A wink is as good as a force to a horse, of course, of course. Geoff Williams finds a willing (?) volunteer who would stand still long enough to pick a card.
Anson from Taiwan blew us away with his manipulation skills. producing colorful cards both small and large.
Ines from Spain delighted the audience with her masterful skills of sleight-of-hand and misdirection as part of the Saturday afternoon kickoff show.
The 43rd Annual Fechter's Finger Flicking Frolic is now history and what a year it was. Everyone I talked with seemed to agree that this year was filled with excitement, mystery, energy and creativity unlike some past conventions. It was in no small measure attributable to our Guest of Honor, Steve Bargatze. In this final podcast from Batavia (just outside Buffalo, New York) we start with a nice chat with Stephen who talks about his work in Las Vegas substituting for Mac King plus his family including his professional comedian son, Nate.
00:29:15 - Chris Hannibal talked about his restaurant/bar work and how he turns it into corporate work. He also gave us his viewpoint of the convention as a participant this year rather than having to prepare for being on one of the scheduled performances.
00:38:45 - Enjoy a cigar and a glass of scotch with Jason Juliano and Roland Meister as they gave a rundown of what impressed them at this year's convention.
00:52:00 - Ali Shelley and Katalina Absolon gave us a view of magic from the distaff side with tips and encouragement for your women who want to go into magic.
01:04:45 - More insight from the perspectives of long time attendees George Silverman, Donald Voltz and Steven Duperre.
Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here then right click to save the file. You can also download the MP3 media file directly from the RSS feed by Clicking Here.
Obie O'Brien presents the official award to Stephen Bargatze as the 2013 Guest of Honor.
The final night show always reads like a "Who's Who" of magic. Tonight was no different. The photos below features (in order) those who entertained us for three hours of magic, mystery and mayhem: Michael Dardant (from the U.S.A.) assisted by Ed Ripley, Bebel (from France), Red Tsai (from Taiwan), David Stone (from France), Willy Monroe (from Spain), William Watt (from France), Angel San Martin (from Spain), Shawn Farquhar (from Canada), Dani DaOrtiz (from Spain), Paul Gertner (from the U.S.A.), Woody Aragon (from Spain), and Rick Merrill (from the U.S.A.) assisted by Geoff Williams.
Even more people are showing up today as we approach the weekend. But we begin with one of the "old timers", Bob Swadling who talks about a little history of both the F.F.F.F. convention but also his evolution of his coin inventions including the Flipper Coin and his relationships with Ken Brooke, Mark Mason and others.
Next up we chatted with Harrison Carroll, another long time attendee who hails from Buffalo and who personally knew Eddie Fechter and has many stories about this venerable magician. But our chat began with his career as a trade show magician. Here Harrison reveals lots of inside tips for the trade show worker.
Mike Seege stopped by next and talked about his work as a restaurant magician in Buffalo and his association with the legacy of Eddie Fechter..
Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here then right click to save the file. You can also download the MP3 media file directly from the RSS feed by Clicking Here.
Allan Kronzek explains a "You Do As I Do" effect to the group using Daryl as his assistant.
John Bannon teaches a "coincidence" trick to the group with the assistance of Guest of Honor, Stephen Bargatze.
Dani DaOrtiz really packed the house and fooled the boys, then explained it all...well, most of it. :)
Young and impressive Reuben Moreland opened the afternoon show with a silent act that revved up the crowd with his cards and dice routine. We will all hear more from him as the years go by.
The Magic Word
This podcast is totally free for everyone to enjoy. This is provided to you out of love and respect for our art of magic. If you enjoy the podcasts and other material on The Magic Word, then your financial support will be greatly appreciated and help offset the monthly hosting service fee as well as the hardware and software to produce this podcast. Just click on the "Donate " button at the top of this page to make a one time donation through PayPal.
You can become a sustaining member by pledging a monthly donation of any amount through "Patreon" and receive some pretty cool perks for membershiip, too. Just Click Here for more information on how you can help.
By donating to The Magic Word, you will become a "Friend of The Magic Word" and receive a certificate (suitable for framing) indicating your membership plus your name will join your other friends and be posted on our "Wall of Fame". If you prefer to order something from the Store, then that will help support The Magic Word, too. Thank you.
Thanks to all of you listeners, The Magic Word Podcast and our newsletter (or “podletter” as I call it) has been recognized by FISM and received nominations in two categories. Please click on one of the graphics above and cast your vote to help push us on to victory in Turin, Italy, this summer! Thank you!
In May 2024, Scott Wells had the distinguished honor of receiving a “Special Fellowship” from the Academy of Magical Arts (The Magic Castle) for the Magic Word Podcast which promotes “not only personal stories of fascinating individuals, but also fellowship amongst our extended family of artists and entertainers everywhere.”
Do you have a comment or suggestion for The Magic Word Podcast? Click on the SpeakPipe logo and leave a short audio message for Scott. It’s fast, easy and fun. Send a “shout out” today and who knows? Your message may be heard on an upcoming podcast!
The Magic Word Has been recognized by FeedSpot as the # 1 magician podcast in the world. Thank you all for your support and for listening throughout the years.
