Yeah, I'm alive...

Man, I can't believe it's been over 3 months since I posted anything. The other thing is I've been getting a few emails from people saying "Where's your post?" The last few months have been pretty busy. I've moved, right downtown Harrisburg. One block from the state capitol, across the street from the river and a killer view. Quite a few gigs as well. Here are a few pics that you might find interesting.


As you can see, I've been hanging with royalty. Yep, I did a gig with the KING! Actually, this is Brad Crum from Halifax, PA. We shared the bill at a function a few months ago at Hollywood Casino here in Harrisburg. He put on a great show, it was tough for me to not sing along while I was doing some strolling magic. My mother was a HUGE Elvis fan, and even though I was 3 when he died, I remember it like it was yesterday. My iPod has probably 20 or 30 Elvis songs on it at any given time. Yeah, I think I'm pretty qualified to judge an Elvis tribute act. Brad is one of the best I've ever seen. His website is www.rememberelvis.com.

I'm an artist. My medium is sleight of hand and humor. This is Madame Olga, she's also an artist. Her medium, (no pun intended) is B.S., or HOKUM as she prefers. The lady behind Madame Olga is my friend Mandy Dalton. We usually end up working together once a year or so. Mandy is a very talented actress, clown, comedian, juggler, magician, and stilt walker. Oh yeah, and she speaks 5 languages. On top of all this, she's VERY funny. She predicts the future using her tarot cards, crystal ball, or even my big bald head. She's one of the most talented people I've ever worked with. You know, the kind that makes you insanely mad and jealous because they're so damn good at everything. However, on top of all this, she's extremely sweet and humble. Check out her website at www.mandydalton.com.




THIS little cutie is Jango. Her and I shared the bill a little while back. It was my 2nd appearance for statewide officers from AARP. Jango really stole some of my thunder. Only 3 little old ladies wanted their picture taken with the big bald guy doing card tricks. EVERYBODY wanted a photo with Jango.

And the really big shocker for 2008, this was the year I got ink! I had wanted to for many years, but when I found myself at a tattoo convention to see my pal Danny Borneo and his crew, I couldn't resist.

I really hope to try and keep up with posting on a regular basis. I'll have another post soon about upcoming appearances in January and February. Happy 2009 everyone!

The pretzel king of Philadelphia...

So this weekend, I made the trek to Philadelphia. (Norristown actually, a beautiful suburb of Philly.) To spend a few hours performing for an old friend of mine from high school. Sean Cannon called me a year ago to announce he was in the soft pretzel business and ask would I perform for his store's grand opening. Sean's a great guy, I've known him since we were about 11 years old. Back then our friendship revolved around which girls in our class were developing and who was tougher, Hulk Hogan or Big John Studd. This weekend was the 1 year anniversary of his pretzel business and I'm glad to report that he's doing very well for himself. The only thing I don't like about him is he really hasn't changed in the last 16 years. Seriously, not one bit. He seems to have that Dick Clark syndrome. (Must be something in that Philly water. Or maybe the pretzels.) And to cap it all off, we saw a DeLorean drive right by. Sweet!

Actually that day, I was double booked. I had been invited to perform at a wonderful dinner party by some friends Bob and Carol Smith. Invitations to this party were auctioned off for charity. And it worked out very well for me because it was sort of on the way home from Philadelphia. When Bob asked me to come and perform, he actually referred to it as a "dinner party on their deck." This really could not be further from the truth. Their home is one of 3 on the estate, the other 2 belonging to family members. The party was actually held in a pool-side huge pavilion in the middle of the 3 homes. Complete with 3 TVs, restaurant style kitchen, and a bar better than most restaurants, this place was like Shangri-La in the middle of farm country. I did my usually strolling magic schmoozing for about an hour and a half before dinner. After dessert, I did a brief demonstration of some of my favorite pieces I've been doing for years including Remember and Forget, and the Cups and Balls.


A very busy day, and a sore throat when I woke up meant most of Sunday was spent in bed. But, I did have to drag myself out to attend a meeting regarding a new venue for me. I'll be posting it here as soon as the details are ironed out.

The family of a legend

So Saturday night at What if in Hershey, I had a wonderful experience. As I approached a table of about 15 adults, teens and children, one man looked up and said "Oh, you must be the magician." I explained that I was and as I took out a deck of cards he asks me if I ever met Herb Zarrow. I stammered a bit as this is not a name laymen toss around, "Yes, I met him a few times." "He was my cousin" the man replied. This name will not mean anything to most of you. Herb was a marvelous magician who passed away a few months ago. Now, I'm asked all the time if I've ever met David Copperfield, Criss Angel or David Blaine. I have, and I wasn't that impressed. Let me assure you, meeting Herb was a much bigger thrill. How big of a deal was Herb Zarrow to magic? It's like saying you have a British cousin who plays drums named Ringo. Herb was not a professional magician. I believe he spent the majority of his life as an accountant. However, he is responsible for inventing one sleight of hand technique in 1940, that is still in use today. I won't go into the gist of it here, but it's fairly common when reading a magic textbook to see the phrase, "Place the deck on the table and do a Zarrow."

No one else in the family is a magician. In fact, Herb was a very humble man. They knew he was involved in magic as a hobby, and when pressed he would to a few card tricks for friends. But it wasn't until his death that they began to get an idea how important he really was. They were shocked when at his funeral someone told the family that "Every magician in the world would know exactly who Herb was, and how important he was to our art." I guess they just had to ask this big guy from Hershey if he knew. He did, and he was very honored to perform for them. A young man named Jonah asked me if I could do "Uncle Herb's move". Now, this is something that when done correctly, looks like nothing at all. I got up my nerve, and after dinner, I performed one of my favorite effects, Triumph. I included the move and they applauded loudly. Jonah looked up and said, "I didn't see anything." My only reply was, "Well, then your Uncle Herb would be proud that I did it right.

Busy weekend...

Well, it's been almost a month since my last posting.  But there really has been little to post about; until this past weekend.  

Thursday, magic buddy Scott Sullivan and I headed down to Atlantic City.  No, we're not really high-rollers, but we are big fans of Mark Kalin and Jinger.  They brought their show "Real Magic" to the Trump Marina for the summer.  This really has to be one of the finest magic shows I've ever seen.  A perfect blend of huge illusions and impressive sleight of hand.  Our favorite piece, known as the Wakeling Sawing in Half.  This is pretty close to the original presentation for the now classic sawing a woman in half.  Now this illusion has been performed and improved for decades.  Versions with glass boxes and even NO box have been performed on TV.  There is something special about Kalin and Jinger's performance.  Two spectators hold straps which secure Jinger in place at her neck and feet.  Steel blades are slammed through the middle of the box, (and the lovely Jinger) and the spectators pull the halves of the box apart. 

This past Sunday, I made the trek with my friends Amy and Amber to another seaside town, Baltimore.  On the agenda was a visit to the Maryland Science center to check out the exhibit "Body Worlds."  This is a marvelous exhibition of real human bodies through a process called plastination have been preserved and displayed to reveal the inner anatomical structures.  Remember the old Visible Man that we all had in 4th grade?  Well, this is the Visible Man, made from a REAL MAN!  Different specimens are displayed in various poses to display muscles, skeletal and circulatory systems etc.  Some were behind glass, but many weren't; so you're only inches away from a real human specimen to study various organs, muscles and body systems.  If you ever have the opportunity to view this exhibit, I highly recommend it.  You will never look at your body, or anyone else's the same.  www.bodyworlds.com

Ho Hum....

Well, it's been a few weeks and I figured I should put something up here. Not a whole lot to report. Just enjoying the hot humid days of summer.

As far as entertainment, when not providing it myself, I've been taking in a lot of movies. Most recently, The Dark Knight. If you read this and haven't seen it yet, shame on you. Drop what you're doing and go now! I hate to jump on the Heath Ledger bandwagon, but this guy did such a great job showing what a creepy villian the Joker really is. Bravo.

I also had a chance to get to see Billy Joel. My date cancelled at the last minute, so my pal Eddie joined me. What a blast! Billy is one of these guys who doesn't need to keep touring, but does so because he loves what he does; and that's easy for anyone to see.

In a few weeks, another pal Scott and I will hop a train down to Atlantic City. We'll be catching a show by a wonderful husband and wife duo, Mark Kalin and Jinger. I've seen them twice before and their show is well worth seeing another time. Since they're normally on the west coast, we jumped at the chance when we found out they'll be in A.C. for the summer.

My misadventure with Michael...

Yeah, it doesn't have the same ring as "My Dinner with Andre" or even "My Breakfast with Blassie", but it'll do.

Saturday, I spent the whole day in Baltimore.  First to the Apple store in Towson to get a small repair on my laptop; then I was off to Denny and Lee's magic studio.  Denny Haney has been a bit of a mentor for the last 7 or 8 years.  Always there with some advice on a new routine or idea, or anytime I need a joke or funny line.  I don't get there often, so when I do I like to make a whole day of it to visit with Denny and Baby, his pig.  Yep, pig.

The main event of the day is what's known as a magic lecture. Ordinarily, this is a guest magician traveling through the area giving a demonstration to other magicians. A lot of times, it works like this; "Here's a trick, here's how you do it." "Here's another trick, here's how you do it." These are usually pretty boring. I have enough tricks to last 5 lifetimes. Tonight was going to be something special and I knew it. Our presenter was Michael Vincent, from London. We've spoken quite a bit online, but had never met. Actually he was here for only 3 days, studying with HIS mentor who lives in D.C. (See kids, you never stop learning.) While Mike was setting up his projector and laptop, he discovered he was missing his remote to change slides. He asked where the nearest Apple store was. (Yet another reason I like this guy.) I told him it was 15 minutes away and I could take him. Of course, this was just a ploy to get this guy alone for about 40 minutes and pick his brain about magic. I didn't have to, as soon as we got in the car, he started to pick MY brain. Where I perform, how long I've been a magician, what kind of material. As we were leaving the mall with his new remote, I backed into a huge pole in the parking garage. Maybe I was in a hurry to get him back; or maybe I was still a little star-struck; maybe I'm a bad driver. Probably it was all 3. The car was fine, I was fine and most importantly, Michael was fine. Although, he seemed to acquire a bit of a taste for whiplash jokes. Our little misadventure aside, it was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life in magic. He fooled me with a trick that's been in my own repertoire for many years. He presents himself like an college professor, teaching the coolest subject there is, sleight of hand with cards. He's a fine gentleman, and my driving aside, I like to think I've made a new friend across the pond.

There are some wonderful videos at his site www.michaelvincent.co.uk  Take a look, and you'll see just how smooth he really is.

After Mike's wonderful talk, a few of us retired to a diner for a late night snack and to trade tricks. I had EVERY intention of being home about midnight or 1 AM. Well, some people at the diner saw the magic and asked to see for themselves. Long story short, I arrived home about 3 AM! Hence Sunday was NOT a fun day. Thankfully, I have a few days to recover before my next show. This weekend I'll be appearing at Scott's Grille in Harrisburg Friday night. Saturday after an appearance at a wedding reception, will be at What if in Hershey.

Where the hell's my camera?

Yep, it's gone. Last seen a few days after I returned home from Vegas. I loaded the pics onto my desktop computer and that was the last I've seen it. That's the reason there have been no pics the last few weeks. I won't buy a new one, because I know it's SOMEWHERE in my house. If anyone has any theories, let me know.

Last weekend was a blur. Double booked Saturday, big band concert on Sunday. (We should have pics from that soon, when I have them, I'll post.) As I said in my last post I was fortunate enough to perform at an 80th birthday party. This was for my 6th grade science teacher, Mr. Roy Dice. There were a few other people there who knew me when I was a kid. It was fun to show them what I've made of myself.

This weekend, I'll be taking off my from my Saturday night gig at What if, to attend a performance and lecture in Baltimore. The performer in questions name is Michael Vincent. He's from the UK and I've spoken with him quite a bit online and from what I've read and seen online, he is an excellent sleight of hand artist. I'm sure I'll report a bit on it next week.

I do have one pic to post. I took it with my iPhone this week. If I lose THIS thing, I'm really sunk.

This is my friend Lucia. She's 2 1/2 months old and drools a lot. Her mom carries her around like a football. I guess when you have 2 others at home, you aren't as careful.

Moviemania...

It's been pretty ho-hum this past week. Nothing but the usual. However, this past weekend I was able to take in 2 great movies that I wanted to share my thoughts on.

The Happening by M. Night Shamalamadingdong. (Yeah, I'm not gonna look up the spelling.) I really enjoy most of his movies. Lady in the Water from a few years ago was a joke, but most have been pretty enjoyable. I'm sad to see this getting mediocre to bad reviews. I really loved it. About halfway through the movie, I leaned over to my friend Eddie and jokingly made a point as to what was causing all the chaos in the film. It turned out, I was right. This movie is also filled with a lot more blood and guts than his other films. I won't spoil it for anyone, but I'll just make a point here. This movie contains a lot of death. At one point, you realize there is going to be a VERY gruesome death. I kept waiting for the camera to cut away. It didn't. There were quite a few times Eddie and I exclaimed "Holy SHIT" just out the shock of what was happening. Go see this movie, and be nice to Mother Earth.

Sunday, I was off to see The Incredible Hulk. As I said in a previous post, the last Hulk movie was not really a Marvel property. After that trainwreck, Marvel got the rights back and instead of starting from scratch, sort of just went off on a tangent. They ignore the horrible origin story Ang Lee concocted. When I was a kid, I was a HUGE fan of the TV show starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. (Ferrigno's monster and Gene Simmons were the source of many nightmares when I was 5.) I loved this movie because it is very close to that and even has cameos by the 2 stars. (Even though Bixby's been dead for years.) A few people have told me they aren't too crazy about the CGI Hulk. I'm not either, but I don't get why the Hulk gets such a bad wrap when these same people will go to see X-Men, Spider-man and Transformers and not bitch about the CGI in those films. Make-up and prosthetics have come a long way since the late 70's and I think it would be very neat to see what the special effects guys could do with a big body builder today.

Speaking of special effects as a big movie fan I should mention that just as I'm typing this, I learned of the death of Stan Winston. You may not know the name, but you've seen his work. Jurassic Park, Aliens, Terminator and Edward Scissorhands all featured impossible visions brought to life by this wonderful artist. Back in the days before CGI, Stan ruled the special effects world, and collected several Oscars for his work. We've lost one of the best.

This weekend will be exciting. After performing at Scott's Grille Friday night, I'll be hanging out and carousing with some friends to celebrate my 34th birthday. I believe plans include some rock and bowling. Anyone who would like to join us, the more the merrier. Saturday, I'm double booked. (One of my FAVORITE things.) I'm honored to be performing at an 80th birthday party for a dear friend, Mr. Roy Dice. Mr. Dice was my 6th grade science teacher and we reconnected a few years ago when I discovered I've been friends with his daughter for about 10 years. Later on that night, I'll be appearing at a private business function in Camp Hill. Sunday night, a concert with the Encores band at Adams Ricci Park in Enola. I'm sure I'll have a lot of stories and maybe a few pics.

Sessioning...

Sunday, I had a chance to attend a great little one day magic convention near Philadelphia. Hosted by a dear old man, Bob Little. He holds these small events every 6 months at a Holiday Inn. There is a lecture where tricks are taught, a show, an auction to buy someone's used props etc. The real reason I go is to experience a phenomenon that magicians call sessioning. Sessioning is basically a BS session. Guys sit around a table, each with a deck or some coins in their hands and show and teach each other tricks, moves, and new things we're working on. In this day and age, computers and the internet have affected everything, even this wonderful area of magic. There are countless bulletin boards, and websites where magicians trade ideas and such back and forth. But, there is no substitute for a good session. I had the opportunity to make several new friends, Nick, Matt, Ethan, (this little punk fooled me REPEATEDLY) and Marcus. It's also good to see several other friends, who I only get to see once or twice a year, and we normally only communicate via email and phone. A bunch of us got together for dinner at Friday's and the card tricks never stopped for a second.

My buddy Al Angelo (master juggler) was psyched to perform his "Boomerang Rubber Band" for me and a few other lucky attendees. This is merely a wonderful little deomonstration of inertia, gravity, and friction that really looks like magic. A rubberband is stretched on your fingers like a gun. When Al fired it at the floor, it bounced, and rolled right back to him, into his hand, and up his arm! This is about the coolest thing I've ever seen.

We also had a few surprise "celebrities" among us. So many people who see me perform ask me if Copperfield, Angel, or Blaine are my favorite magicians. They're usually surpsrised when I tell them no. MY favorite people, are guys you've never heard of, and probably never will. We were lucky enough to have the Dean of American Magicians, George Schindler drop by our little gathering. It was my first time meeting him and it was quite a pleasure and he said some very nice things about my work.

(Now, for my favorite moment of the day.) David Blaine, like most celebrities and businessmen has a large group of people on staff as his support crew and consultants. Two of them were in the area and decided to drop by. Daniel Garcia is one of these guys. Dan is 26 and is a brilliant performer, and has been consulting and creating for David Blaine for a year or so. Now some guys in our community look down on many young super talented artists. They say they don't respect the older guys that came before them and their style of performing. Enter Billy MacDonald. Billy is a bit of a legend to magicians in the PA/NJ/NY region. He's in his mid 70's and has been a lifelong amateur magician. He has studied with some of the greatest card mechanics of the 20th century, and it shows. When Dan met Billy, several gasps and expletives where heard coming from the table as Danny fell victim to Billy's ingenious sleight of hand. I LOVED IT! Afterwards, I asked Dan what he thought of Billy's work, "Unbelievable" was all he could say.

If any of my readers are in my area, I want to invite you to a great summer concert I'll be playing in. Sunday June 22, I'll be playing with the Encores Big Band at Adam's Ricki Park in Enola PA. The concert starts at 6 and is free, so bring chairs, blankets and enjoy some great big band music on a summer evening.

Hey, I remember you...

Any of my friends will tell you that I can not go anywhere without running into someone I know. This past Saturday, my first night back at What if... in Hershey, I ran into two of my favorite people when I was in school. Having grown up in Hershey, it's really not that unlikely, but it was surprising when I saw Bonnie and Larry Casebeer sitting at the bar. Bonnie was my 7th grade science teacher and her husband Larry taught me driver's ed. (Yep, you have him to blame.) They really were some of my favorite people when I was in school, (and they still are.) You know, those few teachers that make learning fun. Larry was always a riot to hang around. And the Mrs.? Well, she's always been a knockout. I haven't seen them in a few years. While they have seen me perform a few times before, they are still very enthusiastic about watching me. After their dinner, I went behind the bar and performed a few of my favorite pieces for them. Larry laughed wildly, constantly asking "How the hell.....?" They live in the area, but it was their first time dining at What if.... Any of you in the area who haven't been there are really missing out. Stop in on a Saturday night, just make reservations first.

In keeping with the theme of this blog, entertainment, I thought I'd give my thoughts on a HIGHLY anticipated movie; Indiana Jones 4. It sucked. I won't waste any more of your time on the topic. On the other hand, I don't think I mentioned Iron Man when I saw it a few weeks ago. I loved it, one of the best super hero movies I've seen. Over the last few years Marvel has really got their stuff together and produced some WONDERFUL films. The 2003 Hulk movie was NOT a Marvel property. They obtained the rights back, and next month, the "reboot" will hopefully set things straight. Also of note this summer will be Get Smart, The Dark Knight, and The Happening. I'm sure I'll at least mention my thoughts on each one as it's released.

Now, something not really entertainment related. I have just learned of the story of Roz Savage. If anyone here does not know who this is, I urge you to check out her site, www.rozsavage.com, (there's a link on this page.) Roz is an ocean rower. Yep, that's right, she rows a boat across oceans; solo. She has already done the Atlantic, and as a write this, she is just beginning her trip across the Pacific. A very fascinating story, and a great inspiration. Her site contains her biography, philosophy on life, list of explorer's essentials, and GPS tracking of where she is right now. This is one of the coolest things I've read in a long time. Check it out.

And one more item. I'm in the early stages of planning my first trip to California. I'll be heading to L.A. in October. It looks like I'll be there for 3-4 days and staying in Malibu. I'd love to hear any suggestions people might have for stuff to do. There will be lots of magic and music during my trip, but since I've never been there, I'd love to try and maybe see a show taped or something fun like that. All suggestions welcome.

New venue!

It was fun while it lasted, but somehow I knew I wouldn't be there long. I am no longer performing at Texas Roadhouse. Their business has been dropping off, and let's face it, we knew I wouldn't last performing at a kid's night. But, there's good news too. I'm returning to a wonderful restaurant in my hometown of Hershey, PA. The food is marvelous and the atmosphere is great to match. Also, there's no country line-dancing, which is a good thing. Starting Memorial Day weekend, I'll be performing Saturday evenings at What If Cafe' on Chocolate Ave. in Hershey. All my friends in the area should stop by; but you might want to call for reservations.

Also, this Saturday, the 17th I want to invite all my friends in the area to Dragonfly nightclub. Local swingers Big Tubba Mista will be there. If you haven't seen these guys, do yourself a favor, and come on down.

Report from Vegas...

Well, it's been a week since I've been home, I should probably post a few pics and what not.

This skinny little punk is my pal Dan Sperry. Don't let his Marilyn Manson look fool you, he's a big pussycat. One of my favorite things about going to Vegas is hanging out with friends like Dan who I only see once or twice a year. If you're in town, catch him at The World's Greatest Magic Show.


This is Jason England. A VERY dangerous man with a deck of cards. The first night of the convention he gave a demonstration at midnight on crooked gambling techniques. Second deals, bottom deals, center deals; this guy does it all.


Jeff McBride, doing what he does best. I still wanna be like him when I grow up.



This was a real treat! Scott land is fantastic puppeteer. He brought a few of his creations including a VERY lifelike marionette of magician Carl Ballantine, (that did Carl's act!) and this guy, Helio the clown. Yes, Helio actually blew up and tied a balloon, and then floated away. Yes, of course you can see the strings, but you'd swear this thing had a pulse. For those of you who have seen the movie Team America World Police, you have seen Scott's work. Please check out the video on his website www.thepuppetman.com


The two sexiest people at the convention have dinner with Scott Sullivan. This is Kari Hendler. Writer, photographer, sushi aficionado, and one of my favorite people to hang out with. (She was totally into me, but Sullivan killed the mood.)

Just a few pics there. I really had a great time. For any people who read this and are interested in, the arts, or history, please check out the latest episode of our podcast The Magic Lantern. We talk to Kari about a very fascinating project she's been working on. You can find it on iTunes under The Magic Lantern podcast, or at www.reelsinmotion.tv

Roooooaaaaaaarrrrrrr!!!!!

Wow, 2 posts in one week. That's a record. This will be a quickie.

Since this blog is supposed to be about entertainment, not just MY entertainment, I wanted to reccommend a movie, Cloverfield. I saw it a few months ago in the theater and picked up the DVD today and watched it with my buddy Eddie. What a great way to tell a story. I won't give away too much if you haven't seen it, but will just say that it's about a group of friends throwing a going away party, and then SOMETHING attacks New York City. Something BIG. There are all kinds of spoilers online, but if you haven't seen it, and enjoy a good scare just take a look at the movie and see for yourself.

Vegas in 3 days!

Cute little town...

Well, it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post. I've been busy as hell. Performances of magic and music from The Hotel Hershey with a swing band to strolling magic and restaurants and corporate events. Our night at The Hotel Hershey was fantastic. A convention of PA dentists and orthodontists. What a very fun group. We were lucky enough to be joined by some great dancers from the Central PA Swing Dance Club. These guys and gals put on a great demonstration to our tunes like In the Mood, Tuxedo Junction, and some REALLY mean lindy hoppin' to Sing Sing Sing. After their demonstration, the dance floor was opened up to everyone and we saw that this group of dentists could really get down. We do our best to take requests, as I said in a post a few months ago, I'll need one of you to come to a gig and suggest a polka sometime. A few of the guys kept asking if we did any motown. Now that may seem a bit weird, but there are quite a few rock, motown and pop songs arranged for big band. We have a few in our book and have rehearsed them a bit. Well, to my surprise our leader Dale called an audible and we pulled up Proud Mary. Yes it was the Ike and Tina Turner version, not the CCR version. MAN did it cook!

This past weekend, I discovered a great little town near Trenton NJ, New Hope PA. I know one of my readers, (Hi Ericha!) will recognize this as the home of the Bucks County Playhouse. It reminded me of other places I have been like Rehobeth DE, Mt. Gretna PA, and Lake Chataqua NY. On my way in, I saw nothing but antique shops, art galleries and cute little bistros. (Oooh, I wanna stop there, and there, and there!) Of course, I was there to work and had NO time. I had been booked for a party thrown by a financial planner for all his clients. 3.5 hours of magic, I was beat, but what a great crowd. I had a feeling there were some REAL heavy duty high rollers in the room. But all of them were very down to earth. If you're ever within driving distance of Philadelphia and have some time to kill, take a spin through this little hamlet. (That is really the only way to describe it.)

The next few days see me performing my regular gigs at Texas Roadhouse and Scott's Grille. Saturday night, I'll be at the Carlisle Country Club performing for a casino night function, and then 8AM on on a plane to Vegas! I'm sure I'll have plenty of pics and video. My sidekick Scott Sullivan is attending the convention with me and we host a podcast dedicated to magic history. It would probably be boring to anyone who's not a magician, but if you'd like to check it out, do so at www.reelsinmotion.tv I'm sure we'll get lots of material there for the show. On May 3rd, I'll be performing at a fundraiser for the Jump Street organization. This is a group that promotes art and artists in the Central PA area. Their big fundraiser for the year is an event for the Kentucky Derby. I've never performed at an event like this, so this should really be fun.

Until next time, take care...
Pep

Back row politics...

What a great weekend! Well, Friday and Saturday were great, Sunday....that's another story.

Friday night at Scott's Grille was cookin'. The place was wall to wall people and everyone was in a great mood. That's my kinda gig. I had one VERY interesting table. My new best friend Gina, (insert catcalls and panting here) was so enamored with my magic. (And I like to think me.) She just shrieked over and over every time something happened, sometimes BEFORE it happened. I just love people with great reactions. But alas, she's taken. It's just as well, if her and I were together, the neighbors would really complain about all the shrieking.

Saturday I headed to Pottstown for a clinic/concert with some musician friends from the Encores band. 3 trumpet players to be exact. Chris, Jim, and Jose'. Our friend John tagged along too, his wife Tammy plays lead Alto with the band and she had to work, so he came for moral support. (Or to make sure we behaved, I'm not sure.) The title of this posting comes from a new song they did called Back Row Politics. It's a trumpet feature where all 4 guys come out front and trade solos with each other. I can not say enough good things about Gordon Goodwin and The Big Phat Band. We were lucky enough to see these guys one year ago and actually hang out with them a bit afterwards. They were excited to do it again. After the concert, we said hi to the guys and I felt so great when many of them remembered me and the magic I did for them at the bar last year. Lead trumpet player Wayne Bergeron even pulled my business card out of his wallet along with an autographed 4 of diamonds. Man I was impressed. This guy is really one of the best trumpet players in the world. That's no exaggeration. The band's schedule was a bit tight as they were having dinner with some local high school kids, so most of them did not get out for a little "hang time" with us bozos. Wayne and fellow trumpet player Willie Moreno joined us for cocktails at a great Irish pub near their hotel. As the only non-trumpet player in our group, I was a little bit out of place once they started talking shop, but Willie demanded to see some of the magic he had heard about from Wayne. Any of you guys that enjoy good jazz, check out Gordon Goodwin and the Big Phat Band. You won't be sorry. The photo at the top is Jose' with Wayne. Of course my camera battery died before I could snap one with me in it. Oh well, I'll admit Jose' is a bit swankier than me, but not by much.

This weekend, I'll be making a little sweet music of my own. Saturday night takes me to one of my favorite places in the whole world to perform in. (OK, I haven't been that many places.) I'll be with Jose, Chris, Jim and all the rest of the Encores band at the Hotel Hershey. As I said in earlier posts, I grew up in Hershey and in high school performed there a lot. I still get to do magic once or twice a year there, but it's actually been 15 years since I've played music there. I'm sure it will be a blast. The photo at the top is Jose' with Wayne.

What made Sunday so bad? One word....HANGOVER! Remember kids, lots of water between cocktails.

Vegas in 17 days!

Busy busy busy.....

What a busy weekend. It started Saturday morning as I drove north to Mifflinburg. I was to bowl in a Adult/Jr. doubles tournament with my buddy Joshua. It was a fun time, especially in the second game where yours truly rolled a 297! Yep, that's right, 297. For those not familiar with the game, that's 11 strikes in a row. Pretty damn good.

As I said a few weeks ago, I am now performing at Texas Roadhouse in Camp Hill. It's a fun place. Last week I met a lovely couple name Jean and Lee. I think I may have only done one trick for them and we just chatted for 5 or 10 minutes. They had seen David Copperfield the night before, (quite a step down huh) and were asking me all kinds of questions. They asked me to come and perform at a party in their home and, of course I accepted. That was this past Saturday. Lee had recently retired for the 2nd time and they had a few friends over for cocktails, food and yours truly. What a beautiful home and a fun time. There were a few kids there and while I've NEVER considered myself a children's entertainer, they were a lot of fun. So much fun, that I decided to give two of them, the chance to graffiti tag Lee's 22 foot ceiling. Many years ago, my favorite trick to perform was The Card on the Ceiling. This was years before I was performing much professionally. If you have never seen or heard of it, it's exactly what it sounds like. A playing card is signed, replaced in the deck and the whole deck wrapped with a rubber band. As the deck is thrown upward, one card sticks to the ceiling and of course, it is the signed card. Here's the fun part; it doesn't come down. I have had cards stay in place for years. I even have one in Hersheypark Arena, (that took quite a while). The performance included several of my favorite pieces of sleight of hand I've been performing for many years. Concluding with the cups and balls and the torn cigarette paper. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves throroughly.

Sunday morning, I was off to the movies. I've been waiting for the movie 21 quite a while. I had read the book Bringing Down the House many years ago. This is based on the true story about a group of MIT whiz-kids who go to Vegas and take down the casinos with a complex card counting system. The book was changed quite a bit. It was a little, "Hollywooded" up, but still a fantastic story. I can not recommend this movie enough.

Speaking of Vegas, I'm in total countdown mode for my trip in a few weeks. 26 days to go!

How did you do that?

As a professional magic-type dude, this is of course the most popular question I'm asked. Even with close friends though, I maintain the magician's code of keeping secrets. The second most popular question is "Are you ever fooled." I normally answer "Not as often as I like." There is no greater feeling in the world to me than being amazed. Being as wary I am of magic on TV and the internet, this means I get my fix from other magicians. I'll be in Vegas in a few weeks for The World Magic Seminar, and I'm sure to get fooled plenty, maybe even dish out a little of my own.

I do however love to discuss how magic works. Not necessarily the particulars of any specific thing I perform, but the principles that make it work. So many people say they feel stupid or drunk. This could not be further from the truth. After studying magic for so many years, you can't help but learn a bit about how the brain works. Since this blog is not intended for magicians only, I don't get very specific here. However, I will share a very cool video a fellow magic-type dude sent me. It's a brilliant ad campaign that shows quite a bit about how your brain works. Yep, it fooled the hell out of me.

http://www.dothetest.co.uk/

What is art?

Last night, I had my first night of performing at Texas Roadhouse. What a fun place! I had only eaten there one time before. I was so surprised not only by the fun atmosphere, but by the great enthusiasm the employees have for their jobs. It surely made my night go by quickly. If any of you are in the Harrisburg area, I urge you to stop by the Camp Hill Texas Roadhouse Tuesday evenings from 5-8.

I came across a fascinating article today from almost a year ago in the Washington Post. It details an experiment done by the newspaper and a world renown musician. Here's the link.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html?hpid=topnews

(Edit here, for some reason, I can't click the actual link. If you can't, just copy and paste in your browser window.)

It's a bit lengthy, so I'll give you the gist of it. They conducted an experiment with world famous violinist Joshua Bell. They wanted to know if his art could transcend his venue. They dressed him in jeans and a sweatshirt and set him up in a busy subway station in D.C. As he stood there and played his 3 MILLION dollar violin, (yep, that's right) a shocking thing happened. No one noticed. Now, surely these people could recognize wonderful music. You don't have to be an aficionado of classical music to know it's beautiful. A few people tossed bills and coins in his open case. Of course, he wasn't doing this for the money. Joshua makes about $100 a minute when he plays with symphonies all over the world. The point was would he be regarded as just another street performer. To 99% of the people, the answer sadly, was yes. There was one woman at the end of the story who was a ray of sunshine for me. I really urge you to check it out. There is video and audio. Just look at it and you'll see what I mean.

I got into a very heated debate online with someone on this topic. He says that your venue and audience decide if you are an artist, or just a guy with a fiddle. Undoubtedly, that's what the article would have you believe. I say no. An artist is someone who puts a piece of their very soul into every performance. Joshua does it, the world's great painters do it, and yep this big bald guy with a deck of cards does it. So be on the lookout. You just might see an artist at work when you least expect it. On a street corner, at a train station, or at a restaurant before your meal arrives. Take a few minutes, and enjoy what they are creating for you.

My new gig!

I can now announce that I will be performing at Texas Roadhouse in Camp Hill, PA every Tuesday 5-8. If you've never been. It's a very fun place. Good prices, big juicy steaks, and now a big juicy magician. Stop by if you're in the area.

Bad biker dude...

This past weekend, I had a really fun time performing at a Yamaha motorcycle dealership. They loved me so much, they gave me this bike! Nah, it's a Honda that belongs to a friend of mine. When I has having new head shots done, he was there and the photographer couldn't resist. Anyway, this was a special promotional event for the dealership. They had the usual trappings to entice buyers; prize giveaways, rock band, free wine, gourmet chocolate and a big bald guy doing card tricks. (What a combo.) Everyone was really great and a good time was had by all. I also made a new discovery. There was a lady with gourmet chocolate and she had spicy nacho chips dipped in chocolate. I was a bit apprehensive, it's two tastes that I love, but can't imagine together. (Marge Simpson's butterscotch chicken anyone?) Boy was I wrong. I couldn't have more than one or two at a time, but boy what a different experience.

Also, big news for my fans. (All 2 of you.) I just sealed a deal for a new performance venue in the Harrisburg area. I'm meeting with the staff tomorrow afternoon and after that, I"ll be able to give details.

As a matter of fact, I DO know everybody...

Just a quick post this week to relay a funny story.  Friday night I went to go check out some folks in a band I met a few weeks ago.  The band, Take 147 who does mostly rock covers and a few originals features Greta on guitar and lead vocals, Amber on bass and bongos, (sexy haircut) Patty on drums, (SQUISH HIM) and Mike on lead guitar.  They were playing at a lesbian bar called liquid.  (Not sure if that's PC or not, but that's what it was.)  There were a few guys there, not sure how many of us were straight, I think I can vouch for me and Eddie.  I walked in fresh from a gig, so I'm a bit over-dressed in my gray pin-strip suit.  The second I walked in, I had 2 girls come up and hug me.  "Hey, magician man!"  "Yeah, hey what's up ladies."  I replied.  Of course they asked what I'm doing there.  I guess they wanted me to make sure I didn't wander into a place where I thought I might pick up a date.  I explained that I knew the band and came to check them out.  After I grabbed a beer and sat at a table where Amber's girlfriend Amy was hanging out, I felt someone come behind me and kiss my cheek, then whisper in my ear "You know, this really isn't the place to try and pick up chicks."  I turn around and it's my friend Mary.  We dated for a few months, but like most relationships, I screwed that one up real good.  We're still good friends, although we're both so busy we hardly see each other.  She was out with friends celebrating her new job and someone asked if she'd mind going to see a band at this bar.  Mary seemed to have 4 or 5 cocktails in her by the time I saw her.  After introducing her to Amy and her friend Mary went to get another drink, (lush).  Amy leaned over and asked about her, I explained that we used to date.  Amy's eyes lit up and asked "Is she gay?"  I just had to laugh and explain that I have this thing about bumping into people in the weirdest places.  In fact that night, about 4 total.  6 degrees of seperation?  Try 2 with me.

Back in the swing....

This week was interesting.  No beauty pageants, but fun all the same.

Tuesday was Mardi Gras.  Fat Tuesday, or as I call it Tuesday.  (Damn I love that.)  I was invited to perform for students at Penn State Harrisburg during lunch hour.  The whole atmosphere was very festive.  There was a great dixieland band and jambalaya and king cakes were on the menu for lunch.  Students didn't really have any idea there would be a magician, so I was just a little bonus.  All the students really seemed to enjoy my performance, and the band was really great. Fun time had by all.

Thursday morning, my killer cold from right after New Year's came back.  I swear, I honestly think I have the plague.  I had to heavily medicate myself for 2 shows this weekend.  The magic was pretty easy, I can pretty much do that with my eyes closed.  Saturday night's swing gig was a bit more of a challenge.

Friday night, I had a wonderful evening at my home away from home, Scott's Grille.  A pretty average night.  A few large parties made my evening a lot of fun.  Especially a quartet of diners in their late 50's early 60's.  One man let out several loud obscenities during my performance.  I often tell people, this is the greatest compliment.  Much more so than applause or stunned silence.  People are shocked and they forget proper decorum in a fancy restaurant.  

Saturday night, I was on stage with my horn and my buddies in The Encores Big Band. (encoresbigband.com)  It's a great band that has a light schedule so it fits in well with mine.  Saturday we were at the Valencia Ballroom in York, PA for a special Valentine's diner/dance.  So great to see people actually doing the proper dance steps to all these great old tunes.  One couple in particular had a really mean lindy-hop.  I had a special treat, during our last set, a lady came up to the stage and ask us to do a polka.  The rest of the band kind of laughed, I went nuts.  "Hell yeah, let's polka!"  I was tempted to put the horn down and go and show 'em how a fat guy from Pittsburgh can polka.  (It's a well known fact that when it comes to polka, I'm a bad mofo.)  We ripped though the beer barrel polka and boy the people loved it.  At our next gig, I may have a shill in the audience ask for a polka so I can go and dance.  Another fun part of the night came during our last tune, Things Ain't What They Used To Be, my buddy Jose' Johnson, (trumpet dude and kung-fu badass) shows off by soloing on trumpet and flugelhorn at the same time!  One horn in each hand, 2 measures, then switch.  Damn showoff.

Beauty queen judge...

This post is a bit overdue, but I think it's interesting.  

A few months ago, I got an email from my friend Kirk.  In addition to playing bass in a great jazz/ RnB band called Jazz Me, his "day job" (man I hate that term) is promoting racing events.  Specifically a genre known as "dirt trackin".  Yep, it's just what you think.  Cars racing in a track covered with dirt.  Now, I've never been a big fan of any kind of racing.  Nascar, Formula 1, whatever.  But Kirk is a buddy and is very supportive of my work so I said I would work his event.  It was a whole weekend at the York Fairgrounds called Dirt Trackin' Expo.  I wasn't really sure what to expect.  There were local commercials running around the clock.  I had many friends call me and ask "Are you performing at some kind of tractor pull?"  "Yeah, something like that" I said.  I really had no idea.  It turns out it was sort of a trade show for dirt trackin enthusiasts.  There was plenty of memorabilia, cars, photos, and other stuff.  Of course, it was widely advertised that I would be strolling during the show.  A few days after we agreed I would perform at the show, Kirk drops me another email asking me to appear Friday night to be a judge.  I tell him sure, but I'm not really that much into racing; but whatever he wants.  "You're not judging cars dummy, you'll be judging the Miss Dirt Trackin' competition" he says. "Oh, THAT I can judge!"  It was actually a lot of fun.  Even though racing still isn't my thing, (I actually have a funny NASCAR joke) all the people were great.  The photo above shows me performing for the winner of the Miss Dirt Trackin' competition, Lindsay Krug and family.  Check out Kirk's band at www.jazzmeband.com

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, was my gig at the Hershey Country Club last Saturday night.  (Well La Di freakin' Da!)  I got to perform for about 60 heart surgeons from the Hershey Medical Center.  Shows like this are special to me for a few reasons.  One, I grew up right down the road, and I still love my hometown of Hershey, PA.  Two, I really have so much respect for medical professionals.  Having had my share of problems when I was younger that were dealt with at that same hospital made this important to me.  I told them to go easy on me if I ever wind up on their table.  A special thanks to all my new friends in the vascular surgery dept. at the Hershey Med Center.

Live, or Memorex?

I said this blog would be about different kinds of entertainment. Mostly live, but I will most likely comment on any good movie, TV show, or CD that strikes my fancy as well. This week, we have a bit of both.

This past weekend, I traveled with a few friends to Baltimore and caught an unusual act at a bar called Illusions. Guess what the theme is? The 22 year old proprietor/performer Spencer Horsman has been a friend of mine for years. He grew up in a family of entertainers. Both mom and dad were Ringling Brothers clowns and his dad owned a magic shop in Baltimore. The poor kid never had a chance at a normal life. The place is very smartly decorated with antique magic posters. Leather couches, pool table, booming swing music and $12 martins (ouch Spencer) help make the crowd comfy before the show. Once Spencer takes the stage, he shows experience beyond his years. Now, let me make one thing absolutely clear. I hate this guy. He's young, handsome, very talented, owns his own bar, and the chicks love him. A few lovely ladies made their way onto the stage to assist him and of course, once he flashed those pearly whites, he had them eating out of his hand. The show concludes with an upside down straight-jacket escape above the bar. Not really something you're likely to see at most neighborhood watering holes. Good job Spencer.....but I still hate you.

The idea of a magic bar may be foreign to some people, but at a time they were pretty popular in major cities in the US, most notably Chicago. I was truly born in the wrong city, in the wrong decade. Schuliens, The New York Magic Lounge, The Magic Tap and others served up sleight of hand, suds and plenty of good times. More recently in Snowmass CO the Tower Magic Bar was home to legends such as Doc Eason, Bob Sheets, Eric Mead. This wonderful place, owned by John Denver until his death in '97 is now unfortunately closed. Now, I've been performing magic in a bar/restaurant on a regular basis for about 7 years, but we're talking about something entirely different. An entire place with the theme of magic. There are still a few places around. Houston's Magic Island and Hollywood's famed Magic Castle to name a few. During my little sabbatical from performing for a few weeks, it was so great to sit on the other side and experience the show. There's nothing like live entertainment, unless...

I strolled in my door from Baltimore about 1:45 AM. About 3 hours later than I would have liked, but hey other than laundry I had no major plans for Sunday. Once I rolled out of bed I decided to test a new technology by my favorite company, Apple. Their iTunes music store has become THE place to download music, TV shows, movies and now movie rentals. I was so excited to check this out. I jumped online and found something I meant to see in the theater, but just didn't get to.....Superbad. Now, I have to tell you this movie won't be for everybody.  I can be very sophisticated when I need to be.  I'm a coinesseur of fine music, art, and food.  I go to see foreign language films.  I decided that for a cold, miserable Sunday afternoon, the best bet would be a raunchy teen pic that I can only described as this generation's Porky's.  It's a great story about 3 high school losers and their never ending quest to get some alcohol for a party, solely to get some girls so drunk they'll actually sleep with them.  (Ahh, to be 16 again.)  This movie makes no apologies about the many f-bombs, euphemisms for breasts and penis jokes.   A lot of penis jokes, (there's even illustrations.)  I won't go much into detail, because if this is your kind of movie, you've probably already seen it.  If not, you probably stopped reading long ago.

The main point I brought up the movie was the digital rental service available from Apple.  I was never much of a renter.  If I really wanted to see a DVD, I bought it.  I'm horrible about returning DVDs.  I never got on the Netflix bandwagon because when I want to see a movie, I want to see it now, not 2 days from now.  (I have issues, I know.)  This is the perfect solution. For $4, the movie is delivered to my computer and I can watch it there, or transfer it to my iPod and take it on the go.  I really think this will come in handy when I have to get on a plane. You have 30 days to watch it and the movies disappear from your hard drive 24 hours after you start watching.  For more on the way Apple is changing the way we entertain ourselves on those cold miserable Sunday afternoons, look at my buddy Scott's blog at reelsinmotion.blogspot.com and by all means give it a shot.

Later Tater

Scott, Reggie Bugmuncher, Pepka, Danny Borneo, Johnny Neutrino and Martin Ling


Miss Reggie, she's sexy even with a nightcrawler sticking out of her mouth.


MMMMMMM Yummy....


Martin Ling-The Suicide King earns his nickname

Friends with unusual talents...

In keeping with the title of this blog, I intend to feature some friends of mine who are wonderful entertainers in their own right. This may include bands, magicians, comedians, jugglers; God for bid maybe even a mime. I love to meet people who have a really different act. How many piano-hacks who play show tunes do we really need?

This weekend, I drove down to Philly with my buddy Scott to see....a sideshow. Traditionally, these type of shows were secondary in the circus world. A smaller tent would feature fire eaters, sword swallowers and the like. For the wonderful troupe I saw Saturday night the sideshow IS the show. No second bananas here. This group features Johnny Neutrino, Martin Ling The Suicide King, Sideshow Danny Borneo, and the lovely Miss Reggie Bugmuncher, (guess what her talent is). I've known people for many years that do small bits of sideshow in their act, but this was the first time for me where it was the main attraction. We got to see everything from Martin Ling swallowing swords and sticking his tongue on the spinning metal blades of a fan, to Miss Reggie snack on nightcrawlers and a live goldfish. Then there's my buddy Danny who couldn't find a light for his smoke, so he sticks his face into a shower of white hot sparks coming off an angle grinder. Of course, our guide through this world was Johnny Neutrino; the talker, (not barker) of the group. Before the show, we watched as Danny and Martin ate fire and Johnny attempted to lure people into the bar to see the show. I'll be damned, it worked.

I guess I have to be responsible and tell you that they are highly trained professionals and you shouldn't try any of this stuff at home. (Who the hell is dumb enough to do that?) I urge you to check out their website on my list of links, and if you're ever in the Philadelphia area go see them, you might want to skip lunch though.

And speaking of lunch, this show took place at my new favorite restaurant in Philadelphia, National Mechanics. I really don't know how to describe the decor of the place, but it was...unusual. The food was great and the bar/waitstaff were fun too. When in the City of Brotherly Love, stop in at 22 S. Third St. It's walking distance from Independence Hall. Tell'em Pepka sent you, they'll say...who?

So kid, you wanna blog huh....

So I admit it.  I follow what the other kids do; far behind.  I've been wanting to do this for a while and after urging from my friend Scott Sullivan, (you have him to thank) I figured what the hell.  I figured this would be a fun way for people to find out more about me and my various interests. And for those who thought they knew me, well we'll see about that.  This will be primarily a log of various experiences I have as a performer, places I visit and people I meet.  I don't intend on using this as a soapbox for political and religious mumbo-jumbo, but hey after a few beers, you never know.  I'm also very lucky to be blessed with some of the best friends a guy could ever ask for.  Many of them have never met, so they may actually connect this way also.

So what  is a Pepka?  A Pepka, as defined by the man himself is a 33 year old, happily divorced magician, musician, smart-ass, lover of comedy, technology, Italian food, and German Beer.  Born near Pittsburgh, grew up in Hershey,  and now residing in the vast, thriving metropolis of New Cumberland, PA.  For the last 15 years, I have been a sleight of hand artist.  Yeah, a fancy term for a guy who does card tricks.  I've never liked the term magician.  I also think that unless you're 5, you probably realize it's a trick.  And since I don't perform for 5 year olds, let's just cut the crap.  For the past 23 years, I have been playing trombone.  At times better than others.  In high school I placed first for district band and district orchestra.  What will that get me today? Not a lot.  Maybe an invite to play somewhere, but once they hear me, I may not be invited back.  I love jazz but have played just about every type of music you can imagine; swing, classical, rock and even polka.  (C'mon, a fat guy from Pittsburgh HAS to polka!)  

This will be a learning surely be a learning experience as I figure out how all this stuff works.  If you're still with me after all of this, thanks for reading.