My guest on this episode of the Spirit of Magic podcast is legendary close-up and bar magician JC Wagner.  We cover everything from his days working the Disney Magic shop with Steve Martin to his time working the bar with Bob Sheets and Doc Eason.  JC also share some of history with Dai Vernon, Eddie Fecter and other legends of the west coast magic scene.  If you wanna work magic in the bar, there is no better teacher to learn from than the amazing JC Wagner.

Joanie Spina is our special guest on this episode of the podcast.  If you're not yet familiar with Joanie, she acts as a performance coach to magicians, jugglers, dancers, singers, clowns,  mimes, and actors.  She  offers a variety of services including theatrical direction, staging and/or choreography, individual performance coaching and promotional tape design and is best known to many as the co-director and choreographer for world renowned magician David Copperfield.  If your demo tape does more traveling than you do, then sit back and enjoy the expert opinions of a master magic coach on This Week in Magic!

Raised in Chicago, Bill Malone discovered magic after a visit to a magic shop when he was seventeen.  Little did he know that this would eventually lead him to become a pupil of the legendary Ed Marlo and that he'd become one of the most popular performers working the magic bar scene in the Windy City.  Bill i s a recipient of the Merlin Award and has been featured on many network magic television specials.  Today, Malone is known for his many creative contributions to classic bar magic and is recognized for his versions of  such effects as the bill in lemon, card under glass, and Sam the Bellhop. In this episode of the "Spirit of Magic Podcast," Bill talks about the many great magicians that have inspired him and the people that he works with today to keep the creative juices flowing.

We mix things up on this episode of This Week in Magic by inviting two totally different performers to join us on the podcast.  Doc Eason is one of the most expereinced bar magicians living today. He's performed in Snow Mass Colorado for more than 27 years, with a lengthy stint at John Denver's Tower Restaurant Magic Bar.  In addition, Doc was the recipient of the Academy of Magical Arts first every award for "Bar Magician of the Year"  in 2005. In 2008, they also named him Close-up Magician of the Year.   When he was 17, Levent was  awarded 1st Prize in the Stage Magic competition at the IBM National Convention. He never looked back, immediately taking a resort booking, performing on cruise ships and in theaters around the world. He is a noted creator of magic tricks and a magic lecturer as well as a vaudeville historian.  His most recent project is "Levent's Ultimate Guide to the Billiard Balls" in which he explores every aspect of this historic routine and recreates Cardini's famous presentation of the effect. 

Beating a Dead Horse is  a story of fathers and sons. It is laugh-out-loud funny, honest, touching, and offers revelations along the way. Jay's son, Alexander “Sandy” Marshall, spent more than three years researching and writing about his maverick father. Beating a Dead Horse chronicles Jay's journey from his staid middle class upbringing in Abington, Massachusetts to his memorable performances on Broadway, television (14 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show), New York's Palace Theatre, Radio City Music Hall, the London Palladium, opening for Frank Sinatra in Las Vegas, traveling the world, and becoming the Dean of the Society of American Magicians. On this episode of "The Spirit of Magic," Sandy joins us to talk about his dad and the research that went into this book.

It's a quiet evening at the Magic Newswire with Chase Goforth and myself hosting our special guest on this episode, Denny Haney. A graduate of the Chavez College of magic, Denny returned to Vietnam to entertain the troops after serving three tours and being discharged.  He toured the world with a stage show and was one of the highest paying  magic acts in the country. In 1990, Denny retired from the road and opened  the Denny & Lee Magic Studio in Baltimore.  Over the years, I have had had a chance to talk with Denny on many and varied topic and have always been impressed with his frankness and his opinions on magic. I hope that you enjoy what is sure to be one of many chats that we'll have with Denny on "This Week in Magic!"

n Part 3 of Scott Wells reports and interviews from Blackpool 2010 we're treated to the final part of his interviews from day two with Magic Circle President Jack Delvin and Blackpool Magic Club president Alan Coventry.  We then move on to Day Three in which  Scott chats with Blackpool VIP show coordinator James Masson,  Tim Trono & Kathy Carini of Murphy's Magic Supplies, Banachek, Paul Nardini, the Blackpoole Kid's Show Champion Oscar Munoz, Keith Barry, Franz Harary, FISM International President Eric Eswin, my friend Brandon Burn from IrishMagicNews.com and previous Magic Newswire contributor, Hypnotist Andi Gladwin.

Scott Wells continues his reports from Blackpool 2010 by sending in interviews with Axel Hecklau, Paul Brooke, Mark Mason, Roy Zaltsman, Paul Stone, Magic Circle President Jack Delvin,Blackpool Magicians VP Andrew Green, club President Alan Coventry and everyone gathered at the Ruskin Hotel bar on Saturday Night.

Scott Wells continues his series of "Scott Signals"  as he and Banachek make their way to the UK for one of the biggest magic conventions in the world, Blackpool.  This is the first installment of his travel diary and interview series. In this episode Scott shares some of his experiences before the convention begins and then grabs some time for interviews from the dealer's room on day one with such people as Tim Trono, Hank Moorehouse, Levent,  Oscar Munoz, Ian Rowland,  Mathew Field &  James Clark.  Check back daily for new updates from Scott from Blackpool which takes place this year on February 19th, 20th & 21st.