Mayce Galoni on "What's so funny?"

The following was sent to me by a reader who wishes to be known as The Magic Demon.

Hamilton-born, Vancouver-based 23 year old stand up comic Mayce Galoni was recently the featured guest on Vancouver Co-op Radio's (CFRO) "What's So Funny"? (Live broadcast: Sunday, January 21st, 2018). The very funny and very likable Galoni got his start performing as a strolling restaurant magician while still a very young teenager. A graduate of the Sorcerer's Safari, he transitioned to comedy when he started writing jokes for his magic act.

The podcast of the hour long broadcast will soon be available here:
www.wsf1027fm.blogspot.com and/or at www.coopradio.org. Check it out!

From What's So Funny?:

Our first guest of 2018 makes his semi-debut tonight. It's the New Faces edition of What's So Funny? tonight. Well, Newish Faces. Standup comic Mayce Galoni isn't even 25 but he's making quite a name for himself, even before he moved here last year from Hamilton. He's actually from a place called "Binbrook" that I don't even think is a real place, so we'll just say Hamilton because that's where he started out.

Read more and listen to podcast.

Billy Kidd in GeniiOnline

From the article "Canadian Magician Billy Kidd wants her work to speak for itself" by Chloe Olewitz on Dec 1 from GeniiOnline:

To Kidd, the question of women in magic is a source of frustration. She’s not convinced that the lay audience is even aware that there are fewer female magicians out there, and she’s not sure she cares. “It’s never affected my career, it’s never affected me getting gigs, it’s never affected my audience,” Kidd said. Meanwhile, she does take issue with the push to turn non-magical pretty women into magicians for nothing more than the money-making novelty of putting a female on the bill. “I sometimes think I’m sexist against my own sex,” she admits.

Kidd doesn’t promote herself as a female magician—she is a magician, what else is there to talk about? “Take anyone who’s not a performer and make them famous because of that one little gimmick, their ego will completely explode. And it hurts the people who do put all that time and effort in, because they deserve it. They deserve the spotlight more in that regard,” Kidd says. She believes that sexism is more a fabric of our society today than it is specific affliction in the magic community, and she’d rather not draw so much attention to the topic. “The whole topic just segregates us even more. If your magic is strong enough, your magic should speak for itself.”

Read more.

Shawn Farquhar on why the world needs magic

At the end of the post, check out the "What's So Funny?" podcast with Shawn.

Watch the 2015 video on The Society of American Magicians YouTube channel:

Shawn Farquhar has been entertaining audiences around the globe for over two decades. His magic has been seen on Television shows like the X-Files and Highlander, in Motion Pictures like Spooky House and the Fly II, for corporate clients like IBM and Konica, and on the most luxurious cruise vessels such as Norwegian Star and Radiance of the Seas.

Shawn is a Life Member of The Society of American Magicians and the Dean of the largest Assembly in Canada and is the 2014-2015 International President of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and immediate Past President of the Canadian Association of Magicians.

From What's So Funny?:

Everyone knows Shawn Farquhar is a master magician. One of the absolute best. He's fooled Penn & Teller twice. He's a 2-time world champion of magic. He's the former president of IBM! No, not that IBM; the International Brotherhood of Magicians. He travels the globe most of the year but he dreams of one day being able to open up a little magic theatre here in his home province. Hey, but did you know this: Shawn started out performing comedy magic with comedians like Brent Butt and Ian Boothby and Ian Bagg in comedy rooms around BC. He tells us about the time he tried his act without the magic part. And he's got tons of other great stories, too. Plus we play a round of Talk About, a game show he and his wife were contestants on way back when. We could have gone on for another hour easily.

Read more and listen to podcast.

Five minutes with Shawn Farquhar (at Magi-Fest)

Not to be confused with my series of "Thirty seconds with ..." interviews.


From Magi-Fest:

Magi-Fest: You have performed at virtually every major convention around the world. We’re HONORED to have you at Magi-Fest. You have also organized dozens of conventions yourself. What, in your mind, is the secret ingredient to a great convention?

Shawn: I love magic conventions! I think it is the one place, other than the stage, where I truly feel at home.  No two conventions are ever the same, and what sets them apart is the vision of the organizers.  Some convention have become stale as they stick to “working formulas” while others try new things that sometimes fail.  I’d rathe be at one that tries new things and fails as they are far more exciting and fresh. The one thing all great conventions have in common is talent that is approachable.  I don’t go to a convention to see the act do their signature routine, since I can watch that on YouTube or their DVD. I go to the convention to experience them as performers.  On and off stage.  The chance to rub shoulders, ask questions and hang out is what makes a convention special for me.  I have seldom left a convention without feeling inspired and motivated.

Read more.

Montreal: Dr. Amir Raz to talk about hypnosis, magic and placebos in medicine

Dr. Amir Raz will be giving his lecture, "The Placebo Effect," on his Oct. 23 lecture at this year’s Trottier Public Science Symposium “Mind Matters: The Body-Mind Connection.”

From the article "Trottier Symposium speaker Dr. Amir Raz on hypnosis, magic and placebos in medicine" McGill Reporter:

Before he was a psychiatry professor and researcher, Amir Raz was a magician — and the two occupations aren’t as different as you might think. As Canada Research Chair in the Cognitive Neuroscience of Attention, Dr. Raz is interested in deception and how people’s physiology is influenced by their expectations of what is about to happen.

Read the interview.

Ottawa and Toronto: Wes Barker

If you get the chance, go see Wes Barker, recently awarded the honour of "Variety Act of 2017." 

At the end of the month, you can catch Wes at 'Magic Monday' in Ottawa.  Mid-November he'll be in Toronto (info at bottom of the post).

Regular reader and guest poster, The Magic Demon, has also let me know that Wes was recently featured on the podcast "What's So Funny?"  (The link can be found at CoopRadio.org, Sunday night at 11pm.)  As an aside, I've also been informed that Sunday Oct 29th at 11pm to midnight Pacific Time, CFRO  100.5 FM Vancouver will feature an hour long live interview with  Shawn Farquhar.

A quick reminder that Wes will be in Burnaby this weekend as part of "M." 


From the Magic Monday Facebook event:

Magic Monday is thrilled to present two amazing, world-reknowned performers!

All the way from Vancouver, the man who fooled Penn & Teller, the incredible Wes Barker! Joining him on stage from Toronto, the extraordinary European clown and mime stylings of Kate Mior! Special Guest host this month is Steve the Magic Reindeer!

 Don't miss this one of a kind showcase, and like last month this show is certain to be a sell out! So get your tickets now.

From the Rec Room Toronto's Facebook event:

Ty Reveen on CFJC Midday

A reminder that Ty Reveen is on his BC Autumn tour.  Locations and dates can be found at the Facebook page of Reveen The Legend Continues.


From the CFJC Community YouTube channel:

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Shin Lim in the Boston Globe

From the Boston Globe article by Dan Morrell:

Toward the end of magician Shin Lim’s “Dream Act” routine, his hands slowly rise to his head, palms up. Just as the accompanying dramatic orchestral music swells, he opens his mouth, expelling a cloud of smoke and revealing a folded playing card that had been inexplicably moving between both of his hands and his vest pocket.

Fellow magician Don Greenberg watched Lim, then 23, perform this act in July 2015 in Jacksonville, Florida, as part of a competition run by the International Brotherhood of Magicians. Greenberg had helped organize similar events for the brotherhood in the past, but this time he was there as a spectator. He and his wife, Sharon, were part of a group of more than two dozen audience members and two contest judges gathered in a Hyatt conference room to watch Lim. Greenberg had seen Lim perform in national competitions for years and had always thought he had good hands. But he was struck by this routine — Lim’s precise movements, his intensity, the crescendos of the music. It was cinematic. At the moment that Lim put his hands to his head, released the smoke, and revealed the card, Greenberg looked over at his wife. Her eyes were welling up with tears. Oh, my God, he thought, she’s crying. How the hell did that happen? You don’t expect someone to make your wife tear up with a just deck of cards.

Read more.

The Magician James Randi on the Importance of Skepticism

From Holy Koolaid's YouTube channel:

James Randi, the legendary magician, skeptic, and paranormal debunker talks about the importance of scientific skepticism and how his work as a magician has shaped the way he views the world. James "The Amazing Randi" has spent decades in show business as a magician, but as a psychic investigator and debunker of the paranormal, Randi stresses the fact that it's all an artful deception and not supernatural at all - earning him the nickname "An Honest Liar." In this interview, James Randi discusses his work as a magician and the importance of being skeptical.

CBC interview with Matt DiSero

An interview from August 2016, where Matt thinks he said something that upset a listener.


From the CBC:

For Matt DiSero, the magic came first—and then the comedy followed.

His uncle was a sword-swallower and fire-breather who first introduced him to magic. Matt credits performing in comedy clubs with the help he needed to hone his funny magic act.

Read more and listen to interview.

Mahdi Gilbert to be interviewed at Living Maths

From the Twitter feed of Living Maths:
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Join me on 28 Aug 6pm GMT + 2 when I interview @mahdibuchinger - The magician without hands https://t.co/HBvGhJzqCg #Magic #Magician #cards

— Living Maths (@LivingMaths) August 7, 2017

Billy Kidd in the Irish Examiner and on the Irish Times Women's Podcast

Billy Kidd will be performing in Dublin, July 7-9, and Cork on July 15 and 16.

From the Irish Examiner:

Billy Kidd’s previous experience as a professional actor and classically-trained musician informs her career in magic.

“I saw a magician perform at a street festival and I was instantly hooked. I didn’t know how it was done, but I knew I wanted to do it,” she says.

In 2008, Kidd left Canada for Britain, where she was mentored by the legendary street magician, Gazzo. Did she find it hard to break into the male-dominated world of magic?


Read more.

From Billy Kidd's Twitter feed:

Magician @Billykiddshow is @cityspectacular this weekend in Dublin but why do so few women perform on the street? https://t.co/be9ehw1hEn pic.twitter.com/09eirAepbs

— TheWomensPodcast (@ITWomensPodcast) July 6, 2017

Toronto: Jason Palter at The Wicket

Check out these videos of Ken Margoe and Jason Palter on Humble and Fred Radio.  You can catch Jason Palter at The Wicket tonight (details at the end of the post)!


From the Humble and Fred Radio Facebook page:

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Also from the Humble and Fred Radio Facebook page:


From the Canada's Magic Facebook page:

The Doug Henning Project interviews John Cox

From Wild About Houdini:

Neil McNally's new blog The Doug Henning Project is going strong with terrific interviews with Milt Larsen, John Gaughan, and Jim Steinmeyer. This week Neil is sharing a multipart interview with, gasp, me!

So only after you finish reading Neil's interview with those far more interesting and deserving members of the magic community, check out my blather. Neil and I did have a great time conducting this interview over Friday Lunch at the Magic Castle.
Read more and listen to interview.

ReginaCadabra in the CBC

To learn more about ReginAcadabra (featuring: Chester McBain, Chris Funk, David Merry, Doug Arden, Jeff Richards, Keegan Duck, Paul Romhany, Richy Roy, Sean Watson, and Shawn Farquhar), visit ReginAcadabra.com


Watch Tracy Fahlman and Brent Kloeble talk about the upcoming ReginAcadabra event on CTV News.


From CBC News:

Brent Kloeble has high hopes for the new ReginaCadabra Magic Festival, which makes its debut July 26 in the city.

Kloeble, who is the chairman of the event, hopes the festival gains enough momentum to become an international attraction.

"It's an exciting event for Regina. There's nothing really like that around here," Kloeble said.

"We can make this a big tourism event," Kloeble said of the family-friendly festival, which will feature 10 performers throughout the week. "We know people will travel in to come see it."

Read more.

From the ReginaCadabra Twitter feed:

Close- up magic by Chester McBain @EscapeRegina see Chester and many other #magicians @ReginaCadabra #magic #festival in #yqr this summer https://t.co/4ujqDywTko

— ReginaCadabra (@ReginaCadabra) May 24, 2017

James Harrison in The Barrie Examiner

From The Barrie Examiner:

Magic is in the air and the fingers of James Harrison.

The Barrie magician has taken pick-pocketing to new heights over the past several years and he will be performing at two shows this weekend at the Mady Centre for the Performing Arts, including one the family and especially for kids.

"The family show will still be entertaining for grown-ups. but the themes will be more generic. It will be my fun and light-hearted, entertaining kind of show," said Harrison, who will be doing some pick-pocketing at both shows, but the family show will be more like an Oliver Twist version.

"I don't ever make fun of the kids, but parents are fair game," he said. "And the kids love that."

Read more.

Luc Langevin on "Trucs & Cie"

From Luc Langevin's Twitter feed:
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Voici mon passage à "Trucs & Cie". Toutes ces chroniques en lien avec mes intérêts faisaient vraiment mon bonheur ! https://t.co/Fo2PJeF2mQ

— Luc Langevin (@LucLangevin) April 23, 2017

Toronto: The Circus of Industrious Fleas

Catch Eric Woolfe as Buster Canfield, the world’s greatest flea circus impresario at Harbourfront Centre Sat, May 20 – Mon, May 22, 2017.

From the Harbourfront Centre blog:

Step right up, Toronto! The world’s greatest flea circus impresario is back in town and ready to astound and amaze you with his menagerie of mite sized mini-marvels.

We caught up with Buster Canfield before his performance in the Studio Theatre this weekend to tell us more about the greatest trained fleas to ever hop the Earth and what audiences can expect to see at HarbourKIDS: Circus!

Harbourfront Centre: How did you get your start as a flea circus impresario?

Buster Canfield: Well, ever since I was little, I wanted to run a circus, but I could never afford an apartment big enough to live with all the monkeys and lions and elephants. Let alone the big wagons and tents. And then, once, I lived in this place that had a lousy superintendent who was too cheap to spring for a good fumigator. Pretty soon, I realized if I mixed those two problems together, I could make my dreams come true.

Harbourfront Centre: What do you look for in a circus flea?

Read more and buy tickets.

Bobby Motta on CHCH

From Morning Live's Twitter feed:
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Mind blowing mind reading with @bobbymotta that you have to see to believe. Interview: https://t.co/GwVUCf7ucH pic.twitter.com/DN9DcDQHj7

— Morning Live (@morninglive) April 26, 2017

Vancouver: James Randi In Conversation With Matt Dillahunty

There will also be a show with Shawn Farquhar with Camilo The Magician and Matt Dillahunty!

From UBC:

Sunday 02 April 2017

Matt Dillahunty is thrilled to return to the Chan Centre stage to share the evening with one of his great idols in magic and skepticism. Matt is well known for his role in the Atheist community, but he also dabbles in magic! The amazing James Randi has an international reputation as a magician and escape artist, but today he is best known as the world’s most tireless investigator and demystifier of paranormal and pseudoscientific claims.

Read more and buy tickets.

 From the Pangburn Philosophy Facebook page: