Desert Island Tricks

Daniel Chard

• Alakazam Magic • Season 2 • Episode 3

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Welcome to this weeks Desert Island Tricks with the phenomenal card ninja, Daniel Chard. Discover a blend of sharp magic insights, hilarious anecdotes, and the stories behind his favourite tricks. From memorable performances to essential tricks that define a magician's journey, Daniel shares his experiences navigating the fine line between skill and storytelling.

What happens when you mix a passion for sleight of hand with the desire to entertain? You get a captivating discussion that reveals the secrets behind some of magic's most timeless effects. Listen in as Daniel emphasises the significance of creating memorable moments and the perils of underselling your best work; magic is indeed a dance between the performer and the audience.

Daniel's wit and charm guide you through a selection of tricks that are staples in the magic world, including some fascinating insights into memorable performances he has witnessed over the years. You’ll learn why certain magic routines, like the “Lottery Prediction” and “Q&A,” stand out in performances and how they connect with audiences on a deeper level.

Whether you’re a budding magician looking for inspiration or simply a fan of the art, this episode promises delightful revelations and laughter. Don't forget to join the discussion and let us know your thoughts on the tricks and insights shared. Tune in, and discover the magic waiting for you!

Daniel’s Desert Island Tricks: 

  1. Q&A
  2. Graham Jolly’s Balls 
  3. Chard Under Box 
  4. Lottery Prediction 
  5. Ambidextrous interchange 
  6. Multiple Selection 
  7. Suit Apparition 
  8. BANE 

Banishment. Underselling Magic Moments

Book. By Forces Unseen 

Item. Dogs

Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

Speaker 1:

It's hard to describe because imagine like a paper accordion, I guess, and then basically they can manipulate it into different shapes, like it looks like a dumbbell at one point and like a hat on another, and it's just like you know, a relentless two or three minute exhibit of all these random shapes that you can like a paper contortion, you know, just changing it into these random shapes. But I remember just every time someone would perform it at the club, the club I would just die a little inside. It was just one of those tricks. I'm just like, oh, here we go again.

Speaker 1:

I think it was, you know, because I was into like flashy sleight of hand, you know all that visual stuff. You know magic spoke for itself. And one night, the absolute bane of my existence, which was probably burnt into my uh memory like a traumatic childhood event, was, um, two of them did it in the same night in the same show. I was just, oh christ, this is uh not good. So I would take every single one of them and burn them. It would make an amazing bonfire.

Speaker 4:

Hello and welcome to another episode of Desert Island Tricks. We are well into the second season now. We are well into the second season now and today we have a guest who lots and lots of people will already have heard of, because he is a phenomenal card magician. Not just card magician, but I think most people will know him for his incredible sleight of hand. He's had lots and lots of stuff published. You can see his shows as well, normally at the Bristolistol magic bar, which is very, very nice. I was there recently. It's a lovely, lovely venue called smoke and mirrors. Of course it is the wonderful and he's very, very nice, daniel chard. Hello, daniel. Nice again, jimmy. Good, good, thank you.

Speaker 1:

How are you very good mate.

Speaker 4:

Thanks for lovely uh fluttering info everyone knows you for your card stuff because you're such a phenomenal card worker, but I also know that you do lots of parlor as well. So it's going to be interesting to see whether your list comprises of a mixture of things which I think it will, um, or if there'll be sort of heavy card things. So how did you find putting your list together?

Speaker 1:

It's really, really, really difficult. I mean, at one point I had about a list of like 60 just card tricks. So I was like, oh, this is far too many to include, but that could be a whole separate sort of list in and of itself. But yeah, basically when compiling it, something I do that I'm not sure most magicians do is I have a list of um, because we get some people stay in the same position to watch us for you know, like an hour maybe something like that.

Speaker 1:

I've got a list of like 55 um sort of tricks people can chop and choose from. So after they've seen like my main set, they'll stick around for a second set, just kind of like magic by numbers in some regards. I'll just pick four different numbers from this list and then I can just go into into those mix of you know like tricks I really enjoy, ones that are, you know, the strongest I've selected from the years and years of learning and yeah, it seems to be really good fun. But I didn't want to populate everything into the list because it would just be a list of card tricks, which I'm not against, but I don't know if everyone else would be.

Speaker 4:

Well, I'm really excited to see what the list is Like. I say, my prediction is it's going to be a good mix of sort of parlor and close-up pieces. Now, if this is the first time that you're listening to this, the idea is that we're about to maroon daniel on his very own magical island. When he's there, he's allowed to take eight tricks one book, one non-magic item and, of course, his brand new banishment particulars like who's there, how big the island is, all that sort of stuff we do not mind. This is in daniel's own imagination. The idea is that these are the things he could not live without. With that being said, daniel, let's go to your island and find out what you put in your first position. So the.

Speaker 1:

The first one is probably a bit of a left-field answer, to be honest, if you know me, I've gone for a q a, so it's. It's one of those weird things I've been obsessed with and it's honestly, I don't think it's a trick that I will ever perform, but I just what I seem to like about it, similar to ambitious card and routines of that nature is just that there's like an infinite number of presentations, tools, moves, resources, um that you can collect and it seems very much like something you can put like almost like mentors and lego in some regards, like there's just so many different um amazing resources out there, from scott turners at the scott center two names uh, scott creasy, pete turner, uh, jerry mccainbridge you know the bob cassidy classics, lucia may. One of the best resources I've seen recently was um anthem and arias penguin lecture. Have you seen that one? Yeah, that was probably the most comprehensive um lecture that I've seen on it.

Speaker 1:

Regarding um, the q a method and their quantum q a is great and I've never seen one that I've personally liked. Only because I don't think that there is a doesn't fit my presentation from start. So not to say that that's a bad thing, but it just doesn't fit how, um, I'd probably want to do one more sort of comedy based or, you know, a little bit more of a light-hearted content in the effect itself. But yeah, it just seems to be one of those things every new resource that comes out just to enjoy learning about it. There's so many different ways you can put it together and, uh, yeah, it's just one of those things, because there's no right or wrong way to do it, you can just sit there and mess with methods for a long time. I suppose it's like the card moves monkey side, but in mentalism in some regards.

Speaker 4:

So you mentioned that it's something that you haven't done. Is the reason that you haven't done it because it's just too comprehensive and you haven't got those methods down, or is it that you haven't just found that presentation and the style that works for you, and maybe when you find that, that's when you'll start performing?

Speaker 1:

yeah, perhaps I think it's just one of those tricks which is, just for me, it's fun to think about. You know, everyone's got that um, not not guilty little secret that makes it sound more solid than it is, but just something that you can um think about outside of your usual constraints of um performing work, like I'm in my stage show and close up, I've got the stuff I always use. You know some, some stuff I always put in, but this is sort of completely aside from that, in the sense that it's just something you can go back to mess with at certain occasions, maybe peppering and out of different things, if I ever, you know, change my regards to uh performing it. But it's just one of those tricks because my, you know, if I came out and started doing uh pseudo psychic stuff around, loads of uh phallic jokes, it just wouldn't mix.

Speaker 4:

I don't think yeah well, I know that luch has um frameworks, which is a great yes, yeah, yeah method, and I know that on the group for that lots of people have spoken of different presentations and I do think it's one of those things where it is not necessarily about the method but the presentation that really makes that a piece. That is, you know, daniel chard's q a or scott creasy's Q&A or Looch's Q&A. So it'll be really interesting to see if one day you crack that and we have Daniel Chard's comedy Q&A.

Speaker 1:

Well, I think you've just said it there but I like it for the opposite reason. I like the fact that it can be presented in any way, but I like the fact that I like the method collecting for it, if that makes sense, because it's just a. You can use those things for any. You know any other routine and you never know when that piece of knowledge could be applied to any other trick. But they're just really fun to learn about because there's so many um components. You know in terms of presentation, physical methods, uh, you know weird and wonderful devices that you can use, both gimmicks and un-gimmicks. It's just like an infinite sort of playground of methods, tools all in one place that you can then take and apply to endless, seemingly other effects which could be just fun to collect.

Speaker 4:

Yep, I think it's a great one and, like you said, a curveball in it. Number one. I'm not sure how many people playing Daniel Chard's Desert Island tricks bingo would have had that in number one.

Speaker 2:

But that makes me excited to see where it goes.

Speaker 4:

So what did you put in number two? Number two is Graham Jolly's balls.

Speaker 1:

Now that's the Ivorian race, is it? I don't know the name of the trick. I've got it written down on my list as the Graham Jolly's snooker ball trick, the Alcoran snooker ball mystery, I think it's called. Basically, he's got like a rectangular wooden box with five snooker balls in. I believe he's got it behind his back. It was a long time since I've seen it, but he's got. He holds the box behind his back and they remove a, a ball one at a time and then he'll say like I'll pop in your left pocket and get up, have at the end of it five balls, um, in different jacket pockets, in their trousers, in the back pocket, etc. And then at the end he's able to um, turn around and define which color is in each pocket. And I remember seeing it when he he came to lecture or perform at the uh bath circle of magicians. It must have been at least like 15, 20 years ago, but I remember it's doing such a strong effect and again, it's one of those things I don't think I'd ever perform because it's so so him. But I just remember the impact it had on me at that time and I've always loved that effect.

Speaker 1:

And not many people have thought I you know good versions of it I've seen. I tried tracking down the original. I think it was a. I think it's called Bomb Proof by Colin Rose. It was like a. That's the only method I could find that. I don't know if that's the one he's using, but it's the closest I could find. There's been other notable versions since. Paul Martin's got a really nice one with golf balls and it was just one of those tricks which is super impressive. It just it's only one person on stage and you've got this really cool effect. Your back's turned the entire time. I think it's just a real done in the right context and quite pacey. It just seems to be one of those mind-blowing effects you can put in at any point in the show. Remember, it floored me so I could only imagine it would have a similar effect on a later audience.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, people won't know this, but the time of recording we're actually a day after we both got back from Blackpool of recording were actually a day after we both got back from blackpool and I had the opportunity to see mike sullivan at the wayne dobson stand perform a version of this called snooker sorcery and he performed it to this bunch of italian gents who were there and it absolutely floored them, to the point that every single one of them purchased one on the spot literally seconds after. So I think you're absolutely right. It's the fact that it fits in such a small case. You don't have to take loads and loads of stuff and you have a really visual, colourful routine. That is absolutely baffling routine. That is absolutely baffling.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, because it's got some vague semblance to what the Karazuki were seeing in some regards. But rather than doing it with just one, you're doing it with the five. And yeah, spirits just come back from Blackpool. That's probably why I've got a slightly raspy voice. But the other one, the Wayne Dobson method's great. I know the Spectral Mentalist is a great method.

Speaker 1:

Snooker Sorcery yeah, I've seen that. Actually I think I've got that somewhere. I need to get that out and start performing it. I think the thing I like about that routine as well, it's just such a simple method, like you know, like a lot of Wayne's stuff it's. You don't even have to think about it, there's no. I think the only difference between that and spectrum on the list I really like is, I think, the snooker sorcery. There's no a you remove the face. It's a little bit more direct. Plus, the method was um, yeah, when he showed me I just smiled also, that's so genius because there's nothing to think about. You know me, and sometimes in the heat of um performance, even a trick you've done a thousand times you can just go. There'll be one slip up and it just messes up. You know the whole component, whereas that is it's idiot proof.

Speaker 4:

I think such a great trick well, we've come in with two parlor stage tricks which you know, is is very interesting. So let's see if we're going to go to a close-up or another parlor now. Uh, with number three, what did you put in your third position?

Speaker 1:

so I've got so far. I've got, um, it's probably one of my favorite tricks, which is um chart under box. I know it's none of my own shameless plug, but the um, the card in the box, is a trick I've been fascinated with since, um, well, since the early illusions days in bristol, which was, um, probably 17 years ago now, god, I'm old and it's, you know, whenever it's all that's my, you know, that's my thousand timer, that's probably a, it's probably a trick I've done about two or 3000 times at this point and it's anytime I've got a, you know, just a deck of cards in an audience. That will probably be the one I'll do, just because it's got seven phases, the one I'll do just because it's got it's seven phases. It's in probably about, you know, three and a half, four minutes, but it's got everything I think is strong card trick needs surprise misdirection, constant, um, constant moments of magic, and it's one I don't even have to think about. It just feels like you're doing a dance with yourself, which is probably the weirdest. Uh, it's where I can describe it as.

Speaker 1:

But, you know, when you're in that sort of flow state of method, you just go, you know, straight into and then, uh, it's, yeah, it's one of those things that absolutely blows people away and people, and it's one of those routines that people can view multiple times and still miss different parts.

Speaker 1:

It's, um, you know, started with James Brown's Box Clever, but going back even earlier than that was the classic that got pretty much everyone started on the effect, I guess, which is Dog, peace and Bar Magic Divinities by Eleanor number one. It was just his almost main through line for the entire act and it was just such a strong trick. And then I think guys like James Greg Wilson have all condensed the routine down. So, rather than it being something that happens, um, as a moment, through the throughout the act, it all happens in a shorter time frame, which I think just elevates it, um, to a whole new level, and I think it's one a lot of people are afraid of, because you do, you do get caught, even every now and again. There's still be, you know, people that may catch something from the wrong angle or something like that, but it's a trick that you can just bust at any moment, and I know that it will have a massive impact on whoever sees it.

Speaker 4:

Well, I think we've had other guests reference this on the podcast.

Speaker 2:

So I think other people have referenced that.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, absolutely. I remember Box Clever from from. I think it was professional opportunist or something like that.

Speaker 4:

um back, in the day and that was a superb routine. And then when I saw how you had uh sort of expanded on that and made it so much more impactful, I think it's just a superb routine in and of itself, but I think it's also the fact that you're letting the audience into the actual psychology of magic which makes it more compelling to an audience and much more fun for us to perform as well, sure well, and and one of the.

Speaker 1:

It's one of those rare tricks where you, you can be honest and it, excuse me, and it doesn't, you know, deter from the effect when they're like, oh, how does it work? I want to just put on the on the table when you're not looking like, lift up the box, place it on top, like that's. Even you know, in part of the um, one of the faces which I don't do much anymore, but it's something that you can throw in every now and again. But the, I think, where my routine differs to, uh, most of theirs is in, you know, in the traditional effects, their palm. And the second way, um, they're, you know, loading the card where it needs to go ahead of time, um, and then it's there. So you've got a greater chance of um.

Speaker 1:

You know people looking at the table being caught, whereas all of the methods in the effect are used, the cards never really there, if that makes sense. And then the ones preceding the first initial phase where you do the genuine move you've then got. Each phase is kind of like a not necessarily a pseudo explanation, but it cancels out the previous one, and then, because the surprise of the next phase is completely different to the method they've just saw. They've got just no chance of catching up. So by the time they're looking for the cards to go under the box, the deck's already in the box and that sort of thing. So it's just even for the hardest-nosed heckler slash spectator it's one of those tricks that just knocks them for six.

Speaker 1:

It can be quite a confrontational thing If you've got someone who's really sort of boisterous. You know, typically in the places I work you get some people like, come in to try and catch you. I was like, bring it on, here we go. Man, gloves are off, you know and it's. And they're like, oh, I'm going to catch you. It's like you won't even try it. You know, in like a fun, that's perfect. Because then they misdirect themselves to miss, you know, the big climax of the deck and inside the box. So they distract themselves and it becomes this self misdirecting thing which is, yeah, just such a fun trick.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, I'm glad that you put it in there because you know it has been mentioned before on the podcast, and for good reason. It's just a superb routine, so I'm really glad you put it in there.

Speaker 1:

Did you ever teach it anywhere? Yeah, so it's on like it's probably one of those routines I've probably taught on everywhere in some regards. Um, I think I put a version on one of my alexander academies. Um, I know it's blasphemy to say another magic company name in this format. Um, I put up my penguin live initially. Uh, don't come after me, peter, leave the pitchfork at home. Yeah, maybe various other places. I had a in lockdown. I had a Card Under Box project which I sold as part of another bundle but that never really saw the light of day Because it's, you know, it's an explanation to a trick I've explained elsewhere anyway, so they didn't really need it.

Speaker 1:

But yeah, it's one of those routines. It's one of those routines. It's sort of evergreen in the sense that as, as it evolved, similar to um, I think tom right was chatted about that on his um with his chop cup. You know, you see, on different projects and there's different things that have been added. It's, you know, there's one of those routines that's always morphing and evolving. So every time you see it on a project you might go ah, you know, he's included this, no bloody trick again, but things might have changed in terms of um method, you know psychology. Um, it might reduce in some regards to phases, because seven is quite a lot of it happens. So you know, quick, that's um, it doesn't feel like uh, it feels like they need a drink to relax after it's quite a, it's quite intense in the brain great.

Speaker 4:

Well, let's go on to your next choice then. So what did you put in your fourth spot?

Speaker 1:

my fourth spot is a trick that I've um, I've been obsessed with for a long time but never again, never performed some effort. There's a bit of theme building here. Uh, it was nate staniforth's um lottery prediction. It's in my mind that is the best. I'm happy to go record saying that's the best lottery prediction there is. It was just such a clean um.

Speaker 1:

I remember seeing the performance initially like his sort of you know low-key um manner of presenting, mixed with you know, just adding all the impact to the uh end reveal. The reaction sort of speaks for itself. I think you can find a. There's a clip on youtube of his um, one of his college shows, I think, or some of him performing in. It's just such a clean you know, handling his wallets on the table. Six people pick numbers. At the end there's this piece of paper with it, you know, and since there's been an absolute you know plethora of methods just sort of thrown on the market from gadgets, gizmos, classic methods. But to my mind I think the simplicity of his was just such a game changer. I've not seen one that matches that level of cleanliness, if that makes sense. It looked like such a minimal. They named the numbers inside the wallet. There they are. I'm sure there's methods out there, but that's probably the clearest I've seen yeah, it's a great routine.

Speaker 4:

I know he put a revisited version in his book called clouds and kingdoms, um, and he also had a great matchstick trick in in that book as well. But yeah, you're right, it's such a clean routine and, in terms of a like a parlor show, a lottery prediction is a superb effect to put in there, and it's one of those questions that you know well. Hey, if we were real magicians and we could really do magic.

Speaker 4:

We all know we'd be producing money right. We all know we'd be doing that. And it's also the question and joke quite a lot of the time that audiences give to you Like, oh, can you make me some money? Because that's what they anticipate. So a lottery prediction is the exact, perfect routine really for a parlour setting.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely, and I guess that's why routines like coin productions or miser's dream in a stage context, but extreme burn and stuff like that, they're so popular. Like you said, it's just a go-to question that goes to uh through someone's minds I think you get the occasional one as well like if you won the lottery, would you still do this? And it's like, let's all face it, we're just, we're all absolute nerds, you know. So we just, even if we had all the money in the world, you'd still get bored, so you'd still be uh, you know dynamo, he's got a lot of money but he still goes blackball every year.

Speaker 1:

You know, and I really, I really like that. You see, like steven mohern floating about doing the uh, look around the dealers and stuff, because we're all, just, you know, big, just collecting toys, aren't we? And we still want people to uh show them for. But there's other great routines like um. They don't quite fit the same um genre but like paul's balls, the um lottery prediction of the tostide book, that's. That's a great presentation.

Speaker 1:

Um, I love john archer's. That he did as well. I can't remember where I saw that. You know he's got the um. Like all of the uh lottery balls was in a bowl or like a um tumblr type machine. That was a strong revelation. Plus, yeah, there's tons of good methods out there, but I think similar to like the q a there's no right or wrong way to do it, but it's such a a strong trick and it's one of those ones I've wanted to put my show for so long, but I've never found a presentation or a method that I quite like. So it's just a fun side project that, again, hopefully we'll see the light of day one day.

Speaker 4:

But uh, yeah, it's a great, great trick hopefully we'll see that with your q a when you uh finally crack that one as well but yeah, great choice again, and quite interesting that it's another parlor effect as well. Um, so we on q a, graham jolly's balls, um, which is fun to say, a child on a box and lottery prediction, uh, by nate stanforth yeah, great. So where did you go with your fifth position?

Speaker 1:

so the the fifth one is um. It's a trick that I've never learned, but if I was going to be marooned on a? Uh an island, it'd give me all the time in the world to work on x. It's just such a difficult piece. It's um. I believe it's called an ambidextrous interchange by guy hollingsworth. So the the effect is you have um, four, four aces, four queens, all signed by the spectator. Then you put um, the, the aces in different pockets and then you put you know, fought in your jacket and tries to pocket. So they go each in a different one. You show the Queens they mysteriously transformed, one at a time, into the aces that were just in your pockets, and then you pull out the Queens from the four different pockets but then, after you click away for whatever your magic gesture is, you show that the Queens have then vanished and they're now back in the pockets and then you remove those. But the method is just an absolute beast. It's it's got some of the most.

Speaker 1:

I'd probably go on records as one of the most difficult car tricks there is. I you know, published in a uh in a book. How someone would learn that from uh. It's amazing, book drawing perceptions. I'd have no idea, but he does it on the um, either the london collection or his um routines uh DVDs. But I think you can get those as downloads from fashion ink at the moment.

Speaker 1:

Um, but yeah, it was just such a long. You know it's a real long explanation in terms of the technical moves, but I was just sat there marveling at, you know, some of the moves that he was using in there. He was using in there. You never see anyone use in that context. It was just such a like a super difficult. It's probably routine. I've only he could pull off. But if you've got that, uh, that length of time, it'd be something to. I think. It's just something to the effect. I think it's the, uh, the saddlewicks effect all things um can change, or something, or more things can change in cartoons. It's one of those things I wish you know when you're one of those tricks you wish you could do with as smooth as Guy and stuff like that. But yeah, that's just gonna have to be a bit of a fiction piece for me, I think.

Speaker 4:

But it's nice because we've had several people say that there are routines that they've just not had the opportunity to really commit time to. So I think it's lovely that this is your version of that. This is the trick that you would love to get as smooth as Guy Hollingsworth. So, you know, getting that down and getting that time and practicing just to make it as good as him. Yeah, I agree, I think everyone probably has that trick in their lives.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, no, absolutely. Because I think, um, well, yeah, if you're, if you're marooned on an island, you've got all the time in the world to uh mess with that. And I think, yeah, with regards to the island, one of the uh, my favorite episode I was listening to was, uh, dave forrest, because he had a, like a name. He had his own little currency, didn't he? And stuff like that. I did, uh, I had all those sort of things. It's like chartopiaopia, I guess I asked, with Pompous in it, and then there were some sort of crypto coin that I'd have for some cryptocurrency for the island. But, yeah, I thought that's a bit too, a bit too deep in the weeds.

Speaker 4:

Chartopia. That is what we're going to call it from now on. There we go.

Speaker 2:

We are going to.

Speaker 4:

Chartopia? Yeah, I think that's another great choice.

Speaker 2:

I love that. It's the one that you just want to work on, just for you, just to enjoy. Hello guys, 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 Alakazam 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 £4.99 a month, 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'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. Not only that, there is also exclusive content only available on the platform. Check it out now. Alakazamcouk Cheers.

Speaker 1:

And it does lead us nicely to number six. So what did you put in your sixth spot? The sixth spot I've got um, multiple selection. So if only there was a good resource to learn this from jamie. So the um, the idea of um, the mobile selection, to me is just the ultimate um. It's probably one of the ultimate sort of crowd-pleasing tricks, because you can give, give someone a deck and if you've only got, you know, five, ten minutes or five to seven minutes at a table or something like that it can.

Speaker 1:

It's an entire act, just with um, you know, anywhere between one up to ten selections, um, it, you know. It can be done anywhere. It can be done as the opening of a stage piece. It can be done in a parlor, done in the opening of a stage piece. It can be done in a parlour show close up, walk around. I don't think there's an environment that it doesn't work in.

Speaker 1:

And plus each revelation, you're essentially doing the same trick 10 times, but every revelation increases in terms of difficulty, in terms of the climax know the climax, the surprise of each one. You can then also produce previous selections. It's got inherent callbacks as well and the routine is just one of those things similar to card under box. I've just done so many times. It almost feels like you know, when you start, you just start doing like a trick for one person. You finish that, you move to the next person and there, like a trick for one person, you finish that, you move to the next person and there's a trick for them, whereas multiple selection just opens it out and it becomes much more about you know the fact. You're finding the cards. You know it's neither here nor there.

Speaker 1:

It's a good fun piece as well, but you learn, similar to doc eason's routine in the ll tapes. You're learning everyone's name. You're remembering everyone's name. You're making jokes about them as they select the cards. Um, so it's. It's one of the best um sort of vehicles for performance as well, because it's not. It's not by finding the cards, that's just the, the method you're using. You're learning the names. It's becoming your, you know. Then, after that, you can go wherever you want with all that information and people love. People love that you're taking the time to speak to them individually whilst learning their names, which is the most important to stand in their life. Plus, you know, there's endless methods for it and it's just such a fun routine to do so.

Speaker 4:

there are lots and lots of different multiple selection resources out there, and I know you have your own resource, which we're not gonna tease too much, but no, you may be finding a way to learn about that in the future. We'll say that's all we're gonna say for now but what were the places that influence yours? So what were the different resources that you went to in order to build your routine?

Speaker 1:

sure. So, yeah, my routine's very classic in terms of methodology, but I've similar to card on the box with that trick. I just learn every version I could, you know, find for right. Um, the printed literature, uh, with multiple selection. It started off with um doc eason's um booklet. Actually, I think Fusilade with Paul Cummings and Doc Eason and what's good is each one of them has the different approach. Paul's was very direct in terms of control, production and you know where the structure of the routine that led to the climax, Whereas Doc's was all about the performance, all about the names, all about the gags with the names. Um, you know, learning about the um spectators making jokes with the names, which is something that I currently use in my stage show to um quite fun effects.

Speaker 1:

Wrote um routine which I think is on unlimited. I believe is uh, his 10 car trick that was watching him perform. That was a real sort of game changer because it was in a similar environment you know that I'm used to performing in and it was just um, just very, very early on was just such an impressive trick to see, because you know the amount of skill and stuff like that that you're putting into one routine. It's almost like a competition act in some regards, because you can have. So the structure of mine you'll do.

Speaker 1:

You know the first six or seven quite traditional revelations, but then you've got a series of revelations you include at the end which are using something that they use in Star Wars. Let's just say that and then you know so they're predetermined, maybe the best way to say it. Plus, you can include the element of impossible revelation by including, like a destination box or a car to envelope and then that's, you know the end of the routine itself. But also I know, very early on, BitBlood Media had a project with Rob James and Adley Gladwin which is probably a similar approach to the one I was taking in terms of it was very much a choose-your-own-adventure, toolbox-type approach, Got both routines the routines were taught but then also a ton of revelations which you can just insert as you like and then build your own adventure around that based on your ability, preference and routine.

Speaker 4:

Great. Well, that's a great choice and a close-up slash parlor, because that can be done in a parlor situation I would say as well.

Speaker 2:

Yes, absolutely.

Speaker 4:

So that brings us on to number seven. So what was in your seventh spot? So number seven.

Speaker 1:

I the uh. Suit apparition by jose carol. It's, um, a version of a suit production where you, um, you, I think, you ask them for a suit and then you're using methods, cutting to the suit one at a time, to the ace and to the three, all the way down to king, and then at end the spectator chooses a different suit. Then you click your fingers and then re-spread the packet and then it's turned into the other suit. There's a wonderful version of him performing that, actually near things like a Spanish poolside, on YouTube. Suit apparition by Jose or Pepe Carroll, depending on which pronunciation you use. I think it's published in his book Through the Looking Glass, I think it was, or in his card book, published before that. So I use a version that is personal to me. Again, same, you know, exact same effect, but just the method that I developed. It was a trick that, um, when I was performing at the house illusions in spain, I was doing on a, you know, like a large sort of five, five foot tv, and, you know, done some music in hindsight probably wouldn't, you wouldn't have used coldplay, um, but it was just such, a, such a strong trick. And then that the climax at the end, when they all change to a different um, different suit just absolutely blows people away because it, you know, it's fun seeing the one at a time productions and it gets to the end and it just makes you look like an absolute master of a deck of cards and it and it's probably one of the hardest routines I've performed, to be honest, um, I've done, you know, every iteration of it from stage parlor. I use it at close up if it's the right. It's something I keep in the back pocket. If you get the right group, at the end someone you know, someone, says, oh, can you show me one more? And you get as many people as you can to gather around the table. That's just like a statement piece. Do you know what I mean, max? And then just off you go and uh, with that, a couple of notable versions, um, of the routines sort of inspired. Mine were, um, very early on. I can't remember where he published it, but um, ryan hayashi, I think, has some great. As part of one of his competition actually had a whole project that sort of delved into routines of that nature. You know, uh, ricky jay, his routine where the whole uh deck would be a new deck order at the end, super, super classic. I don't think he spoke, he just had that solemn, angry look he had on his face. But, yeah, absolute master.

Speaker 1:

Leonard Greens was probably one of the best sort of playgrounds for that type of effect, because his was have you seen it? In his phys-a-man? He was doing the tinfoil around his face and that sort of thing. But his, I think his volume one is just like an absolute toolbox of moves that could be used and probably some of the hardest card stuff published. I think Leonard Green. Ben Earl's got a very nice again, not his is one. You know, a production that's done. It's on midnight, I believe. They just shuffles and then produces a suit in similar to what you would before races, but that's with 13 cards, which is fun. And it was my first introduction into Spanish card magic, which has also become a large obsession in regards to influencing the way I perform the card magic I like and stuff that you've seen me perform at gigs or you know wherever.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, it's a great choice. And again it almost falls into I mean, it's not, but it feels like that sort of jazz magic thing that you've already got in here. So you know, with your multiple selection routine, this feels like a really nice follow-on or lead-in from that routine.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, exactly. The multiple selection can be done and the good thing is they're all modular. If you haven't got time you don't have to produce the other suit at the end. I mean you should, because it's the strongest bit of the routine, right? Whereas the multiple selection you can just pick up and go into again. Each one of these can fit into open or closer middle that. They've all got that modular nature, but the same with each one. Like you, just by learning the multiple selections, suit production and carded box, you know, using those, you it's allowed me to pick up so many different moves, productions and probably hundreds. At that point, I suppose because you've messed in structuring your routine together, you learn every sort of conceivable production from every resource because you cherry pick what wants to work for you, what don't. But you've still learned that You've gained that piece of knowledge which you can apply to any other card trick.

Speaker 4:

But even the three that you've just mentioned. So card under box, multiple selection and suit apparition, all of them feel so unique. I mean, the multiple selection is the pick a card trick essentially there, but it just feels different because there's so many different people and there's so much variant in that. And then card under box is more about the psychology of what's happening as opposed to the card selection itself.

Speaker 4:

And then of course you have that twist ending with suit apparition, where they just don't see it coming. So each one of your choices in a show, if you were to do them in a card show, would feel so unique to each other. Yeah, it would feel like you've seen a mini card act, essentially yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

And again, yeah, like there's the stuff, just those three tricks alone, I think, could you know, hold its own against any Magic Castle act or, you know, competition act, because each one is of a high standard in terms of each one has been done thousands of times. Each one is it can be done more or less at a moment's notice. I mean, don't get me wrong, in terms of each one's been done thousands of times. Each one is it can be done more or less at a moment's notice. I mean, don't get me wrong, getting into the suit apparition from a shuffle deck is a bit of a pain in the ass but it can be done. You know you can.

Speaker 1:

You can use Hoffs and Spurs moves or Acosta Chemnats to get the deck into the order that you need it to, you know, during a couple of filler tricks and then you go into that as the main sort of climax or just, you know, deck switch or whatever. But yeah, each one of those I'd happily. I couldn't do any more card tricks for the rest of my life. Those would be strong audience pleases.

Speaker 4:

Well, that brings us to the tail end of your eight with the eighth position. So what did you put in your last spot?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, this the eighth position. So what did you put in your last spot? Yeah, this was a toss-up between, um, the category I've got written down was, um, routines for stage that use mobile spectators. So, and again, I know the older advocate's going to come out at some point. I know I can feel it. The tension is rising now. It's um, so routines that use, uh, like, four or five people up on stage. Those are the broad category, and it's almost become sort of a running joke with Mark from Smell Cameras, during the shows that all of the effects that tend to buy tend to be, you know, similar to Q&A, they've got four people on stage. I think in my 35 minute show I must have, like, throughout, at least eight people up on stage, which is mad because it's only, you know, half an hour, but it's yeah. So I'm waiting for the question. Jamie, waiting for the question.

Speaker 4:

So, yep, devil's advocate here. So you are, of course, allowed honourable mentions, absolutely. So what would you whittle that down to?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I think, and again, again. I know it's gonna sound like brown nosing because you're on here, but I think bang is probably the trick I use, um, you know, on stage the most and it's, yeah, it's just such a fun part of the. In the case, I love the mirrored mystery plot but added, I've added loads of um like stupid production in terms of, like, you know, soap opera, music and lanyards and other um other stuff I won't mention so I'll be able to nick, but you know it's become like a the trick. The trick almost doesn't matter, it's just, uh, such a fun. You know, 10 minute, 10 minute piece. You've got people falling over. You know different phases where people are having a laugh, but it's such a crowd pleasing um, the fact that you find that you know the gold chair at the end is almost neither here nor there. It's just such a. It was an amazing vehicle to um sort of step outside of the, the construct of most magic routines and you know being a little bit too serious, like, oh, good evening, you know, allowing you to um just ease into the performance and have more of a laugh. Because there's no, because, you know, as you, as you know, the method is so simple. It just allows you to concentrate on everything else around it and really embellish those um, you know, those silly moments to the best of um that degree. Um.

Speaker 1:

Other honorable mentions I've got written down are um ones I still do perform now and again, sometimes in the same show, if not not like when I'm doing um, either a smoke or crowdkeepers, um, like two 35 minute halves. I usually have one in each Um. They each offer something different in terms of method and um effects. I use a tattoo by Bill Abbott, so I think that's probably I think, to my mind, probably like the ultimate sneak beef because it's um. You know, I know there's other variations and you're probably uh, you've got your favorite, like everyone else. Um, but I just love the premise of that. You know, people draw down like a tattoo that they got on a uh on a weekend away when they were around extremely drunk, whatever, and uh, I just think it's such a fun presentation because, again, you can apply any uh presentation to it. If it's a family show, you can be, you can be more um sort of professional with it, but you can get as blue or as silly as you want in terms of presentation. Colour Psychology by Adam Wilber. I was performing it, you know, pre-alec Kazam establishing the rights, one of the OGs.

Speaker 1:

I absolutely love that trick. I think it's such a fun. I still perform it pretty, you know, pretty classic in regards to Adam's method. But I love the, the fact that they think you're being serious with the initial three. You know, and I play, I play that moment to the point of, you know, real awkwardness. I'm really, you know, really pushing that like you know, that is the trick, you know, and they're just there's this weird sort of weird awkward tension in the air you know, most straight away from. I absolutely love it.

Speaker 1:

I think it's such a fun because you don't usually get that in a show, jimmy, because you're like, oh, is he serious?

Speaker 1:

Is it um, does he, does he know that?

Speaker 1:

You know, this is not as impressive as he thinks it is, um, you don't know how they're like, oh, we want to knock him down a peg or two, but and then you come to the revelations where it's all you know, predicted.

Speaker 1:

It comes full circle and I found, even even with a really hardened audience, you know, a mix of those two tricks is, you know, such a strong, I mean, they could lead one into the other in some regards, you know, I mean, the one of them is in the audience.

Speaker 1:

It's, uh, you influencing them or you know whatever presentation we'll use, and then getting more people up under the terms of influence, and then going into the um, into the trick bane, and it was one of those tricks I think I I'd done for a long, long time, but I think it was when you come to lecture that the presentation sort of made sense. So it took a couple of, it took a couple of hundred times doing it to go okay, I'm not you know something not quite right. Um, but yeah, it's just one of those things to look forward to performing because it takes no, excuse me, it takes no space. You can throw it in your show and then you've got a, you know, like a fun piece that I think you could fit into like any show, like stage show, variety, cruise ship, all of that sort of stuff, you know well, the three that you just mentioned there, I think are interesting in their own right because, like you mentioned, color psychology is and, and lots of performers look for.

Speaker 4:

this is a routine that the audience don't have to leave their places so much like a deck, um, they can stay where they are and you still get that impact and that routine. Yeah, and then sneak thief is something that everyone should have a method for sneak thief in their head. It doesn't matter what version. It's a fundamental routine that quite literally takes nothing as in. You don't have to take any props with you. You can get to a venue, go to the local stationers, pick up some card or some foam core some pens and then you've got a whole stage piece.

Speaker 4:

It's a fundamental tool and of course we've referenced there are lots of different versions of Sneak Thief. One notable one from the past few years is Andy Lyman's mobile phone version, which is in his lecture which is just phenomenal. And then, of course, bane, which I'll always be biased, as it's my routine, but you've performed it more than me at this point, all day long, you've performed it more than me.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, and the touches that you've put on it and the experience you'll have with that routine. Now you'll know as much as I do at this point that that routine is about the audience through and through. It's not about us?

Speaker 1:

yeah, absolutely, and I think, um, you know I mean we could talk more off air, but you know it's now. You've got the basic method in mind. You can apply to different objects, different um, different things. Obviously you know the original in uh terms of presentation and um item just makes complete sense. So you probably won't do too much variation on that. But if I was coming up for a uh like a fringe show or some something of that nature, you've got something now that you can just in your knowledge bank you can apply that at a moment's notice to you know, just stuff you've got lying around.

Speaker 1:

But yeah, sneak thief is one of those great effects and you see, I've never really seen many people do it, but once um once I've seen one person do it every show I go to. Now you just see it seems to be. You know, it's kind of like when you buy a new car, you don't see any on the road and then as soon as you buy your little Mazda, your Fitbit, whatever, you're looking around in the mirror way, just every, you know everyone's driving when it's like what the hell's going on. So just it opens your mind in terms of um methods similar to that Q&A. Um, yeah, andy's, andy's version is great, even, um, I think it was on a previous Desert Island Trix.

Speaker 1:

Someone mentioned about his uh, obviously his graphology routine on get neiman and uh, yeah, I went back to look at that. That was a real fun method as well. And I think the thing I like about um bill abbott's method is the. It's just so simple, like there's no. It like the method is bold, it's in plain sight, you know it's on on the cards you use without giving too much away in a completely inconspicuous manner.

Speaker 1:

And, um, you know you, they just they do the drawing and as long as you're following the sequence like this is nearly impossible to go wrong. And then you've got, um, a drawing duplication to end that after it's been, you know, apparently isolated in a uh big old envelope inside of an iPad bag, it inside of an iPad bag. It just seems impossible that you'd be able to know that at that point. And it's got a great applause cue because you're holding up the boards, you flip them around, they both match, they go back to the seat, obvious applause cue. It can be a good end piece to a first half or a strong piece in its own right in the show, but yeah, was there any other?

Speaker 4:

I'm probably blanking on some classic uh methods for sneak view well, one of the cleverest ones of the past goodness knows how many years is derren's from his previous show, um, from his last show. He had a phenomenal opening routine which I think was cut from the tv special um which he managed to expand on the method without giving too much away.

Speaker 4:

He managed to not only do Sneak Thief but then managed to get some additional information from it, which was incredibly clever, and when you watched him perform it and you see the beats that they've put in to make it work. It was just a work of art. It was so, so good that's great.

Speaker 1:

I don't do any proper mentalism or anything like that just because of the procedures. I'm probably just too thick. I think the methods are quite involved. You have to memorize a lot of stuff, whereas I think it's, it seems like the perfect vehicle for that sort of stuff that you could just pepper in, um, because the routine is quite bare bones, isn't it? So it's a skeleton of a very, very strong effect, but you can, you know, banish those moments in, you know numerous different ways. It just seems like if you've done a bit of, uh, let's just say, show before the show, um, you know, wandering around the audience getting, um, they're writing stuff down. You, you don't know what it is, of course, um, then you, yeah, you can add that to the routine as you're um doing that. You can combine it with other, uh, confabulation elements, I mean, which is, uh, an honorable mention, but we can discuss that, uh, yeah, after well, that is a great one to end on.

Speaker 4:

So we've gone from q a. Graham, jolly's balls never gonna get you. Send that shard under box. Lottery prediction ambidextrous interchange, multiple selection suit apparition and multiple spectator routines for stage. Do you?

Speaker 1:

have a couple of honorable mentions. If um, that's right, carter cross is, yeah, absolutely staple to my show. I use um scott alexander superfly just because the humor just just fits my show perfect. It was one of the few tricks but I've not varied much in terms of performance. It's pretty much I'm using, you know, very close to his method. Um, I'm doing a much simpler version of his method which I think he taught on one of his uh penguin live christmas specials. He taught um randomly. It was just like a reduced version. It was like a bare bones handling if you didn't have the uh sort of props on you. But yeah, there's so many great methods, like Las Vegas Leaper for closeups, amazing.

Speaker 1:

One of the very classic and very strong methods is by Hannibal. Yeah, his is very classic in terms of, you know, presentation. But his has got some sort of fun elements of presentation that he's added which are, you know, some could be a bit, you know, cheeky references and stuff like that. But it's such a just such a strong trick and you know, you can see why it's become a staple of a lot of people's repertoire. But also there's so much you know you can do the bog standard version I remember Jasper Blakely showed me one by. I'm blanking on the name, but the method was just so simple. It's. You know, you're just relying on presentation.

Speaker 1:

But other notable mentions, like Mark Shortland's got one with different colored backs. I think Heldrick Morris had one as well, but yeah, I just couldn't get my head around his method. It fought me badly. That's a great trick. And also confabulation, which is just such a fun, you know, fun trick. I don't do any of the classic methods. I think Bill Abbott, no-brainer for me, is probably the best method for stage, just because it, you know it packs so small and it plays to, you know, hundreds and hundreds of people. Paul Martin's got a great version and there's just an absolute ton, you know, dotted around the literature well, they're great honorable mentions, but it doesn't bring us to the brand new rather controversial position which is

Speaker 1:

your banishment yeah, I've been deliberating this for ages, man, it's because you can, you know, I think I've got two contenders um. One of them, which didn't make the final cut, was there's a routine called Trouble With. It's like, oh, it's hard to describe Because imagine, like what can only be described as like a paper accordion, I guess, and they basically they can manipulate it into different shapes, like it looks like a dumbbell at one point and like a hat on another, and it's just like a, you know, a relentless two or three minute exhibit of all these random shapes that you can. It's like a paper contortion, you know, just changing it into these random shapes. But I remember, just every time someone would perform it at the, the club, I would just dial it one size. It was just one of those tricks. I'm just like, oh, here we go again. I think it was, you know, because I was into like flashy sleight of hand, you know all that visual stuff. You know magic spoke for itself.

Speaker 1:

And one night, the absolute bane of my existence, which is probably burnt into my uh memory like a traumatic childhood event, it was um, two of them did it in the same night in the same show. I was just, oh christ, this is, uh, not good. So I would take every single one of them and burn them. It would make an amazing bonfire, um, but the big end that's the honorable mention. So that's um, that's that, and I think I think the thing that I would um banish would be I get it's more like a I don't know a performance approach or like a piece of psychology. It's um, it's when I've seen a ton of um professionals again naming no names but like just completely underselling that last magic moment. For me that's just an absolute oh sort of like pet peeve or um, something that I would banish from every magician's performance approach. It's just where you get to like, say, the end of, like an anniversary of waltz.

Speaker 1:

A pet peeve or something that I would banish from every magician's performance approach is just where you get to like, say the end of, like an anniversary of waltz, and you've done that. You know, amazing, fusion is super impossible moment. And then they will just, you know, just flip over and show what's happened and it seems again, I was dealing with this up until probably about 10 years ago myself it just seems, seems this ability to just want to undersell, or almost being too nervous to appreciate the climax or the impossibility of what you've just done, if that makes sense. But they're almost not too scared to accept the applause or to really really sell it, but they seem like just to throw that moment away. They're just like, oh, okay, you know this has happened, let's move on.

Speaker 1:

Oh, isn't that, you know, isn't that nice? It's just like no, mate, that's an absolute miracle. You know, if you had done that 2,000 years ago, you'd be in that book as well. Do you know what I mean? It's just that level of like it just um twist in terms of how you perform. So it doesn't take any real extra effort, you know, it's just a couple of extra sentences and then you're doing the same thing but getting a monumentally stronger um end. Do you know what I mean? So it's just a just a small piece of um performance that you'll see a lot of people undersell that last moment.

Speaker 1:

And it's just like why you've got something so powerful that could be, you know, literally a miracle status and you're throwing it away like it's a cheap novel you'd see at a fair. It's just like no, I have to. You know, I have to always really own that moment and not be nervous at what you've just done and because you're doing impossible things, so just accept the. It's like they're doing. It's like whether that's like magician's guilt. You know they're not trying to, they're trying to claim, uh, these powers or whatever and it's like, well, you know, if you want honesty, you're in the wrong, you're in the wrong profession, right, but you know stuff that tamra's and um a scania talk about.

Speaker 1:

Is that you know the magic moment, or that feeling of magic, such a hard thing to um generate. You're dancing, you know, on the sort of razor's edge a bit, and it can, it can be lost at a moment's instant. You know if, whether you say joke at the wrong time at the end of a trick, or you, you move on too fast and don't let them appreciate that moment, um, yeah, there's so much um, it's really weird. You go through phases, don't you like when you first get into it, because you don't, you're not burdened by, uh, magic, you just do the tricks pretty much as they are and you're, you're getting wild reactions, like David Blaine, starting at people running away, it's, and then it's. It's this weird middle ground between knowing some stuff, the kind of intermediate stage. You know enough to then start thinking about the performance, and then that sort of um, you overanalyze or you intellectualize that moment and don't do stuff as spontaneously as you used to. So those moments then you go through this sort of slightly weaker phase because you're applying all this.

Speaker 1:

You know apparent performance, psychology or moments that you read in books or you're told to by. You know local um hobbyists and the club don't perform, know they're telling you how you should structure performance and stuff like that. And then you get to the point where you've done stuff so much. You know the beats, you know how to strip everything away. Even you know look at all the great comedy magicians. Even at the end of their tricks they just stop everything. You know everyone's focused on that. One insert little point and then that becomes the focus of retention and they'll let people, um, you know, live in that reaction for even two or three seconds. Stuff like david blaine and paul harris talk about just not being afraid to step on that moment, because silence can be, you know, a scary thing to just sit in, but it's, once you get over that it's probably the most powerful things well, we have banished it for you.

Speaker 4:

So we have banished underselling magic moments. They are all gone. So let's get on to a more positive one your book. So what did you put in your book position?

Speaker 1:

oh yeah, bloody hell. This was, uh, absolute pain because, as you know, as I'm looking at the moment, I've got similar to you. I just collect every, you know every book, just buy everything in terms of books. Let's narrow it down. I know they've been mentioned before. Honourable mentions would be Steve Forte, steve Forte, sorry, steve Forte and his gambling sleight of hand. The 40 years of sleight of hand, I think it's called. There are two big old, hefty volumes. And the the 40 Years of Sleight of Hand, I think it's called. There are two big old, hefty volumes.

Speaker 1:

And the card work in there would keep you busy for a lifetime. It's just, you know, false dealing, shifts, ace tricks, all of the card nurse stuff. That speaks to my inner, move monkey, just such a fun book. Just open anywhere and, just you know, learn what's in there. Revolutionary Card Techn technique by Ed Marlow was a honorable mention just because they've got such a it's like a huge tome of the book and it's got every area you could think of estimation, false dealing, key card stuff, palms. It's literary. But the thing I like about that, similar to the Royal Roads card magic, is it's got all of these moves and then a ton of effects to actually apply them to. So it's not just a um book you're going to sit there and learn tricks patter, because it doesn't include any, which is uh, just these endless like cooking recipes of both palms tricks and uh bits of psychology.

Speaker 1:

But I'm torn between two. I've got um 52 memories by jack parker which I think only ever one person's mentioned. That's got some of my absolute favorite card magic in there um tricks, old-fashioned aces, um, it's got the best handling of the officer plot by far in there and it's very easy to do um between that and by forces unseen by ernest eric. If I had to choose I'd probably go for um by forces unseen, mainly because of the um nostalgic element, um, so by force unseen by ernest eric. It was the um, I suppose, one of the first sort of validations I received in in magic I was reading the forward to this book by this, you know, at the time to me completely unknown author, and it was. He admits in the first couple of paragraphs he doesn't perform, it's just a, you know, largely a move monkey, but and he and he just loves life hands so you can love. There's the first person I'd openly seen admit in a book that you could openly. You know, just love sleight of hand for its own sake and all of the.

Speaker 1:

I've never seen a book like it to this day, where every premise for each effect is very novel, very unique, but also the methods in there. Each one is original, usually to that effect, or at least a heavily original variation of a you know, an existing move. And some of the yeah, some effects in there are just, you know, super, super difficult to do but they're fun to perform as well. I don't do them very often, but some of them in there, like, um, like clap trap, which was a real original effect, basically clapping the deck three times, you know, one flies, one flies out the middle and then one you clap and produce at your fingertips Jack's Synapses, which is a great effect, where you put four aces on the table, four jacks in different parts of the deck, and it's such a weird transposition because when you snap your fingers the jacks are now visually on top of the deck and then in different locations in the pack of the aces.

Speaker 1:

It's such a weird like it's like an asymmetric transposition, but in different locations, which I think you know. No one's going to notice the difference between the two, but Harapan's got very nice version of that and Jack's high also. But I think my favorite trick in there is it's an off-balance transposition that he does, because I do one very similar, but my method's, yeah, a lot more easy, a lot easier, I should say. But he's got an amazing 100 palm that he taught that's inspired by the work of Paul Curry, but it's just such a great method. Again, I've never been able to do it. It's just one of those things that if I was on a desert island, I suppose, purely for nostalgic purposes, this one is probably going to be one of those books. When I'm an old man, sat on a porch with arthritis and my hands are stiff from too much hand over the ears, it's just one of those books you can smoke a cigar, look back on with nostalgia and be like that was a bloody good book yeah, jack, jack jack.

Speaker 4:

Synapses, which I can never say properly, is probably one of my favorite car tricks ever, because it's so clever I have not seen jack's handling of it no no, super, super simple.

Speaker 1:

I'll send you a video after. But my god, such a fun trick, but it's just one of those like it's a hard, hard trick, but it's so fun to do it's so clever right.

Speaker 4:

That is a great choice for your book, and it does lead us to the last item, which is your non-magic item. So what did you put?

Speaker 1:

in that spot yes, again, I went through similar phases. You know, I've listened to, I think, probably every one of these at this point now, um, so I've just gone over. You know mentally what everyone had chosen. Um, you know, there is the options like, uh, like a phone. You could, you know, phone your family, blah, blah, blah. You could use a laptop to chat, to chat gbt or ai now, so you wouldn't be lonely. But, um, you know, you can plan all your magic there. I've responded, I was gonna say respond to gigs, but if you're on an island, that's the least of your worries. Um, I think I'd probably take my dogs, the? Uh, the girlfriend can come and visit, she can come over on a? Uh, on a boat or a plane. So I'd invite the dogs, but I'd also have a shaded area like a portable dog cabin. Yeah, why not my island air conditions? You know nice bit of uh cover for them. But, yeah, I'd bring over the?

Speaker 4:

uh, the goldens well, that's a great choice. We will ship them over there with you, or on the boat, or whatever we're doing private jet, private jet, private jet.

Speaker 4:

Uh, but that's a great list. Your your whole list from beginning to end. We've got Q&A, graham Jolly's balls chart on the box, lottery prediction, ambidextrous interchange, multiple selection, suit apparition, multiple participant routines. Your banishment is underselling magic moments, your book is by forces unseen and you would take your dogs along with you to your island. What a great, great, very different list. I would say much more stage and parlor than I thought it was going to be so if people want to find out more about you, dan, where can they go?

Speaker 1:

yes, I'm pretty, I'm pretty active on facebook and these days it's more pictures of my uh dogs than is any card related content. But if you want to follow on facebook, more than happy to just search daniel charge, you'll find me quite easily. Um, you know, I've got my website, bristolmagiciancom. If you want to get in touch through the uh contact page or just, I mean to be honest, actually, no, don't do that because I don't think that's a gig. Um, come through. Um, come through instagram. Uh, dan, come through Instagram at Daniel Child Magic. The same on YouTube. That's where I post my, not very often, but I'll do as much as I can A couple of times throughout the year, like either a trick I'm working on or something like that. But I'm quite accessible on either Facebook or Instagram. Shoot me a message there, I'll respond. Typically, if I don't, it's because I walk in the house.

Speaker 1:

And do you lecture, dan? I do lecture. Um, I've got a couple of lectures on academies, on alakazam, plus some future ones which shall remain nameless but will be super fun. Yeah, I do. I do do lectures for clubs. Um, I don't have a ton of stuff to sell, so it's more like the traditional lecture of stuff that you know, just talking about the subjects. We're passionate about different tricks, psychology, etc. But yeah, if it was a lecture I'd love to do some more international ones. Done some in the past, pre-pandemic but they were super, super fun, like conventions and stuff, and plus, they sort you out, don't they? So it's all good, you get a free holiday.

Speaker 4:

Well, that's great. Thank you so much for giving us your list, daniel. No problem, mate. Thanks, jimmy, and of course we will see all of you or hear from you all next week with another episode. Don't forget to send in your list to Stranded with a Stranger Again. The more of them we get, the more of those episodes we can put together. Just send in your list of eight tricks, one banishment, one book and one non-magic item. I've still got to get used to putting banishment in there. It sounds weird. Um yeah, probably everyone else thinks the same. Uh, to sales at alakazamcouk. Make sure you put in the subject line my desert island list. That way it comes through to me and we can get one of those recorded for you. So we'll be back again next week, possibly with a stranded with a stranger and the desert island tricks podcast, but until then, have a great week.

Speaker 3:

Bye-bye 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.