Marc Lavelle

A great magic set isn’t the one with the fanciest props. It’s the one you can do when the pockets are empty, the room is loud and someone says, “Go on then, show us something” with zero warning. That’s why Marc Lavelle’s return hits so hard: after stepping back from the magic and convention scene for years, he comes back with a clearer view of what actually works for real audiences. 

We put Marc on the “Desert Island Tricks” hot seat and build a survival-ready lineup: stack work with the Shadow Stack for named-card miracles, a fast one coin routine that snaps attention to the performer, plus ring on string and elastic band magic that can be done with borrowed or everyday objects. Along the way, he shares a wild Maldives story where one simple band-through-thumb moment gets demanded on repeat for ten straight minutes, proving that impact often beats complexity. 

From there we move into bulletproof interactive pieces like Mark Elsdon’s Tequila Hustler, a multi-spectator drawing duplication, and practical working tips like using Five Guys cardstock as free billets. We also talk Ring Thing, PK touch, and why Paul Harris style “organic magic” still matters when everything is filmed in slow motion. Then comes the spicy banishment: should the Omni Deck be retired for a while because spectators have seen it too often? Marc makes the case for variety, smarter endings, and building effects that don’t arrive pre-spoiled by social media. 

If you enjoy close-up magic, walk around work, mentalism principles, and real-world gigging advice from a working pro, hit subscribe, share this with a magician friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.

Marc’s Desert Island Tricks: 

Welcome Package. Any Card Named (Shadow Stack)

1. One Coin Routine 
2. Ring on String 
3. Band Through Thumb 
4. Tequila Hustler 
5. Multiple Spectator Drawing Duplication 
6. Ring Thing 
7. PK Touches 
8. Torn and Restored Leaf 

Banishment. Omni Deck 

Book. Art of Astonishment 

Item. MagSafe Selfie screen 

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

Transcript

Don’t Dismiss Magic Too Fast

SPEAKER_00 0:00

When I grew up, there was a few things that I was never fooled by when I saw, and I'm not saying these are bad tricks at all, but I remember being about eight or nine, and I saw someone doing linking rings at Alton Towers. And my OCD or observant brain or whatever, my head was just like, Well, there's a hole somewhere in those rings. I don't know where, I don't know how, but there's that was the only logical explanation for it. Ring on string, I saw someone do that, and I again it was like, well, he's just snuck it off somehow. I was probably the worst person to spectate doing magic. And so I kind of there was a few tricks that I dismissed when I actually got into magic, which I I regret 100%. I should have looked more into them. I think the moral of that story is if you see something that maybe doesn't sort of like engage you straight away, don't dismiss it.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

We are in season three, and we have some incredible guests lined up, and today's guest is someone who I've known for a really, really long time. Now, if I'm gonna be very honest with you, he hasn't been around for a long time, so there could be a chance that you have not heard of him, but at one point he was absolutely everywhere. That's because not only is he a phenomenal magician and performer, but he also used to work with lots of different companies. You would have seen him hosting the Murphy's at the table UK lectures that feel like an absolute lifetime ago now. But he's also done loads of consultancy work for different TV shows, including Magic Kids, which was a French TV show. Uh, he's got tricked over in the UK, which we've spoken about before on this podcast, and BGT as well. He's had some of his own releases out. So not only did he host the At the Table Lectures, he actually has one of his own. And do go check it out, it's brilliant. He also had Kane and he had Skynet as well, which lots of people have remembered from several years ago now. And now he actually does uh let's say themed events, which makes it sound a lot bluer than uh it should do when I just said that. Uh, but he he is a big fan of cosplay, I'll put it that way, uh, and sometimes he goes out to different events as different characters. Uh, I'm so thrilled to have him on this podcast because when I bumped into him at Blackpool, not only was it kind of like seeing a ghost and seeing someone come back, his love for magic is going to be apparent, and you'll understand when you listen to this. Of course, today's guest is the wonderful Mark Lavelle. Hello, Mark.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

Hello, Jamie. Absolutely amazingly pleasurable to see you, my friend. Feels kind of like we just had a pause in our uh our social aspect for about five, six years.

SPEAKER_01 3:25

So, what made you kind of step away and then come back?

SPEAKER_00 3:30

Uh it was kind of forced. It was the whole the whole pandemic um situation of kind of just getting pushed into our own little bubbles, uh, quite literally. Um and that, you know, having Blackpool cancelled. And I just I was going to Blackpool, I think, for 15 years up until 2020. And then 2021 was uh obviously not happening, and then I think it was 22 and then they were they brought it back, and I just didn't have the passion or drive to go back to it. And I kind of stopped socializing with a lot of magicians, hardly spoke to many people, kind of just kept local, uh, had the odd phone call here and there, but yeah, uh I think I think I just had felt like I hit a brick wall in the in the train that I was that I was piggybacking on.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

I know I've spoken to a lot of people who for whatever reason they step away and maybe they feel a little bit disillusioned, uh pardon the pun with magic, or they feel overwhelmed, or life just gets in the way. So, what brought you back into magic? Because seeing you at Blackpool this year was uh such a very, very welcome surprise.

SPEAKER_00 4:41

I appreciate that. Um, and yeah, when you when you said it was like seeing a ghost, I think a lot of people felt that. I get a lot got a lot of people walking by me and kind of doing a double take of, oh, hey, I recognize that guy's face. Honestly, I actually hadn't planned on going back this year. I had no intention on going back to Blackpool uh in February, but it was a production company uh called Black Box Magic. You may know them from the Cosmos printer and Mental Voice 2 and a few other little bits and bobs. He uh Umesh, the guy who runs it, unfortunately couldn't make it to the UK for Blackpool. And we were having a conversation, and uh Bright Spark here decided to agree to just jump straight back in the deep end and be on a trade stand for not three but four days. And uh I honestly enjoyed it, I I really did. It was it was good to get back into the swing of it. It felt so natural to be back on sort of like very familiar turf, obviously uh what the um Blackpool Magic Convention uh Blackpool Magic Club have done for the convention and with tweaks and changes has improved it. So there are a few things that I was like, oh, this is different, this is cool. Um, but yeah, it was very just it felt natural to be back there, and it was great to see so many faces um that haven't seen for near well over half a decade. That's that was my phrase for the thing. Yeah, what's it been about half a decade? Um that just shows how old a slot are getting, I think.

SPEAKER_01 6:12

Well, like I say, it's great to have you back, but you've actually not stopped the magic though. So you've still been performing magic throughout non-stop, as well as doing the the cosplay meet and greet you sort of stuff.

SPEAKER_00 6:26

That's correct, yeah. I have um been very lucky to work with a lot of uh different agencies, and I feel like I am for the most part the go-to magician. And if they're ever uh if they ever have like a double booking, they do take my recommendations on booking other people, which is good. Although that does sound like a great situation. Um the truth is I'm probably 90% agency work now and 10% direct, whereas pre-pandemic it was pretty much the other way around, 90% direct and 10% agency. So I feel maybe I've got a little bit too comfortable. I'm gonna need to go out there and sort of be myself again and and focus on getting my own gigs back in and filling the calendar up.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

Yeah, because I remember seeing some of the videos that you used to put up, and some of the events that you were at were just unreal. They were really big, high-end, big budget, all of the lights, all of the effects, they were just the creme de de creme of gigs that you you performed at.

SPEAKER_00 7:32

The bells and whistles of gigs, yeah. Um it's it I I still have a few clients that re-book me every year. Um, but I think I think the pandemic actually uh uh halted that one a little bit because we were getting booked every year for the same thing. Literally would do one event and then it was, yeah, just put this date in your calendar next year. And then obviously loads of things moved online. And I think some some of those companies that I used to work with consistently, they just don't have live entertainment anymore, or if they do, it's on a smaller scale and that sort of thing. But I'm hoping that the industry will get back on track to how it previously was.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

Well, hopefully. Uh, and you've kind of kept your foot in the door, so to speak, because you still talk to people from Murphys, where who you used to associate with quite a lot um back in the day, and you're kind of still in the background there as well, which is nice to hear.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

Yeah, I love I love the Murphys guys. Titanis uh is is a great friend. Uh I just love the guys a bit, uh, Kathy and the and George and the team over there as well. It's very similar to everyone I met at Blackpool. I could just pick the phone up when I'm speaking to them, and it just feels like there's been no time delay at all. Um, so yeah, love working with those guys, they're always fun.

SPEAKER_01 8:56

That means that you have been around a lot of magic. And I don't know if you're someone that changes up your set a lot or whether you're still very much stuck to those routines that you've done for years and years and years. But without giving anything away, with your list, are we going for kind of traditional classics that you've done for years, or have you peppered in some things in there that you've never performed and you've always wanted to perform, or have you got a mixture of kind of everything in there?

SPEAKER_00 9:28

So for the desert island list, I actually went a little bit uh netter, I would say, uh, and went for what would I actually have if I was on a desert island. So some of these aren't my necessary, necessarily go-tos. Um, you know, I could list things like Wiki test and uh stuff that uses my phone. I feel like maybe there'd be a little bit of a cheat if I just did the good uh what I would say is the go-tos for a lot of people. Like most people, if most magicians, if someone says, hey, show me a trick, the chances are wiki test is their go-to because they've got it on them everywhere. Um, you know, an ambitious card. I know we we're gonna talk more about the the card um restrictions, but oh yeah, so I wanted to go for things that I could literally perform if I was on a desert island. Um, just to try and make it a bit more interesting. A lot of them are things I already do. Uh, some of them might require a little bit of a tweak. Um, but I I went for the thought process of uh maybe my ship has crashed that I was on on a desert island. I've swum to shore with all the survivors. That could get really dark. There was only three survivors, so not as one of them. Uh but yeah, swim to shore. And to keep morale up, I'm gonna carry on being my magicianal magicianal? Is that a word? That could be a word. Um my magical self and hopefully uh try to entertain the um the castaways, uh not knowing how long we're gonna be there. I think actually, as a magician, not everyone will agree with me on this, but I think magician is one of those unique jobs where it's a lifestyle and kind of like an identity as well. If someone ever does ask me to show them a trick, I very rarely say no. I could probably count on how many, on one hand, how many times I've ever done that. Because I think there's the expectation of you can do magic with anything, wherever you are, whatever situation you're in. So um maybe my cosplay self has took the the desert island challenge as a bit of like a storyline and you know, try and try and create a uh an actual scenario that I'd be in. Um but yeah, that's that's my aim with this.

SPEAKER_01 11:43

Cool. So it's almost like a an any place, anytime, anywhere. If someone comes up to you, uh this is what I can do.

SPEAKER_00 11:51

Correct. That's all I wanted to go for.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

Good. Uh well, and I've seen some of those cosplay uh costumes. There's not a lot of pockets on them, so that's true.

SPEAKER_00 12:01

That's true. I think Doctor Strange is the only one I've made, so it can I can perform magic as Doctor Strange, because it kind of makes sense.

The Desert Island Rules Explained

SPEAKER_01 12:09

Whoa, okay. So if this is your first time listening, the idea is we're about to maroon Mark on his very own magical island. When he's there, he's allowed to take eight tricks. Uh, banish one thing, take one book and one non-magic item. He also has a care package, a nice little welcome package with a deck of cards in there as well. Uh, so Mark, I want you to imagine that you just rocked up on your island. No idea what that island looks like. Uh, probably lots of superheroes on there, I'm guessing. And uh, I want you to imagine you've got a lovely little welcome note on there with a deck of cards inside. What trick would you perform with your deck of cards?

SPEAKER_00 12:43

Ah, now this is an interesting one. When I saw the care package of a deck of cards and one trick, I uh I'm a stack worker, so I do have a bit of an advantage of prepping a deck very quickly, and my go-to trick is literally any card named, and then I do something with it. And I think the advantage of that, and it's how long has it been? Maybe like 20, whenever a recall by Tom Crosby came out, that's when I became a stack worker. Um, because no one else would put the effort into demonstrating it at the uh the shop that I worked at. Um but since doing that, it's kind of revitalized my love for card magic because it was getting a bit stale for me, doing the same ambitious card, the same moves, the same thing over and over and over again. Um, so I wanted to uh not I wanted to, sorry. So I felt myself when doing stack work becoming more of I would say an improv worker. So I don't know what routine I'm gonna do. Someone's gonna name a card. I've got to think on my feet, super quick, how I'm going to produce that card or what trick I'm gonna do with that card. Uh, either the simplest form is cutting the deck to the selected card, having it uh at the top of the deck, and saying, Would you like that card you just freely named at the top of the bottom of this deck? They say top, super easy. They say bottom, one quick pass to uh hold the card up and then hold the deck up and show the bottom card, uh, and it gets reactions uh really high every single time. It's just quick and punchy with it.

SPEAKER_01 14:27

So, why did you go for that specific stack? So I'm guessing you use recall by Tom Crosby.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

That's correct, and the only reason why I went for that stack is uh it's called the shadow stack, is because it was the one that was accessible to me. And uh looking back, I don't think I would have had the motivation to learn another stack at any point up until uh filming with Tom. Um I was I was helping film film that project, and then like I said, no one else in the shop I was working at would demonstrate it or would be able to demonstrate it. So I learned the whole stack so I could demonstrate it to show other magicians when they were curious about the item.

SPEAKER_01 15:11

So there's gonna be lots of people that want to get into stack work that potentially are worried about it. What is it about the shadow stack that made it more accessible for you?

SPEAKER_00 15:23

So the Tom went through obviously I watched Tom's instructions on it, uh, and Tom went through a very, very effective way of learning the stack in a short period of time. So that kind of was something that appealed to me. And also the fact that it has a lot of routines built into the deck for certain cards. So there's, I think, and I don't even use all of them, but I think there's like 12 cards that if you get if they name it, you can spell to that card, but then also, like for example, the five of hearts, you spell out one letter, uh, one card for each letter, and then you uh turn the last cover card over and it's the five of hearts, but then you've got the kicker that you turn the other three piles for the other three words over, and it's the three uh of the fives. And I think you can do that with like the sevens, the eights, and uh sixes, maybe. Uh I actually only really use it for the fives and the uh and the sevens. But then like there's also popular cards um like the ace of hearts that gets named, and that's pretty much dead center in the deck, and nine times, maybe even ninety-five times out of a hundred, um, instead of nine times out of ten, you can get the spectator to cut to the deck, and they're literally cutting to the name the card they've just named. And to them, it seems you know, maybe I've pre-planned it, but I really haven't. It just really does vary on what card gets named. And when you get a little miracle when someone says like the seven of hearts, and you just turn the deck so the bottom card shows them. I've done nothing, absolutely nothing, but they think whatever card was going to be named, that's what would have happened. Um, so yeah, and from the personal level, I like how it keeps me uh engaged with the material I'm performing, keeps me thinking on my feet, takes the monotony away um from the routines I used to perform.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

Okay, well, the shadow stack is going with you in your welcome package, and that brings us to your main list. So, what did you put in your first position?

The Card Gift And Stack Work

SPEAKER_00 17:21

The ship is sinking. I've got a few moments to grab stuff out of my uh out of my case. I don't want to be weighed down, so I'm not bringing uh anything, anything big. Uh, the first thing in my list is a one coin routine. Super quick, super simple, uh, lots of moments of magic. Uh and my personal one coin routine is um making a coin vanish from one hand to the other, followed by a muscle pass routine, uh, followed by coin on hand, coin underwatch, or coin on shoulder, depending on um the situation, as it were. Uh always gets fantastic reactions. There's lots of moments where the spectator thinks they're a little bit ahead of you. Oh, he's done some magical thing where, or some in inverted commas, slight of hand, and the coin's just not in that hand, and then it's on on top of theirs or on their shoulder, etc. Um, it's kind of like a spongeball moment, I think, uh, having a coin appear on a spectator's hand, uh, on the top of a spectator's hand, uh, but obviously without without the spongeballs. Um, I would suggest to every magician, whether you class yourself with a coin magician, car magician, maybe not for a mentalist specifically, but if you learn uh or have a toolbox of moves you can do with just one simple coin, carry it. I carry a half dollar around with me pretty much everywhere anyway. Um you've got a few moments of uh really strong, impactful magic, which can show off your skill and uh hopefully your misdirection as well.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

Okay. Now you mention that this is kind of a set made for the desert island. Is have you written this as if you were gonna do a set? So would this be your actual opener?

SPEAKER_00 19:07

Um usually uh when I'm at a gig. This is kind of one of my openers. It's just quick, punchy. Some people will miss what's happening, which usually, not always, but usually makes them want to focus a little bit more on the rest of the material I perform. Um it's the whole flash paper situation, isn't it? You can introduce yourself, half the table's not listening, but as soon as you like a bit of flash paper, it gets people's attention. But as soon as you get three or four people uh reacting to the coin being on top of the hand, uh everyone else tends to sort of like fall in line because they don't want to miss what else you're gonna show them.

SPEAKER_01 19:43

Okay, well, one coin routine is a great opening. Let's go to number two then. What is in your second spot?

SPEAKER_00 19:50

So, in my second spot is one that I tried to practice recently, uh, and I'm saying like in the last three months, and it was definitely not like riding a bike. It was um, and that is the a ring on string routine. Um, I used to love performing ring on string. I really can't remember any justifiable reason why I stopped performing ring on string. It just seemed to have slipped out of my set. Um, but I figured, you know, someone's gonna have a ring. I'm probably gonna have shoelaces, or someone's gonna have shoelaces. A ring on string routine will be a very nice, um accessible piece of material uh to perform. Again, similar to the coin routine, it's got a lot of moments of magic. Uh, it gets the audience uh and your spectators involved, you know, especially if they're holding both ends of the string and the ring comes off it. Um and there's so many different moves uh that you can take in or uh take in, take out or add in to your routine to kind of like make it yourself, make it your own, uh, so it's not just like everyone else's ring on string routine. I'm inspired to practice ring on string more basically.

SPEAKER_01 21:07

So if people wanted to get into it then, where would you recommend them? So where were the influences for your ring on string routine?

SPEAKER_00 21:14

Honest answer is I didn't ever learn it as a ring on string routine, it was uh rope nut not. Um I remember seeing the trailer for it, and uh that inspired me to learn sort of like the rope and uh ring and string routines and and moves. Um full disclosure, and this isn't gonna be anything to do with the banishment, but the when I grew up uh not as a magician, but I had no family members as as a magician, um, there was a few things that I was never fooled by when I saw. And I'm not saying these are bad tricks at all, but I remember being about eight or nine, and I saw someone doing linking rings and At um Alton Towers. I'd love to see if I could find out who what magician that was. They did ring, uh they did Linking Rings, and my I don't know, OCD or observant brain or whatever. Uh my head was just like, well, there's a hole somewhere in those rings. I don't know where, I don't know how, but there's got that that that was the only logical explanation uh for it. Um ring on string, I saw someone do that, and I again it was like, well, he's just snuck it off somehow. I was probably the worst person to spectate doing magic. I'd never tell everyone else, but I was just like, well, there's only one logical explanation. So I kind of there was a few tricks that I dismissed when I actually got into magic, um, which I I regret 100%. I should have should have sort of like not given them a second chance, but I should have looked more into them. Uh so ring and string and linking rings, they were kind of uh kind of two of a little bit of a longer list there. But um I think the moral of that story is if you see something that maybe doesn't sort of like engage you straight away, don't dismiss it. Because you I probably could have got way more years of mileage out of ring and string. But yeah, I am inspired to go back and um check out maybe some other resources for him. But yeah, it was rope knot that that got me into that.

SPEAKER_01 23:21

Yeah, I remember that routine. I I remember thinking it was brilliant when it came out as well. Um, but I think that's a great one in at number two. So let's go to number three then, Mark. What is in your third spot?

SPEAKER_00 23:32

So number three for me, which is actually something that I would say I have performed on a desert island, uh, is um an elastic band routine. Uh so I'll specify what actually happened first. Um I was location drop. I was in the Maldives in 2021, Christmas New Year's, and on the 27th of December, there was a young girl there, and she was having her uh 11th birthday party. Apparently they she'd had a birthday party there like since she was like three or something, but I remember it was the same, it was the same date. Uh 27th of December. And I was asked as an addition to what I was actually on the island to be booked for, I was asked to go and perform at this birthday party. I'm like, sure, cool, bonus gig during a gig. Can't but complain about that. Especially when I found out it cost them$50,000 to put uh 50 chairs and tables on the beach for the evening. Yeah. So I go up to this uh this group, the birthday girls there, and uh my normal elastic band routine is I start with uh touch by Henson Chin, uh go into band through thumb, go to Crazy Man's Handcuffs, then maybe like a Jacobs Ladder type routine. Um I did uh I was going to do touch, but this was still 2021, so it was still a bit of pandemic, so I was I wasn't sort of like making contact with with uh spectators. Uh we still had to wear masks whilst being uh whilst performing as well. So I go straight into uh band through thumb, get the band prepped, put it on my thumb, and I say, and if you keep on the eye on the band, boop, and it goes through. She looks at me and just goes, again. I'm like, all right. So I do it again. She goes, again. I'm like, so I'm going to do it again and put my thumb on the decking that we that was uh next to us, just so instead of getting her to hold the end of my thumb, did it for no less than 10 minutes? I was stood there doing band through thumb to this very wealthy child not wanting to say no. And she was just going, again, again. And then uh her dad came over and she said, I really like this guy. That was it, and then walked off. And I was like, I've traveled literally halfway across the world, I could have just brought an elastic band and just done done done the rounds with one singular elastic band. Um, but yeah, it's quite literal. Uh I have used it on a desert island, um, which is band through thumb. But given the chance if I had spare bands, I would then go on to doing like Crazy Bands handcuffs, um, Jacob's ladder. Uh I think elastic band magic is great. Um these days, I typically I still carry bands on my wrist when I'm performing, uh, but they're not my go-to routines. I will only do band magic when someone goes, Well, have you got elastic bands on your hands? So they're not kind of like in my set routine. Uh they're usually kind of an encore piece.

SPEAKER_01 26:42

So if you too want to uh be booked in the Maldives, learn how to be fun. And that's all you need to do. So what's uh number four, Mark?

SPEAKER_00 26:52

Uh number four for me, um, and I kind of forgot I used to do this uh when he first brought it out. Uh, but it's Mark Elsdon's Tequila Hustler. Um, this was uh something we were sat in uh TGR Fridays in just near Covent Garden, which I don't think is even there anymore. I don't think it survived the pandemic. And he showed me this, uh, Mark did, and I was just like I don't know if he'd just written it in his lecture notes at that point or if he'd brought it out as a product. And I I was just flawed by it. I was I I was like, this is this is fantastic. You don't even need to, you literally don't need to carry anything, the whole thing could be done in the spectator's imagination. Obviously, you could do it with a real coin. Um, but for those that don't know what tequila hustler is, it's uh essentially a witch hand routine, um, which is no electronics, no gimmicks, and surefire 100% of the time. Um, and it can be repeatable, I would say, uh, with maybe a little bit of a tweak in your in your sort of like your wording. Um, but yeah, yeah, I reckon you could go from one spectator and then perform it to that spectator's mate who's just watched it the first time, um, and I think it would be totally fine. So yeah, Mark Elsden's uh tequila hustler would be one of my one of my go-tos.

SPEAKER_01 28:16

Yeah, we've spoken about tequila hustler a couple of times on on the pod because it's just such a phenomenal trick. And I mean, you're the test of this. There was a time where the magic, like every now and again, we get like a bubble of time where there is a trick that is the hot plot for that time of time of the year, and I remember there was a time where which hand routines there were loads. You had like tequila hustler, I think that was about the time that ProMystic brought out uh a version of it as well. After that, you had I think it was like uh V by Manos as well, which was kind of like a tequila hustler uh version. But for you, what is it about tequila hustler over those other versions that came out? Maybe an electronic version or um you know any other kind of version of this plot?

Ring On String Gets A Revival

SPEAKER_00 29:08

So the electronic ones uh did used to be my go-to. That would have been still the same time when Mark showed me this version. I was like, well, he's he's doing nothing. I've he's nowhere near me. Uh so I like the I like the long distance of it as well. You could essentially do it over the phone, it's like quite easy to anyone. Um, I haven't checked out all other variations of it. I do remember, and you you mentioned Magic Kids. Um, I remember when I was working on that show, uh, and that's that was produced by Jean-Luc Bertrand. Uh myself, Titanis, were were over there doing some consultancy and and prop um prop what's the word not creation, but design, prop design for him. He had a really good creative team. And I remember coming in after a break, and Jean-Luc showed me a witch hand routine, and to this day he's not told me what it is, he's not told me anything about it, or other than, yeah, I know it got you good. And he just got me to pick up a coin out, oh not pick up, choose any coin out of my own pocket, and like 10, 15 times in a row, just tell me exactly which hand it was in. And I'm just like, I don't like you, I don't know what you're doing. I think I'm I'm I'm very rarely fooled just because of our, and you'll probably be the same, with almost being overexposed to so much magic working in the retail side of it. And I was just like, I yeah, I don't understand what you're doing. Either this has just been the best fluke in the world, or you've got a secret there that you're just not letting anyone like in on. Um, I remember him, I remember that, and I was, yeah, it it really he really irritated me that day. Um, so I I like if I felt that from knowing a magician's doing something to me, uh, I think that was kind of like my uh pivotal point of going, yeah, you know what? Rich hand routines, they're very strong. Um I think from the spectator's point of view, it's like there's no way he can get this. It's one of those things. It's you know, it keeps it personal. And especially with Mark's one, like I said, being able to do it long distance, I think it just adds that extra level of impossibility.

SPEAKER_01 31:21

Well, I think when you're a gigging magician as well, having a challenge piece in your set is a really good thing to do. Uh, and what I mean by challenge piece is an effect that you quite literally your audience can challenge you to, you can do it over and over and over again. It doesn't get any less mystifying, it's kind of gamifying magic to an extent. Um, because if you do get that kind of slightly more rowdy table or that more rowdy bunch, it's a really great thing to get them on side. Um, it's a fun game sort of thing. Uh, and you know, it's a fun thing for them to engage in to feel like maybe, maybe they're gonna catch Mr. Magician this time.

SPEAKER_00 32:08

Yeah, totally agree, totally agree. It's it's uh always interactive, and that's my style of performing. Um, you know, I want the audience to be engaged and interactive. I love watching visual magic, 100% love watching visual magic. That's kind of how I started in my life of performance because I was performing in nightclubs and uh bars, which was very loud environment. Uh, but I would always pick being engaging and um interactive over visual for me personally.

SPEAKER_03 32:42

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SPEAKER_01 34:17

Well, I think it's a great list so far. Let's go to number five then, Mark. What's in your fifth spot?

Drawing Dupes With Free Five Guys Cards

Elastic Band Magic And Maldives Story

SPEAKER_00 34:22

So number five, and you're gonna, I know you're gonna ask me ask me where to learn this one from. Uh, and again, honest answer, I can't tell you. I know so I saw someone putting a reference to something very similar. Um, but in all honesty, a buddy of mine who is uh I don't know if he is now, but he definitely wasn't at the time. He wasn't a magician, he um came up with this idea, and I kind of like discussed it with him, and I'm pretty sure uh it's probably been published somewhere. I'm never I'm never gonna like try and put this out as my own or unique. This there's no way in hell that it's unique. Uh, but it is a drawing duplication, uh, but it's a multiple spectator drawing dupe um where you get I I use for like five or six spectators, uh, get each of them to draw something, and I can tell which one is which, and then the last one I do it as a duplication for them. Uh the only the one that I've seen most similar is uh Zabraki. Um he's he's done something similar, but I think I'm 95% sure his method's uh different. Uh and again, it's one of those routines, it gets multiple people engaged, and then when it gets down to the last one, it kind of flips the script a little bit. You're not obviously not telling them what it is, uh, but instead you're doing a divination of uh what they drew.

SPEAKER_01 35:48

It sounds a bit like a sneak thief routine.

SPEAKER_00 35:51

That's the one I saw someone reference, yeah. It is it is a sneak thief routine, uh, but uh the guy who um I had originally discussed this with definitely had would never have seen that. Um I I don't think the guy ever learned magic or anything. He just had this idea. This was back in sort of like some point between 20 2002 and 2010, uh back in my paintball life. Um he uh he just had this idea and then we kind of kind of jammed with it.

SPEAKER_01 36:22

There's some phenomenal versions of Sneak Thief that have been created since. Um obviously you've got the original Sneak Thief, and then you had Mark Spellman had Thief in the Dark, which added an element of uh envelopes, which kind of added a moment. Um most recently Darren did a version of this in one of his shows, in his last show, not his current show at the time of recording. And if you check out Andy Nyman's most recent lecture notes, he's got a phenomenal version with a mobile phone, which I still think would be a brilliant beginning to a stage show. Uh, just to have a paper bag on the stage uh and have people come up to the stage and drop their phones in. I think it would be yeah, I think it would be great. But I think it's well first off, it's your first stage parlor piece that's in your list. I guess tequila hustler technically could be uh stage parlour piece.

SPEAKER_00 37:23

You could use it on stage. Well, as well, I have used this close-up and uh I'm gonna hold this up uh so Jamie can see. Uh, these are the billets I use. They're roughly, I'd say, maybe twice the width of a standard bike or playing card and a little bit, a little bit taller. Um and for anyone that does mentalism or drawing duplications of any kind, these things are ideal. They're cardstock. And the best part is they're technically free. Uh, if you get yourself to any five guys in the world, five guys burger joint, burger restaurant, uh, they have these. Uh normally they people draw on them with a crayon and then pin them up on this choke on this cork board. Um, but yeah, those are the ones I I use in my routine, and I use them for other stuff. Like I'll write predictions down on there and just fold them up with a little question mark on, took it under a pen. Um, but yeah, never need to buy a billet ever, ever again.

SPEAKER_01 38:21

It's so funny. Throughout my career, there's so many tricks that require, like I remember the the mini smash and slab, the Wayne Dobson one, and he used to just steal the little uh ketchup holders from McDonald's for those. I know John Morton's got a cool thing with um uh like ketchup packets, so you can just go and get some pet uh some ketchup packets, and now we've got steal your billets from from a five guys. I feel like these industries are uh literally giving us our props. That's brilliant.

SPEAKER_00 38:53

I I've used these for ages. I can't remember when I first discovered that they had them in there, but I remember going down uh to central London uh to do it to do a gig, got to the gig. This was somewhere near Covenham Garden, and they said they wanted to uh add sort of like a 10-minute cabaret to the beginning of the gig. I'm like, I've literally got decks of cards, elastic bands. Oh, yeah, I've got my like uh you know a few little electronic bits. And I was like, ah, gonna get myself to a five guys. So I literally left the venue, ran to five guys near Leicester Square, grabbed a stack of those, went back, and that that was like an eight-minute routine.

SPEAKER_01 39:31

Nice, there you go. Tell us if you're in America or in another country with the five guys, let us know if those are also in your country.

SPEAKER_00 39:40

Oh, they 100% do. I can tell you that. Because when I did when I when I did my Murphy's lecture, I needed some billets, so I went and got some.

Tequila Hustler And Why It Hits

Ring Thing Plus A PK Touch Phase

SPEAKER_01 39:50

Great. Well, there you go. If you're ever stuck, find yourself a five guys uh and you got some billets. Right, let's go to uh let's let's stop putting five guys out of business and move on to number six.

SPEAKER_00 40:01

Next on my list is uh using a prop um that I would have wanted to use in a previous routine with more practice, uh, and that's with the ring, and that is Ring Thing by Garrett Thomas. Um it's uh an older release, uh, but I think it's also a timeless release. Even now when you know a lot of people are filming on their cameras, on their phones, sorry, um, filming with slow-mo and stuff like that. Uh I think there's still a lot uh of Ring Thing that you can perform and get away with, especially if you pair it with something like Band uh Banded by Garrett as well. Um but yeah, ring Thing is just a nice uh quick bit of uh magic, especially if you borrow a ring off someone and do it with that. I I always prefer to borrow a ring if I can when I'm performing this, uh when not stuck on a desert island. Um but yeah, again, some really good moments of magic in there. Uh the way I personally do it is I'll I'll do it uh twice, the normal way, um, and then uh go for the I'm pretty sure it was on that. I'm not I'm not sure if Garrett actually just showed me this himself, but where you go, oh, the ring doesn't switch fingers. Uh sorry, the uh some people think I switch fingers, but I don't, the ring does, and then you get it to jump from one finger to the other quite visually. Um I actually struggle with, especially with people like Garrett, uh struggle to remember what he actually had on his instructions and what he's just shown me in real life. Um, you know, as a creator, and I'm sure you've uh done this yourself when you've released something a couple of weeks later, a couple of months later, a couple of years later, you have some additional ideas that you're like, oh, why didn't that go on there? Um, but yeah, uh Ring Thing by Garrett Thomas. If you've not seen it, check it out. I think it's definitely something any magician, walkabout magician, should uh sort of like have in his toolbox arsenal. But yeah, so ring thing is you uh put a ring on your index finger or borrow a ring, put it on your index finger, um seemingly take it off, and then you throw it back and it lands uh back on your finger. Um and you can do that a couple of times, and then uh the sort of like the bonus part which I mentioned earlier is you show it on your finger and say, um, some people think the ring switches finger. Uh sorry, some people think I switch fingers, uh it doesn't happen like that. The ring does, and you shake and the ring looks like it melts down onto another finger, and then band it around if you uh if you want to sort of like go the extra extra mile, um, but you wouldn't be able to do necessarily do this with a spectator's ring. Uh banded around, you can literally show the ring melting from one finger to another almost as if in slow motion. Even if you're not interested in learning ring magic, go and find Garrett's videos of him performing it, and I'm 95% sure it'll make you smile, especially when you see the audience reactions from it.

SPEAKER_01 42:57

It kind of reminds me of like the Floating Match, which uh I believe originated with Ben Harris, but it was so ripped off by so many other people that we kind of forgot where it came from, and everyone was performing it, but no one knew where it came from. That's kind of like this this is everywhere, everyone kind of knows it. It's one of those that everyone learns early on, but no one really knows now where it originated from, but it was Garrett Thomas's ring thing.

SPEAKER_00 43:29

He's a smart man, Garrett. If you ever if you ever meet him in real life, um I don't know if he will or not, but ask him to show you a trick with a license uh driving license. If if anyone has the opportunity to do that, uh he might just go, no, thank you. But if if you do, you will be one of the luckiest people in the world. It is uh an amazing routine. I love Garrett's way of thinking. I love his just persona when he's performing as well. He's a really Really, really fantastic magician. And true story, he actually covered a residency for me once, which was weird, bizarre.

SPEAKER_01 44:07

Well, I think that's a great one in the number six. Now, that takes us to the tail end. So we've got two more tricks. What's in at number seven?

SPEAKER_00 44:15

So number seven, uh, you might say this is very similar in ring thing that uh a lot of people uh will perform it but might not necessarily know the origins of it. And then I'm gonna be honest, I'm not gonna go into necessarily the most popular origins, but it is a PK touch uh using a generic uh circle of very thin stuff. That's all I'm gonna say on that part. Um uh but yeah, that is kind of like my my uh one of my go-tos. There was the uh Trinity system that came out uh a long time ago. Um, and that's kind of what I use with varying uh varying brands of um IET um that are available. Uh but yeah, it's uh it's a PK Touch. I again there's a lot of variations on PK Touch, I know, uh, and have used uh Yao Miranda's uh electronic one um as part of my stage routine. Fantastic bit of kit. Um uh but I with electronics you always get that little bit of a worry of what if something fails on it, that this is this one's kind of uh just a surefire. Not not much can go wrong. Uh in fact, the one thing that can go wrong has gone wrong before to me or with me, and I've still managed to improvise my way out of it by um holding both ends of that thing and still doing it. For those that know what I'm talking about, that will make 100% sense, I think.

SPEAKER_01 45:51

Exactly. Yeah, 100%. All I can think is that's happened so many times because I performed PK Tacho so many times. Um there's only two real things that can go wrong in the eyes of performers who don't perform it. Number one is that someone opens up their eyes prematurely, uh uh number two that something may uh break or not function the way that it should anymore. And both of those are non-problems. There are always ways around everything. So with your version, are you doing it just straight banner check style and then mixing in this other element?

SPEAKER_00 46:30

I do it as just a one phase typically when I'm doing when I'm doing this close-up. Um, and it is the old business card on the nose style. Um, I know there's been some great other PK touches that I would have loved to sort of like incorporate, but I don't when I'm doing close-up, I don't really class myself as a mentalist. Uh and I try not to give off the impression that I think I've got supernatural powers um when I'm doing that. Uh so yeah, I kind of I kind of uh don't add too much into it to make it sort of like uh supernatural, if that makes sense. And same on stage, really. I I use it kind of like as an interlude into another routine. I know some people can get some fantastic mileage out of uh PK touch routines, and that I think they also look great. Uh it just doesn't massively suit my style. So I use it like as an interlude into something else. Um, just if I if we can get these two spectators in tune with each other, cool, then they're gonna have a same card selection or same um impression selection. Yeah, so that's kind of how I use my PK Touch.

SPEAKER_01 47:43

I feel like it would be the perfect routine for Doctor Strange.

SPEAKER_00 47:47

Yeah, that's uh that's where it's in.

SPEAKER_01 47:49

Yeah, if if ever there was one that Doctor Strange would do, it is PK Touches.

SPEAKER_00 47:56

Yeah, and instead of a business card, I have a feather. That's to pull a feather out of my pocket. It just it just kind of looks normal that he's got what could be a quill or something.

SPEAKER_01 48:07

So it's so funny you can you say that for anyone who does perform PK Touches, they will know that this is the truth. Nearly every time, I think it's over 90% of the time, when you perform the particular version that Mark's on about, and you say, What did it feel like? Someone says, like a feather. And I don't know about you, I have not ever had anyone tickle my nose with a feather. So I I want to know how many people on this earth are regularly being tickled with a feather on their nose to know what that feels like.

SPEAKER_00 48:40

Oh, you've not lived, Jamie. You've just not lived. You need to get out more.

Restoring A Leaf With Paul Harris

SPEAKER_01 48:47

All right, let's go for number eight then, Mark. What is in your final spot?

SPEAKER_00 48:51

So, number eight, and this does kind of link into a little bit with uh my book selection. Um number eight, and I can't remember if it was in the TA box set or in one of the Art Astonishment books, but it is Torn and Restoring Leaf by Paul Harris. Um, and I I loved uh sort of like seeing all of Paul's uh routines that he did in nature. Um so he'd literally, like I was, like I was saying earlier, the character of being a magician, they should never not be able to perform magic. Uh and he goes down, he picks up a leaf off the ground, folds it into half, folds it into half again, opens it up, rips it, rips it, rips it, and then unfolds it again, uh holds them together, unfolds it again, and it's restored, handed out. It's just a super everyone will know how that's done. Like magicians will know how that's done. Uh, but I've performed that a couple of times. Like, again, it's not in my go-to routine because I'm not always walking through the woodlands um uh with bird song in the background performing magic. But uh having the knowledge of how to do something literally organic, uh, I think is a very sort of like powerful thing to have in your belt um magic with everyday objects. Uh so yeah, that's uh TNR Leaf. It's probably got a different name, but uh I I it was either I'm pretty sure it was on the TA box at DVDs um back in the day.

SPEAKER_01 50:27

I think I remember watching David Blaine on one of his specials as well. He did SpongeBobs but with leaves. So he literally plucked one off, put it in his hand, plucked another off, gave it to someone else, and it disappeared from his and appeared in theirs. And when when you were saying that, maybe someone out there with the budget and with the YouTube audience, Lloyd Barnes, right. Here's what you need to do is we need to turn this into a YouTube series where we get five magicians on an island with nothing, and they all have to create magic with whatever's on the island, and uh we vote one off each week uh who who we don't think's done well enough. I think that'd be a great series.

SPEAKER_00 51:11

I'd back that. I've been game for that. Yeah. Right, let's do it.

SPEAKER_01 51:14

Off to Murphy's, Mark.

SPEAKER_00 51:16

Get them in on get sponsorship. Murphy's and five guys sponsor the list new shirt.

SPEAKER_01 51:23

Well, I think that's a great way to to end your list. We started with one coin routine, ring on string, band through farm, tequila hustler, multiple selected drawing, a duplication, uh, ring thing, a PK touches, and a torn and restored leaf. Of course, you do have your shadow stack with your any named card in your welcome package as well. That's a pretty amazing anytime, anyplace kind of uh set. Well, providing there's a five guys close by.

SPEAKER_00 51:50

Provided there's a five guys. I'd like to actually uh when when you sent sort of like the um the the conversation for this uh and I was writing my list, I was like, you know what, I'd like to go out and just do these and you know just see how that plays. I'll probably have to restructure certain things around, but see how that plays as a routine to an audience, not a single card trick in sight. I you know, I wouldn't I wouldn't uh take advantage of the uh the care package, but you know, see how these eight uh effects could be sort of like routined from start to finish to an audience. There it goes.

SPEAKER_01 52:24

Well, we're looking forward to that video. Let us know what's up.

SPEAKER_00 52:27

I'm gonna I'll set myself a challenge.

Banishment Pick: Retire The Omni Deck

SPEAKER_01 52:29

Right, so we gave you eight tricks, but you're only allowed one each of these. So, Mark, I want you to imagine that you're about to dig a big sandy hole on your island, you're gonna throw something inside, and we're gonna bury it, never to be seen again. What are you going to banish from the magic industry?

SPEAKER_00 52:44

So there's gonna be controversy on this, I think. Now, uh full disclosure, I've not listened to all of these episodes, so I don't know if someone's already done this. Uh I would love to room 101, the omni deck. I would love to get rid of it. And the reason is I I know it's a good effect, I know it's a great trick, I know it gets really good reactions, but so many people have seen it. We need alternatives. Like everyone else must get this as well. You go to a gig, oh, I met a magician once, I've turned the deck of cards into a block of glass, and you're like, no, you didn't, it turned into a block of plastic, perspective, but let's go with what you said. So many people have seen it. I think it's run its course, it needs a break, it needs to be buried for a bit and maybe found again in 20 years. But come up with, well, not come up with, there are plenty of alternatives out there. Uh, you know, use uh Industrial Revelation. If you've never used Industrial Revelation as an Omni deck, you're missing out, especially if you're holding it underneath the uh holding your hand underneath theirs and they can feel it getting heavier and heavier. There was like the uh mid-user deck, I think, where it was like um uh block of stone, there's the wooden ones, like just use an alternative for a little bit, please, community. Let's let the omni deck rest for a bit, let everyone forget about it, and then bring it back for you know its double denim style resurgence and make it popular again. But at the moment, it's too done.

SPEAKER_01 54:15

Yeah, so we have had this before. We've had we've had many discussions about the omni deck on this podcast, and at this point, I think it's very much gonna be a tug of war on your island. I think there's gonna be a bunch of you one side and a bunch of other people the other side, and there's gonna be a big hole, and one of you lot are gonna get dragged in. Um, I'm not sure who it's gonna be, but but someone somewhere's gonna be gone. But I think that I completely respect what you're saying in that sometimes, if we take that away, maybe we'll come up with some more interesting versions. I know Craig Petty recently bought out the tech deck, and I know Dave Forrest had a version of the tech deck as well uh beforehand. Um, in the Art of Astonishments that you you mentioned there, there of course is just a uh stuck pile. Uh Joshua J had a version where there are individual cards that are plastic as well. So I think I think the Phantom Deck, that was it. So I think by sometimes restricting ourselves but trying to keep the plot, we'll come up with interesting ways to to come up with new ones.

SPEAKER_00 55:28

And genuinely, I love Omnideck. I I've got dozens of them scattered around in my magic kit. I'm never gonna throw them away. I'm just giving them a break. Sometimes I think you know, uh, yeah, things just need a rest for a little bit to come back uh stronger. Um but if I can if I can have a couple of couple of months, a couple of years where I don't have spectators going to me about the block of glass thing. Um there is another one very similar to that actually at the moment. I've modified how I perform this, and it was because of Ben Williams I had to modify it actually. Uh double cross. Ah, sorry. I wasn't really gonna uh I wasn't really gonna share this, but I did a multi-man, and I'm sure it was it was either Ben or um or Chris Webb. I can't remember which one of them did it, but we you know a multi-man gig where you uh like all right, this is what we're all gonna do, guys. Uh make sure our material doesn't clash, that sort of thing. Um and I was on a gig with Ben, Chris, and Steve Rowe. Um what a creative, that was a creative club, actually. We should have been stranded on an island with uh uh I do remember Ben um half challenging me or half questioning me because he saw me do uh bottle through table uh with no gimmick. And he went, you just did that with no gimmick. I'm like, yeah, yeah. And he was like, Oh. And I was like, what? And he was like, Oh, I always use a gimmick. And I was like, I reckon I could do sort of like a five, ten minute set at a table with nothing. So I I I did, I went out and all I did uh bottle through, I did stuff with like knives and forks um and a and a borrowed coin. Um so yeah, I did sort of like five, ten minutes with not going into my own pocket. Uh but yeah, so I I I'd uh I was out doing walkabout and we'd kind of agreed on who was doing what. Um and I was like, oh, uh so if you hold your hand out, because I I was permitted double cross, hold your hand out. She turned her hand over and she had an X on the hand already. I was like, damn, who the hell's done that? And I was like, okay, yeah, hold it face down. I was already prepped, ready, ready to go. And I it was literally a sort of like thinking on my feet. And if anyone else fancies doing this, they're more than welcome to. Uh, I turned it into a matrix, three of the spectators and myself. Um, and I drew a cross on everyone's hand, and then I stole them off and did it as a matrix. It was literally a uh an on the spot sort of like thought of oh, I've got to do something here because I've already kind of like built up that I'm in the middle of you know starting a routine. Um, but yeah, maybe that should uh maybe that should be sort of like a bit of a tip is when and and I kind of do this now myself. If you ever buy something and you really like the gimmick, try and come up with your own way of doing it before watching the instructions. Um you might you might surprise yourself and and only sort of like go to the instructions, you know, operation procedure of not you know not breaking stuff, but see if you can come up with your own uh own routine with it.

SPEAKER_01 58:36

If you're on YouTube and you're listening to this on YouTube, or even if you're not on YouTube, go to YouTube, find this episode. What is the thing at your gig that you feel like everyone has seen before? That you regularly so for me, in the same way that you get on the deck, I get the watch still a lot. So I have a lot of people say I was at a wedding, this guy stole my watch. Uh that tends to be the number one for me at the moment that that I get.

SPEAKER_00 59:03

Lee Lee Thompson does get around.

Art Of Astonishment And Card “Sloppiness”

SPEAKER_01 59:07

So wherever you are, what is that one trick? Comment. It'll be really interesting to see if we could get a list or an idea of those tricks that lots of spectators are talking about. Um, and then we'll see whether Mark's Omni Deck uh deserves to go only temporarily in that banishment ditch. We'll find out whether everyone else feels uh the same way. Um let's go to let's go to the book, Mark. So what did you put in your book position?

SPEAKER_00 59:37

Uh the book, it was the uh Art of Astonishment uh by Paul Harris. Um I did have a second choice, uh, but I think I would go with the the honourable mention for me would be uh Nights from a Fellow Traveller by Darren. Uh but yeah, Art of Astonishment I think is a very good resource to kind of like get you uh get your mindset into why and how how and why we perform what we perform. Um like and I think it helps build build your own character a little bit. Um I when was this? Uh gotta be sort of like 2012 or so. I had a residency. Uh funnily enough, the same residency that Garrett Thomas once covered um because he was in town for a convention. Uh but yeah, I had a residency and I walked away from a table. I can't remember everything I'd performed. I know I'd uh I know I was going through the phase of trying to do Darren's psychological force of the uh three of uh hearts. I think every magician's uh attempted that for a long period. Uh I don't know. I was I was doing that sort of stuff. I was doing uh oh, what was it called? Noel Quarter's was it time, not timeless.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:54

It was alarm alarmed.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:59

I just and you you were looking you were hunting for it. I I was I was trying to rely on my failing memory. Um uh I was doing loads of stuff, and I walked away from this crew and I heard over my shoulder some guy saying, Fing hell, that guy was good with cards. And that is a uh it he was saying it as a compliment. Uh, you know, I I was also doing uh sort of like um a little bit of XEM card manipulation, uh uh funky shuffling and that sort of stuff. Um but it kind of like didn't sound right to me, and I thought, wait a minute, he thinks all of that stuff that I've just done was because I'm good with cards. So I that was a bit of a turning point for me, and I started uh changing how I handle cards. I try not to handle cards like I'm um like a an XEM performer doing extreme card manipulation and fancy shuffles. I I will do a very basic Sibyl cut now and occasionally a butterfly cut if someone goes, oh, what else can you do with them? But for the most part, I try and just handle the cards like they're they're nothing uh to me, like just they're just there. Uh and almost almost a little bit sloppy. That sounds like I'm making an excuse for bad handling, but uh yeah, I try not to look like I'm uh as proficient as I am with a deck of cards. But yeah, so art of astonishment kind of like uh it may I think I think it makes you think about the justification for what you're performing and how you're performing it. Um I'd love to give you quotes off it, but I haven't read it for a couple of years, uh, which is why I would love to bring it uh with me uh to sort of like re-swat up on it and hopefully get inspired um again, re-inspired.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:59

I think it's also one of those books that shows you that you can be a bit wacky and not to be afraid of thinking outside the box. And you know, some of the ideas that you read in there, part of you thinks, what on earth were you on at the time?

SPEAKER_00 1:03:16

Wow, of really knowing Paul like most people know Paul.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:20

Uh I didn't want to go there, but um he he was he was he was on the uh the on you know really nice soft grass barefooted.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:32

That's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:33

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:35

One with you.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:36

There you go.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:37

It's quite a hit beat. One with the world. Did you ever see his um his one he did where it was like you borrow you borrow a bit of tinfoil? I'm sure I think this was in TA box set as well. Uh you borrow a bit of tinfoil as you do, uh, and you borrow a coin and you do an imprint of the coin. I'm miming this uh to Jamie at the moment. You do an imprint of the coin, nice and slow and sort of like methodical. Um, and then uh you get them to hold their hand over it, and then you you're uh over the imprint, you're holding the coin, and then you turn the coin over in your hand, they lift their hand, and the imprint has changed from heads to tails. It is I've I I've probably performed it like six or seven times ever. But every time I have, it is one of those WTF moments. Uh, but it's like again, the this is what I love about opportunistical magic, opportunistic magic, sorry, not opportunistical, opportunistic magic and also like organic and naturally flowing magic, um, and being able to improvise. I think you get some really strong moments where you know I walk this was a Buddy's house. I think the last time I did this was like maybe two years ago or something. Walked into a buddy's house and he just had a roll of foil on the side, and I was like, I think this will be just a nice moment to do that. And I did, and he was just raving about it like for ages, ages afterwards. Um, yeah, get yourself a toolbox of sort of like knowledge that you can do without a prop, or without a prop that you have to bring with you.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:12

Well, Art of Astonishment's going with you, and that takes us on to the item. So, what is the non-magic item that you use for magic?

SPEAKER_00 1:05:21

Uh so the non-magic item I use for magic, um, uh, and it's a bit of a weird one. Uh, you some people might have seen posts about it recently, is get yourself on Amazon or um even Timu or AliExpress or whatever. It's a uh a MagSafe selfie screen. Right. I through a weird uh backwards and forwards sort of like idea process, uh, because obviously I do a little bit of videography and content creating as well. About two years ago, I saw these selfie screens that Um uh at the time I think it was a suction cup uh onto the back of your phone case. Now they have MagSafe built in, so you can get like even if you're not an Apple uh iPhone user, you can get a phone case that has MagSafe built built in. Great ecosystem, MagSafe, regardless of what um device you use. Um and now there's a MagSafe version of it and it's wireless. I think the original ones were all wired, you have to plug it in. But it basically mirrors your phone screen to this device. Right? Now, if you think about it, you've been in Magic as long as I have, if not longer. You used to pay hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of pounds, and you still do in some cases, to be able to see what someone has written down, thousands of pounds even, uh, on a something. Right? So imagine there's me and you uh on a desert island, my phone still has a bit of battery, uh, and I hand you my phone, get you to open up any app that has like a scroll function. Like it could be Instagram, it could be uh Amazon, it could be Wikipedia, I guess, it could be absolutely anything. You scroll to something and I know exactly what you're looking at. You could open my notes app, I could get you and turn it to sketch, and you can draw something and I know exactly what you're looking at. And it's just like it's it's ridiculous. Like if this was a magic release product, this would be super, super expensive. Um, but on Amazon, you can get them for about 40 quid for zero pounds. Uh and of course they charge by USB C as all things should these days. Um, so yeah, that's my non-magical go-to magical item at the moment. Um, just a weird, yeah. I was looking at these things a couple of years back, been trying to decide backwards and forwards on on um on which one uh to get, and then these MagSafe ones came out. Uh, and yeah, I think I think they're about£40,£41. There's a big, big selection of them. I wouldn't get one that's too small, but you can get ones that are like the size of a watch face. Uh, but you can literally, it mirrors absolutely anything on your phone. So it is one of those uh restricted only by your own creativity.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:08

Well, we or I beforehand, um I've got a new camera now, as we discussed earlier, but beforehand, I actually use the small rig one of these, but for filming. And then I saw your post a few weeks ago about them. I thought that's I was so excited about these. It's such a clever idea. Um the all I was thinking was if you could get one small enough for a card box, there's no way that you there's no reason that you couldn't just slip that into a card box, and now you've got basically a HD coloured screen of your phone, which you can just keep in your hand.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:47

I did put uh uh they are, I think it was like four, the one I have, and I'm sure you can buy them smaller, but the one I use uh is about four mil too big for a normal um bicycle deck. Uh uh poker size is the word I was trying to buy, poker size deck. Uh it's the right width, but uh I built it into uh a Phoenix deck, and then I got a privacy screen um on the top of it, so it can only be sort of like viewed from one direction as well. Um but yeah, I'm I'm sure there are smaller versions out there. I just happen to have a uh a good contact for a couple of weeks.

Where To Find Mark And Final Wrap

SPEAKER_01 1:09:24

Well, I think that's a great one in uh your items. So let's go over it one last time. We had any named card with the shadow stack as your welcome package. We had one coin routine, ring on string, ban through thumb, tequila hustler, uh, multiple selection, drawing, duplication, ring thing, PK Touches, Torn and Restored Leaf. We had your banishment was the Omni Deck, controversial. Your book was The Art of Astonishment, and your item was a mag save selfie screen. I think in terms of our second episode of season three, that's a pretty awesome list.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:58

Thank you. Appreciate it. I'm definitely gonna uh definitely gonna give it a go and have it as a working list and run it a couple of times.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:07

Please do it as Doctor Strange though, just for the people.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:10

Now, Mark, if people want to find out more about you, what you're up to now, uh your magic, all of that good stuff, where can they go to?

SPEAKER_00 1:10:18

Yeah, please do. Um it's uh pretty much Mark Lavelle on most platforms, or maybe Mark Lavelle Magician. Uh I'm on Instagram and Facebook. My YouTube is probably so dusty. I can't see what the last video I posted up on there was. Uh TikTok, uh, etc. Um awkward spelling of M-A-R-C, L-A-V-E-L-L-E, because my parents had a sense of humor, knowing that I'd have to spell it out on a daily basis.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:44

Okay, well, uh please do go check that out. Also, check out his cosplay. It's pretty phenomenal, high-end. It's not, it's not your Times Square standard of uh cosplay. This is the real deal. It's it's amazing to see.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:59

Oh Jamie, I really appreciate that. Maybe we can get you suited up in something one day.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:04

No one needs to see this in a Spider-Man costume. That's not that's not happening anytime soon. But it was lovely to have you. It's so good to see that you're back. And hopefully, Mark, we're gonna see more of you.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:16

Uh hopefully, yeah. Um I feel like I'm getting back into my creative flow again. Uh and Jamie, I would love to be uh stuck on a desert island with you any day of the week.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:25

Minus the Spider-Man costume. Um thank you all, of course, as well. We're gonna be back next week with another episode of Desert Island Tricks. So for now, have a great week. Goodbye.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:42

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.