294: Jamie Salinas - Half Halloween

Well, we appear to have been off by about a month because we thought May 31st was the halfway point between last Halloween and the next one. But nevertheless, now is the time to work on and start promoting your Halloween services. And what services might those be? Well, it's a perfect time to talk with the things that go "bump in the night". You may not be a mystery entertainer, a bizarrist, or a psychic, but I'll bet that even if you don't utilize any of our suggestions, at least you will be better equipped to know what is "out there".

Jamie Salinas is an award winning Houston, Texas, area magician who has been a business partner of mine for many years. As "Top Talent Productions" and following the closure of The Magic Island, we used to produce magic shows in a five star hotel in downtown Houston featuring magicians from across the country. But during the month of October for the past eight years, we have produced seances in an old downtown bar (established in 1847) that is said to be haunted. During our chat, we often refer to a mini lecture we gave a couple years ago and posted in a September 2014 podcast which you can find here. We also talk about our set of PDF Lecture Notes (Creating the Paranormal Experience) which you can order for ten bucks here on The Magic Word by clicking here.under Scott Wells Lecture Items. Or you could win one of two sets that will be given away in the contest. Just fill in the form at the bottom of this blog to register to win.

We also refer to a couple of resources we have used and recommend: Lebanon Circle is here. and Outlaw Effects is here. The podcast referred to in the podcast with the ghost hunting video video at the Ott Hotel in Liberty, Texas is Here. The podcast recorded from there is Here. To learn more about our seance in Houston, please visit: HoustonSeance.com

Attendees provide comments for Houston Seance.

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Time stamps for the product reviews this week:

00:46:49 - "Safe Bet" by Pablo Amira

00:49:15 - "Re5" by Kelvin Trinh

00:52:01 "TiTanic" by Zolo

Congratulations to Magister Freud and Daniel Norat who each won a copy of the e-Book, "Creating the Paranormal Experience", by Jamie Salinas and Scott Wells. If you would like to purchase a copy of the PDF file for just $10, then click on the graphi… — Congratulations to Magister Freud and Daniel Norat who each won a copy of the e-Book, "Creating the Paranormal Experience", by Jamie Salinas and Scott Wells. If you would like to purchase a copy of the PDF file for just $10, then click on the graphic above for more information.

219: Lee Earle - Clear Vision

Lee Earle has been a leader and pioneer in the field of mentalism for decades. He recently came through Houston on his "Farewell" Lecture Tour where he imparted some of his years of experience in a concise two and a half hour lecture filled with advice and solid, commercial mentalism effects. Unfortunately, Lee has not created nor marketed many new effects over the past several years. Moreover, he has not been seen on the convention or lecture scene either. As a result, he is best known, remembered and respected by those "long of tooth". If fact, he said that perhaps 80% of those attending his 20+ lectures across the U.S. had gray heir. Too bad for this generation who missed out.

Lee has had a remarkable career having started out as a magician then transforming into a mentalist, which is the typical way people get into mentalism. He laments that actors and drama majors don't go immediately into mentalism and skip magic altogether thus not "tainting" them with "bad habits" that are hard to break in the performance of mentalism.

For those who are unfamiliar with Lee Earle's background, he was the secretary and membership chairman of the Psychic Entertainers' Association (P.E.A.) for a number of years. He authored the newsletter "Syzygy", produced and marketed several mentalism tricks along with Larry Becker under their company, "Mentalism Unlimited". He was the medium who developed and produced "Manifestations" in Phoenix, Arizona. And early in his magic career, he started the circuit for performing in large, upscale RV Parks across the southern part of the U.S.

The podcast begins with opening a can of Diet RC Cola then we get down to business. Lee talks about his experience of performing magic at Recreational Vehicle (RV) Parks across the south in the 1970's. He then talks about his transition from magic to mentalism and the stumbles along the way that made him more determined. Lee then tells us about "Manifestations", the seance he conducted from 1986 through 1989, some stories from the performances and its demise.

Lee concludes this podcast talking about his friend and business partner, Larry Becker, and their business "Mentalism Unlimited" which is no longer in business. The items remaining are being sold by Lee during his "Farewell" Lecture Tour which is helping him clean out his inventory following his move from Phoenix, Arizona to Atlanta, Georgia.

Enjoy supplemental material from Lee Earle as he talks about the basic premises upon which mentalism is based. Plus he gives some great advice on use of sound (i.e. microphones, speakers, etc.)

#190 - Creating the Paranormal Experience

October is the month when things go bump in the night. It's also a good time to capitalize on those "bumps". You can create these paranormal experiences at Halloween parties in private homes or public houses like pubs, hotels, and other places that have a "haunted history". In this podcast, Jamie Salinas and Scott Wells share a few ideas on how to create this experience.

Jamie Salinas and I have been performing seances in Houston for the past seven years. We are working on a book but gave a preview at a recent I.B.M. Ring meeting. I turned on the microphone to record the mini-lecture and the Q&A that ensued. Seances are not for everyone, but there is a market for them. To view a calendar of our performances, visit the HoustonSeance website at: http://HoustonSeance.com

ATTENTION LECTURE/CONVENTION ORGANIZERS: Jamie and I can deliver a "double act" lecture with all the information you need to develop, produce, market and perform a seance in your community. The complete lecture includes the all-important information of how to put people in seats. Like any magic show, if you don't have an audience, then "you're just fooling yourself!" You can contact Jamie and Scott by email at: info@HoustonSeance.com

Join us for a night of a interactive haunted experience. Seating is very limited as well as dates. Go to www.HoustonSeance.com for more information.

In this podcast, Jamie and I agreed to release "inside" information on how to put together your own seance. We recognize that this is not for every performer. In fact, it is probably only for a very few. But for those who are interested in a "alternate stream of revenue" and the chance to present something different to your clients, especially during the Halloween season, then this mini-lecture includes information you need.

There are no "tricks" taught during this particular lecture but more of the marketing fundamentals of how to produce a seance, how to find a location, what to charge, determining your character (i.e. psychic, medium, magician, ghost hunter, etc.), high tech vs. low tech, plus some suggestions on where to find some effects to present (i.e. Outlaw Effects and Lebanon Circle Magick Co.)

If you are interested in receiving a copy of our lecture notes (upon which our book will be based) then please visit The Magic Word Shop to order your copy via instant download.

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. (please note: this RSS Feed subscription system may not work with Android systems). Remember, you can download it through iTunes. See the preview page by Clicking Here.

Order Banachek's "Psychokinetic Touches" (and more) through the Magic Inspirations store by clicking the banner above.

Purveyors of Jack the Ripper "From Hell" and Titanic's "White Star" among so many other creepy effects.

Outlaw Effects, makers of the "Luna" book test and other bizarre effects.

A great effect for parlor or stage by Jamie Salinas. An unbelievable miracle at a bargain price of $19.95!

I always love this time of year when Steve Bryant posts his Halloween issue. If you're not a regular reader, then this is the month to surf over and see what's on Steve's mind.