ME AND SONNY ARE GONNA LECTURE VEGAS.

me and Sonny are gonna be in workin sidewalks in vegas.

yep,

the great master Sonny Holliday will be workin next week, on the greatest show business sidewalks in this country,

since we're gonna be in town for our lecture at denny's in vegas, we're gonna be workin the sidewalks in vegas, so if y'all wanna give us a holler or watch our shows while we're out buskin come on down.

if your a big Sonny fan this is a once inna life time thing.

just went and checked it out and vegas is the sidewalk performers dream....miles of very very small sidewalk pitches only large enough for doorway acts with thousands of people walkin by.

i have been donating my fees,hotel pay, and now, any unsold inventory, to denny to show my support for his new free magic school he's putin together.

i'll be writing an artical about this monumental school later.

things are looking up for the beginner who doesn't have the funds to start their new life in magic.

Sonny has agreed to do a show and answer questions at the lecture.

this is big.

JIMMY TALKSALOT LECTURE AT DENNY AND LEE'S

Welp,

i'm actually gonna take off to do a lecture. i make my sole living on the street.

i work every day of my life.

but after meeting Denny at denny and lee's magic shop.

i realized that i needed to get over my hang ups about bein around the magic clubs.

denny is the real thing, he's the old school.

he has what john rachenbaumer has called the last real magic shop in the u.s.

and it is said that Teller loves to get lost in denny's library.

this is a shop for pros this, is where we get our stuff.

the difference is denny is a retired performer who had a huge successfull career and will now teach to who ever will listen the real truth about what we proffessional magicians do.

it took a guy like denny to get me to do a lecture. so i am asking all my friends that can, to go, and also, all those close up magicians looking for a venue and a career to come and see what magic used to be and could still be again if we support folks like denny.

here's the info;

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 8:00 pm
JIMMY TALKSALOT SHOW AND LECTURE IN BALTIMORE
ADMISSION-$20.00

also i will be doing my show and hatting the crowd in the lecture hall.

i have books and the brand new dvd that every one has been waiting for.

also i wll be in vegas speaking at jeff mcbrides school of busking oct 7,8,9th and may do one last lecture in the states in vegas.

if you wanna teacher this is opportunity.

here's denny's site;

dennymagic.com

IT'S HARDER TO DO IT THE MASTERS WAY.

it should be understood i am not calling myself a master by any stretch..lol

but this artical is good as a goal to try and be one..........

any shmuck can get an amp a table and two generic tricks and clap and cheer an audience into paying a big hat.

believe me, i've done it many times.

it's even easier to just clone a show that works.

they can do this and call themselves a magician and if they make enough money the "magic community" will follow them around and honor them like lap dogs hoping for crumbs to fill their egos.

but this don't make it true.

the fact is.....it's difficult to be a real magician.

first off, you have to be one.

no really.

and being one has a whole lot more to do than just having chops. skills alone don't make a magician.

how are you gonna convince laymen your a magician if you don't believe it?

second, you have to just suck it up and embrace the fact that you are one.

and stop trying to be something you're not, to "please" the people around you.

you're not doing any one any favors.

third, you have to devote your life to it.

being a magician is a state of mind, life style, a practice, and a real person.

being a magician is a like a disease, the victim can't be anything else.

it literally consumes him.

i believe we were born this way.

i believe merlin was from the same stock as us.....only better.

ask yourself, if there was such a thing as a real magician, what would he do for a living?

what would he look like?

what and where would he eat?

how would he commute?

the fact is a magician is a wise man, worldly, theatrical, eccentric, with extensive knowledege of the sciences, the occult, spiritual, supernatural, and bizaar things.

he is a master of ESP and psycology. he can conjure with his hands and if he's any good no one will know this.

society relys on him to entertain, educate, give hope, and protect them from charlatains.

and to fill in many other holes that the modern world just can't fill.

being a magician is a lot bigger than all the things i've listed here, but i am limited in space and in time.

the point is, to try and master this takes commitment and disipline....even if you were born one.

any body can buy a gimmick, but in the hands of a magician it becomes real.

because to him it's not a sneaky trick to decieve people, it's an ancient real magic device to make stuff appear and vanish etc. it's a tool to make magic happen.

it's real.

an amatuer or a layman can't grasp this, they think magic is a trick and or superstition....they don't really understand that magic is a real thing.

whether it's trickery, illusion, or assumption, is irrelevant....we're talking about magic remember, not empirical science, different subject.

is a nightmare any less frightning, because it happened in a dream?

is a movie really not real...than what were you doing for two hours at that theater?

movies, books, and other art forms are real. they time travel and create real moments and dramatically change the world.

this is why real magicians are artists, - NOT craftsmen.

a carpenter can make a chair, but an artist creates one....this is harder.

....so, when your out there on the street representing us magicians remember this.

i know it's easier to just listen to those "get rich quick" buskers who call themselves craftsmen, who tell you to forget about magic.

they'll tell you to just clap and cheer them and stay focused on the money and treat it like a sales presentation.

they will tell you people like sheridan or cellini's style wont work now...but just remember sheridan and cellini and the many other masters could do it because they had talent and didn't need to rely on cheap gimmicks or extortion to make their living, they didn't have to.

their work spoke for itself and got the people to stop, stay, and pay.

there are plenty of performers doing creative quality shows out there right now, making a great living.....it's just harder that's all.

try and remember who we are and how we represent ourselves and our art.

don't sell out, show a little dignity.

after all the streets are an escape from conforming to the business machine....don't make them the same nightmare we ran away from in the first place.

PODCAST INTERVIEW CITY BEAT MAGAZINE

I did an interview about busking in San Diego on a podcast for City Beat Magazine, I hope you'll check it out HERE

You can download the podcast.

STREET METHOD AND SHOW SIZE.

this of course is written for the beginner.

the key to busking i think is;

"get em to stop." "get em to stay." "get em to pay."

this is what matters most.

it doesn't matter how long your show is, or how big or small it plays.

what matters most is, if you got em to, stop, stay, and pay.

before doing a show, KNOW what type of show you are going to do!

you may like to do;

close up, or parlor, or stage, on the street, but what ever you do,

you have to set up and organize the crowd to present your work and then get paid to do it.

there is of course different methods to do this depending on the size and length of your show,

and you should choose a method that best suits the need of the show you wanna do.



generally speaking;



1."close up" or "sidewalk show", is a short show around 8 - 12 mins. and therefore,

in my opinion,

demands a quick build. and a brisk steady tempo to finale and hat.

to start, the intire crowd walking by on the sidewalk, needs to stop walking all at once and turn to you, then be brought in as close as possible.

this can be done with sharp patter and a simple large visual effect, or mimed in the same way.

after they are brought in, they are held in place by steady mime or patter and presentation.

through out the show they are reminded that they need to tip at the end of the show, and at last, before and after the finale.



2. the parlor or half circle show is the same, except the tempo is slowed and the program will run longer 15 - 25 mins.

after the crowd has been brought in close, for commitment sake, they are backed up to present parlor,

this of course isn't always needed if the crowd is a strongly committed one, as in maybe a festival.



3. stage or circle show can either be started by progressing up the latter from close up to parlor or can be started with a slow build of crowd building instead.

in other words you can entertain your audience with magic while they wait for the audience to get bigger or you can clap and cheer them for the entire time,

and or using other stalling methods some use stand up comedy to entertain them while they wait.

this is needed of course, because a large production usually needs a large audience and it can take awhile for the bodies to move into position.

also the "circle show" has a much slower tempo because it's motivation is different.

it's motivation of course is to attract those who are willing to stay 30, 45, or more mins.



- in choosing the size and method of your show;

it should be understood that a pro can perform any of these, and if you desire to be a pro you will need to know how to do all of them.

different size and method should be used to fit the venue.

but if you have the luxury to do what ever you want on your venue, in other words,

if there is a pitch of any size and lots of foot traffic, then the decision is a simple one, do what you love most.

- my choice?

i have done all of these, but i prefer to do sidewalks, but if i need money i do half circles.

this has worked best for me in my career on the street.

the only time i do circle shows anymore is if i am hired by a festival to do circle shows,

or on the street, if the show turns into that...if that's what the people want, then i will slow the tempo down and put in more material.

the point of all this is to know what the show is going to look like before you present it to an audience,

that way you and your adience will know where your going and what is expected of everyone.

and stop thinking about money......people smell desperation.....do what you love and the money will follow.

it has always been my opinion that no matter what the type of show or work we do on the street we are all in it together,

we are all buskers and should try and stick together.

also, i'm writing this because when ever i am teaching on the street, i have found that beginners are going out there and just trying to make anything work on a wing and a prayer.

don't get me wrong this is great in trying to find your self and what works, but it can be a bit brutal on you.

so i think you should try and invision the show first...after all, how is the audience supposed to understand your program if you don't.

any way, i hope this helped some one.

you pal jimmy
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ART, CRAFT, AND ORIGINALITY OF A STREET MAGICIAN

JIMMY TALKSALOT
street magician








alot of people unfamiliar with street magic,

Who see a good street magician always ask,

"where did they learn that show or where did they get those quality props?"

"where did they come up with that way of doing that trick or where did they get that character?"

welp, they made them.

you see along with being an art and business, this is a craft.

if you can't make your own show,

you may not belong in this business, unless maybe, you can pay some one to make you a unique original show for you.

but even then you should ask yourself, "if i'm not creative enough to make my own show, why am i getting into the creative business?"

granted maybe your charismatic enough to entertain people from a tellemarketing script,

but,

if your not creative enough to create your own routines, lines, bits, and shows, you may just be a common salesman, who by the way can be very entertaining,

but of course for a different motive and venue.

and if you are a common saleman, i assure you there is much more money in tax annuities than busking.....go there, because that should be the motive of a salesman.

you see, the motive of a magician is to be a magician and to live that life.

you see, a magician makes his living by doing magic, not by any other product that will make him more money.

if you can't make your own props, it maybe because your not a creative person....and what makes you think you should be in a business that is intrinsically creative?

the reason we make our own props, is because one size doesn't fit all characters, physiques, and comfort zones.

heck, most of the props we need are not made because we maybe the only person doing that trick.

if you want to be a proffessional magician, you should do a lot of soul searching and strict self criticism to see if you really are this thing.

because i wouldn't wish this on my own worst enemy.

we are born this way, more than we are made.


if you weren't born to be a magician, my gad please look into what you were born to be.

it will save you years of up hill battle.

many amatuer magicians are always looking for that newest one big trick that will make their career.

the place to look for this trick is in research, stage time and in your own imagination.

now, i know that there are a lot of tricks, props, and other products on the market that promise you fame and fortune......

wake up!!!!!

these are made by creative people for uncreative people, just as a magic show is created for people who can't do magic.

these products are wonderful to use as research and a thing to get the creative juices flowing, or as another color on the palet.

please don't get me wrong products are great!

but what you do with them and how you make a new tool from the original idea is what is most important.

and i assure the reader it will be the self made, or proffessionally written, original presentation, of a very unique effect that will make you successful.

this of course is extremely difficult and not many of us, myself included, have achieved this to perfection, as many of the great legends have, but this is the work.

the real work.

in my book i try and teach this.

i go in length how to create a show and props.
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i don't want anyone to get the wrong idea and think i am full of myself and think that i am the most creative person, blah blah blah.

infact i am not saying this at all.


it should be noted i believe of course, that everyone is creative, to some degree, and with their own thing.

i fancy myself a good cook, but i simply wasn't born to be a proffessional chef.

i am not driven for that, hence my creativy wont excell in cooking, as much as some one driven to do it.

lord knows i love to eat good cooking and try my hand at it some times.

but that's a big difference from thinking i am a master chef and i will take on the world with it.....

also i am well aware that there are many more creative people than me in busking,

certainly many of my students and all of my teachers are,

but i'm the best at doing my show, because it's mine.

this is about being honest with yourself and knowing your limitations.

this is about not pretending to be something that your not.

this is about keeping up the quality of our society as magicians, by being where we are needed most.

your pal jimmy

SURVIVING IN A SMALL TOWN

for the past two years,

i have been working in the hardest town,

i have ever had to work.






i have been supporting myself and my family.

i have had a lot of requests to tell my secret.

so here it is.

the trick to making a living as a busker in a very small town with hardly any foot traffic is to;


#1.
work small short shows all day and night, every day and night without fail.

if you do not work you will go back to the "real job."

YOU MUST get it into your head that this is a real full time job.

so pack a lunch and go put in as many hours as you can.

think 8 to 10 hours miniumum.

even if you suck you are bound to make money with those hours seven days a week.



# 2.
week days are a must, no exception.

do short small sidewalk shows all day and night on the week days.

week days are crucial. if your only going out on week ends.....you will fail.

if you are going out on the weekends,

fighting with other weekend warrior buskers for the good spot and only getting a few shows off for the day....you will fail.

on the week ends go out and find your own pitch somewhere and bang out as many shows as you can all day.

by the time the weekend comes, i have already made my money during the week.

so the weekend isn't a big hassle and rush to make money.

working when it is hard on the week days make you a stronger busker, so when you are on a better spot you will clean house.

the amatuer goes for a few hours on the weekend and makes a little.

the pro works all week and makes a living.

this is the #1 thing that a beginner doesn't get.

if you wont work weekdays, save yourself and all of us pros some grief and give up your dream of being a pro.


#3
when working week ends do as big a show as you can to maximise your hats.

week ends are for half circle to circle shows.

so you may have a week day rig and a week end rig, but be careful because some week days you may be able to pull a big show off.

a circle show is quick big money if you can get one off.


#4
don't judge your money by the day.

judge your money by the month.

judge your money by the week to see if your on track for the month.. then divide by forty hours to see how you compare to a real job.

if you have 3 bad days and you judged by the day you will get very discouraged...but you may have had a great week.


#5
you will have to make less money per show, to make more money in the long run.

in other words if a mall or a shop is letting you work their property and you keep blowing the pitch up with huge crowds and loud amps and long shows....

they will get rid of you.

remember familiarity breeds contempt.

this of course will cost you quite a bit of money per day, but in the long run over a year you will have a full time job.

if you can get the cops and the shops to think that you care about their rules and that you are not making that much they will will defend you.

remember, no one cares until you start making money.


#6
figure out the foot traffic schedule for each pitch for that day in your town.

when your on that pitch, stay on that pitch til it's done, milk it.

also if your pitch dies at a certain time of day and another one in town picks up go there and milk that one.

in other words,

the park or the board/river walk may be busy during the day

then at night the downtown club strip may pick up...so there's your schedual for the day and night.

try and keep your 10 hour day to no more than 2 locations when you go out and work.


#7
pick up as many festivals, craft fairs, and town events you can crash or get permission for.

try and move about town through out the month, when picking these up,

because if your in a small town, by the end of the day, they may have all seen you in that little section of town.


#8
keep a record book.

record all your pitch locations, your hours on each pitch for the day, and how much you made per pitch.

also, you may want to make a little note of things conserning the job that could be important in the future.

this will tell you how much your making per month and where.

it will also let you know next year where the money will be and what you may expect.


#9
don't be afraid to commute every day to the closest busy town next to you.

i myself commute, two hours by trolley to the pitch then two hours home every day.


#10
bad weather?

no problem,

if it's not too cold for people to stop, then work.

i have worked many times in the snow, when i was hard up.

there's gloves that are thin enough and tricks that you can do with stiff hands.

also if it's raining, that's great, because you can busk under an over hang to a {literally} captive audience.

also when there's a break in the rain you can make a big show with a fat hat, just make it quick and judge wheater or not it's gonna rain before your finale.

of course, you can also busk indoors throughout the winter.

just hit every single family resteruant and bar in town.

this is about commitment.



#11
once again, work weekdays.

this will make you the strongest crowd puller in your town.

it will also make you the monthly income you so desperately need.

while the weekend warrior idiots are fighting over a pitch and scrambling to make all their money in two days,

you will already have made your quota for the week.

let em fight, and you go find a pitch of your own, because your strong enough to work a slower pitch then them,

because you have trained all week on the slow pitch.

and remember.

short small shows on the weekdays.

and large commercial shows on the week ends.

i hope this helps.

your pal jimmy

MAKE YOUR OWN STANDARD.

this is really advise

to my fellow

small show performers


sidewalk/doorway/half circle acts....[close up to parlor].

this is probably the hardest lesson i ever learned.....i payed dearly for it i assure the reader.

my teacher told me a long time ago, "make your OWN standard."

i started out doing circle shows, long big, and big money. i felt uncomfortable with them because it felt like it was a long stall, build, and constant begging for money.

another thing i felt is that they had had enough of jimmy talksalot after 20 mins.

i just didn't feel like it was theater like some of my friends who did brilliant, entertaining 45 mins. circle shows....there out there and their great.

i felt like i was turning into one of those stall and extort 45 mins. shows that plague so many streets out there calling themselves buskers.

then i started finding myself loving the 10 min. close up sidewalk/doorway acts, after mastering this i would always look enviously at the circle show acts around me.

so i would try and do large half circle shows and then tryed going back and relearning circle shows, but on my terms.

so i did that...

anyway the whole time i felt like i was betraying what i was born to do.

i watched some of my friends who usually do circle shows trying to do sidewalks with the same feelings...they wished they were doing circles instead, you know what THEY were born to do.

so since i have been doing my sidewalks and half circle shows life has gotten better for me, i am making better money and my show has improved.

granted i'm not making the big bucks like i did with the circles......but as my teacher has always said, "do what you love and the money will follow."

i say if you were born to do circle shows do them!

if you were born to do smaller shows, then do them, but remember the moment you start venturing where you don't belong there will be suffering.

suffering can be good it makes you stronger and wiser and gives you a few things under your belt....but hindsight is pretty important too...know what i mean?

one last bit of business, if you do sidewalks or door way acts.......stay away from the circle show acts.

they need a lot of room and money,

alot of them can't just pick up and move like you,

and if the walkers are a slow trickle, those circle guys are gonna be grumpy that your making money while they arn't.

another thing, don't let your mind get all wrapped up in, how much money the other guys are doin,

or because you think they are getting all the rock star fame because of the size of thier show.

if he's a statue and he's makin less don't judge him, or if he's a circle and makin more, i wouldn't judge that either, because your, WORKING WITH YOUR OWN STANDARD.

a lot of these circle show guys will try and make fun of you for working so hard for so little of money, they will try and recruit you into doing it "their way".

...well i can't tell you how many nights i had to pay hotel bills for my circle show buddies, because we were inna town that wouldn't let circle shows work....i was the only one workin,

the recruiters took the day off that week.........

once i actually had a circle guy tell me, "you know jimmy you shouldn't sell yourself short with those little shows." heh, it remeinded me of the time another guy told me,

"don't worry jimmy i got us a job driven a truck so you don't have to do that magic trick stuff anymore."

neither one of em got it....

it should be understood that i may do a circle show every day, but it just turns into that, i did not go out there with intent to do a circle show, nor do i want to.

i like to think of myself on a journey with no set destination, if the people are into it, i'll stay longer, if not i'll end with my quick alternative ending and get out.

but this is the point.

what type of show did you design?

was it because you loved it or was it because some dvd told you it would make money?

anyway....do what you love and the money will follow....AND.....make your OWN standard.

some may think my standard is pretty rich....well i don't think it is.

others make think my standard is bum, well they arn't livin my life, I AM and it's my standard.

i'm happy, my families happy, and my audience is happy...are yours?


just thinkin out loud.

your pal jimmy.

MY METHOD TO BUILD AND DRAW AN EDGE IN CLOSE.

here's how to build an large crowd instantly and have them rush forward all at once into a tight edge.

do a large flashy effect with a lot of energy and noise, suitable for a stage or stadium setting.

repeat this or short routine.

that will get instant crowd.

throw a small object on the ground, one that is a suitable prop for a close up routine. eg. a coin, small crochet ball, thimble etc.

take at least a minute to to talk up the prop and how amazing the trick is that it does.

then tell the people WITH OUT ASKING that if they want to see the trick they will have to come in closer because the object is to small to see from far away.

then wave them in as you look at the object never looking up till the crowd is up to the line.


if done properly they will all rush in very very tight.

if your using a table for a cups n balls show-

the original method was warpos pitch method and was done from a table.

he would do the silk vanish to stop em far away and then tell everyone how amazing the deck was and that if they wanted to see it they would have to come up to the table to see it.

he would put his head down and stare at the deck and wave them in with out looking up until the table was surrounded and then he would begin his pitch.

the thing is i am always asked what if i wanna do close up on the street, how do i get em to stop emediatly and come in where they can see it.

i believe this method is a strong answer to that question.

when doing table walk around you constantly have to break the ice at every table....i've always hated that. i like to spend my time performing not convincing and ushering.

it's just what has worked for me.

it works like this.

your sitting on the couch and a trailer for a movie comes on and you decided if you wanna go see the movie, if it looks good you go to all the trouble to go see it.

what i'm doing is no different, i throw a trailer out there, infact i tell em, "i'm gonna do some tricks first that way you can see if i'm any good if you even wanna watch it."

i have often watched street performers throw a coin on the ground and try and stop people one at a time, "hey do me a favor and watch what this coin is gonna do."

i think this is the worst thing....asking some one to do you a favor, when your the one who is doing them a favor!

those hostages don't stick to the edge, they are always looking for a way out, after all they did you a favor watching the first trick, and if you were any good every one would wanna watch with out having to be asked...right?

anyway i hope y'all get the drift.

showing them a stage or parlor trick from far away where they don't hafta commit and can judge for themselves, i think is the best way to build repore instantly.


after you have repore, throw your favorite close up prop on the ground or table and tell em if they wanna see what it's gonna do they gotta move forward, "CUZ I'M NOT DOIN IT AGAIN!"

never ask some one if they wanna see a trick. a doctor doesn't ask if he can save your life....unless he is known for botching.


"this guy is good did you see the first tricks he did?"

"yeah and he don't care if we watch it or not, he said he's gonna do it anyway, for the people who wanna have fun."

"i wanna have fun"

"ha ha, look he's making fun of the fun haters who wont stop and watch"

"man he doesn't care, i never knew a sidewalk could be fun and safe enough to watch a show...."

watch me use the method in this mini documentry.



looking at many other videos of me and my friends you can see the same method.

LIVING WITHIN ONE'S MEANS.

welp this one has been a long time comming;

some of the least known things about the buskers's life is that it requires 3 very important things; a work ethic, a frugal and practical disipline, and a keen sense of survival.

read that again and notice the order.

some begginers have a miss conception of busking as a lifestyle.

the first thing of course one should understand is that it is a career.

DIFFERENT CAREERS, DEMAND DIFFERENT LIFESTYLES.

But here's the most important thing,

if your a yuppie who keeps up with the jones's you are going to be fighting an up hill battle as a busker, i don't care how big you think your hats are.

one of the biggest problems with us americans today, is that we forgot how we built this empire, starting from lets say the 30's we began as a hard working class majority of people who moved where the work was,

then some how we went to be a self centered, spoiled, stagnant bunch who expects everything without working for it........

well my friends, reality is crawling up our chests, right into our faces with the state of our country.

we are finacially and morally bankrupt.....we forgot some things that our ancestors taught us.

the point is that most full time buskers are working class people, certainly the beginners. in order to make your new career work you will need to be frugal and practical, you will need to submit to the idea that you will have to go to where ever the work is best and work many, MANY, MANY, HOURS.

granted as buskers we live pretty well, especially if we are single, but some times..times can be slim.

those who have been doing it for years know that keeping up with the jones is not compatible with what we are doing.

example; most of us with families will go to a pitch for the season and stay and work it to death until it is milked dry and then move on to greener pastures, sending money home in bulk every morning. some of us who are more frugal,
will sleep in our vehicals and get a room every couple of nights. some of us will go in with many other buskers on a cheap apartment for the season and bunk there and eat in......sending money home every morning.

many of us travel the world, working on our careers and supporting a life at the home front.

basically we are blue collar workers in tux shirts.

we are not talking about rich or poor...because every wealthy wise man knows fortunes need to be earned.

of course this artical here is going to get many interpetations from every different person reading it, but one thing that should be understood is that busking full time as a sole means of income is a unique lifestyle and one will have to learn how to adjust, through research and a willingness to change ones predjudice.

JIMMY TALKSALOT - SAN DIEGO

Seaport Village in San Diego, small sidewalk show.

PEPPE'S MINI DOCUMENTARY ON BUSKING.

Well,be warned this mini documentary has some bad words and stuff, but it definately expresses what i have been trying to get through about money, what we do, and our lifes work.

the rest of the blog doesn't use bad words.....it's just that this is a really important busker talking about some really important stuff....he's just using street language.

MOTIVATIONS-by Eric Evans

i have here an artical before me, that my friend ERIC EVANS wrote awhile back on an old forum we used to frequent.

he got his head ripped off for writing it....so you know it's probably good.

they hated it because it talked about the motivations of why people go to the street to work.

some of the readers there hated it because he didn't put money first and further stated that talent was judged on more then income.

i thought it so relevant that i should post it here.

here's the artical by Eric Evans;
it's titled;

MOTIVATIONS


I guess I need to spell something out…
(The reasons are simple, and not what they might at first appear to be).

I’ve been working the streets for years and years and over that time I’ve seen all sorts of people come and go. Used to, I’d see all kinds of performers who were driven there from sheer desire to perform, and the ones who were good at it made money. The ones who weren’t that good at it didn’t make all that much, but they were still doing what they loved – performing.

Then David Blaine hit it big.

David Groves was one of the guys who decided to cash in on it by writing a book. Now I’ve only read David’s book once, but aside from some good advice from other guys, mostly what I remember (besides the slick, professional packaging) is him promising the reader tens of thousand’s of dollars every other week, financial bliss, if one were to “be a Street Magician!” It was a pretty good book, other than that. At least David “interviewed” some good guys.

I was one of those who were driven to the street to perform. Not because I couldn’t find anywhere else but because that is the place where the purest, most beautiful performances can be had. What constitutes “pure”?

In 1991 I was performing walkaround in the penthouse of a hotel in downtown Dallas, one might say a real sweet gig – making roughly 500 dollars for a couple/few hours work. As I was performing I felt couldn’t escape a feeling like I was some kind of “pet”, like someone’s prize poodle. It didn’t feel right and for once I saw clearly why. Working in a hip restaurant two nights a week and taking other work on the side had left me feeling burned out. My magic was going nowhere as I was loosing touch with what had brought me to that point, my love for magic. It was it was during that time that I met Cellini. I had decided to work the street in Dallas, a couple of friends worked there, and while I now felt like it was somewhat “beneath” me at this step in my development – it turned out to be the best move I ever made. For it was there that I met Cellini.

Cellini was buoyed by freedom. His magic was unencumbered by social propriety and convention. I was so blown away by his example that a month later I hit the road and decided to make the Street my home too.

Over the years things have changed drastically as to the world of Street Performing in general and Street Magic in particular.

Now, literally everywhere I go, I see performers, who instead of perfecting shows and their own ability to express themselves in their own way and time, make shows that push the idea in their audiences head that they should give them lots of money. Their show becomes a medium for selling an idea, one simple idea, that their audience owes them something. One long commercial, and sure commercials can be funny and entertaining, but they’re just commercials. And like commercials, how much money they generate is the bottom line, the single most important consideration.

Take a stroll down the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica CA. some weekend afternoon or night and you’ll see what I mean. If their not making it, they’re telling everyone that they’re making it in the hopes to create, from sheer will power, the illusion that they’re making it so they will make it.

And make it they will.

Their good because they make the money, they’re defined by it. Sure they have some tricks up their sleeve, there’s has to be some entertainment value there upon which to hang the notion that their audience pay them big for it.

Watch them closely and you can see them grab their audiences by the proverbial throat and demand payment. And if you can’t see it, keep looking because it’s there to be uncovered and as a magician, as a real magician, you should know about these things, see them for what they are.

You see I went to the street because that was the one place I could find families. Families are my target. Nothing in this world means more to me than creating smiles on their faces and laughter in their hearts from magic. Now maybe I don’t make thousands upon thousands of dollars every week, but those guys that do, can’t necessarily do that.

I guess maybe they’ve never seen those smiles or don’t know how valuable they are.

Unfortunately, most people don’t recognize the value of that ability to create those smiles, at least not immediately. And one day soon, maybe I’ll learn the perfect way to communicate what they’re worth, but until that day comes, I won’t allow my show to become a commercial. There’s nothing magical about a commercial.

JIMMY TALKSALOT - ESPANA

this is me working in Barcelona, Spain. i love it there, spain is my favorite place to work.














don't forget to check out the who's who of sidewalk performers blog to see some of the other characters out there on the sidewalks of the world.

http://sidewalkperformerswhoswho.blogspot.com/
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THE PROS AND CONS TO THE WAY I WORK

i don't use an amp.

i don't use a table.

i don't use any fire.

i don't do cups and balls or a straight jacket.

i don't juggle or break dance or play an instrument.

i don't do close up tricks, but all my tricks can be seen close up or far away or surrounded.

i don't need a cart to carry my stuff.

i can walk down the street with NOTHING in my hands, stop build a large crowd and do a show any where.

i can come and go into businesses like any other normal person with out lugging stuff.

i can blend into a crowd if i need too. and just walk away before being confronted by an authority.

i can pass through customs with out being suspected as a street performer comming to work in their country, because i don't have a massive rig to explain. and i don't have to deal with shipping.

i do large parlor effects and a large half circle show ONLY WORKING FROM MY POCKETS . i can do a show 3 mins. - 30 mins. what ever will fit my needs or the needs of the pitch or the customer.

with these methods it is difficult for cops or other authorities to regulate me. this is my main objective. THIS IS MY MAIN OBJECTIVE!

the draw back to my system is it is much more difficult for me to compete with the larger circle shows with amps and huge rigs and $150 and up hats. i can make these hats but not as consistantly as proper circle show guys can.

it's give and take because, i don't have to suffer regulation like those guys and there is ALWAYS a place for me to work. the big amplified circle show spots are drying up in america, there were never many to begin with. so i take a very, very, small cut in pay per show verses the big circle show but i'm always workin, year round, any town, any where.

i do not suck all the fun out of what i do, by doing a commercial show. i try and create original tricks to perform instead of the old stand byes like cups or silk vanish etc. these tricks are great and gaurunteed to be a success by any one.......but that's really the point why i don't do them.

i love the cups and balls it's my favorite street trick and in my opinion there is no better trick for the street....none.

that's why i love the chalenge of not doing it.

i think the great draw to the street is it's fun and chalenging and is a great place to create.

this is the draw to the beginning artist type to come to the street, and to tell this type of individual that he must have a commercial show, can only be described as the rehtoric of a bitter fun hater.

but for the those less artistic beginners who are only interested in MONEY my way of working could be fatal and should be avoided because my way is not a way to make huge hats. a money guy should definately persue a larger rig and a large amplified show for larger hats for more spectacle and delay and hat build.

i'm not saying i'm artsy, i never thought i was, until all the accussations by my critiques. frankly i never thought i was good enough to be artsy. our enemys will even compliment us if they have to, so they can insult us.

your pal jimmy

here's a day at the office, showing a pretty good example of some of the strategies i use.



THIS IS A MINI DOCUMENTARY MY TEACHER DOUG CONN MADE OF ME.