Allen. I think it's excellent.
Speaker 2:Great choice. It's one that we've had a few times on the pod, I think.
Speaker 3:Is it?
Speaker 2:And with good reason. It's a beautifully made prop and, like you just said, that moment of being able to tip it out and hand it to them, I feel like there's more likelihood of them misremembering the ending and recalling it as them holding onto it for the whole time and then suddenly it was inside the box in their hand. So I think it's structured well. Suddenly it was inside the box in their hand. Um, so I think it's structured well. But in terms of sam strange bingo, I'm afraid he's just got a full house. Um, he did say object to impossible location, and I can't recall if he said destination box, but I think he may have said that as well yeah, I don't want to play anymore.
Speaker 2:So yeah, we have got a full house, we have got card manipulation a grand illusion and an object to impossible location can I ask then is all his stuff close up stuff?
Speaker 3:then? Because I mentioned, obviously he likes Copperfields flying right and he wants to fly around his desert island, you know, lording above everybody else. Obviously he likes Copperfield's flying right and he wants to fly around his desert island, you know, lording above everybody else.
Speaker 2:How many of the stage illusions has he got in there? So he's got one, two, three, three, three stage illusions, one of which he hasn't performed he's not going to say the blaney ladder.
Speaker 3:If he does that, he's got a blaney ladder, levitation, which is the two step ladders, and the thing he's not going to say that. Oh, hang on, is he going to say his Paul Daniels thing that he bought from Thomas Moore, the, what's the name of it? How should I not know the name of it? The, the, the thing I bet he is. I bet he's going to say that, cause there's an interesting story that goes with that. He in his garage clogging up I think it's called geometrics, which was on the Paul Daniels Magic Show many moons ago and Thomas Moore has sort of recreated it and he's got one of those in his good garage. Is that on the list?
Speaker 2:I will say on your desert island there is a spade and that spade you are digging a hole and it's getting deeper and deeper and deeper. No, that is also not on his list.
Speaker 1:I don't know the guy.
Speaker 3:I don't know the guy at all.
Speaker 2:But anyway, let's talk about your list for a second. Yeah all right so osmosis cards for card manipulation, yes, and your card to impossible location, great, all really really good choices, really interesting choices as well. And it does bring us to your fourth item. So what did you put in your fourth okay? Well, this ties in perfectly to so hello guys.
Speaker 4:I'm here to talk to you about alakazam unlimited. This is the best streaming platform in the world, I'm telling you now. With allexander unlimited, you get access to over 150 magic routines. This is video, performances and explanations. We have card magic, coin magic, kids, magic rope, magic, mentalism, stage parlor, impromptu. We've got you covered all of this for the low price of just four pounds 99 a, and you can cancel at any time. Perfect, if you've got commitment issues. Yes, I'm talking to you, guys. You are going to absolutely love it. If you haven't joined the platform already, what the heck are you doing? Alakazam Unlimited is a streaming platform that you need to be a part of.
Speaker 3:Not only that, there is also exclusive content only available on the platform. Check it out now. Alakazamcouk Cheers.
Speaker 3:In order to get that card into the impossible location, you need a utility device and you need a utility device which is available through Alakazam and, genuinely, when I saw this years and years, years ago, I loved, loved it. You've re-released it, maybe two or three times, calling it different things, I think. It's currently out as the E2 and it's the extractor and it's great because it's bomb proof. It's bomb proof. You know when you're doing a gig and you get an amateur magician or somebody who's played about with magic and there's certain parts of your act that you're thinking he's got an insight into unless he's a qualified magician that's seen extractor then you know that's going to hit him around the head because there's just such a great offbeat when you steal the card away and, um, it's just a great utility device which enables a spectator to return the card to the deck and, cleanly and fairly, you put the deck away and that playing card can ultimately appear inside a John Allen destination box.
Speaker 2:Great. Is that how you use it then? So you would use it to.
Speaker 3:I use it for anything. That's what's so good, I mean, obviously I don't want to go into the method of it, obviously, but there's a way you can also obtain the information of what card is chosen, and that's a great sort of infill for time while you then work out how to get the playing card into your impossible location, so you can be deducing the card they've chosen while you're going through the. In my case, sometimes I've put it into really complicated places. I used to do this, this and I still do. Actually I did it not too long ago.
Speaker 3:It's um hard to tin a sweet corn, so you introduce it to the sweet corn at the start of the act you say I've got it in a little bag down here, and then we're gonna, we've got this till this week and we might return to that later. You do the extractor and then you hand out the tin a sweet corn. They crack open the tin of sweet corn, tip it out onto the thing and inside of their, inside of the tin of sweet corn, buried inside the center, is their card which they freely, they freely return to the deck themselves. And it's literally when you've got a spectator who's burning you or isn't really into it. It's you know, it's you know F you.
Speaker 2:Sort that one out? Yeah, 100%. It's such a cool trick and it's one that I saw it years ago and thought it was phenomenal. And even when you see what's going on in terms of making it logically, I don't understand how it can be made. Even even still, once you see it, it doesn't make any sense. It doesn't. It just doesn't make any sense how a card that is pushed into a deck of cards freely and randomly into the middle is then delivered, so to speak, to where it's delivered to. It doesn't, it doesn't make sense, it doesn't. And it's such it's delivered to.
Speaker 3:It doesn't make sense. It doesn't, and it's such a good weapon in your arsenal. Sorry, it made me sound like it was an intellectual challenge between the magician and the audience, which it never is. But when you do get those moments where you really need a trick, that is going to be bomb-proof and angle-proof really and you know it's a great trick as well it's not like you're resorting to some mathematical trick which categorically will fall in the audience but isn't great For me. As I said, a card to impossible location is such a great baffling trick that people will remember when they go to bed or remember in weeks' time if you present it right. So I'm grateful for the extractor.
Speaker 2:I think it's a great choice. It's phenomenal and from being at conventions and watching Pete, who is I've not seen anyone quite do it as good as him because of the amount of years he's been doing it, but watching magicians faces, it's absolutely phenomenal watching watching these people who are so well educated and know their stuff.
Speaker 3:Yes, be absolutely I haven't seen it. They're, they're, they're screwed, aren't they? They do not know how that works yeah, there's no way, um way.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, great, great choice, and I like that it ties into your third item as well. I really like that. I like that you've used the extractor, potentially to allow you to facilitate the loading into the destination. So, let's, I'm going to presume you're going to go big now, right, so I'm guessing we're going to start. Let's go big.
Speaker 3:Let's get back to the stage illusion, because I don't know how many people know stage illusions really. I mean, obviously Rich and I involve ourselves in the world of stage illusions but what you tend to find is there isn't a massive overlap. There's lots of magicians who are close-uppers or even cabaret acts that really don't know much about the world of stage illusion because they, you know, they either don't have an interest in it or they've never just come across it. But I'm going to go with something called the million dollar mystery, also known as the mirror tunnel, and it's again. It's a box which sits in the center of a stage, right, and quite a big box, you know know, like two feet by two feet, maybe a bit wider, and and and uh, there's variations on it, but in it you can just relentlessly produce all sorts of different objects out of it. It can be, you know, animals it can be, people it can be, and it's just an onslaught of thing coming out of this box which doesn't have like big, thick bass or big load area, and it's just like how the hell is that happening? And, um, the thing is, knowing and having seen one and never worked with one, is that they are very difficult to perform, like angles are bad on it, touring. Touring is difficult with illusions anyway, but when you've got audience wits which vary, rakes which vary balconies, which are looking down the wrong angles, it really isn't a tourable trick. But if you can get one, that's in a set theater where they can control those parameters. It's an absolutely baffling miracle.
Speaker 3:I think I saw lance burton do it in the monte carlo many years ago. Hans clock did it in in his show that he did in London, the Houdini experience, and I remember he it was incredible. So so he produces all these girls in this, this box, which, by the way, rotates round, and then he wanders and then one of the girls brings this big streamer out, this big white streamer. He gathers up the streamer and walks into the wing with the streamer, right stage, right into the streamer, and then, uh, the streamer continues to be taught and then he comes out of the box, having gone into the wing and you go, what is going on there?
Speaker 3:What? How am I not seeing that? Where did he? My God? It's brilliant but very difficult to do the best thing. If you're interested in that or you like the idea of it, mike Caveney did something about it in the Magic Cast where he talked about the history of it and he demonstrated producing loads of balls and all sorts of blocks and stuff out of it. And it's just this magic cabinet where anything can come out of.
Speaker 2:Great. I love the story that you just said of the streamer. That would be an absolutely mind-blowing moment. I think it is. It's just like what?
Speaker 3:did not see that coming at all. Yeah, it's great. I love it when that happens, that's great.
Speaker 2:Well, let's touch on that very briefly, not to divert too much. If people don't know a lot about stage illusions so, for example, I don't know a huge amount, I have very mediocre knowledge of it when do people get started? If someone's listening now and they're loving your list, they love the idea of osmosis and the million-dollar mystery where do they start?
Speaker 3:You know what? The 80s illusionists had it right. The 90s illusionists like your Copperfields, your Siegfried and Roy Lance Burton. That ilk had a whole wave of illusions built by Bill Smith and John Gorn and all of those infamous names in magic who are getting a bit older now. That was the golden era, I think, for that sort of illusions, and because they were performed by the greats, they soon became sort of off-the-shelf items and you can still buy them and and go to builders and have them made.
Speaker 3:So the information is out there. It's not, there's not, it's not that privileged to get hold, but you do need money. You need a bit of money. I mean, young and I were very lucky because we use the closeup magic income we had. We're not, we're not wealthy, young and I, but we use the close-up magic that we earn sorry, the money from close-up magic. And we both ended up buying stage illusions irrationally so like we bought, I bought a colter chair, vanish, young born industrial fan and origami um, prior to ever having a theater gig, just because we liked the idea of, of the illusion to the mean.
Speaker 3:And then what happened is, once you've got the illusions, you how you're forced to do something with them, or you want to do something with them, which is probably the wrong way of doing it, but they are expensive. But you do get this I don't know this, this you feel like you're a proper magician. If you've got illusions I do and you know I do it depends what you aspire to when you're young. But when you see a magician on a stage doing something which does involve mirrors and stuff, that's that's so cool. That's so cool. That's exactly what you'd imagine to be a theatrical victorian magician to be doing. You know, it's a bit like the. It's not sinister, it's a bit like the prestige, you know. I mean there's a slight intrigue between the theatrical methods.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's great, it's uh.
Speaker 3:It's one that hopefully more people will go and start exploring can I just say one thing about stage illusions is that it's an obvious thing. It's actually it's not an obvious thing when you're first getting into it. Obviously you get a grace period, but try, if you can try, and do the right thing and buy the official props made by the official builders. Like there is inevitably loads of rip offs from people building their own versions of the trick, or they managed to get hold of the schematics for the prop and think, you know, we'll play about with it and build their own versions and you go please give the creator like a kickback or contact him and ask his permission to do it.
Speaker 3:Um, pay the rights. You have to pay illusion rights to the right people. There are certain illusions where there's there's the rights that don't really exist or have lapsed. You know something like a fire cage. Really you don't need to go and pay the rights for that. But if you're going to do a fire spiker, you need to pay mark calen the rights to do that. If you're going to do a fire spiker, you need to pay mark calen the rights to do that. If you're going to do a you know, a squeeze box, you need to pay andre cole the rights to do that it's just the right thing to do.
Speaker 3:They're the creators, they're the originators. They plow the time and effort, the relentless research and development going into that and then someone just rips it off and it and the rip-offs are always naff that you know the the base sizes are not at all deceptive and the prop just looks bad and all those subtleties and details are lost. So if you can try and do the right thing, yeah, great, and that leads us to your sixth item.
Speaker 2:So what did you put in your sixth spot?
Speaker 3:Synod Soy Box or the box, the chest of Nostradamus. Do you know that? So the hanging box you normally see a dealer's standard, sorry, like a magic convention and it's a box hanging. It's a little chest and it's essentially in any card, any number. But the conceit is inside of this hanging chest is a deck of cards and there's also a little brown envelope inside of the chest and inside the brown envelope is a single playing card. You're going to name a number and whatever card you're going to count down yourself and whatever card you get to in the deck of cards inside of the box is going to match the one inside the envelope. So it's not quite as clean as a lot as some other, any card, any numbers, but ultimately you're going to say number 45 and you're going to do this all yourself. You're going to count down 45 cards and the 45th card is going to be the same one that's in the envelope, inside the box.
Speaker 3:Critically, there's no repeated order. It's a deck of cards. Every single card is different. If you just stop one card earlier, one card later, it would have been a different outcome. And it's incredible because it's a simplistic effect and, again, a real magician fool if you've not seen it before, you don't know the mechanics and um, just a beautiful, yeah, simple trick great.
Speaker 2:I, funny enough, we were talking to on deron brown's episode. He chose an any card at any number and one of the things that we spoke about was whether a any card at any number would play well on stage. So it's lovely that you've now sort of contrasted that by having a stage version, and the idea of having it in the box above the stage really elevates what is essentially a small personal effect to something much, much bigger so, yeah, I I need to clarify what I said, that is, that we don't actually perform in our stage version.
Speaker 3:It was I perform the, the original silly soy box. I mean occasionally at gigs, but mainly just to friends and family. It's an interesting artifact to have hanging from you know your mantelpiece or whatever, and then for somebody to go what's the box for? And then you can go into it. But the other reason I really like it is that there's a barrier to entry with the trick, one of the things that is.
Speaker 3:I'm sure every magician can relate to this. When you get a really good trick, like one, that's like, oh my God, that's brilliant. It's a sadness that it then spreads like wildfire and everyone's got it, leviosa being a good example. When that first came out it was like wow, this is amazing. And now everybody in the magic community knows about it. A lot of people do it in the commercial, closer backs, and it's kind of lost its niche charm. Whereas Siddharth Soy Box or the Chess of Nostradamus is a difficult trick to do, it's that there's a mathematical equation that needs to happen, that takes time, effort and energy to learn and remember and most people were buying it. That's an incredibly clever trick that's brilliant. Maybe learn the, the pattern or the the system once and they'll forget about it and it'll just sit gathering dust. But because of that, not everybody does it and it becomes this, this thing that not everybody does, and and I love that great, excellent.
Speaker 2:And that leads us to the tail end of your eight tricks. So what did you put in number seven?
Speaker 3:Go on under watch. I hate to admit it because I think Young's coming across well, but actually Young does a better version than I do, but I love it.
Speaker 1:I mean, is that an object?
Speaker 3:to impossible location, but it is. You know, you've asked the coin and it's a bit. I didn't even know it was um and uh, but it's just. There's an element of skill, an element of dipping your toe into the pickpocketing world, and you know it. That spectator knows that that's not a gimmicky trick that you've bought.
Speaker 3:Although there is an element of skill, how could you have possibly got that coin under my watch? You must be a masterful sleight of hand artist. I'm not a masterful sleight of hand artist. Basically, what I do is I just bombard the spectator with sensory overload completely invading their personal space, and by the time they've sort of come around from that experience, they, they don't know there's a coin under their watch. Young has a bit more subtlety when he does it um, uh, but it is a, it's just a great. It's a great also. It's a great feeling, it's selfishly, when that coin's gone under the watch properly and it's locked in position. You're like. This is excellent. The arrogance that you can then have knowing it's in position and it's locked in position, you're like this is excellent. The arrogance that you can then have knowing it's in position and it's there and you've done the dirty work, is really satisfying.
Speaker 2:So since that is another object to impossible location, does that? Mean that we give Mr Young an extra point there.
Speaker 3:No, no, it doesn't, but mind you, I've lost the game anyway whatever, um, yeah, excellent.
Speaker 2:So have you ever done it with playing cards underneath?
Speaker 3:no, but I admire the people who do and I I need to sort of look into the mechanics of that, but have you done it with playing cards?
Speaker 2:I have indeed yeah, yeah, yeah that's better, that's better right uh, it depends what effect you're going for.
Speaker 2:I think what's lovely about a coin is it feels spur of the moment, and that can almost be jazzed. So if you're in an event like you mentioned earlier on, you said like if you've got friends and stuff over, if you've got nothing on you, it requires a coin and you can do a cool effect where it's on the back of the hand or on the shoulder and then underneath the watch, whereas a deck of cards feels a bit more considered, there's a bit more involved. But yeah, I don't know, it depends on your vibe, isn't it, and what you want to achieve.
Speaker 3:It's the same with watch stealing. I did try card of the watch many years ago about three times and I got caught on it and it scared the shit out of me. And it's the same with watch stealing. I just couldn't once I got caught and I went through a little period of doing a few actually, and then once I got caught, I just didn't have the balls really to keep returning. And that failure is all part of the learning process. You have to accept that you're going to get caught a lot of times in order to get good at it.
Speaker 2:But whenever I see a magician do card under watch, I think that's a good magician. Yeah, I think there's some really good card under watch routines out there.
Speaker 3:um, which coin under watch, like, where did you learn it from? Well, actually I credit a chap called rob james who's a bristol magician who, um, many people will know off from all sorts of different things he's done, but he's um, he kindly sort of gifted me his handling on it and he does a lot of pickpocketing actually. So he does do tie steals and watch steals and all sorts of stuff. So he's really a magician pickpocket, and he talked to me about this. And actually, just in a simple coin routine that I do, there's so many base fundamentals with pickpocketing, you know, invading their space a little bit to begin with, so that it's not an alien concept when you come near them, touching their wrists, so that it's not an alien concept when you touch it.
Speaker 3:The classic misdirection that you need, both verbally and visually, in order to get away with it, the, the things that the spectator might say to sort of screw you over at the end. I mean, one of the things that would sometimes happen is that you do it and you've done enough to know that that the person hasn't felt it and and they don't know it, they don't, they don't know that the card or the coin is there, and then at the end they'll say ah yeah, but I knew all along. So putting in a line just to go did you see when it happened? Did you feel when it happened? And they both concede that no, no, no. So now they can't go back on what they've said and be the all-knowing oracle of how the trick works.
Speaker 2:So all of those little subtle tips and tricks that I picked up from him really help great and just to throw it in there, if anyone is a member of alakazam unlimited, which is our streaming platform, um, there is a version of that on there by a guy called matthew j dowden, um, and he I love matthew j dowden has he got a version on there. He has a version on there as well he's great.
Speaker 3:He good friend of mine. He's great. He lives in Vancouver. He's an actor really, but an old guy yeah, he's an incredible magician.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's had a real resurgence on there. Lots of people have really enjoyed his material. In fact, we're putting one up next week called Shrinkage, which is also a very, very nice card move, where a card visually shrinks as it flies onto someone's hand. It's really, really good, um, but yeah, so if you want to learn coin underwatch, there is a version on there as well. Um, so do go check that out. But it does lead us onto your last one. Now. You haven't given us any honorable mentions, so if you do have honorable mentions, feel free to put them in um now or after eighth one, or you can just go for number eight.
Speaker 3:I'm going to go for number eight now Number eight.
Speaker 3:We just came back from Magic Live. Have you ever been to Magic Live? Actually, pete and Harry were there. Actually, they had their stand. Great seeing them there. And it's my first ever Magic Live and Young's first ever Magic Live. And we were doing a thing as part of the convention. And we were doing a thing as part of the convention.
Speaker 3:But wandering around the dealers was just such a pleasurable experience because I like the chaos of Blackpool and the madness and the fact there's 4,500 magicians. But the dealers' room was an air-conditioned room with plenty of space to sit, to stand around the stands and chat. You know that inevitable thing that you bump into people on the way around and then you end up chatting to them for 10 minutes before moving on. And it's pleasurable when you're in that conversation, but if you're wandering around trying to watch dealers demonstrate, it's frustrating. All these loitering people are in the way. But in Magic Live it was just a really nice convention room which was spacious, light and airy. So you've got plenty of opportunities to go around and really absorb what the dealers were selling. And there was this great dealer, um, who was um it's called plain sight as the name of his business and I'm not sure if you know it. It's um called, he's called jeff price, but the trick is called the random car generator and I and it maybe it's a new thing. I reckon it probably is a new thing actually, because I'd never seen it before, rich had never seen it before and it just blew my mind and I've had such pleasure performing it. It's just great.
Speaker 3:So what it is is you've got this card right which has got every denomination of playing card, so 8, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king, and then separately it's got Diamonds, clubs, hearts and Spades. And what you do is, and they're perforated as dividers between each of those denominations, and you use completely hands-off card force right. So you hand that card and you get them to examine the card and you say, said, what you're going to do as a spectator is you're going to rip, rip all those things up, dump them in a cup, shake it up and down, and then you're going to tip, tip out, uh, all of the all of the values, and then anyone that's face down, shift to one side and you do this whole process and you end up with um, a card. It can be that, the six of hearts or whatever, whatever the two face up ones are, and then it's a card four so you can reveal the thing. But it's so fair and the card that you're given at the start is completely examinable. So you go.
Speaker 3:It fooled us big time and what's interesting is, having bought the trick, is I actually well Young and I perform a variation on that method and it still fooled us because the card's examinable at the start. So I'm I'm genuinely loving performing that. I take it everywhere. I don't normally perform magic when I'm out and about. I just kind of find it a bit, you know, I just I just kind of most of the time just have a bit of a distance from it, but that is something I'm taking everywhere with me and loving performing that sounds really interesting.
Speaker 2:It sounds really cool the fact that it can be. I mean, I was with you until a certain point, I think, but then, as soon as you mentioned the card being examinable, it just that blows your brain really it is.
Speaker 3:I mean, I know this is, this is an audio podcast, but I'm holding up to you so you can see on zoom. But each individual individual domination, front and back, the back of the card is all one color red. And then you tear all these individual things up and you empty them out until there's the only two that are face up and then that's a card force and it's just what's so great about it. It's incredibly easy to do and you can just have complete confidence, just to sit back and let that process unfold. I haven't worked out yet how to make that process entertaining, because there is a bit of process and but we thought it might be good for like one of the things when we're in this touring show called Champions of Magic, right, and one of the things you do is you go to different towns and you do the show.
Speaker 3:But as part of the track of the performers is that you normally turn into like a morning tv studio to do fox news nine and they say, oh, we've got magicians in the studio who are, who are doing a show later tonight in the kennedy center or whatever, and then, and then, in order to get that gig of appearing on the local news. We offer that you know we're going to come in and do a trick for you, because they're not just, they don't really want you just to come in and talk about the show and publicise your promo reel. They want a hook. So by coming in and doing a trick for the presenters. So that's the sort of trick that's perfect, because there's a little bit of process which over time will make entertaining. But then it allows us a vehicle to talk about the show and the tickets are still available for later tonight or whatever.
Speaker 2:So that's what I'm thinking. That's for excellent, I think. Uh, that's going to be one that I certainly look into. I think that sounds excellent and I love on the on this podcast. One thing that I enjoy as well is discovering new pieces of magic that I feel like would fit me as well, and that just sounds perfect.
Speaker 3:It sounds great I was reluctant to mention, in the same way that I talked about the sin soy box or the chest for nosodamus. Because, because, what you? Because it's so good and so, and I'm sure we could eventually make really entertaining I don't want anyone else to know about it, I want to buy the exclusive rights for it so that when I turn up and wheel that trick out, people don't go oh yeah, I know that, and that's uh, that's that trick by, uh, jeff, isn't it? Yeah, jeff price. Yeah, well, that's that trick by Jeff, isn't it? Jeff Price yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, that's what you said earlier on when you mentioned tricks like Leviosa. When it first came out, it was incredible, but then everyone was doing it, so now everyone's going to be doing that one. So, thank you, thank you for that. That's great.
Speaker 3:So his name's Jeff Price. I should say not Price.
Speaker 2:Price Perfect. So that brings us onto your two curveball items. So your book and your non-magic item. Now, do you want to have a guess at Richard Young's book? Richard Young's book no he wants to cover in that hole.
Speaker 3:He doesn't want to remain book, the Andrew main book. No, no, no, because basically I, if I know, no, no, just tell me what it is, put it, put me out of my misery well, no, just in case, you've gone for the same book because there could be an overlap he won't have gone for the book that I've got, because the book, the book I've gone with, should I tell you, yeah, yeah, go for it is actually again.
Speaker 3:There's a huge amount of nostalgia wrapped up into it and I think probably to magicians it's probably not that interesting because the first ever magic book I got and it was aptly named magic tricks is the name of the book and it's by a british magician called keith fields who lives now in detroit, and it was a beautifully laid out visual magic but with loads of pictures, loads of really good magic, and it just fostered my passion for magic brilliantly in my teenage years because there's loads of great tricks in there that you could perform to your friends and family and it really brilliantly explained. So that's my book magic tricks by key fields. Um, but as I say, magically it's probably not that interesting, but it's certainly it's. It's the trick, it's the book. Even now I read and I get excited again for magic because it's um tapping into that childhood feeling now you're not going to believe this.
Speaker 3:It's not Magic Tricks by Keith Fields. He's not chosen the same book, the book that Richard Young went for was.
Speaker 2:Magic Trick. Tricks by Keith Fields. No, he hasn't. No, he didn't. No, no, no.
Speaker 1:He didn't.
Speaker 2:He didn't, so his book was Notes from a Fellow Traveller. Oh, yes, didn't. No, no, no, he didn't at all. He didn't. So his book was Notes from a Fellow Traveller.
Speaker 3:Oh, yes, yes, Very good yeah.
Speaker 2:Now I noticed that your one had something written in the front there as well.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah, because I'm not sure if you know the name, keith Fields. I mean, he used to do a lot of the Cirque at the same time, like John Lenehan and stuff in the UK, and was a comedy act really. He would do stand-up magic, you know the Ian Keeble sort of generation, and he then moved to Detroit. But about four or five months ago he came to a show, I think in Detroit we were doing and I just couldn't believe it that this guy who I'd spent all these years looking at and got me into magic was there. So I ended up, you know, meeting him at the Magic Circle. I got him to sign the book, oh wow.
Speaker 2:I bet that was an amazing process. That would have been great being able to talk to him.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was actually. Yeah, it was really good, and I had loads of questions about the book and the material and how the book came about and stuff.
Speaker 2:So yeah, was there a standout trick from the book? Yeah, yeah, the vanishing coat hanger.
Speaker 3:So do you know it? That's brilliant. So you take a coat hanger and it vanishes. No, you take a coat hanger and you wrap it in. You wrap it in newspaper, and then what happens is you fold it around the shape of the coat hanger and you just screw, you bunch the the coat hanger, sorry, you bunch the paper up and you just throw it away and it's like it's vanished. Wow, that sounds great.
Speaker 2:There's a really clever method of sort of exposing the Well again, that's another one. Hopefully, if people can track down a copy, then they can grab it either out of their existing library, if you've got a, kid who's starting out or you're.
Speaker 3:There's loads of stuff in there. There's vanishing coins, there's a magic square, how that works, and a whole section of card and rote magic, but it's just brilliantly laid out. So, yeah, I'd recommend that.
Speaker 2:Excellent. And that brings us to your curveball. Curveball item. So you're only allowed one thing. So it's a non-magic item thing that you use for magic.
Speaker 3:I, some people would say that children aren't objects, right, but I have two children, six and three. Five and three is how old they are and I very much view them as objects. So I would definitely take. I love my kids a lot, so I would definitely take my. I know you're gonna get one. You're gonna get one item, though that's. That's the right, right.
Speaker 2:So wait, do I have to make you pick a favorite? Is that where we're going with this?
Speaker 3:I mean georgie, the the youngest, by a clear nightmare. So yeah, I'm taking the young one Because also taking a child with you would be good. It would be good because you know you're being away, which happens a lot when we're on tour. Actually, you get some value of them being around. But then also, all these tricks I've listed are meaningless unless you've got an audience to perform it to. So my three-year-old would love an extractor that appears inside a destination box, I'm sure.
Speaker 2:Have your kids shown an interest in magic?
Speaker 3:Yeah, a little bit actually, yeah, yeah, it's kind of interesting. They're still at the age they don't quite understand what work is or why you'd go out and work and what daddy does for a living. They know I'm a magician, but they've never come to a theatre and seen me do a show. They've seen a few little online things. I've done magic to them. That's quite an interesting process Trying to gauge their cognitive ability at different ages, of whether they understand the value of a playing card that's lost in amongst loads of other indifferent playing cards, you know, and where that, where that understanding of like general science and physics kicks in in order to subvert that. As a magician, do you know what I mean? Um, but yeah, they're getting to a good age now where I can do much to them and they do like it, so, so, is it something that in the future you could almost do a father and kid act?
Speaker 3:Well, young and I have talked about it right. So we sell merchandise after our show. When we do it, we have a show called Delusionists in America and we also sell merchandise to the Champions of Magic. So what we're going to do is we're going to give Emmy, my eldest daughter she's going to be six soon, so merchandise to wander around the lobby just saying this is the greatest, most comfortable t-shirt I've ever worn. Or look at this magic trick. This is great value. I cannot believe it's only $100 from the merchandise stand. So we'd employ her in that way, I think in a more cynical child exploitation fashion.
Speaker 2:Great. Well, that's the funny thing. Lots of people have taken photos of loved ones and I have reminded people that they could have taken an actual person, so idiots it's great. It's a really really good choice.
Speaker 3:Now, anything that didn't just didn't make the list well, yeah, again it was going back to yeah, I was gonna, I was gonna put in card to seal an envelope, right, but I thought that's just too close to destination box. But I mean any of the tricks I used to love, amazing Jonathan's Knife Through your Arm. Do you ever remember that? That series on TV it was the 50 greatest magic tricks of all time and that really when I watched that again I was into the thralls of magic and enjoying it. But there was plenty of tricks on that series where I just went, oh that's good One Tamra is a sort of relentless repetition of the card thing. That's number 50.
Speaker 3:And then, yeah, amazing Jonathan's Knife Through Arm, which is now sold as a commercial product. I mean, I bought a Carnival Knife Through Arm many years ago, but then there's obviously the new release of the actual Amazing Jonathan's Knife your Arm many years ago. But then there's obviously the new release of the actual Amazing Jonathan's Knife your Arm. So they claim I've got that. So I really thought about putting that in the list.
Speaker 2:Great, excellent choice and a really lovely diverse amount of tricks as well. We've got some stage tricks there. We've got some close-up pieces. You've connected a couple of different tricks as well. We've got some stage tricks there. We've got some, uh, close-up pieces. You've connected a couple of different tricks as well. Yeah, it's really really cool. Now the question is do you want to hear young's list?
Speaker 3:yeah, yeah, yeah, I'd love to.
Speaker 2:I'd absolutely at number one. He went for the portal vanish by by David Copperfield.
Speaker 3:I mean that surprises me, but yeah, fine. Whatever, portal fine.
Speaker 2:Next, Number two. I haven't got the name of the trick, but it was a trick from Michael Vincent's Rhapsodies or Elegant. Deceptions DVD.
Speaker 3:I mean, yeah, that's just such smart academic thinking, isn't it? That's what he's gone for there he's gone. How do I position myself as this really well-read magician? I know, if I mention Michael Vincent's DVD, then I get some sort of credibility there.
Speaker 2:Number three, leviosa. Yeah, number four was the other stage illusion, and it was Teller's, miser's Dream.
Speaker 3:Oh, what? No, Wow, incredible. The other stage, illusion. And it was teller's miser's dream, oh, what?
Speaker 2:no, wow, incredible, which is a great choice. It's such a wonderful um trick. Number five was coin, one by homer lewag oh, I could have got that I could have got that. He loves that he spoke about doing it in one of the shows at the, at a quiet moment where he's in the audience.
Speaker 3:I do enjoy watching that moment because there's an element of jeopardy as well. I'm really just praying that he drops one of the coins. That's my internal monologue when that's going on.
Speaker 2:Six was Bottle Fruit Table. Ah yeah, good one, you can't argue with that In terms of the reaction it gets to the audience.
Speaker 3:That's a difficult one to argue against.
Speaker 2:It's a superb trick. Again, it's one that we've had quite a few times on the pod and no doubt we'll have more people say it. Number seven was his version of the bill change, but to multiple denominations.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, that is very good. Actually, we also use that in Champions of Magic. It's really I'm sure he went into detail about it, but it's a killer trick.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he spoke about how he's managed to routine it so that he always gets a hit. Basically, he talks about that a little bit, yeah, so it sounds that a little bit. Yeah, so it sounds really really good, as good as it is.
Speaker 3:It's turning into a cashless society, isn't it? So he needs to rethink that one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely, and number eight Flying Rig.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Book was notes from a fellow traveller, and his item was a photo of Sam Strange there wasn't.
Speaker 3:So he can chuck darts at it or rip it up to act as firewood or something. There's no way. What's the punchline? Come on, hit me with it.
Speaker 2:I will let you discover that there's no way he's taking a photo of me.
Speaker 3:On to a desert island. There's obviously some punchlines to that, so I'll have to find out what the meaning behind that is.
Speaker 2:But absolutely wonderful List. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. Now you've alluded to doing different shows, so if people want to find out more about you or see some of these shows, where can they go?
Speaker 3:youngandstrangecouk, um, but we've been. We've been um, heavily involved in a long-running magic show. We started off in uk called champions of magic, transitioned to the north america in 2017 and and is going through a interesting uh, few months and years and years ahead of us, because the show's evolving and changing with all sorts of extra things being added. So if you do get the chance to see that show, I don't think you'll leave disappointed.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. So please do go check that out and make sure you do go to YouTube and see these guys. I love seeing your performances. I love how you always put some sort of quirky twist into your performances as well. There's always some extra element that you both do to make it interesting or funny or just different to what everyone else is doing.
Speaker 1:Oh, thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for giving us your time, Sam. I've loved it. I've loved it. Do go listen back to Young's episode and let us know what you think. Down the line I will do.
Speaker 3:Thanks very much, mate.
Speaker 2:And thank you all for listening.
Speaker 2:Now, don't forget, we do have a mid-week episode now, so we do have Stranded with a Stranger, and that's your chance to send in your list.
Speaker 2:So if you want us to read out your list on one of the monday episodes, then please send in your list of eight tricks, one book and one non-magic item that you use for magic to sales at alakazamcouk. Please use the subject line my desert island list. That way it comes through to me. I can then go through them, find your one and we can read it out on a future episode. Um, please do also give us a little synopsis about who you are so that we can gauge what sort of performer you are, and, of course, let us know what the tricks are and why you've chosen them. So, with that being said, thank you so much. We will be back again monday with a stranded with a stranger, and we will be back on next friday for our main desert island tricks episode. So, with that being said, thank you so much for listening and we'll see you again on another episode of desert island tricks.
Speaker 1:Goodbye hi peter nardi here and I really hope you enjoyed that podcast. I just wanted to make you know that Alakazam have their own app. You can download it from the App Store or the Google Play Store. By downloading the app, it will make your shopping experience even slicker. At Alakazam, You'll also get exclusive in-app offers and in-app live streams. So go download it now and we'll see you on the next podcast.