Which linking rubber band trick?

[Guest]

Recently I have seen advertised a variety of "Link-the-two-rubber-bands-together" effects. Each one sounds good (of course!). I'd appreciate hearing about your experience with them. What is your choice among the options, and why? Thanks for any suggestions.

[Chris Aguilar]

A lot of them use the same set up you'll find in Richards Collected Almanac. I'm frankly too lazy to put the sets together.

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[Bill Duncan]

There's one on the Flicking Fingers DVD (also in their book if I recall) that fooled my wife and entertained her too.

Plus it's dead easy and provides a magical giveaway: two linked bands.

Buy the DVD for the linking bands trick. Stay for the outrageous comedy....

[Kamus]

Chris Kenner's version from "Totally out of Control" is very strong- it's a just little harder to do (but not really that difficult) than "Snap Change" (Flicking Fingers) which is also a terrific trick. Bill Kalush's "Rubber Ringer" from "Almanac" also kicks major butt though technically that's a ring linking to a rubber band, but if you're interested in that general kind of effect, it's hard to beat!
-Dave Kane

[Richard Kaufman]

I think that the Linking Rubber Band effect that's been referenced is Michael Weber's "Linking Stanley" from Richard's Almanac. Though I may have published two methods by him. This is an astounding effect and it looks EXACTLY like what it's supposed to with no visual clutter. The method is devious and relies entirely upon the elastic quality of the rubber band itself to switch the bands. I highly suggest you look it up!

[Chris Aguilar]

Yep, "Linking Stanley" was the one I was referring too. Was at work and couldn't remember the name. I quite agree that the method of linking is downright devious (and very visual). If one is willing to take the effort to make up the linked sets (which is definitely a bit fiddly), the effect is very worthwhile and went over well the couple times I tried it.

The other routine in the Almanac (By Rubinstein (sp?) I believe) is damn nice also. I love the bit where the band visually restores with the knotted bit actually popping off!
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[Richard Morrell]

I'm only just in the stages of refining it but I can point you to Andy Leviss's new release of Linked 4 Life, it uses just two bands, no extras to switch in or out, and you show two bands very cleanly seperate, and then you link them and hand them out... I love the slo-mo link that is in the instructions, very magical.

Rich.

[Adam Brooks]

An anecdote: I work at Second City Cleveland, and I was working the box office last night. A group of teenagers came up to the window, a bunch of girls and one guy. He had the kind of frenetic energy I remember having when I was a younger performer. I found out he was a magician, and he immediately insisted I show him something. Our box office is riddled with rubber bands, so I performed Linking Stanley. He knew Snapped!, but that was about it when it came to rubber band magic, so he was stumped. So he left me with his card, begged me to teach it (Linking Stanley) to him. I politely refused, and told him to look it up in Weber's Lifesavers book.

It is still the best impromptu linking bands there is. Period.

[Pete Biro]

So far I have hated rubber band magic, but, guess I'll have to blow the dust off Lifesavers and see what it is... :eek:

[Jonathan Townsend]

Originally posted by Pete Biro:
So far I have hated rubber band magic....

Anyone doing this trick with pretzels?

For parties it seems a bit more natural than office supplies

[Guest]

Anyone doing this trick with pretzels?

I think Ray Kosby is! (if not him... then someone else is... I'm doubting my memory.)

Anyone have the exact credit on the 'linking pretzel'??

Back to thread:

Note: Tke Kenner / Weber routines are almost identical. I've had trouble getting the Weber finish to work 'smoothly' 100% (it can get 'tangled' and look like you're 'fiddling'

So, I second the vote for Kenner's 'Missing Link'

regards,
Doug Conn

www.dougconn.com

[Guest]

I my memory serves me right, the linking Pretzel idea is Joe Givan. It can be found on one of the Secret Session Videos, and in the Magic For Dummies books. I may be wrong.

[Guest]

Joel Givens is correct. It is Joe Givan that performs the linking pretzels on one of the Secret Sessions tape.

[Guest]

I'm biased, so I guess I don't have to tell you which I recommend, LOL. I will say that, unlike Michael Weber's great effect, mine doesn't use any switches or extra bands.

As Chris noted, mine, like Bernard Sims's "Really Linked", uses the same method for prepping a linked set of bands that Weber published. The handling for each is drastically different. Bernard's, while quite different from Weber's, is closer to it in certain respects than mine is.


BTW, does anybody know who first came up with that setup (using cyanoacrylate glue to make a linked set)? The earliest firm reference I found in my research was to Eric Mason, but I've heard rumor of an even earlier reference to somebody else from Europe (Sweden?).

--Andy

P.S.-Those interested can check out "Linked 4 Life" at my site( http://www.asquaredproductions.com ) or at your favorite dealer (dealers can contact Murphy's Magic Supplies if they don't already carry it)!

P.P.S.-Richard, if you're interested in checking it out, send me an e-mail and I'll send you a copy to take a look at.

[Pete McCabe]

My library has two different Michael Weber linking Rubber Band effects.

"The Linking Rubber Bands" is in his Side Effects lecture notes and uses a pre-linked set and a terrific switch of the extra band. I wonder if this is the same effect published as "Linking Stanley" in Almanac.

"Stretching It" is in Life Savers and uses just two bands and some very clever handling. The two bands link and unlink in sensationally visual fashion, and you end clean. If there's a better impromptu two-band linking rubber band routine I'd love to hear about it.

A great and overlooked routine is Sylvain Mirouf's "Fusion Link" which was published in Magic a couple of years ago. You show two bands, then link them together, very visually. Then you take one band and slowly fuse it into the other, leaving you with one large band, which you hand out. The method of ditching the second band is just the greatest thing.

This is a great trick that I've never seen another magician perform or even recognize. It's very easy and is one of the all-time great impromptu tricks. By the way if you have a red sharpie, you can do this trick with two different colored bands.

Sylvain Mirouf created the wonderful "Osmosis" linking card routine in The Art of Astonishment. These are two of my favorite routines. What else has he done?

[Guest]

<<Sylvain Mirouf created the wonderful "Osmosis" linking card routine in The Art of Astonishment. These are two of my favorite routines. What else has he done?>>

Which Art of Astonishment book of the series is the linking card routine in? thanks :help:

[Chris Aguilar]

Gavriel,

"Osmosis" is in AOA Volume II along with Harrises "Cardboard Connection" and "Immaculate Connection" which was performed by Copperfield on one of his specials.

[Edwin Corrie]

Supreme Magic in England used to sell something called Bandi Link, which used a prepared set made by slitting and gluing. This was probably in the early 1980s, and I think it was credited to Roy Baker.

I'm not sure who first did the linking pretzels, but there was a simple linking polo mint (lifesaver) effect in Harry Baron's Close-up Magic for Beginners. The linking principle is the same, except that you squeeze the mints in your hand and drop out the linked set.

[Guest]

This (linking band effect) looks interesting:

http://www.magi.nu/ebony/quicktimedemo.html

"Ebony and Ivory"

Does anyone here own/perform this?
Comments?

[Guest]

I do Andys link all the time. I have been doing Power Link out of Trapdoor magazine for over ten years, which is in my oppinion one of the best linking rubber bands out there, i think Andy gave the one i am talking about as one of his inspirations for his trick.

[David Acer]

Originally posted by Pete McCabe:
"Stretching It" is in Life Savers and uses just two bands and some very clever handling. The two bands link and unlink in sensationally visual fashion, and you end clean. If there's a better impromptu two-band linking rubber band routine I'd love to hear about it.
just the greatest thing.

Two impromptu linking rubber band routines that are often overlooked are David Harkey's "Missing Link" (Body Language, 1988), and Jay Sankey and Richard Sanders's "The Impromptu Link" (When Creators Collide, 1987). Of course, there's a reason they are overlooked...

[Guest]

Originally posted by Joel Givens:
I do Andys link all the time. I have been doing Power Link out of Trapdoor magazine for over ten years, which is in my oppinion one of the best linking rubber bands out there, i think Andy gave the one i am talking about as one of his inspirations for his trick.

Glad to hear you're enjoying it, Joel!

I want to clarify something, though, because I've already gotten some flack about this due to people not knowing timelines and relationships.

"Linked 4 Life" was independently developed, pretty much in its exact form as marketed, based on my experimentations with various methods for permanent links.

After I created it and had been performing it, I came across Steve Kradolfer's "Power Link", which is a wonderful impromptu link (that grew out of a "classic" Bill Kalush effect). Steve's effect shares a common bond with mine in regards to how the bands are displayed, although it uses this grip for a different purpose. It was NOT, however, an inspiration for my effect. I didn't even know it existed until after mine was created.

I tried to make this clear in my note in the manuscript, writing that I saw Steve's after mine was developed. While it was not in any way directly related to the development of my effect, I wanted to give due credit to Steve for developing a similar (but markedly different at the same time) idea independently.

I hope that makes things clear :)

--Andy

[Guest]

Originally posted by Pete McCabe:
My library has two different Michael Weber linking Rubber Band effects.

"The Linking Rubber Bands" is in his Side Effects lecture notes and uses a pre-linked set and a terrific switch of the extra band. I wonder if this is the same effect published as "Linking Stanley" in Almanac.

Weber has at least three published links. There's "Stretching It", which is more commonly known under Chris Kenner's name for it, "Missing Link". Then there's "Linking Stanley", which involved the bands linking during a performance of Stanley Collins's "Jumping Bands". Finally, in the same writeup as "Linking Stanley" in Richard's Almanac was another straightforward permanent link; this may be the same one from his lecture notes (I haven't seen said notes, so I can't verify that). I can't remember the name it appeared in in RA, but if you look up "Linking Stanley", you'll find it.

--A

[Guest]

Originally posted by Andy Leviss:
I can't remember the name it appeared in in RA, but if you look up "Linking Stanley", you'll find it.

--A [/QB]

In Richards Almanac the other routine by Weber is called Linking Flash.