I was driving home yesterday listening to a Steve Forbert CD. "Romeo's Tune" (a song I love and that he dedicated to the memory of Florence Ballard, late of The Supremes) came on. I started singing with it. I do a pretty dead-on imitation of Mr. Forbert on that particular song. A friend once commented on how eerily I capture his sound.
Similarly, I do a pretty decent imitation of Elton John on "Candle in the Wind" - the one from the Live in Australia album, not the one from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road; I find the former has more emotion than the latter.
Even if a song is not in my key or my range I can transpose and still sound at least a little like the artist. For example, I tend to sing harmony rather than lead on early Beach Boys songs.
When do I sound the worst? When I'm singing 'cold,' without a recorded reference. In other words, I can sing like other people, but I can't really sing like me.
I think this is because I learned to sing from the radio and from records. My goal was to sound like the artists I was hearing. If I were serious about learning to sing I'd hire a teacher, learn to read music, and learn to sing like me.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
What's the word?
It was session night with a friend, so we met at the usual place. (In truth, I'm not sure he's still a friend. I performed the cardinal sin of magic - I offered my honest opinion about something he was involved in. Haven't heard from him since.) Anyway, he brought along another guy, a relative newbie to the art of magic. After some general conversation the guy made a strange request:
"Show me a sleight."
Keep in mind I'd never seen him perform, didn't really know his interests or skill level, and even if I did it would be an odd request. Kinda like meeting a piano player and asking him/her to play a note for you!
I wish I could say the guy asked this because he was relatively new to magic. But stranger things have come out of the mouths of experienced magicians. I have heard (and been asked) this question more than once: "What's the best palm?" Now let's assume for the sake of a family audience that we're talking about cards - it's still way too open a question. Here is a partial list of the things you need to take into consideration before deciding which method to use to palm a single card:
Are the cards starting out face up or face down? Will the card need to end up with its face against your palm or with its back against your palm? Will it be held out for a very short time or for an extended period? What will happen to the palmed card - put back on the deck, loaded into a wallet, slid into a spectator's pocket? How many people present - one, five, two hundred? How big are your hands? What happens just before you want to palm the card? What palming methods are in your repertoire? etc., etc., etc.
It's a bit like being in the middle of a conversation and having someone say, in no particular context, "Give me a word." Well, I think the best word at that point would be, "huh?" In other words, context is everything.
Want a word? OK, the word for today is "lagniappe."
Want the best palm? It's the one that serves your purposes at the time.
"Show me a sleight."
Keep in mind I'd never seen him perform, didn't really know his interests or skill level, and even if I did it would be an odd request. Kinda like meeting a piano player and asking him/her to play a note for you!
I wish I could say the guy asked this because he was relatively new to magic. But stranger things have come out of the mouths of experienced magicians. I have heard (and been asked) this question more than once: "What's the best palm?" Now let's assume for the sake of a family audience that we're talking about cards - it's still way too open a question. Here is a partial list of the things you need to take into consideration before deciding which method to use to palm a single card:
Are the cards starting out face up or face down? Will the card need to end up with its face against your palm or with its back against your palm? Will it be held out for a very short time or for an extended period? What will happen to the palmed card - put back on the deck, loaded into a wallet, slid into a spectator's pocket? How many people present - one, five, two hundred? How big are your hands? What happens just before you want to palm the card? What palming methods are in your repertoire? etc., etc., etc.
It's a bit like being in the middle of a conversation and having someone say, in no particular context, "Give me a word." Well, I think the best word at that point would be, "huh?" In other words, context is everything.
Want a word? OK, the word for today is "lagniappe."
Want the best palm? It's the one that serves your purposes at the time.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Waiter, there's a man in my soup!
Once upon a time my wife's car died so she drove me to work in my car. My work has a security gate that requires a badge to enter after 5:00 p.m. There were several problems with that, especially that particular day:
1. I get off at 6:00 p.m., and
2. I had my badge, which I needed to get around the building, so
3. my wife stopped outside the security gate, which is 150 feet or so from the building proper (remember my bad knee) and
4. it picked that day, at that time, to rain like hell. I was soaked when I got to the car.
We decided to go out to eat. My first stop was to the restroom to towel off as best I could (read: I was still sopping wet).
The restaurant had a strolling magician. The food was good. The magician was not. I'm not even particularly talking about his tricks. I just cringed at how he approached the table and how he treated the patrons. Some examples:
The sad thing is that I'm sure if I asked the guy he'd say he had a very successful performance. After all, he stayed at the table for twenty minutes, right? And that gave him one more notch in his belt - one more "successful" performance.
I was discussing magic with a friend one time, and the various skill levels among people despite the fact that some had been in magic a very long time. He then said something that stuck with me, and that I think of when I see someone like our strolling clueless wonder (worker). He said, and I'm paraphrasing, that some people have thirty years of experience in magic and some people have one year of experience thirty times.
I once did restaurant magic for a living (for a very short time). I was very hesitant to approach a table. People were there to eat - I was a surprise, and, contrary to most magicians' beliefs, not everyone likes surprises, and not everyone likes magic. I tried to be in tune with my audience, and if they weren't up for what I was doing I would cut it short and thank them for their time. I also tried to work from my pockets, and I seldom set anything on the table. I never touched plates or utensils that were still in use. That just struck me as wrong. Still does. If food came I wrapped up and moved on unless I was specifically requested to stay. In that same vein, I kept my routines short, and the few routines that ran a bit long were modular so I had several stopping points in case I needed one.
If I were to do restaurant work again I think I'd have table tents printed (or talk the restaurant into having them printed) that say something like, "Place this card near the end of your table if you'd like to see the magician." Something like that would be relatively cheap at your local Kinko's, and it'd serve a dual purpose: it would inform the patrons that a magician was on premises, and it would give them a method to signal said magician and let him/her know they were up for a performance. Then you could approach a table and know you weren't interrupting.
Do that.
*************
Since writing this I've been informed that several performaers have used the table tent idea. I've heard the names Don Alan, Scott Guinn, and Eugene Burger, among others, mentioned. Great minds...
1. I get off at 6:00 p.m., and
2. I had my badge, which I needed to get around the building, so
3. my wife stopped outside the security gate, which is 150 feet or so from the building proper (remember my bad knee) and
4. it picked that day, at that time, to rain like hell. I was soaked when I got to the car.
We decided to go out to eat. My first stop was to the restroom to towel off as best I could (read: I was still sopping wet).
The restaurant had a strolling magician. The food was good. The magician was not. I'm not even particularly talking about his tricks. I just cringed at how he approached the table and how he treated the patrons. Some examples:
- He carried a large wooden case with a drawer that contained his props. When he approached the table he touched peoples plates (with food on them) to move them to accommodate his case. Don't do that.
- He then asked people to shift their chairs around and pay attention to him rather than their food. Don't do that.
- He started his routine by saying, "We're going to play a game, and you can't win." Don't do that.
- He then did an incredibly long routine while the people were trying to eat. Don't do that.
- He invoked religion in the middle of the routine without gauging his audience. Don't do that.
- He performed for more than twenty minutes at the one table. Don't do that. (I could tell they wanted him to leave, and other tables wanted him to perform for them. He was oblivious.)
The sad thing is that I'm sure if I asked the guy he'd say he had a very successful performance. After all, he stayed at the table for twenty minutes, right? And that gave him one more notch in his belt - one more "successful" performance.
I was discussing magic with a friend one time, and the various skill levels among people despite the fact that some had been in magic a very long time. He then said something that stuck with me, and that I think of when I see someone like our strolling clueless wonder (worker). He said, and I'm paraphrasing, that some people have thirty years of experience in magic and some people have one year of experience thirty times.
I once did restaurant magic for a living (for a very short time). I was very hesitant to approach a table. People were there to eat - I was a surprise, and, contrary to most magicians' beliefs, not everyone likes surprises, and not everyone likes magic. I tried to be in tune with my audience, and if they weren't up for what I was doing I would cut it short and thank them for their time. I also tried to work from my pockets, and I seldom set anything on the table. I never touched plates or utensils that were still in use. That just struck me as wrong. Still does. If food came I wrapped up and moved on unless I was specifically requested to stay. In that same vein, I kept my routines short, and the few routines that ran a bit long were modular so I had several stopping points in case I needed one.
If I were to do restaurant work again I think I'd have table tents printed (or talk the restaurant into having them printed) that say something like, "Place this card near the end of your table if you'd like to see the magician." Something like that would be relatively cheap at your local Kinko's, and it'd serve a dual purpose: it would inform the patrons that a magician was on premises, and it would give them a method to signal said magician and let him/her know they were up for a performance. Then you could approach a table and know you weren't interrupting.
Do that.
*************
Since writing this I've been informed that several performaers have used the table tent idea. I've heard the names Don Alan, Scott Guinn, and Eugene Burger, among others, mentioned. Great minds...
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
My other passion
Other than magic, another passion of mine is music. I grew up in a musical household. I love music of all kinds, from classical to rock to jazz to folk to blues to rap to electronica to alt country to stuff I really can't classify.
To my chagrin I don't play an instrument. My mom and her mom both played piano and organ. Some day I may learn. I tried learning harmonica once upon a time but my cat would have none of it - he howled and tried to rip the harp from my hands. Damn music critics.
In light of my love of music, I thought I'd introduce any readers I may have (hello? HELLO?) to a music site a co-worker shared with me: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/. Wonderful alternative music (whatever that is these days...alternative to what?) and free downloads.
Enjoy.
To my chagrin I don't play an instrument. My mom and her mom both played piano and organ. Some day I may learn. I tried learning harmonica once upon a time but my cat would have none of it - he howled and tried to rip the harp from my hands. Damn music critics.
In light of my love of music, I thought I'd introduce any readers I may have (hello? HELLO?) to a music site a co-worker shared with me: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/. Wonderful alternative music (whatever that is these days...alternative to what?) and free downloads.
Enjoy.
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