Street Magic Magazine

[Richard Kaufman]

I do not know of anyone who has seen a copy.

Since the first issue was supposed to have been dated "March," and it's now April, not sure what it all means.

[Guest]

I've got a copy. I really wanted to see what it is all about. I think it is hilarious. It is so sad. Let's see. The "fashion" section was a joke. My favorite section was the one on how to protect yourself using a choke hold. That's right, a choke hold. Now, if someone attacks you I suggest throwing your color changing knives at them and blinding them with flash paper, but that's just me. I can not believe that this was in the magazine. I hope it was a joke. I hope that the little teenie boppers that will read this know not to do this. Someone takes offense to your magic, apologize and walk away. Stick with Antinomy, Genii, take your pick. Even Maxim is better, no magic but lots of pretty girls.

[Richard Kaufman]

Marshall, where did you get your copy?

[Guest]

I ordered off the website and just got it in the mail today. It had been a while though. I recommend a different magazine for self defense techniques though.

[Guest]

I'd be very interested to hear when copies start to show up, as promised, at newstands and bookstore chains with magazine sections. I made several inquiries by phone and email about stocking copies for H & R and have yet to get a response. It doesn't bode well for the enterprise when the first impression doesn't live up to expectations. Hard to overcome those first impressions...
Here's a quote from the subscription page that makes me hesitant to subscribe:
"But most of all, we are totally unpredictable. Period. Youll never know whats going to happen next in SMand thats what makes us really stand out."

[Guest]

I had an interesting thing happen to me over on another forum a few weeks ago. Someone had asked what bookstore, any bookstore in America would be carrying the magazine. When there was no direct response to the question, meaning a store name, I asked also, saying wouldnt it be good marketing to tell people what stores we could purchase the magazine at, and if it currently isnt available in magazine or bookstores to just say so. My post was met with a nasty PM direct from the publisher telling me he was insulted that I insinuated he wasnt honest, questioned his marketing strategy, and that I knew nothing about marketing and he did not want his competitors to know where it would be available (or his customers I guess), and that if I didnt stop pushing him (what ever that meant) he would take action.

He did take action, for within a few days my post and another other fellows follow-up post were both removed without any notice as to why, and all of the publishers posts were left. There was nothing demeaning,or rude about my, or the other gentlemans posts, just some very simple questions.

My desire to find, and or support his magazine ended with his nasty PM. Nice marketing?

[Guest]

I posted in the green room that I had submitted an article that I knew he wouldn't print because it approached arrogance in magic from a viewpoint he wouldn't suppport. I got a string of angry PM's from him, the first of which said that he was getting articles from everyone in magic who thought he was a writer, and he couldn't print all the articles.

I informed him that someone who had seen my writing and who worked for him had solicited the article from me. He huffed and puffed, then he said he would investigate.

I'm not holding my breath.

I've already submitted the same article elsewhere and it has been published.

[Guest]

I am curious about their ads in Genii.

Two ads, both the wrong size, both showing all the printer's trim guides, the color guides etc.

To happen one month is understandable, mistakes happen. People misread the tech spec of the mag.

But two months in a row?

Odd.

Unless putting that information deliberately on an ad makes it 'urban and gritty'?

[Richard Kaufman]

We were specifically instructed to leave in the supposed printer's guides and color bars, etc.

They're fake, of course--no ad has stuff like that on it. Only an untrimmed printed sample from a printer would, and the printer would always trim that stuff off before sending it to you.

It's just a design treatment--not a mistake.

[Guest]

How very strange. I thought it unlikely it would be a printing error on your end Mr K. Not twice anyway.

As a professional marketeer, I do wonder what they were striving to achieve with this. It's odd to prepare a print ad to look like it was made the wrong size for the bleed/trim dimensions.

I cannot figure out for the life of me what this achieves. Maybe because I am 35 I am outside their target market. I didn't really 'get' pokemon either.

I guess I am out of touch with 'the kids'. I am just not urban and gritty any more.

Actually I am not sure I ever was :)

[Guest]

Better to be urbane rather than urban in any case :)

[Brad Henderson]

Bill writes:

"I posted in the green room that I had submitted an article that I knew he wouldn't print because it approached arrogance in magic from a viewpoint he wouldn't suppport. I got a string of angry PM's from him, the first of which said that he was getting articles from everyone in magic who thought he was a writer, and he couldn't print all the articles.

I informed him that someone who had seen my writing and who worked for him had solicited the article from me. He huffed and puffed, then he said he would investigate.

This is particularly odd since he actually posted an "open challenge" on the Cafe calling for articles from people. I guess he only wants articles he agrees with.

I too had a nasty go around with him, though not over the street magic thing. Someone had asked about putting other's material out on DVD. Clark's position was that as long as you didn't break any law, then do whatever you wanted, consequences be damned. I suggested that in the long run, that may close more doors than it opened.

I also understand he can be quite the bully when he wants too. This might explain the sleeper hold section in the mag. Unrequieted rage and all.

Brad

[Dave Egleston]

Has anyone seen these magazines in Borders or Barnes & Noble yet?

I keep looking for them but haven't seen them.

Dave

[Guest]

seen it. overhyped... say it isn't so.

I like how they rail on magic guys for wearing leather jackets(jason?).... then they have a three picture spread of Cyril wearing a leather jacket in each shot! LOL!

Lame-O!! three issues max (unless daddy is rich) :p

[Guest]

The owner insistes that "street magicians" are not only real but a huge group that goes way beyond "fad".

Picturing my definition of "street magician" (someone that spends a lot of time wandering around interrupting people on the streets to do magic tricks), it just doesn't seem possible so in the green room I asked for a show of hands in the "street magic" forum (of course).

Well, about a week later there are about 2 street magicians and one of my buddies chimed in that he is a "bus magician". So that's about 3 altogether.

Obviously not super scientific but I figured what better place to ask.

I have nothing against the magazine as long as it responsibly moves magic forward and not backward.

I just don't think there are (m)any real street magicians and thought I'd conduct an experiment to see for myself.

I'm almost convinced I'm correct.

In the end, I guess it's just another magazine about magic. I just hope it is done responsibly.

I'm off to go learn that choke-hold.

[Guest]

And I stand by a comment I made in an earlier thread.
Street Magic magazine will not survive unless it becomes more mainstream.
And from what I read here, probably even that won't help it.

Gord

[Guest]

I have yet to see copies in public venues, but most magic shops can now easily get copies through Murphy's Magic Supplies. We got our shop copies earlier this week. Those copies are not sealed in bags as the publicly sold ones are supposed to be (to avoid the exposure issue). I enjoyed the Cyril interview, but I have to admit that I'm a fan!

[Brandon Hall]

We ARE a bunch of elitists, arent we?

[Guest]

Oh? :confused:

[Guest]

A poster mentioned the idea of too narrow a focus. I think that is exactly what made ellusionist so popular. If Street Magic does the same and ignores us old fogey's who knows how well it will do.

It has to hit a different market as trying to take market shares from Genii or MAGIC would be suicide.

Randy

PS "I hope it does quite well."

[Guest]

What I'm intrigued by are the obviously fake ads purportedly from companies like Levi's and Red Bull. I'm not even sure it's legal to include ads like these in a magazine as it implies that they endorse the magazine in some way. I realize the guy behind the magazine thought this would make it seem more legit as he marketed it to mainstream bookstores, but it seems a little shady to me.

On top of that, 80% of the content is awful.

[Guest]

Fake ads!? Awesome! Seriously: how much more "street" can you get?

[Guest]

The reduced subscribers and affiliates is not a problem with magic. It is prevalent in many arenas. Print publications in general are struggling. Subscriptions for all major publications are falling. Specialty publications often enjoy a quick rise in subscribers initially but usually plateau quickly and many vanish as quickly as they appear.

There are tons of articles and analyst discussing this issue. Most point to the emrging media technologies or in other words, the internet. There is an entire generation that has grown up getting information on demand; not reading material for future use, but looking it up as needed. Whether its right or wrong is a place for debate.

Affiliations may be suffering similarly. If I can forum here, or at penguin, and connect with hundreds of people instead of the 20 at the local SAM or IBM. Then its not very motivating to join up especially if the attendees are difficult to identify with. Its not a lack of interest as much as it is an interest in finding details in other avenues.

I don't think this is an issue of the younger generation. Each time we think of the changes we see from this technology, its "those damn kids and thier rap music." we lament. But really, the idea of information on demand has always been a holy grail of learning. Most futuristic visions be it in film, books or world fairs have always included an info as needed element. Isn't this the reason my parents spent over a grand on an encyclopedia back in the 70's? Isn't this what I was taught as my high school english teacher introduced us to the "Readers Guide to Periodical Literature?" Haven't we always sought inexpensive sources for information on demand as part of our utopia.

Welcome to it. Its here.

remember the days of Harry Anderson and the night club magician along side the TV specials of Henning and Copperfield. They supplanted the big stages of Blackstone and Wilson who are the last remnants of the days of the live theater touring magic shows. Which eventually gave way to Blockbuster movies.

So now we have the world of guerrilla magic. Which represents not only a change in magic venues, but a change in mediated material of all sorts. These minimalists (Blaine and Angel) keep the interest of magic alive but surrender the structures of vegas to create their own stage with a crew of camera men and microphones running along side them. Their biggest illusion is the feel that all they do is impromptu when in fact it is very well thought out. Unexpected accomplices must appear accidental, and gathereings must appear totally unplanned, but its not. They plan thier shows as much as Copperfield (well almost as much). High art? no. Good magic? Definitely.

So how does this relate to street magic? I don't have high expectations for its readership. And I don't think it represents a decline in magic either. Magic shifts. Its venues shift. Street Magic is journalizing this upcoming style.

I guess I am just saying. I don't worry about magic's future. It seems an art that will never be as big as music, but has endured for centuries. From the courts of ancient egypt, to the jesters of the medivial, to the imagineering of disney, the close-up growth of the 20 century....to now. It shifts and evolves. We need to evolve with it.

[Guest]

A generation devoted to a style of magic for a venue that doesn't exist. Mr. Swiss wrote a very interesting article about it:

http://antinomymagic.com/swiss.htm

Best regards,
Glenn Godsey

[Brad Henderson]

For the record, James Clark was troubled by my post on another thread which echoed the concern that the ads may be fake. To that end I received a phone call. While he assured me they are not fake, and mentioned he had the emails to prove it, I told him I would be the first to apologize should proof be offered. He declined. I say this to let you know that he contends that the ads are legitamate and apparently is concerned with those who would think otherwise. While I have had people share with me very good reasons why they believe the ads most likely are fake, I will go on the record as saying I have no concrete proof.

Brad

[Guest]

Street Mag #2 is out now, we'll see how long the entire magazine stays around. It is a well produced magazine but lacks sufficient content.

come by the shop and check it out if you are interested..

[Guest]

Hey Guys, Be sure to pick up the latest issue of Street Magic Magazine (June/July 2007) and turn to pages 62-63. There you will find, A Magical Perstpective: Justin Teeman. I would love to hear your feedback.

[Guest]

Does anyone know how i can contact Paul Harris?

His email?

If so, let me know through emailing me.

importu_magic@hotmail.com :)

[Guest]

Brad Henderson wrote:

For the record, James Clark was troubled by my post on another thread which echoed the concern that the ads may be fake. To that end I received a phone call. While he assured me they are not fake, and mentioned he had the emails to prove it, I told him I would be the first to apologize should proof be offered. He declined. I say this to let you know that he contends that the ads are legitamate and apparently is concerned with those who would think otherwise. While I have had people share with me very good reasons why they believe the ads most likely are fake, I will go on the record as saying I have no concrete proof.

The ads are bogus.

This can be deduced by asking yourself if Levi's, Red Bull, or Apple would give their ad agencies thousands of dollars to create magician-centric ads for a magazine that at that time didn't even exist.

Look at the first ad in the first issue for Levi's. The word "magician" is misspelled. Does that seem like the work of Bartle Bogle Hegarty the ad agency that handles the multi-million dollar account for Levi's print and TV advertising? Or does it, just maybe, look like the work of the people behind the poorly copyedited magazine the ad appears in?

Okay, so maybe Levi's misspelled magician. It seems like a one in a million mistake considering the number of people who create and edit these ads, but maybe it happened. I'll even give Street Magic Magazine the benefit of the doubt on that one. But I have a hard time believing that Levi's also misspelled... the name of their own company. The company is Levi Strauss, often known as Levi's, but never Levis (no apostrophe) as it is spelled at least once in that ad. I encourage the people behind Street Magic Magazine to point out another legitimate Levi's ad with that misspelling.

In all honesty, I couldn't give less of a [censored] what real or fake ads Street Magic Magazine puts in their pages. If they had just acknowledged it and said they wanted to flesh out the magazine or give an impression of being a more mainstream publication, I would have let it slide. The only issue I have is with the mock indignation they have regarding this issue when it's brought up. Please, spare me.

Sadly, the fake ads were the most interesting part of the first issue. I won't be getting the second.

[flynn]

The only SM I have is the Morgan Strebler and Cyril issues. All the mags mentioned in this thread are still not easily accesible for purchase. I know because I check when I go to bookstores at the mall or at bookstores or newstands elsewhere. I really wish somethings done about all the exposure though. The other day went to a costume/magic shop downtown and the salesguy at the magic counter was showing this one lady how to float a card using threads, wax and explaining to her how its done. I said to him out loud thats a powerful secret to be giving away to someone who dont know a lick about conujuring. I know that its his biz how he wants to run his business but I just had to say something cause I didnt like what I saw. The lady could tell how I felt about that. She just kinda let out a like a guilty chuckle. I think she was getting something for her kid. He just said back to me that she bought the trick. I wanted to tell him sell her a book by Leclair or someone. I little off topic but I hated and blamed the internet for all the exposure that was going on these days.

[flynn]

The magic shop was Easleys costume and magic downtown Phoenix by the way. So all you magicians in Arizona take your busniness to Presto Magic in Scottsldale. I dont see Barry pulling something like what I saw at Easley's in his shop.

[Richard Kaufman]

It's hard to accuse someone working in a magic shop of exposure. He's trying to sell stuff, and some folks make more sales by explaining the workings of the trick.

[Bill Duncan]

Having a bit of trouble understanding Flynn's problem.

The salesman had made a sale and was teaching the customer the workings of the trick so she would assist her child, for whom the trick was purchsed?

You have a problem with mom knowing how the kid does his trick?

[flynn]

All I'm saying is What ever happened to selling them Karl Fulves Self Working books or strippr deck first? But thats his business I guess.

[Jeremy Gessaro]

I could be horribly, horribly wrong, but I think it's easy to understand his problem. If you start with the premise that "the secret/method is the magic", then I think his issue with what he saw is clear. What else could there possibly be to performing magic anyway? ;)

Like I said, could be horribly wrong here...but it seems there are a lot of people in magic with this approach to magic and its "exposure". I think also this approach that "the secret is 'IT'" shows in performances and further propegates itself to audiences and the public in general. Just two more cents: Just imagine if the world of painting was mostly about the brushes, paint, and canvases; or closer to our performance art, if music were about how the instrument produces sounds...certainly its been a long, long time in history since any musicians or audiences have made music about that. Although, I would expect that information to be passed along in places such as a music shop.