Desert Island Tricks
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Desert Island Tricks
Stranded with a Stranger: Scott Mackay
Can magic really be your escape hatch from the mundane? Discover how Scott McKay, a magic hobbyist from Kent, finds joy and solace in the world of illusions. In this mid-episode of "Stranded with a Stranger," Scott opens up about his love for magic, despite his self-admitted technical struggles, and shares a heartfelt list of eight tricks, one book, and a special non-magic item that have enriched his life. Listen as Scott recounts his first magical encounter with the timeless "Do as I Do" trick and his admiration for Tobias Dostal's innovative style, particularly his latest creation, "Liquify."
Join us to uncover the small, magical moments that keep Scott captivated and inspired. From classic tricks to cutting-edge illusions, Scott's selection is a testament to his passion and the sheer wonderment that magic brings him. Whether you're an experienced magician or just someone who loves the thrill of a well-executed trick, this episode promises to ignite your imagination and remind you of the power that magic holds. Don't miss out on this charming conversation that celebrates the awe-inspiring world of magic through the eyes of a true enthusiast.
If you would like to be a part of Stranded with a Stranger, send in your list of 8 tricks, 1 book and 1 non-magic item you use for magic to sales@alakazam.co.uk and you might just appear on a future episode!
Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk
Thank you for watching. Hello and welcome to another episode of Stranded with a Stranger. Now this is our mid-episode episode. It's like a mini-episode in the middle of our main Desert Island tricks and it's your opportunity to mini episode in the middle of our main desert island tricks and it's your opportunity to send in your list to us. So if you want to be a part of this sending your list of eight tricks, one book and one non-magic item that you use for magic to sales at alakazamcouk please put in the subject line my desert island list. That way it will come through to me, I can filter through them and we can read yours out live Well, not live, but recorded. You know what I mean. So today we have Mr Scott McKay to thank.
Speaker 1:Scott's given us a little bit of information about himself just to give us some context. Scott says my name is Scott and I'm from the garden of England, kent. I've been an Alakazam customer for quite some time but haven't visited. Scott says Admittedly, I'm technically not the best of magicians and certainly sometimes get overwhelmed with methods, moves and nerves and when I see other magicians perform I can't track back and work out how things are done. I'm probably kind of a hopeless romantic when it comes to magic and probably still think it's all wizardry and indeed real. I then got hooked back in maybe five or six years ago Not really sure why or how, but I'm sure glad I did.
Speaker 1:Magic for me provides a small escape from the everyday and, being very much a hobbyist, I've probably annoyed my wife and my family and friends with a few tricks over the years. I'll probably bore my 18-month-old son Cooper in a few years' time too and maybe always aspire to be a grand magician Confident, charismatic, infallible, technically top-notch, and have a Vegas residency. Now, of course, I don't think that'll ever happen, but I realised quite early on that for me it's the small moments that the magician can provide for the spectator the look of bewilderment, the audible wow, that feeling of being transported to a realm where anything is possible. That there, that's what makes it all worthwhile for me, and that's what I've looked for when I've compiled my list. Not necessarily tricks that I can perform or even dream of performing, but eight tricks, one book and one everyday item for magic. That really gave me that spark and a sense of sense of wonderment.
Speaker 1:I've chosen tricks from a wide range of magicians I really enjoy. So, without further ado, here is my list. Well, first off, never say never. You never know what could happen. One day. You could have a Vegas residency, blue sky, thinking, my friend, you never know what could happen. But I'm very interested to see what your list is going to be. I've already seen that one of them is very, very, very new. So let's go straight into Scott's list Number one do as I do.
Speaker 1:Magicians all know this plot, but this was probably the first trick I ever learned, probably when I was maybe 13 years old. I'm 35 now. I could perform a few different variations and was even able to spot little subtleties when my assistant was trying to catch me out. This is my go to, absolutely, scott. There's some really incredible do as I do tricks over the years. Now you haven't told me which version you've learned from this, so it'd be interesting to find out. But do as I do is a wonderful, wonderful plot, and I know lots of people that perform a version of it. So that brings us onto Scott's second choice perform a version of it.
Speaker 1:So that brings us on to Scott's second choice Liquify by Tobias Dostal. I absolutely love Tobias's style of magic and I've gone for his latest trick, which I believe is maybe his best, although silhouette is really stunning. I've seen this performed for quite a while and I was astonished at his presentation. To be able to add this to my box of tricks is pretty sweet, absolutely. Now, this only came out this week, last week at the time of recording, and it's a phenomenal trick, tobias, the way he thinks it's so whimsical and just different and interesting. And, like you said, silhouette if people haven't seen silhouette, it's a wonderful, wonderful trick as well.
Speaker 1:That brings us to Scott's third selection, which is the bullet catch. Penn and Teller. No, scott, vegas residency is complete without a bit of danger. Penn and Teller's bullet catch has to make the list. It's a classic and one that really captures the imagination. I think that's the first time we've had a bullet catch on this podcast or the main podcast, which is really interesting. Sadly, I've never had the opportunity to see their bullet catch live. They did come to London several years ago and unfortunately they did not bring that with them, so it would be great to see live. But it's a really interesting choice and, like I say, a classic of magic that we've not had yet on this podcast. That brings us to Scott's fourth position.
Speaker 1:He said the gallery deck by mark spellman. Mark's ability to tell a story through magic is really spectacular. I love the gallery deck and its utility to do so many effects and unlock emotions with the images. His return as x blew me away absolutely. This is a superb deck of cards that does loads. There's lots of cool things hidden in there. My spooky friends will love that. There is a spooky trick in there as well. It's a superb deck of cards and you are absolutely right, his return has as X was phenomenal. He is an absolute credit to our art. We're lucky to have Mark, and that brings us over your halfway point, or to your halfway point, depending on how you're looking at these numbers.
Speaker 1:Number five is Card Toon by Dan Harland. I brought this effect in Florida in 2006. I'll never forget being shown the trick in the shop. I still have the original deck. Amazing piece of magic. Wow, yeah, card Toon is just a phenomenal piece of magic. I do believe it's going to be one that outlives most of us. I think it will be here for many, many years to come because it's just so practical. It's just so clever and interesting. It really is a wonderful, wonderful trick. So great, great choice. Scott continues.
Speaker 1:Number six Leviosa. Joe Miranda and Julio Montoro. Release your inner Harry Potter or Hermione Granger with this piece of visual magic, which is incredible. Absolutely. Leviosa is just a great trick. It's popping up more and more on here for a modern effect. I think it's going to be on the list quite a lot. We've got quite a few people that have chosen it.
Speaker 1:Now Number seven Cloak by Chris Congreve. This head-to-head poker type concept is one I really enjoy and this presentation really does pull the audience in. Another one of his effects role was one I really enjoyed also. That's sort of an honorable mention there. Snuck, snuck in there. But absolutely I love that effect. I think it's so clever, the way Chris's routine that and the ending of it is so quirky, really funny and really interesting. And absolutely roll is a phenomenal trick. Chris is really clever at coming up with these little concepts and these little hooks to make magic interesting.
Speaker 1:And that brings us on to Scott's final trick, which is the Elmsley count packet tricks. There's probably one million and one effects that use an Elmsley count to change the appearance of four cards to blank cards, to completely different cards. I don't know the exact one I did in my teens, but it was one that started with four queens showed all the backs of the cards and then they were all blank. It was the one trick that my late father particularly enjoyed. I, however, lost the trick and probably the ability to do it. So if anyone has any wisdom on what it may be, please do let me know. So absolutely, in fact, I can give you a mini exclusive.
Speaker 1:So this week going out on wednesday. So this week, wednesday, if you're an alakazam unlimited member, we've actually joined forces with our friends over at murphy's magic. Now this has been going on for months that we've been trying to do this. Harry's been backwards and forwards, pete's been backwards and forwards with our friends over at murphy's and they've very graciously given us some videos for unlimited. Um, we do have some l and l dv DVD clips and videos going on Unlimited, which is just phenomenal. I grew up with these DVDs and videos I know lots of you guys did too and we didn't want them to get lost to history. So do go check it out.
Speaker 1:But the reason I mention that is one of the tricks that we have going up within the next few months is Alex Elmsley's original four card trick. Now, if you don't know what this trick is. I believe it was the trick that was sort of created for the Elmsley or the Elmsley was created for this trick. It uses just four cards that you have laying around. You can do it in multiple different ways and there are lots and lots of moments of magic that happens just from using this one move. So do go check it out. But absolutely I love practicing the Elmsley Count. It's one of my favorite card moves. It's just so much fun to check out and do check out. Liam Montier has a great DVD called the Elmsley Count Project with loads of different tricks, and the way he teaches the Elmsley Count is the way that I learned and I still think it's probably the best resource out there for the Elmsley Count. So keep an eye on Unlimited and do go check out Liam's project as well.
Speaker 1:Now this brings us on to Scott's two curveball items His book. This is a little bit left field, but I've gone for A Tricky Kind of Magic by Nigel Baines. It ultimately is a children's book, but you'll be able to see from the reviews that a lot of adults have read it too. It's billed as a funny, action-packed graphic novel about finding magic when you need it most and I suppose that description pulled me in following the loss of my father and indeed the story about loss. The message in the book about finding magic in every day and believing in the impossible is rather, quite powerful.
Speaker 1:So I believe having this in my case for the desert island would be a very good pick. Amazing, that's not one that I actually know, but I actually have a few like children's magic books, including the magic show, and that's one of my favorite books to go back to, and I also love giving it to other people, especially magicians, because we're actually quite in touch with our nostalgic side. Let's say we all love a bit of nostalgia. So, going back to our old magic sets, I recently re-bought all of my magic sets about five or six years ago that I had when I was a kid, just to have them as a collection, right. So having those little books that we can look back to just gives us that little sense of nostalgia and the fact that for Scott, it has more meaning with the unfortunate loss of his father.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think we can all relate to things like that as well. That brings us on to his item. This is always the hardest thing for everyone to pick. So he's gone for a smartphone. He says I can perform a whole bunch of magic on it, but it can also be a teleportation device taking your face, your voice, within seconds to anywhere in the world to your home, to your wife and son, to your family and friends. Really interesting point of view.
Speaker 1:And I think about David Copperfield's portal illusion, where he teleports someone through the screen to a desert island, sort of in reverse. Yours will be to escape the desert island, his was to get to a desert island. But absolutely, what a great list from do as I do liquefy quite a quirky trick leviosa all the way to a bullet catch. That sounds like it's going to be a riotous time on the island and luckily no one can hear those gunshots, so it'll all be good. He closes off with thank you so much for taking time to listen to my list.
Speaker 1:I hope I haven't rambled on too much. Not at all. Scott, thank you so much for sending in your list. It's a really interesting, really interesting one. Now, if you want your list read out on one of these podcasts, please do send in your list to sales at alakazamcouk. Remember, that's one trick, one book and one non-magic item that you use for magic, and please give us a little bit of a synopsis as to who you are like. Scott did brilliantly there. So once again, thank you to scott mckay and thank you guys for listening. Don't forget the Desert Island Tricks main podcast will be back this Friday, so keep an ear out for that. But until next time, I will see you soon.
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