287: F.F.F.F. 2016 Day One

The annual gathering of international close-up stars begins..It's been a long day and it's after 2:00 a.m. and time to upload this half hour podcast from Batavia, New York. I'll update this blog later with more links and info about some of the folks I've chatted with today.

Wednesday April 27:
8:00pm: 4F Kick-Off Show - Canadian Gala (Joan Caesar emcee)
10:00pm: Huot/Lacroix Lecture
11:00pm: Hospitality Suite

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:05- We're off to see the wizard. We depart Houston leaving for Buffalo, New York and the 46th annual F.F.F.F. convention.

00:03:49 - We ran into Lion Fludd on the airplane on our connection in Chicago. This will be his first 4F convention and we discuss how he has prepared for it and his expectations.

00:11:50 - Obie O'Brien, the "Head Forker" explains his title as the organizer and founder of this convention.

00:18:44 - Geoff Williams talks about the evening Canadian Gala Show.

00:22:25 - Chris Pilsworth, Keith Fields join Geoff Williams to talk about what makes this convention unique from the others.

00:28:29 - Weekly trick reviews: Double ACAAN and Transcend (both by Creative Artists), Post-It Mysteries by Mr. Bless, and Fusion by Zolo

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. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here

158: Bargatze, Merrill & Corsaro - The Comedy Process

Comedy writing isn't pretty. Like making sausage, it's a process with an end product that is up to the taste of the audience to appreciate. Walking the fine edge of a razor doesn't even begin to describe it. It takes grueling hours to labor over a line that might take a few seconds to deliver while other jokes come at the spur of the moment. Creativity is a muscle and must be exercised meaning good ideas don't necessarily come easily.

Stephen Bargatze and Rick Merrill are well-known in the international magic community as comedy magicians. David Corsaro has been the longtime producer of "Time To Be Awesome" video blog. This blog features video interviews with some of the most awesome magicians in the land who talk about their magic and roads to success.

Together these three magicians create a one-time-only comedy skit that is featured as the closing act at the annual Fechter's Finger Flicking Frolic (F.F.F.F.) convention. Steve and Rick combine physical and cerebral humor that entertains the audience and leaves the attendees talking about their act for the next year.

If you enjoy this podcast, then you will love The Improv Nerd with Jimmy Carrane. This podcast was recommended to me by Eric Dittleman and I want to recommend it to you. It is hosted by a well-known improv teacher, Jimmy Carrane, who interviews some of the icons in the world of improvisational comedy. It is a fascinating podcast that delves into the comedy writing process in each episode. You can visit the website at http://jimmycarrane.com/improv-nerd-podcast/ or search for it in iTunes or your favorite podcast catching app.

An example of one of the videos from David Corsaro and "Time To Be Awesome"

In this podcast, Stephen Bargatze, Rick Merrill and David Corsaro go on the record with a "tell all" about their creative process and how they came together and work together. They talk about molding ideas, structuring the jokes, trying to appeal to the audience's appreciation of their brand of humor, "hits and misses", brainstorming, working in comedy clubs, improvisation, and more.

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.

Magic & Martinis Thursday

A little light reading during the cocktail hour. What's on your shelf?

156: Day Four - F.F.F.F. 2014

The last day and night meant more magic being crammed into the final few hours. Plus more doughnuts, coffee, soda, beer and scotch, too. Everything has been coming down to this last day. The last chance for everyone to savor the last moments. The internet in the hotel seemed slower than usual, plus the scotch poured a bit more freely, and I chatted with lots of people well into the morning hours and the break of dawn. All those reasons are why this podcast didn't come out earlier in the day.

Henry Evans was the sole lecturer of the day with two stellar afternoon shows and and outstanding evening show. Lots of stuff going on, lots of interviews, and tons of magic.

If you would like to view the excellent program designed by Glenn Brown, please Click Here. This lists all the shows, all the performers, all the attendees, pictures and more. It is everything you need to know about what went on during the weekend.

Joe Monti shows a little trick he came up with for Guest of Honor, Shawn Farquhar, using the bookmark made by David Prouty.

FISM winner Soma doing a great performance with looping sounds of magic props live at this year's FFFF. This is the song you hear on the podcast for Day Four.

Australians are on a different "body clock" than us Americans. Nothing will deter them a full night's sleep. Tim Ellis has seen enough card tricks and needs his beauty rest despite the cacophony of card magician in the room.

Time codes for this podcast:

00:01:11 - Jean-Luc Dupont, Bill Bishop, Don Wiberg, and Jim Klayder talk about the status of trade shows, brick and mortar magic shops, and more as we chat over coffee at Starbucks. For those interested in club meeting ideas that we discussed, Don Wiberg's PDF can be found by Clicking Here.

00:20:00 - During dinner, Mike Hrab and Rick Hebert give their perspectives of what they have enjoyed the most during this convention...so far.

00:30:32 - Elevator chat #1 - Stephen Bargatze, Bruce Kalver, Shawn Farquhar talk about what might happen on the evening show.

00:32:04 - Shank Kotharei, first time attendee talks about his experience at this convention from his "fresh eyes".

00:38:57 - Richard Bangs, Ed Ripley and Jason Juliano talk about their highlights of this year's convention and reminisce about previous 4F conventions.

00:47:55 - Soma's "Four F" Song that he composed and recorded in front of s using an app on his iPhone. Music was made with shuffling cards, jangling coins,

00:49:20 - Elevator Chat #2 - Oscar Munoz talks about being the Guest of Honor next year.

00: 52:02 - National President Elect of the S.A.M. , Kenrick "Ice" McDonald, talks about his platform of what he hopes to accomplish during his year as President.

01:03:03 - Joe Monti talks about working at the Magic Island in Newport Beach and Houston

01:09:12 - Elevator Chat #3 - John Bannon talks about his new book on totally self-working card tricks.

01:10:53 - Will Fern, Stephen Bargatze, Rick Merrill, Tim Ellis, Michael Dardant and more are caught in the hallway outside the Precursor Suite as we talked about the evening show.

01:36:20 - Obie O'Brien talks about the convention and recaps the event.