My Magic Guy - Jeff Black

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Pashash sh Show.

It's Toss show time. Good morning Eddie, Good morning Daniel, Eddie. Yeah, you know that I was made in Germany, right, I do know that? And you know that my favorite band has always been Romstein.

No, I don't know.

Do ask me? Do hospit god? If? If not, God fly. I'm not familiar with Man, you don't like that song.

I don't know that I don't like it. I'm not familiar with.

The hush hush me if not, I don't know the words. That's it.

It's in though, it's I'm in the wheelhouse. Oh man, you play that song? Nothing? Nothing gets gets me going. You can save your black coffee, give me some Ramstein. I'm in a good mood all right now. I don't like to pat myself on the back too often, but this this is this is one for the ages. The other day, I'm with my daughter, I'm holding her. We go into a coffee shop. Okay, I don't drink coffee. Getting a coffee for my wife. She didn't even ask for it. I'm just picking her up on iced hazelnut

You know.

A lot of mannerisms. Dressed fabulous. Okay. One of them looks me dead in the eye and goes, excuse me, are you a famous model?

Wow? Holy cow?

I almost dropped my child right. I was like, are you kidding me?

I looked at it? Are you? I go? I go?

He just he just made my life. Now I am not a famous model. And this is what he says to me with no hesitation. After no, I'm not, he goes, well, you've got that factor? Wow, how am I not supposed to? And I know you're like, you know, we shouldn't care about their sexual preference or or their race, but I care. And it made them so much cooler. And for them to say, like, if some hillbilly looked at me and goes, you must be a famous model, I would be like, okay,

Let's see.

This's is from the Sergio episode.

Okay, Sergio, my my the builder of my home.

Says great interview until he said he thinks Spain is the best country in the world. Nothing like a rich person working in the US, raising children in the US, and developing a life in the US than saying another country.

Is all right, stop, stop done, I'm done. See and that's it.

That's it.

It took it took you reading half of a comment for me to realize that this was a horrible idea.

Oh god, you fucking people are so stupid. You know, do you know you're stupid or do you think do you think when you were hammering out that way too long comment that you were like, hmm, I got him here. First of all, let's let's start with the one thing.

Uh.

And I shouldn't talk talk about one of my friend's finances, but I think Sergio would be totally okay with this. He is He is not rich by any stretch of the imagination. He was the foreman on my job's at his I hired his boss his boss's company, and Sergio works underneath him. So you know, people are saying, oh, he overcharged you. He never charged me anything. He was he had somebody to report to the fact that I gave Sergio stuff that we weren't using or extra stuff

How dare he? First of all, he has.

A Mexican wife who they met in Los Angeles, and they have a family here. That's why for the majority of the year they live here, because that's where his family is. I just it always me so much when people say when a president gets elected and people threaten to leave, like, oh, if he wins, I'm leaving the country. I never say stuff like that, and I could. I could go anywhere on this planet if I felt like it.

I don't do.

I like living here, Yeah, it's great. I love the Miami Dolphins. I don't fucking live in Miami. I know that they are not the best team in football. They're not even in the top fifty percent. I don't believe. It's just it's just so weird. How can he like where he was born and raised more than where he lives now with his wife and kids. I don't know. Oh, he just thinks it's great. So who gives a shit?

What you say France?

France?

Well that that would upset Sergio. To be honest, John, what's your favorite.

I'm gonna go Spain.

Oh, look at this. Two Americans, one military kid, the other one from Ohio, and both of them pick a European country. You guys are both deplorable. Dylan, what's your favorite country? I'm going Norway, nor actually pretty good.

He might he might be able to sway me on that one. Pete Spain. Hete was Spain? All right?

Do you want to know what my favorite country is? Yeah, okay, it's America. But I'm a homer. I'm a homer in fairness, it's it's I like Tahoe, and Tahoe's in America, so the whole country wins.

Because of Tahoe. You know what.

I'm sorry, Eddie. I know we're gonna do comments, but you've soured me. You soured me with the first one, and I don't want to hear from anybody else. Yeah, moan all you want, guys. One bad apple ruined the whole thing for everyone. I'm kind of in a good mood though, because I'm thinking thinking about Tahoe, which always makes me happy because it's a magical place and I don't even believe in magic, but there's something about that altitude.

So great to be here. That's nice to you. Jeff. What is this thing? Is this notes? Just remember some stuff?

If I gotta get that off my desk, make that disappear boom?

Yeah.

First question, do you believe in ghosts?

No? Is it better if I lie? Huh? Okay? Can magicians get into heaven? Yeah? I don't think they can. I like that. That's a serious question.

Anyone can get the forgiveness of Oh I don't know. I feel like because you're dabbling in the dark arts.

I mean, my last name is black. All I do is black magic. Oh man.

I get emails actually from people that want me to put curses on their family members and stuff like that, and I'm like, I don't really do that kind of black magic.

It's like hard tricks. You don't think nerdier. Can you do curses?

I know I don't do that. No, all right, Jeff, Where are you originally from? I'm originally from Arcadia, California.

You ever go there? Why not? Why'd you say why not? Before I answered, well, I'm already assuming that you haven't been there. When what have I gone to Arcadia?

It's next to Pasadena, so yeah, I mean, I'm sure I've been to Pasadena.

I don't know, right, So you're from Arcadia. How'd you get into magic?

I saw the David Blaine specials when I was a kid, and I always wanted to learn and like, it just seemed like the coolest thing ever. And then the library was really bad with the books they had at the time, so I didn't really get to learn until YouTube was a thing in high school for me.

Let me tell you something.

David Blaine had an influence on me as well, because he would be interviewed regularly on Howard Stern and I would hear this monotone and then i'd see his face on the E Network when they would televise it, and I'm like, and then I would see the girls that he was dating, and I was like, what in the actual fuck is going on? Like magic is real? If this sack of shit is he used to date everyone in Hollywood? Mind blowing. That's the only part of it

Yeah?

Like I'm gonna hold my breath for twelve minutes, bullshit.

It's pretty cool.

Like he's really pushing his body a lot of that's like very real, and he's meeting the people that do it learn how.

To do it.

And I just liked it when he was on the street doing tricks in front of black people and then they would scream like crazy.

That's my favorite. That's the formula he innovated. I wish you would.

He's the one that figured out black people are the best audiences.

That's the first magic special that really put that in the line light. And he created the genre of street magic basically by doing it.

You join the magic club at your high school?

Yeah?

How much pussy did you guys get? Do most high schools have a magic club?

I hope so.

Honestly, I've never heard of such a thing. What can you letter in magic letter?

Oh? Like that? Oh? Is that like a grade in school? Oh?

This is so perfectly. You don't know the reference of letter. If you play football for your high school, you get a letter like a letterman's jacket, and you a letter. Oh okay, I've never lettered. Let's be clear. It's like the chess club. I'm guessing.

Yeah, that's a much better comparison. Okay. How many people were in the magic club in your high school? Fifteen twenty pretty good amount a big high school. I had like four thousand kids in my high school.

Diversity in that club.

Yeah, there was. Arcadia is a diverse city, Okay. In general, magicians.

Diverse, not not between genders stuff and not genderwise.

Why don't women become magicians?

I've always assumed it was because magicians learn it to pick up girls. But there is a bigger magic presence from the women, at least at the Magic Castle. Now they have like a women's night they made up. It's I can see a growing momentum there.

How long does it take to get good at magic?

I felt like after three years I was just like feeling my hands. I'm like, whoa three years of like everyday practice card magic.

I was like, I feel proficient.

I can do anything I really want to do now that's with like twelve sixteen hour practice days.

What yeah, I just know lifed it for a while.

Do you prefer illusions or tricks?

I prefer tricks.

You're just asking the term or the actual like what you refer to it my tricks.

Yeah, I prefer.

Tricks, just because allusions to me means like big stage props, assistants, that kind of thing, and that's a lot of just I don't.

Like you do close up magic is your specialty?

Yeah? That fair?

Yeah, okay, but will you ever do you do know how to do the bigger illusions? Are you building big props? I'm working on stuff. I'm yeah, I'm messing with it. But I'm not like considering myself an illusionist. I'm just trying to make my stage show bigger and better.

You have to have somebody handling all your music cues. That's that's a real job. It is. I can do it myself in a lot of instances unless.

The theater's too big, okay, bluetooth distance, I can do it myself.

Hmmm, all right. I had a lot of work like a real pro Yeah, now it is what you know.

I used to work in chin Lin's Theater for a long time at the mirage.

Yes, Oh is he good? Oh he's phenomenal.

I've never watched a single minute. We pass each other in the hallway. I'm like, hey, shann how was your show? He's sprinting because he does a bit where he runs backstage like a maniac to get to another entrance and and does some I'm like, I always try to stop him talk while he's like he's got to hurry up and get to this other spot, And I'm like, shit, what's going on? How's the audience?

What a show? Yeah? Now, he actually won a competition called fism. Have you ever heard of that one?

Yes, it's called the Olympics of Magic within the community. And if you win that, pretty much every magician of the world knows who you are. And yeah, he won that a couple of years before he won AGT, so I was already a fan of his. I was like, Yes, if someone's gonna win AGT, let it be this guy who's really.

Putting the work in. He's not a fraud in any sense of the word. Are there frauds? How do you cheat your profession?

There's people who I mean, I'm not to say I haven't done this, but I feel soul this when I do it. If you just buy a magic trick and just copy and paste it into your act.

In comedy, I think that's why we stick our nose up at a lot of magicians because when they try to cross over and be funny and it's like, oh they you know who really buys acts hypnotists really a lot of hypnotists by acts, because for a long time comedy clubs hypnotists were taking over too much. They were like doing like two weeks. Normally a comic is there for one week. And then they were like they just buy their act from another hypnotist, and you know, it's like, oh,

React that's not your first radio. Oh have you bought any tricks?

Yeah?

I mean it seems like every trick is just a variation of another trick. Is that not true?

I wouldn't say literally every trick is, but most sure.

Have you ever had to confront another magician that's done a trick that was eerily similar to one that you that was like a personal trick that you had created?

Not too much.

I really do pick stuff that's quite difficult on purpose. So that's if you're gonna copy me, you're gonna work really hard to do it, or you're gonna do a really bad version of it.

Are there magician magicians?

Yeah?

Oh yeah, that's a term that you guys say like a comics co.

Oh yeah, oh that's the thing too. I didn't know that was a thing. Wow, comstomics.

Sure, comics that like we all want to watch this comic perform. A lot of times they take a big, you know, bowl of shit in front of the audience because the audience doesn't like them, but it's like we don't who cares?

Yeah, No, magicians magicians do exist.

A lot of times they'll like do like classics, but they'll change the method and the magicians.

Will be like whoa.

But for late people, the classics are a classic for a reason, so the method is probably not as good as the classic method.

What's a classic? Just an example?

The linking rings? You seen that one? Yeah, I'm sure.

I mean I think I've always had you know, you always end up with a set of rings and that you're playing with it, and I'm always like, well, I don't know how to do this.

This is I don't want to I don't want to learn. I feel the same. No, I don't touch the linking rings. But it's a classic. Yeah.

How often are you thinking of new tricks on your own?

Pretty often? Yeah?

And what what's your process? How do you do you come up with an idea or do you see something? How does it how does it actually become a trick in your act?

The more I evaluate my own process, the more I think it's a product of being ADHD. But I just see what excites me when I see it, what lights my heart up, And then I found those flames and I just try to recreate that for others and share that.

The most bullshit answer I've ever heard. You ever try to con people? You ever do any of that?

In middle school. You did. Yeah, I won like twenty bucks from this kid? Yeah, what was it? What was the trick you were hustling them with? Do you want to see it? Sure? Okay, oh man, I'd love for you to take some money off me. All right, see that right there.

It's like chip tricks when you're playing poker. Yeah, it's just all you said to me right there by spinning That was Hey, I was in my room a lot.

I worked at best Buy. But hold on before you get too excited on the geek squad.

I was on the geek squad. I worked at a best By before it opened. Whoa right, Like, it was just in the best Buy that was opening, and they were getting ready and we had to alphabetize the CDs and get them all. This is back then, and all I would do all day long was practice spinning a CD a case.

That's where all my finger You still do it? Yeah, I got pretty good, pretty cool.

I'd love to see it. It wasn't as good as you, but it was. I could spin it for a bit and I thought that was cool. I was like ah, and then the store open and I quit. All right, Now, this is a really basic trick. This is middle school, by the way, this I get you.

All right, go ahead and pull it in a cardilink, show it up the camera if you want to look away. Once you got it dialed in, go ahead and put it back somewhere. And then once you take the cards, you how to cut the deck? Yeah, perfect, beautiful, all right. So I'm gonna start dealing through the cards face up, just like this. And you know what a poker face is, right, uh huh, So you're gonna keep a poker face if you see your card. I want you to make sure you don't react at all.

Okay.

Oh now I noticed that you started to react a little bit there, so I have a feeling that we're pretty close.

You know what.

Okay, I'll actually bet you that the next card I flip over is going to be your card.

Okay, what gentleman's wager? One dollar?

I mean, that's not gentlemen. Gentlemen's wagers no money, all right, But I reacted too big when I saw it. I also forgot if it was the clubs or space.

That's what the camera's for. So yeah, that one's a real sucker bet. Yeah, you want to know how it's done. I don't know if I do. Okay, so then we'll move right on. That's how you win twenty bucks or one dollar in your case. No, gentleman's bet is always is no money trading places.

Gentlemen's bet. What did Harry Potter mean to you? Dude? It's great, I mean so good for magic and my son.

We just finished reading the first book. Oh really, yeah, I'm so torn because of her politics, you know. Oh sure, I'm just torn. She really doesn't get into it in the book. I mean no, I know it'd be great if she got into pronouns in the book.

Howld is your son?

Maybe you should go to that six? Oh perfect, we talk, he listen. What about cruise ships? Do you ever work on a cruise ship?

Oh? I would love to.

I got offered a really bad contract once for Carnival and I turned it down. It was like six months and I get like two weeks off and it paid but not enough to make.

It worth it.

But are there's some guys that have the great you know bookings where they go for like two weeks to go to Greece and do a couple of shows to come back, Like that's the that's the gig.

You want.

I've never I've never been on a cruise or or performed on one either.

Oh.

I was on the Nightmare cruise, the one the power went out and then we were just drifting in the ocean.

And you were on that cruise, Yeah, just for pleasure.

No, there was a magic convention on the cruise. Oh, magic isn't real? Look at that?

Or was it just too much magic that caused the power out?

I think it was too much magic. How long was the power out? We were out there for about like two or three days something like that.

And how did they and how did they remedy the problem?

I forgot. Oh they got like twenty tug boats from the area to tug the ship to the nearest port. I think San Diego.

Oh man, Yeah, were you like that's it, I'll never do this again. Was it miserable or did you have a good time? I'm regardless.

I had fun because it was a magic convention at the same time. So I'm with all my heroes like that are on this cruise with me, and we're all in it together, and I just thought it was so exhilarating.

What about the food did they still could they prepare food for everyone.

No, the food immediately went bad. That's the first thing that went bad. And we had the craziest food.

Dude.

I had a white bread sandwich with just one beat on it, just like in the middle of a beat, like a slice of a beat, like a canned beat. That was like some of the sandwiches they were putting out like they were out of everything everything that could you sue them?

No?

Well, the military air dropped in like pop tarts and like stuff like that.

Like, yeah, but why wouldn't you sue them? Oh, because they gave us another free cruise and a night in the hotel. They gave us a bunch of shops, so you're gonna get that regardless, plus sue them.

You don't give me a you don't give me a piece of bread or a beat, and then say, oh, we're even Steven's. That's permanently stressed. That stresses me out. And I wasn't even on that ship. You should have just jumped over right away, just jumped.

Over like I'm fucking out of here, walk the plank and they're like, what why they got jump?

I don't know, throw them a dinghy? Do you really consider la to be the best city for magicians.

Yeah, I would make that argument personally. Yeah, but you could argue some any big city almost. But the Magic Castle alone, like really takes La to the next level.

It draws magicians from everywhere to move here.

They call it the Mecca of magic. For sure, it does.

I've never referred to La as the mecca of magic, but I might start. There's not a lot of magicians now leaving La for Austin, Texas.

More so during the pandemic. Explain to people what this, what the whole thing is.

Yeah, it's a private nightclub for magicians, open in the sixties, I believe, and you have to audition to join as a magician member.

I joined as a Jinger member. So they have a.

Program for thirteen to twenty year olds, so I was of seventeen eighteen when I joined.

That they allow thirteen year olds to hang out in this cool Hollywood castle, and that seems that seems dangerous.

Yeah, it is dangerous. Yeah.

I wouldn't let your kids go there if you don't want them to become magicians, filthy magicians.

If you want to go to the Magic Castle and watch a show, you can't. You have to be a member. How's it work.

Yeah, you have to be invited by a member or be a member. And how much does it cost to be a member? It depends there's a magician membership, in a non magician membership.

Magician membership, what's that cost? I think five K maybe eight k something like that a year. Yeah, I think so.

And then the food is just mediocre at best or is it good?

Are you a real food snob? Yes, then mediocre at best, sir. I think it's pretty good, but maybe I'm using.

My wife recently went. She with a group of girls and they were torn. There was half of them were civilized in the other half were like, oh my god, this is amazing. But I don't it's confusing. They're just like eating shrimp cocktail in a small room. I went there once with teller. Cool, just me and tell her what Yeah your friends with teller? No okay, but I mean friendly. Let me tell you something. Wouldn't shut up? That sounds about right, shut up. I'm like, oh, this

He had ideas, man, he had ideas.

Yeah, I've seen him. Letually they call him the smartest man of magic. Actually, oh do they did he write that? Not that I know of. I'm not too close to them. Unfortunate you got to introduce us.

I'll introduce you, and then I'll walk away quickly. Talk about some of the celebrities you performed magic for.

Oh, yes, uh.

Probably one of my favorite experiences had to be Tarantino. I was working at the Magic Castle. It was his birthday, I found out. So this is late in the week. I'm working at the Parlor of Pressed Digitation, the seventy seat theater Riac seating. Before the show starts, the host comes up to me. They run the room and introduce me, and they said, hey, Quentin Tarantino is going to be the next show with his group like twelve. People don't

Okay, So Quentin Tarantino for his birth birthdays, like I want to go watch magic and get wasted. Mm hmm okay, all right, probably.

Yeah, the latter first, and then we do the show. And there's actually a new bit in that show where I open up my briefcase and all this red light pours out on me and I'm just getting stuff in and out of it the whole show, but it's totally like a pulp fiction kind of reference. And then the show before that too, the Palace of Mystery, they were using the kill Bill Whistle song, and he thought that we had planned this whole night for his birthday, just

I hope he remembers that. I doubt it, though, do a.

Trick if you'd like to, If you got something that I could see.

Don't temp me with a good time. I'll show you my favorite one.

So I was actually looking for a card to represent you, just based on the time we've got to know each other, just from your energy being Well, you've never done tarot reading, it's not that far off, all right, No, I've never done a tarot reading. Okay, you live in La No, I'm not that guy.

Let's go what am I doing?

Okay, so I made a couple of predictions. I normally would just do one, but you have a lot of layers, so I'm making four cardination for you. All right, Can you think of a number one to ten? You don't have to tell me, but if you see a matching number, go and pull it out. So if you thought of a ten, you'd pull out of ten.

I understand what matching means. Okay, I work with a lot.

Of drunk people, and then show the camera, show over any carriers. Shouldn't take too long. And once you got that, go and put it back face down in a face of deck. That makes it easier down. Yeah, that makes it easier for me. I appreciate early morning.

It seems ridiculous.

Peop always wonder what does your card have to do with the predictions from earlier? Well, all those give me clues as to the type of person you are underneath the mask, so to speak.

For example, are you left or right handed? I am right handed, but I throw a frisbee left handed.

Oh okay, yeah, I'm the opposite. I'm left hand.

I do this yeah, okay, with that, that makes a little bit harder, but I'll tell you what. The first card is going to tell me how much therapy you've done and how well it's worked in your heart?

What color is it? Red or black? It's very red? Nice work.

You pretend like everything's dour and you're jaded, but you are living the life, irn't ship. The next one tells me are you well rounded or you're sharp? And I can see you're a very well rounded individual, of course, the best people are. And then the third one will tell me how confident you are, and that's pretty rock solid, dude, not bad, got your own podcasts and everything. The last one will tell me, most importantly, how kind you are.

You hear that? Well? I only say that because I wasn't able to quite narrow it down.

Actually between the four kings, which one best represents you as a person? And people always wonder what does these cards have to do with the one that you picked? You remember which one you picked?

If I remember correctly, you put a card face down in the deck and it happened to be a four. If I'm not mistaken, right? What a four? No? You sure? Yes? I'm sure I don't mess us up.

But it's always the four Kings at this point, and the one that I thought represented you, Daniel, that was always the six of Hearts.

You like that, don't you.

I'm you just have to just and I'm not somebody that watches that and tries to figure it out in any way. I know I'm not going to figure this out. Let's just watch and enjoy. Look at that. That's the way ridiculous. Well, I thank you, one of my favorites. You imagine imagine being able to do that with cards.

I always tell people you're just born with it. The problem with magic, too is so much reading and homework. Yeah, and then you got to read it and reread it.

And I mean, to make a trick like in your repertoire, it has to become a part of your soul. I'm sure it's like that with good comedy material, no, no, not you bone.

You can stumble across a good like I can be on stage and I can just stumble into a joke that works. It's rare on stage for a magician to just be like, I'm just gonna see what happens here and just try to improvise magic.

It can happen.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's certain schools of technique. That's solely a thing.

My wife was brought on stage at Copperfield show when she was a child, not a child, but like thirteen.

I don't know how I of how old was she. I think she was like thirteen. I think she's at thirteen. How does he know? I don't know.

He because he fucking loves Copperfield, So it was like fascinated by the story and he knows the trick that she did. It was a floating row.

I know that one.

Yeah, right, So and then and then she she tried to what she.

Tried to do Pete. She reached out to touch She.

Tried to reach out and touch it. He swatted her hand, and and and then and then after that she did she got her ticket canceled. She was supposed to go to the Bahamas? What with him? Can we do the floating mint? You guys, did you want to see this one?

Yeah? We could do the floating mint?

What do I have to do? Those are the worst mints? Do you have any mints? Do you have the fresh Maker?

No? I'd like it like an Altoid.

Maybe mentosa. I don't an altoids float or do you need a hole in the middle float? They're just smaller. This plays better?

Okay, fine, let's do this. What do you want me to do?

I want you to pick one and open one.

Am I touching something that's gonna go in your mouth?

Yeah? Anyway, this is how a magician eats. A minute. If I stand for this, do whatever you gotta do. Carl's nervous about this trick. Here we go. Carl the dog is nervous about the trek. Uh huh. He fucking hates magic. I did mean a dog that hated cards.

I think he was like one of those like hurting dogs something about cards.

You like peacocks? Oh you like peacocks for real? Though? Way is here? Wait? Did you pluck that off a peacock? By chance? So? I grew up in a little town called Arcadie. Maybe you heard of it?

And okay, yeah, there's this off my table.

There's peacocks. There's peacocks in.

My neighborhood here there are? Yeah, no way, they're loud as fuck. That's right, sweet peacock. Well, you have peacocks in your town, you got to get you a feather for your pocket square feather.

I'm not wearing a feather.

In like fifty years when your when your shirt is modernized, then you could have a peacock feather in there.

I put this on specifically for you.

You knew my seventies kink.

It felt like it was like a magician could wear a shirt like this.

Well, it's a little warmon here, so you know it'd be nice and breathable. I like that about it. Is that like rayon or like.

A Oh, I don't think it's rayon. It's nice and light. It is. It is nice. It's got a little shine too it I thought. Listen. I tried.

I tried to coordinate fuck Mary, kill David Blaine, Chris Angel, David Copperfield.

Fuck Chris Angel, Mary, David Blaine and killed David Copperfield. Wow, what about you? I don't know. I think I was. I was with you. No, I'm not going to marry David Blaine.

Marry for money. You can get the copper fielder out. Probably you'd be taken care of.

That'd be nice.

I want to go to that eye. Have you seen every magicians show?

Every magician is a big oa, like the big you've seen the Big Guy. I haven't seen Matt Frankle yet. I heard it's phenomenal. I heard it's the best show on the strip, but I haven't seen it yet.

You might be too young, But did you ever see Amazing Jonathan in his heyday not live?

I've seen the recordings, I've met him a few times. I mean he was good. Yeah, he's a comic, he's a real comic.

He's he was the one comic magician that that like bridged the gap because comics loved him and magicians knew that he was legit.

Yeah.

I remember one time Chris Angel did a thing and it was annoying the shit out of him, but Amazing Jonathan kept taking Chris's watch and Chris wasn't catching it and it was fucking killing me.

Legend. Ah, So good is Chris Angel good or no? Yeah? I think he's good? Is he? I mean, you know, there's a lot of talk in the community, but I.

Stopped I as soon as fucking the chains that that look. I'm not like, don't, I don't. I can't watch that look.

Mind for you kid, like six or eight seasons or something, I don't care. It's a lot of work man.

No I'm saying. I'm not saying he wasn't successful. I don't want to look at him. Let's talk about looks. Yeah, okay, when did you say that? This is my thing? I'm doing the mustache. I'm growing that thing out in Lockdown. I was going full cave man.

And then I got cast on an episode of Jubilee Find the False Magician some it's big YouTube channel, okay, and my manager is like, Jeff, what are you doing, shave.

I'm like, let me try the mustache. Just let me try it.

So I was able to try it, and then all the comments to mention me we're talking about the mustache, and I was like see, and he's like, all right, now.

You got to keep it. Oh geez, you don't have to.

You know what the best part about it is no girls will tell you immediately if they love it or hate it.

It saves so much time to it. Well, it's polarizing, and the few that love it, you're in though. All right, we got to go to Silver Lake and that's all you need. Closer the Malibu good for you?

Rank these movies about magic, the prestige, Now you see me, the incredible Bert Wonderstone and.

The Illusionists by I don't know, it doesn't count for anything. No, okay, that's off the list.

We want to put him in the Illusions is fine, We'll put the Illusionists in.

Sweet Prestige would be number one, illusionst number two, Bert one to some number three. Do you like Bert Wonderstone? Oh, now you see me? It's not on the list for me.

Did you see it? Yeah, it's amazing. They made rain go up. I hate it. They made Rain go by the way, I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure now you see me?

Has another one coming out right now?

They do? They do? That's good for magic. It's good for magic.

Yeah, it's just I like magic when it's in movies because the tricks can be so much bigger because they don't have to be real at all.

I hate how it raises the expectations for magicians and it's like, bro, I'm not going to be in a giant bubble floating around the audience or whatever, like come.

On, Yeah, that's true. But making Rain Go Up was really neat. I thought that is cool. Hot snow falling up? You don't don't you ever taught that movie?

Is great? Oh? Man? Wow, you don't like magic be like that movie. I love it. I love it's your favorite. The first of the second one. The second one was the rain one. I don't think I've bothered to watch the second one.

Oh well, then you are you not gonna see the third one?

Though? I wasn't playing. Based on this conversation, I will now you said you grew.

Up watching magic specials on Fox. Yeah, Fox aired Breaking the Magician's Code. Did you regret supporting the Masked Magician?

No?

I found out that a lot of the stuff he reveals is like some BS explanation that he didn't really give away the real secrets. In a lot of cases, somebody did. But I mean, honestly, who remembers the methods these days? If you saw it back then, like what do you remember? And anyway, it's good for magic. I think it's just any publicity type of thing. Will you tell people how a trick is done? I've done it

I go, oh, everyone's got a price.

I did that one time in this drunk guy He's like, how about one thousand dollars and I'm like, yeah, he starts counting hundreds on.

The table, and you did it for a thout. You gave it to him. I taught it to him.

I gave it a little bit of your magic. Soul died that.

Night, Yes exactly. It was the worth it.

There's no chance he remembered. The thing is, you can tell me how a trick works. That doesn't mean I can do the trick.

No, not at all. I told him he hit me up for his zoom lesson or something. If you want to go over it. He didn't give a care Like he couldn't care less.

When I first started doing stand up comedy in nineteen ninety four, another open mic friend of mine was a magician and we just hung out all the time, just the two. And I don't even remember his name. That speaks more about those times. Yeah, we were fun, we hung out, We had good times. He might be listening to this to this day and I maybe he's successful, maybe he's killed himself. But here's what I remember the

We go into the details.

I guess I would only describe it as like a European like bikini thing, and I go, what the fuck is wrong with you? And he's like, no, man, this is for for the chicks. Chicks like love sexy underwear. And I'm like, magicians are fucking weird.

That was my take from it.

You just remember his underwear.

Ah, that take away completely fair by the way they are weird.

But what you never tried silk underwear before? It on ireat yourself. You wear silk.

Underwear sometimes, I say, I get it hot. I'm always wearing layers right when I'm working, I get hot, man. And you know I'm a bigger guy. So I found that silk underwear breathes the best. It doesn't cling to you. It just like wants to not touch you. And it's just airflow.

Man.

I see so me bringing this up, you didn't believe it. We go, I know I'm getting new for Christmas. You own a top hat?

Yeah?

Here?

Is it a magic hat or is it just just a nice hat to wear?

It was a nice hat to wear that I've poured cake batter in and it's disgusting now.

But it looks like a top hat. Does it smell? No? No, I don't think so.

Oh how do you clean cake batter out of a hat?

I just discovered white vinegar. Maybe I'll try that the smell. I don't like the smell of white vinegar. Yeah, I don't either, but you delude it. Maybe I don't know. I'm just listening. I appreciate what you're saying. I'm a single guy. I'm trying to make things work.

Do you want to be a single guy?

I mean, I'm enjoying it, but I would like to get married. Uh huh. How's the married life? I love it?

Yeah, I love but I was designed to be married. But I also love that I didn't get married, like at year age. I waited till it's forty at least or something.

Were you worried about like you marry someone and then all of a sudden, now you're walking on pins and needles and it's no fun, excellent stuff.

You've never worried about that. No.

I made sure I married somebody that I knew.

Yeah, you've hatted them? Well, okay, I mean yeah, I knew her for years and years. She'd heard all the stories. That's what it.

Yeah, what's the biggest difference between abracadabra and Ali Kazam?

Abercadabra is a real I think it's a Hebrew word. Oh, and it means I create as I speak.

So see right right there, the interview worth it, right, I'll be honest with you, like that was I never in a million years did I know that that was a Hebrew word that.

Meant what does it mean? I created as I speak?

I create as I speak. Abracadabra and Ali Kazam. I think that's just Shaquille O'Neal invented it. Yeah, that was in Chao. Did you like Shazam? What do you think of Harry Houdini.

He's the most famous magician of all time. He worked super hard to create the What was.

He to me?

An outsider? Of course, he seemed like a stunt man. Yeah, sure, is that fair or no?

Yeah? He created that for himself. Yeah, and then he took Then he how'd he die? He got punched in the stomach when he wasn't ready, ruptured his spleen, I think yes, And then he did the show with a ruptured spleen.

And then they were taken to the hospital. After when he died. But if he didn't do the show, he would have lived. Show must go on, see it doesn't. It doesn't have to go on because sometimes I have to go diarrhea. And you know what Pete does instead of bringing me up the bucket, just fucking puts music back on.

Wait, you don't keep a bucket behind the stage. Show.

God, everybody that's on the show gets gifts. What It's just stuff that I was laying around my house. Then I give it to you because I don't want it anymore. It's never it's never good stuff.

Okay.

First thing I want you to have is a cable.

Yes, this is from if it's an adults, No.

It's an adult. It's my son's.

Ah cool, cool, cool, cool as this.

Eddie bought my son this. It's a magic kit. And I'm like, my kid's not it's too much. He's got too many magic kids two hundred. I don't know there's stuff in there. Wow you know wait, oh it was my son's thumb.

You know. You give this to somebody, they'll love it. That's great.

Look at this. This is what Eddie buys my kid. Okay, tell me, in what world do you think I have a DVD player. I don't have a DVD player.

Had a little outdated and what else do you need? Look at this? What is this?

Oh wait a second, let's say it's got a trapdoor in it?

Whoa exposure? My fault? Do you want to see my wand?

Yeah, you have your own wand I brought my own.

Wand and my bag of tricks? Remember that? Holy shit?

Am I I'm not reaching out? Am I supposed touch it?

Hey?

No bullshit? That will be powers that transfer.

If it'll let you touch it? Yeah? Yeah, why what is who can what does this do? Not?

Does this turning it into anything? You make it flowers? Yeah, it's a stick, but it's uh And my friend a Codo made this by hand though, and it's like made out of ironwood, so it sinks in water, this wood. And I've dropped it in the pool before an accident and networks and then.

What can you swim? Yeah?

Luckily it fell in a shallow part of the pool. I was at a gig and I was able to reach and grab it. But that was pure luck. And then the outside you know what that material is on the outside, I don't all right, So this is a baseball stitch just on a baseball, but that leather is actually a stingwray leather m Yeah. Yeah, it's one of the most durable exotic leathers. It's covered in calcium nodules because they kill the sting ray just to make your wand no nos.

Okay, you have to go.

You have to go wait for a stingray to shed or do you have to go peel them?

How does it work? Yeah, it's like a reverse skin draft. To think about.

This hat won't close. There's springs in it. There's weird stuff going on in here. It's trapped doors. I can feel stuff in here. Whatever, take this off. Just this is your I just want you to own my son's magic hit.

You get all this off the desk's garbage. This is nice.

This you're gonna love my My manager gave this to me recently. Okay, is something up your sleeve? Rightok at this? Where do you see this jacket? It's kind of like a snuggie but it's different. You're gonna love this. Here you go, there, you go. Put this on next time you're cold. I know you're warm right now.

Try this for a second. Is this down? Yeah?

I guess this isn't here. Here's your there's your you wear you wear? No, no, that's that's the wrongest thing.

That arm okay a normal one. Okay, yeah, now put that around. Oh wow, this is such a around. You're gonna love it all right. Where do you see this jacket?

The magic that you can do in this I'm telling you it's perfect for magic. Got a nice boxy shape to it. Yeah, yeah, you'll feel flattering.

You kind of to be honest with that with it, you.

Look like like somebody that would teach martial arts.

You're gonna love this jacket. I am gonna love this jacket while your manager really hooks it up.

Yeah, I hated it never never once wore it. Okay, take that off.

Excuse me.

I'm still it's too hot. It's too hot in here. You're gonna burn up.

I have ideas for you, yes, okay, we're just collaborating here for for making the act a bigger No pun intended with bigger. But have you thought about having an assistant?

I just had.

I have done it on several occasions, including this past Saturday.

Okay, here's my pitch for an assistant. It's and I'm not. I'm not doing a fat joke. I would like a large man as an assistant. I want him to dress kind of ridiculous. I also want him to be painfully bad, where you're having to fight with him and argue constantly. At some point you might even tell him, you know what, just sit in the audience you're this is this show is worse because of you, and then just bring somebody

I was thinking, like a buff guy in a vest and he's super loyal to me and like has a very simple way of speaking.

Okay, you're just trying to fulfill some weird fantasy from high school.

But I want him to do a ritual before every trick, like he's like, and then the assistant has to clean it up and it gets more elaborate and more messy every trick, and THESS like, oh, come on, I.

Like this big guy that you tell to get into a box and he's like, I can't get in that box, Like there's no physical way.

Do assistants want to be magicians?

Most don't, Some do eventually when they are rounded enough. I think usually they're dancers or actresses or something, so they just kind of will.

Kind of dancer.

Well, all right, if you're an illusionist and you've got them going in your illusions and cutting them in half and stuff, you want to petite dancer, probably because they just start gonna be the most pliable.

Yeah, pliable, and they can slot in. They can fit in anything. They're not gonna break your stuff because they're too heavy or whatever.

Right child, Are you allowed to use a child or their rules against that?

Yeah? People you will use their kids if you know they have kids, or you know why you use somebody else's kid.

I don't want to cut my own kid in half, but there's a few of his friends I wouldn't mind fucking they're gonna whack at. How many magicians use identical twins for assistance Not too many, because I feel like you could pull off some real cool tricks that.

Way, and not regularly that I know of. But that story in the prestige, for example, about the magician being a twin.

That's real. Stop bringing up the prestige. You open Pandora's box. I can't. Oh wait, that's right, I brought up prestige my fault.

I appreciate magic. I appreciate the amount of time that it takes to become good at it. It's the same way I feel about stand up comedy. I would never go see it.

There's a lot of overlap. I can't understand where you're coming from.

Well, I'm just I'm not gonna go see stand up comedy. That's how I've always felt about my profession. I've secretly been embarrassed by it.

Sure I've been there. I hear you. But there are people that I'm sure you would love to see. You know, you have heroes in comedy.

None I do, And when I get to see them, I'm like, oh my goodness, they're amazing. Same with magicians that I see. Magicians that do think, I'm like, this is the most impressive thing I've ever seen in my life. But when I'm at home at four or five pm and I'm planning the night, Magic's not hitting the list fair enough.

It is for you gotta be pretty nerdy to be into it like that. Well, listen, thank you for being on the show. I appreciate it. And you know I can't wait for my next birthday party.

I'm gonna call you. Don't tell me what a good time? Huh, We'll do it. Thank you, cheers, Thank you, Pasha.

I want to thank Jeff for being on the show. Oh shit, Jeff turned into my dog Carl. You like magic Carl.

Hmm?

You like that one peanut butter trick we do.

That's not a trick.

He loves it. He loves it all right.

Well, what do you think should we do our plugs tossshowstore dot com. Hey, by the way, I saw somebody at my last show with the Carl shirt on, and I gave him a right up front. Okay, we got a lot of tours coming up.

Eddies.

Eddie's on tour with me and without me. I'm gonna be all over the Midwest. I'm excited about that. And when I go to the Midwest, oh man, let me tell you all the activities I'm gonna do. Kansas City, I'm gonna eat, I'm gonna get some barbecue, Omaha, gonna go to the College World Series with my father in law. Okay, Minneapolis, might go to them All America to the Nickelodeon Middle with my son. What ill I do in Milwaukee? I'll probably runt a Harley Davidson.

Why not? Yeah, aren't they from Milwaukee? Yeah? Okay?

Then Madison. Guess what I'm gonna do? Mushrooms? Okay, Yeah, do mushrooms with the college kids. Yep, hang out with the college kids. Do some mushrooms. Then heading over to Chicago. Guess I'm gonna do there. I'll pop in on the Pope, say hi to him. Then I'm going to avenge my father's beating. My father got jumped when he was like nineteen or twenty years old when he was visiting Chicago, And I'm gonna find those guys and I'm gonna beat the shit out of them. Now they're probably in their

You don't? I called my father dad.

As her daddy.

I'm gonna venge his beating. I'm gonna venge his beating. All right, Well, it's time for our free plug, So let's hit the music.

There you go, all right? I don't want that music to stop, you know what, Let him play it, Let him play a little longer.

You like it? It's good, right?

You know kind of what genre would you say that?

Uh? What do they call that? Big swing? Is that what that's called a big swing? That's big swing? I like it? Cat all right?

This free plug, ladies, get ready to flick your beans.

I really got to read these free plugs before.

Are you sure? What is this? Ladies?

Get ready to flick your beans to an all male review? Because May twentieth, it's Girls' night out the show at the Milk Parlor in Blacksburg, Virginia. Whoa a male review? H that's tonight?

All right?

Whether you're celebrating a birthday, bachelorette, divorce, or you're dirty thirty, don't miss the most exciting ladies night out of the year. Also exciting, we'll be watching groups of girls split the check at.

The end of the night. That's the real thing.

Oh that's always fun. Ah a mail review. I've never been to a mail review. You been to one?

Nope? Mean neither.

I wonder if there are they gonna allow touching at this one. I bet usually mail reviews they allow touching. I guess I'm going stripper club rules where you always have to keep your hands on your side. But I think I think male reviews they let you touch as much as you want.

I hope.

So show starts at eight and the doors open at seven, which gives you and your ladies an hour pound drinks and forget that you are married and live in Blacksburg. General admission tickets are nineteen ninety five, but if you want to be a VIP, and trust me you do, you're gonna want to pay thirty four to ninety five and enjoy the benefit of premium seats plus a meet and greet and a pick with the cast following the show. Well, that's not bad. If ever, you were going to want

The milk Parlor.

It's located in uh, uh what is it? Two to one one Draper Road Northwest, which is right next to the armory. Is there a website that we can preview the boys?

We can just go you're talking about a road trip on the road.

I like this if we were broadcast live from the Girls Night Out, the show, you know they call us the show.

I wonder if you know what you ought to do?

There ought to be like another tier package where it guarantees that you get brought up on stage. You know, my wife and Pete's wife went to uh this show, uh.

What was it called the Thunder from down Under?

They were at Magic Mike in Las Vegas, and uh, Pete's wife Sam got brought up on stage and they they brought her up in the air and a harnessed and they asked her if she had any heart conditions, and she didn't. She had the time of her life. She came back sad as shit, eating grin on her face and I've never seen Pete more disappointed in his wife. He's just furious. I guess she didn't tell him that

Uh well, anyway, see you next week.