It’s almost like being a real mind reading mutant. I swear.

S O C I A L   D I S T O R T I O N

Andrew Mayne presents a stunning mentalism effect that looks truly paranormal.

A totally random volunteer is selected and before your audience’s eyes, you reveal a thought of word, a name and a two-digit number. No stooges. No pre-show work. They write nothing down.

Social Distortion has already taken the magic world by storm, fooling magicians and entertaining audiences in Las Vegas up close and on stage. Everything you need fits in your wallet, but the impact is so big you could close your show with it.

Along with everything you need, you also get a CD with a one-hour in-depth discussion with magician Christopher who has been using Social Distortion in his own show in Las Vegas. You’ll get advanced performance tips and suggestions including turning Social Distortion into an entire 15 minute act.

Includes complete instructions, full performance script, gimmicks and special bonus CD.

By now for $30 (free US and international shipping)

Shane over at Online-Visions had some nice things to say about CastleMaynia.

I just saw the David Regal lecture last night at Wizard’s Apprentice. David is a great guy and had some really cool stuff. If you get a chance to see him some time, I highly recommend it. http://www.davidregal.com/

In their latest series of hard-hitting expose forum threads revealing the sad truth about me (see Andrew Mayne is a comic book geek), Ellusionist forum moderator Steerpike uncovers my alleged alter-ego as a hack amateur filmmaker. He found a certain book in Barnes & Noble written by a guy that looks a lot like me…Andrew Mayne’s double life

I will neither confirm or deny that. I’ll also point out that if you go through all the magazines in Barnes & Noble you’ll possibly find another potential alter-ego of mine listed as an advisor in one of them.

As far as the name on the book is concerned, if it were my alias, my reason for using one has more to do with trying not to dilute my name and managing expectations (chiefly my own). I’ve mentioned this before, after performing on cruise ships and resorts as an illusionist I performed in comedy clubs and theatres under a different name so I could develop a different performing style (and get practice while taking cheap gigs and not hurt my rate as an illusionist). Alter egos are kind of a hobby of mine. I might have even released some magic effects under a different name too…

I hope Steerpike doesn’t dig too deeply into YouTube and find my tear-filled video diary done under yet another alias.

Joe Coover made some interesting comments about the ghost in the jar effect. One point in particular I thought I’d comment on is the use of paranormal themes in magic.
Read the rest of this entry »

This is a pretty cool idea that could be used for a spooky revelation or with maybe, I dunno, Ghost Vision?


Awesome - Ghost In A Jar - Free videos are just a click away

Over at Magiczine I’ve posted some ideas for using your own vanity stamps in magic effects. You can read the article here.

Secret compartment books are great for carrying close-up magic around. They’re also just really cool in general. Makezine has a video showing you how to do it.

Makezine

I have a fun mentalism effect up over at Magiczine. The audience predicts the mysterious object inside of a bag you found on the street. It utilizes the collapsing probability function of Quantum Mechanics, really. Quantum Lunch

Get this book. It’s one of the best show biz biographies I have ever read. Definitely the best one that ever mentioned Dariel Fitzke’s Showmanship for Magicians. Actor/comedian/writer/art collector/banjo picker/magician Steve Martin details his journey from aspiring young magician to the biggest comedian of all time (he was the first comedian to sell out 45,000 seat venues).

It’s an amazing story with details that fellow magicians can appreciate. He includes show notes from when he was a young man describing presentation of the Square Circle and the Hippity Hop Rabbits. Think about that one for a moment; one of the greatest movie stars of all time got his start doing Hippity Hop Rabbits. He talks about making the leap from behind the magic counter at Disneyland to the stage of nearby Knott’s Berry Farm.

You’ll find out that his overnight success took ten years and only then happened when he decided to go his own path. Despite the frequent bookings on the Tonight Show, fame and headliner status eluded him for a long time. He’d been demoted to performing only on guest host nights for a long period because Johnny wasn’t in to his act. When he slowly found his way, Johnny became his biggest fan.

I sat down with this book to just read a chapter and couldn’t put it down. I read the whole thing in one sitting. I’m getting the audiobook next. It’s an amazing story of how a performer struggled and grew in his art. It’s the best analysis I’ve ever read of what it takes to be an original and how hard it can be to get acceptance for that.

I could go on about this book, but you should really just be reading the book. So I’ll end this right here: Go get this book!

Etc.