sidewalk performers, whos who?

ZU ZOO MAN

2008-05-04T19:40:00.000-07:00

New Orleans icon, you may see him sellin praline candy or pecan or sweet potato pies, keep an eye out for the zu zoo man rollin accross the waters of the mighty mississippi. famous for his singin and new orleans eccentric antics he is truly a jewel and a fine example of our culture. you might be able to catch him on royal singin jimmy hendrix new orleans ocopello style or the metors my favorite.

started in 1959 in front of a live audience, started on the street some odd 15 years ago full time inspired by tranpa and stoney brooks who you may have seen in documentries or on commercials about the city.

he hand makes all his goodies and is a self taught musician.

he is a spiritual man a christian with a love of his own unique form of gospel, he considers himself saint with saintly ways which gives him a mystical orah that motivates him to wanna convert, "to be better then what i was, not better then anybody else."

ALBERT OWENS

2008-04-29T08:27:00.000-07:00

this is what albert's student The Great Wilsoni or Keith balloonatic says about his teacher;

Hi there, this is for Albert Owens.

I brushed shoulders with a genius a linguistic genius of words,wits and comedy.

Some considered him the king of the park(Washington Square Pk), I know I did.

He was a great entertainer, a comedian with no match. Everybody copied him and his comic humor. who at a drop of a dime could play the blues , R & B, or classical music on his quitar, harmonica or piano (who knew).

He was the Lenny Bruce of the 80s 90s. Washington Square Pk had a few great acts, his was tops, He loved life and hated few, always had a bad word for someone but meant no harm, I am very much indebted the the man Albert George Owens, He took me under his wings and taught the ropes I owe much to this man larger than life. God Bless.

Dynamo

2008-04-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

Dynamo, some of you may have seen his huge body of work on you tube.

some of you may have seen his t.v. specials or caught him in vegas with snoop dog.

i met him before that in covent garden. he used to do an extremely small doorway act on james street.

he was sort of like a white rapper type who would moon walk to his incredibly difficult and amazing close up card tricks. he had a very small crowd 5-8 mins. he had modest but consistant hats all day long.

the other performers at the time were unanimus that he was one of the most talent, humble, close up magicians they had ever met.

they all said how much potential he had. i was skeptical until i met him and it was all true. he was a genuine giving intelligent person and incredibly talented. he was entertaining and he fooled me bad.

sure he didn't make the bigger hats like the half circle shows or circle shows but everybody believed in him.

everyone incouraged him to seek public greatness......

so he did.

as the story goes if i can remember what he told me and some of the other guys told me; snoop dog came down saw him discovered him and took him to vegas , he also put him in one of his videos, after that Dynamo got signed for a t.v. show in england.

i am embarrassed to say that i have not followed his career enough to know exactly what he's done so far.

immediately after his first break some that had told me all those nice things about him changed their story, they said, he wasn't talented enough, he didn't have enough experience, he was arrogant, and it was much to soon for him to think that he could represent our industry with his new exposure.

funny enough he had just done everything they had taught him and told him to do and they were right he could be successful.

after his success, i went and talked to him and he seemed even more humble and talented from what he had learned from his new experiences, he wasn't aware at the time about the efeect he had made on the other performers.

in my judgment they were wrong about him. i made this judgement even though i was just a vagabond traveling sidewalk show guy {and still am}

this story of course is a similar story with blain and angel.

point is.

IF ONE OF OUR PEERS IS BECOMING SUCCESSFUL IN MY OPINION WE SHOULD SUPPORT HIM OR HER TO BRING OUR INDUSTRY AND OUR SELVES UP!

it should be understood that i am not talking about myself, thinking i am becoming successful....i'm a sidewalk performer for christ sakes, i am getting old quick for the work i do and i am just trying to make ends meet on what i make on the streets and i am selling products for money to give to my children, WHICH BY THE WAY I WONT SEE A CENT OF AND I WOULDN'T HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY.

i just thought i would give my 2 cents about Dynamo's good character. so if your a fan i think you should know on top of it all, in my opinion he is a really decent guy.

of course that's not just my opinion he still has quite a few friend around that would say the same thing about him.

here is an interesting interview by him and i am proud to say he mentions new orleans and their workers.

unfortunately, i wasn't in new orleans when he was there so he's talking about the other guys there.

please watch this interview and go to some of his performance videos because i feel he you could get a better feel of his performance from some of the other videos. but i think what he says is very import to us.

THE AMAZING JOE JOE

2008-01-26T19:19:00.000-08:00

the amazing JOE JOE

home pitch; MYRTLE BEACH

JoeJoe has traveled through
38 States, performing his
unique brand of magic and
illusion on Main Street USA.

joe joe is legendary. regretfully i have not met him yet, but have admired his work and reputation for many years.

he sent me a small bio and i'm gonna post it because i think it is best in his own words;

Background: "When I was 18 living in Ocean City I was working the usual dead end jobs - you know, dishwasher ... busboy ... mcdonalds.

It seemed I was always looking for a new job, and got the bright idea that as a street performer I could make money anywhere in the world without ever having to actually apply for a job.

It didn't happen overnight, but eventually I figured out how to do it".

Influences: "To me, Penn and Teller are successful street performers. Harry Anderson is a successful street performer.

The one thing they have in common is they are not actually working the streets. I hope I get that break and get off the streets, as all the streets are just dead ends.

I don't care how much money you can get in a hat ... it is still nothing compared to what Robin Williams can earn just for showing up at a party! I am amazed at how many street performers don't realize this little fact.

Your goal should not be a fat hat, your goal should be a great act - that is what makes a street performer successful".

Mentor: "There is an old timer here in town, Master Magician Jim Lee - he is featured on my Floating Street Lamp video. I've been working with him for roughly 15 years now. You want a who's who, he would be the one to do one on.

He is the real deal, toured with the carnie circuit doing the bed of nails longer than I've been alive. I don't know how old he actually is, but I hope I'm in as good shape when I'm his age".

The Act: "I try to be original and do my own thing. I think my sword-through-body is the people's favorite. It is tricky to pull that off when half your audience is under 13, but I figured out how to get away with it. Its really not the kids I worry about, its the parents - they are so over sensitive.

I grew up watching Tom and Jerry and the Road Runner ... my sword is nothing compared to cartoons".

here's his site;

http://joejoeonline.com/showtimes.htm

here's his blog good stuff;

http://joejoeonline.com/blogger/

joe joe has a large body of video clips on his site and throughout the internet displaying his talents with illussions on the street...which is a rare nitch.

BOBBY MAVERICK

2008-01-25T11:18:00.001-08:00

BOBBY MAVERICK

Teacher; KOZMO

Home pitch; Urbana, Ohio

Fulltime Busker during the warm months and a Corporate Entertainer/Magician during the colder months.

Been workin 6 or 7 years now. Fulltime for a couple three years.
Works all over the U.S. doin sidewalk/door way acts or circle shows depending on the pitch.

I’ve shared his pitch with him and it was a pleasure bobby is pure pro. I feel like we are brothers in the art because both of our teachers were students of Cellini.

We were workin New Orleans during a festival it was dangerous and insane but bobby didn’t flinch he just tore up the shows one after another a real worker.

Bobby is not just good at what he does he’s got to be the most stand up guy out there. He’s loyal to his art, his peers, and his teacher.

And like his teacher he makes big hats and has incredible contact with his audience infact I think in a few ways he has surpassed his teacher in our art and that says a lot for Kozmo’s teaching skills.

But anyway,

I could watch bobby’s show over and over I learned a lot from him about circle shows and it has increased my hats and show skills.

He’s just as comfortable in a suit as he is his street costume.

The thing about bobby is he can adapt to any pitch small or big tough or family or corporate he’s just that versatile. If you go to his site you see what I’m talking about.

http://www.bobby-maverick.com/

A Day at the Office

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here he is doing a quick one

Bobby Maverick at IndyFringe 2007

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thanks bobby for everything.

thanks for being a credit to our art,industry, and our tradition.

ALSO CHECK OUT BOBBY'S MYSPACE;

http://www.myspace.com/bobdabusker

MANDRAKE {Ed Rhodes}

2008-01-24T09:37:00.000-08:00

Name:

Ed Rhodes

Age: 52

home pitch: rhode island.

Occupation: Wal*Mart Associate (sigh)

Part time busker (week end warrior) Coming up on my 2nd year of performing.

Specialty: Cut and restored rope ~ Cups and Balls (Mark Wilson)

Mentor: None (Not by choice) My Uncle Bob introduced me to magic, but never really "mentored" me by any means.

Belonged to the S.A.M. twice, membership lapsed.

John Sturk

2008-01-21T18:57:00.001-08:00

John Sturk
Hometown: Detroit, MI
Location: Chicago, IL
Teachers/Influences: Chris Capehart, Eric Evans, Whit Haydn, Gazzo, Cellini
Time in magic: 4 years
Time busking: 2 years

Weekend busker. My day job is a project coordinator for FUN Incorporated, America's largest magic manufacturer. I sell magic all over the world, but only perform in a small part of it.

I hope any busker in Chicago will look me up; happy to get together and session. My website is www.johnsturk.com.

GADDY

2008-01-21T14:18:00.000-08:00

name: Gaddy

town: San Francisco

time spent busking: less than a year...
time in magic: started as a kid, got out of it, got back in about 3 years ago!

Teachers: Jerry Salazar, Jim Fassbinder

DOC ANDREW

2007-12-15T21:30:00.000-08:00

Doc Andrew out of Dallas, Texas area.

His teachers are;Eugene Wilkes, J.B.Bobo, and Dal Sanders.

Sidewalk magician/elixer salesman.

Fast talkin, fast dealin, Doc Andrew works up and down sidewalks all over the world.

I first met Doc back home in New Orleans years ago.

I was learnin how to street perform and I saw these 2 guys with all this stage and illussion equipment out in front of the St. Louis Cathedral in the square they were tryin to build a crowd….needless to say it’s a tough town to build a crowd and what makes it worse there’s people everywhere but their not stopping.

Eventually they stopped a crowd and did a funny and bazaar magic show using some effects that fooled and impressed me.

The 2 guys were Bizzaro and Doc Andrew.

Doc already a seasoned vet on the street by that time, was showing Bizzaro the ropes at busking New Orleans. Bizzaro had been doin magic for years but busking New Orleans is a whole different world.

Bizzaro got the hang of it but he preferred to do larger shows and me and Doc wanted to work the sidewalks for awhile, so we shared the pitch on St. Peter and Decatur.

Show after show, Doc whipped em out. Fat hat after fat hat, givin me a run for my money.

For doc it was like taking candy from a baby. He does a brilliant elixir show that can play for any size crowd. The patter is authentic from the day and so is the costume…. Your left with no tell, that your in this century.

The thing, once again, about doc’s show, is it can play any size crowd but packs small really small.

The basic ideas is he’s doin an vintage elixir or medicine sales pitch as a sort of historical show of what you might have seen in the late 1800’s. As the magic happens Doc gives the bottle of medicine all the credit for the miracles that happen before the spectators eyes.

he looks like a carpetbagger and gives off that same sort of sneaky/ shifty personality.

it really is genius and I remember people saying they never thought they ever would see such a great show on the street.

JERRY SALAZAR

2007-12-15T20:10:00.000-08:00

JERRY SALAZAR,

Student of Cellini master in his own right.

San Francisco - Fisherman’s Warf ‘s sidewalk Icon.

full time working pro on the sidewalk for over 40 years probably a lot more I don‘t remember how long.

Cellini talks about him in “The Royal Touch” he’s been around for years.

you can not see it in the picture, but he’s wearing knickers, it’s his signature look.

When I first saw jerry I had no idea who he was. He was doing a 3 ring routine on the sidewalk in the Fisherman’s Warf area.

He did it to music through his amp but he didn’t speak till it was over, then he went into patter for his cups and balls which had a couple of interesting moves, one that will fool you… another one of his signatures.

He was protective of his spot, very old school in his ways of thinking about territory, and this has worked well for him over the years in one of the most dangerous places to work in the country.

I asked him if he wanted to see my show and he gave me permission to work his spot for the one show. He was very strict and it was all business till I started performing and his face changed.

He was like a little kid I saw his first smile and he got excited, I realized that he just loved magic and show business you could tell why he got into it and why he had stuck with it for so many years.

After my show he took me out for coffee and we spent the evening talking shop and smoking cigarettes.

He told me about the old days with Cellini and all the old pros.

If you get a chance check him out, if your ever in Frisco on the Warf.

Class act, fun to watch, very elegant atmosphere. What I loved was he still does the trick called, “the sidewalk shuffle.”

HE HAS AN EXTREMELY CONVINCING CHARACTER OF A RUDYARD KIPLING PROFFESSOR TYPE, VERY CHARMING AND INTERESTING, IT IS VERY DIFFICULT FOR THE SPECTATOR NOT TO BE INTERESTED.

He’s written a book on the rings, you can track it down on the web.

to show you how much of an icon he is. he's in this mini documentry of buskers on fishermans warf, frisco;

TOM PICCARD

2007-12-13T23:42:00.001-08:00

TOM PICCARD,

another one of those legends from the day.

Student of Cellini, master in his own right.

Tom Piccard has been performing since 1970

In 1981 he met Cellini in New Orleans and took to the streets, Cellini helped him a great deal with learning how to build a crowd, keep a crowd, and on magic.

Sonny Holliday told me Tom started out as a clown, but told Cellini he wanted to learn our art.

Much of that clown is still showing;

In 1986 he toured with Cellini in Italy.

The following summer he returned to Europe and has been performing at various festivals and events there ever since.

Piccard also won the European Championships for street magic 4 times...At age 59 he is still at it..

Working 4 months out the year and then wintering in Thailand.

He’s living my dream. A full time pro and has been for along time. You hear about Tom up and down pitches all over the world.

I have not met him in person yet, but I will this season, I’ve kept in touch with him through mutual friends and via the internet.

I have mentioned him here, because he’s important, I’m also gonna list others here I haven’t met yet in the future, because I think there’s other guys who should be here…I just haven’t got to meet em all yet.

Tom is a great example of how a large body of working pros, who will work in the first world and live in the third. Gypsy genius.

Visiting his myspace is visiting another world. Theres plenty of footage and fun strange things to see….but if your like me you’ll make it your business to try and meet him.

http://www.myspace.com/piccardmagick

Piccards Cup Routine

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Tom, Gazzo, and Patrick

Thanks Tom, for the life time of devotion

GEORGE GILBERT

2007-12-13T12:31:00.001-08:00

GEORGE GILBERT student of Jesse Stickley, Jimmy Talksalot, Eric Evans.

works Ocean city Md.

So me and Eric Evans were workin O.C. and we walked up to the pitch and there was these 2 guys hangin out. A big rough lookin one and a quiet small one. The big one came up and said you fellahs thinking about workin this and we said, “yeh we didn’t know anybody was here.” so the big guy says “hey lets share the pitch”

The thing about these guys is they were a comedy act. The one big guy beat up on the little guy and kept yellin at him that he was screwing everything up and the little guy kept apologizing and promising to do better. The bigger guy was teaching the little guy to busk, and the little guy didn’t want to go out, he was shy and awkward.

This went on for about a half hour and people stopped and watched….till we all realized this wasn’t a show!

this was REAL!

Finally the big guy went out to show the little guy how to do it. The big guy went out and did a mentalist show which blew me away and fooled me bad. He hatted em and then made the little guy go out.

The little guy went out and did silent manip. It was silent cuz you couldn’t hear him he was too quiet he only gotta small edge.

The next time around,

The little guy didn’t want to go out and finally we all urged him and I gave him a Cellini wand made by Eric Evans and he gotta a huge edge and did a beautiful show.[ Cellini’s power at work again].

The big guy was Jesse Stickley and the little guy his student George Gilbert.

Jesse Stickley, - George’s teacher, is a big abrasive outspoken guy with a heart of gold and amazing skills at magic. I’m jealous that he found George before I did.

Since then I have watched George improve. The thing about George is he is one of the few U.S. magicians that can stop em and build a crowd and make money with a silent manipulation act.

Watching George perform is watching poetry.

GEORGE GILBERT is a genius at our art.

As a young performer he has 2 things that few or none of the other young guys have,

1. he’s got some of the best parlor chops I have ever seen,

And

2. he has no ego problem to ruin it for the spectator.

George is humble and this is what makes him great loved and respected by anyone that comes into contact with him…..a rare quality.

Me and Eric taught him a lot, but we learned a lot from him. Not just tricks but about friendship and humility.

He’s a modern Cardini or sympathetic character. When you see him as a spectator first thought is, “wow! What just happened, oh hey, the poor guy’s having trouble, I want to route for him, I hope he can do this finale.”

And when George does the finale the crowd goes wild.

George is pure Buster Keaton silent film dexterous sad clown. I have seen no other in the U.S. that can touch him in this field on the street. I’ve seen many in Europe, but none here. Due to the tough conditions here I doubt that many of those European silent acts could compete with him here on crowd build and hats.

Here’s a photo of George with his proud teachers.

George Gilbert, Jimmy TalksAlot, Jesse Stickley, Eric Evans

check out his myspace for more info about him;

http://www.myspace.com/georgegilbertmagic

HARRY ANDERSON

2007-12-12T14:07:00.000-08:00

Harry is one of those guys who has done so much for magic, accomplished the impossible so many times and never seems to get any credit.

Here’s a guy who started on the street, worked there for years, and in his heart never left. A guy who always stayed loyal to our art and us.

Brought up in the old school, back in the day, he learned the rules and he believed in them. When the other guys around him found fame and fortune they forgot where they came from,

but not Harry, cuz he never stopped believing….the thing about Harry is, he’s not shallow, he’s a real guy.

Funny thing is, he made as much or more then those other guys, but when you talk to him he’s just one of us.

in fact, I remember hangin around his shop in New Orleans and there was a bunch of Hollywood movie stars and big wigs waiting to talk to him. His wife told him they were waitin and he told her to let em wait he was talkin to us…a bunch of shifty eyed, fedora wearin, cig smoking, buskers.

Funny thing about harry, was it pained him to hafta keep up appearances. When I first met him, I walked into his shop and I was lookin at some tricks I wanted. I saw him in the side of my eye and I said “hey I was wondering how much….oh, hey, you’re Harry Anderson”

He was beeming that I recognized him, and he began puttin on his promo face and I just interrupted him and asked, “how much for this trick..” Harry loved it that I didn’t care, you see that’s why he moved to New Orleans to get away from that Hollywood shallowness.

In New Orleans he would make it his business to catch every street guy's show at least once.

back in the day he had worked there himself.

Thats where he fined tuned his routines.

He's got some incredible acts, funniest man alive with ingenius magic. I don’t need to go on his life’s work shows.

Harry’s got that royal touch and he proved, you can take it anywhere. He’s hugely contributed to our art. His magic and entertainment leave you in awe.

THIS IS A MASTER.

And I’m glad I was alive to meet some one like this.

HARRY, HAVN’T SEEN YOU IN A WHILE, BUT I HOPE GOOD THINGS.

http://www.myspace.com/harryanderson

DANTE

2007-12-05T20:02:00.001-08:00

DANTE,

A student of Doug Conn and studied under Cellini and some of the greatest performers of Europe and the world.

When I think of the perfect street magic show, it’s Dante’s show no question. You may have seen him on the Cellini dvd.

Kozmo told Cellini that Dante was the next Cellini. One thing’s for sure Dante got Cellini’s grace in performance.

DANTE IS A PRO.

REALLY,REALLY,FAT HATS! IMPECCABLE MAGIC! 45MIN ACT OF PURE MAGIC THAT LEAVES YOU BUMMED OUT THAT IT’S OVER.

No one ever called him a bum because he dresses with style and holds himself with a dignity that can only be described as aristocratic.

But the guy is all street and the hoodlums know it, they don’t fool with Dante.

His crowd usually begins with an edge of hot young chicks…he’s a chick magnet, yeh, we all hate him. His crowds are massive in the U.S. and this was his undoing. You see he’s gone indoors for now with his short cabaret act [I hear good things]. He got sick of doin the streets because he got sick of bein yelled at constantly before he even set up. It was the cops, the shops, and the other buskers.

DANTE IS STILL A LEGEND IN NEW ORLEANS.

When I was learning he took me under his wing and helped me. When I went to Europe it was his name that opened doors to the other buskers they respected him there. I’m gonna write more about him later cuz he’s important.

He was the first to tell me to do a circle show and taught me a lot of tricks of the trade that literally saved my life a few times.

YOU WANNA LEARN SOMETHIN ABOUT IMAGE AND FULL TIME PRO CHECK OUT HIS SITE;

http://www.dantemagic.com/entertainment.html

JOHNNY BALLOONS

2007-12-05T19:05:00.000-08:00

NEW ORLEANS/ NEW YORK, SIDEWALK ICON

Johnny’s an old buddy of mine.

He walks around harassing the passer by, never lets a person get by em. Blowing ballons and wisecracks at everybody he sees. He stops em on a dime with his lines.

He’ll go up to a body builder and say, “put’em up, I’ll take you right now!”

He’ll stop a group of hot blondes with his arm up in a curled fist to show off his muscles and say, “I’m single!” “hey you need a ring!” and he’ll make her a balloon ring.

He’s been around forever has taught me loads and is friends with all the big guys like Cellini, Sonny Holliday, Toot, and not only that but he knew a lot of the guys the big guys at Tannen’s magic shop back in the day.

One of the funniest guys you’ll ever meet, but definitely all street.

He’s an old pro with cards {close up} and a ring routine that kills, but he hardly ever does it on the street he’s a balloon guy now. Says, he never made as much money with the magic that he’s does with the one liners and balloons.

i couldn't find any pics of him in full costume on the street. these are pics of him doin his ministry with kids. yeh, he's a christian and you'd never guess if you'd meet em, cuz he's all street. But if you think back on your visit with him you'll realize as rough and tumble as he was, he didn't do any thing really unchristian just a little street fun.

SONNY HOLLIDAY

2007-11-27T21:14:00.001-08:00

there are masters and there are gods.

when the masters hang out with Sonny, they know who their master is and they all chatter like giddy school girls.

in the U.S. there is no one higher, the pecking order starts and ends with SONNY HOLLIDAY.

EVEN THE MOST CONCEITED , WITH DILLUSSIONS OF GRANDUER KNOW THEIR PLACE STARTS UNDER SONNY HOLLIDAY.

NO ONE HAS PAID THAT MANY DUES.

NOBODY HAS THOSE KINDA CHOPS.

NOBODY HAS THAT KINDA CLASS, STLYE, OR BALLS.

IN THE U.S. NO OTHER PERFORMER HAS THAT MUCH STREET IN THEM....NOBODY.

LASTLY, NOBODY IN THE WORLD CAN TOUCH HIS 15 MIN. MANIP. ACT, ON THE STREET.

YOU WANT TO HEAR THE POETRY OF THE STREET?

WATCH SONNY HOLLIDAY.

as Americans we produced 2 busker legends for the international world to see,

Cellini

and his #1 student

Sonny Holliday.

I modeled myself after sonny, he is my hero, and in my mind, there is no one better.

I’d like to add one more thing, it goes without saying that the rest of the world has a huge, nay, gigantic amount of greats that puts our country at the bottom of the list for busking....a shameful thing.

but Cellini and Sonny Holliday put us on the map and they belong to us and we should do everything we can to show our thanks and undying respect any where we can.

.....ask yourself where would we be right now if they hadn't showed us how.

when I travel the world, doors open for me because of them. the world expects the same greatness from me. unfortunately, i of course fall short, but i think it should be our goal to exceed the world's expectations of us.

i think we should try and achieve the same greatness as these TWO, no matter how impossible it may seem.

Sonny has no students, I am the closest thing. he has taken me under his wing many times and as a street magician that is the thing I’m most proud of.

and with Sonny Holliday, you know I’m either telling the truth here, or I got a death wish.

Sonny Holliday at Venice Beach CA

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This is from the Cellini instructional dvd

WHAT IS A STREET MAGICIAN? { BY CELLINI }

2007-11-27T20:48:00.000-08:00

WHAT IS A STREET MAGICIAN?

when asked this is what cellini says,

"Exactly who or what is a street magician?

In my humble opinion he is a wanderer who believes he is the inheritor of all he surveys.

Someone who goes from place to place with or without a settled route or destination.

He is a boundary crosser; his purpose is to discover new places, meet new people, make new friends and preserve a way of life while perfecting his craft.

He is a person who is both loved and envied for his way of life which appears to the untrained eye as jolly-good, and fancy-free. But in fact it is a life of unremitting toil and unfailing persistence.

He must be willing to stake his future on his ability to persist no matter how hard the going gets. He must have an unshakable faith in himself and in his specialized knowledge to resist all the temptation; to buckle under the weight of society, to refuse to be herded like sheep into a pen and to be told when, where, and how long he can stay.

He is the first Church of the Street Theater and claims the same rights as any religion. To stand on any street corner and gather a crowd. To say and do as he wants whenever he wishes as long as it is within the bounds of propriety and good taste. And lastly, ask for support.

He is adventurous, persistent and courageous. Along with those characteristics, he has the determination to survive, the tongue to persuade, and the hand to execute any mischief called for.

He is a man possessing a touch of the earth with a warm and sincere interest in his fellow human beings. His heart, soul and thoughts are those of a king. He is a man blessed with the Royal Touch."

-- Cellini excerpt from "The Royal Touch"

here's some clips of cellini doin some magic indoors;

DANNY HUSTLE

2007-11-27T19:45:00.001-08:00

on my journey to meet the best sidewalk men danny was on my list i made it my business to meet him.

i heard alot about him and saw him on the cellini dvd.

when i was travelling kozmo was helpin me on the phone find good pitches and i asked him if he could make it happen for me to meet danny.

so i rolled into boston in my 88 dodge caravan{gun metal grey with rust spots}.

danny gave me directions on the phone and i met him at his house.

i met his wife and kid they were charming.

we got to talkin his family are the real deal vaudville and general entertainers, for generations.

he's got archive footage of everything and an encyclopedia mind of entertainment history and knowledge.

we went and shared the pitch at quincy market and there was a bucket drummer there and he decided he was gonna set up on us.

danny had other plans for him.

danny cranked his amp and blew him out....i wanted to be helpful so i did my silent act while he was drumming and hatted the people and walked over to the drummer and gave him a dollar the only one he would be makin there. this pissed the drummer off but before he could do any thing about it the cops came and shut him down...it was a touching momment.

danny was humble about his show, but his show was the quitisental sidewalk act.

the tricks were original and genius.

its the way his mind works its in his blood in his families blood he's pure show business.

the thing about danny is he's loyal to his family, friends, and his art and its tradition. he's protective.

if you cross that line....its well...bad.

i wish everybody was like that, you know where you stand!

danny once told me a story that happenned in his life that changed mine.

it really moved me.

it was about a guy who was picked on in school and danny saved him then something happenned years later that will blow your mind if he'll tell it for you.

i've told some people the story but i think it would be more appropriate if he told it to you and he might if you go on his forum and ask him.

anyway the thing we should understand is how important danny is for our art.... he has saved us alot of time and money, by giving his own.

danny believes in our tradition. you can tell by his actions.

he's different than alot of other guys in the industry part of magic, for danny its about the art not about danny.

thanks danny

really thanks.

and now can i have that $20 dollars you owe me?

Here’s some footage of him workin indoors;

Danny Hustle has done more to promote busking for magician's then anyone else in the u.s.

infact he has set up a forum dedicated to helping buskers and here's the link.

http://buskerscafe.com/

KEITH { BALLOONATIC }

2007-11-27T19:44:00.001-08:00

He also goes by, "THE GREAT WILSONI".

This guy is incredible he’s been out there a long time workin new york city and New Orleans.

A real veteran the old timers all know him. Good friends with sonny holliday.

His show is real new york style. He does stage stuff like passe passe bottles, linking rings and finales with a interesting finale where he ties up a man and a woman who don’t know each other and plays music to them trying to get out, it’s a sort of a puzzle thing. When they can’t get out he tells the audience he’s gonna show everybody how to get them out but before he does this finale, he hats them with a plastic grocery bag.

The guy looks and sounds like sammy davis jr. and literally reaks of class, he definatley has the royal touch, holds himself like a gentleman but there is no one on the street with more street smarts.

He is a circle show performer, but can do sidewalks. He used to get me to open his show with my show then he’d give me a cut at the end.

I watched him once build a crowd, was the coolest thing ever, he would anounce his show on an amp walking around telling his intro with vegas style music in the background then all of a sudden the music got interrupted by Chinese music and he would look like he went into a trance and using a lota bowl he would pour out water the full length of the edge saying, “water from china ladies and gentleman water from china.” the music would change back to vegas and he would go back to his show then through out the show the music would go Chinese again and he would do it again pouring water from china with a hypnotic voice and face, over and over……and that’s gotta be the best use of a lotta bowl I’d ever seen.

Here’s some clips of him doin a little sidewalk work. these are some clips I got of him off the you tube. but they in no way do him the justice he deserves.

He's right at the end of this one.

here's the tail end of his ring routine;

Keith is a good friend, a real magician, a veteran busker, and most of all the most stand up guy I know on the street.

here he is in new oreleans.

here's what kieth says about his teacher;

Hi there, this is for Albert Owens.

I brushed shoulders with a genius a linguistic genius of words,wits and comedy. Some considered him the king of the park(Washington Square Pk), I know I did. He was a great entertainer, a comedian with no match. Everybody copied him and his comic humor. who at a drop of a dime could play the blues , R & B, or classical music on his quitar, harmonica or piano (who knew). He was the Lenny Bruce of the 80s 90s. Washington Square Pk had a few great acts, his was tops, He loved life and hated few, always had a bad word for someone but meant no harm, I am very much indebted the the man Albert George Owens, He took me under his wings and taught the ropes I owe much to this man larger than life. God Blless

WARPO

2007-11-27T19:43:00.001-08:00

warpo is like a brother to me,

i learned comedy, throw away magic, and novelty magic, from Warpo. we have a long history going back many years.

one of the most valuable things he taught me about magic comedy is that it's much more appealing if the joke is on the performer.

i'm really intimidated writing this because i look up to him so much and i think this may have to be a work in progress.

he has a long and successful history as a pitchman. his teacher was sir david walker.

almost everyone i've talked to in the business has told me he's the best and i've never seen any one as good as him at it.

recently warpo has gone to the street and it fits him like a glove. so much so that it makes all wonder why he never did it before.

he is an icon in the french quarter and has been since he arrived in new orleans many years ago at the worlds fair. i think he should be mentioned here because he is also now a sidewalk performer. i'm gonna write more about later.

heres a clip of him in alaska;

he's gotta myspace that does him better justice then i have here so far,

y'all should check it out.

http://www.myspace.com/Warpomagic

DANIEL DEVENPORT

2007-11-27T19:41:00.000-08:00

thats daniel on the left with doug conn in the middle and me on the right.

it's mardi gras new orleans the west bank...can you tell.

daniel devenport is the number one up and comming full time pro sidewalk show performer in the u.s.

he is the exact vision of a sidewalk magician from the day. he dresses right, got the gift of gab, and the chops to back it up. if you watch him, your watchin an exact piece of our history out there on the sidewalks. and he's the real deal he's a well dressed shadey street character with fast hands and fast, talkin.

heres a clip of him,

i assure you the clip does him no justice he's much better in real life and has alot more material.

he's been instructed by Eric Cash [eric von knownothing], Chris Karney, Jeff Sheridan. all great performers

i first met him in frisco and he liked my "magic show" sign and the rope that i lay out as a stage. he took those and incorporated them into his work.

i told him about alot of the fellahs including sonny holliday, eric evans, doug conn, and many others and i made it happen so he could meet them.

what's he like in person?

cocky, self consumed, fanatical about his lifes work, very generous, but rarely uses the word thank you.

and he will back up his friends in a fight, i know this because he backed me and some other buskers up, when these spray paint artists were moving in on our pitch.

he doesn't catch a hint to save his life and would rather be told some thing straight out.

when being instructed he learns magic instantly but some how still manages to be a difficult student to who ever is teaching him.

the thing about daniel is you know where you stand with him and he could be your best friend or your worst enemy.

in some regards he is a lot like sonny holliday but only in some regards.

he's young and sharp and if he ever learns humility he will be the master

...after us old guys are gone of course.

i really envy daniel, his talent, youth, and stlye.

even though you never say it daniel, i'm gonna say it to you, "thanks" for your devotion to our art,

you really make us all look good out there.

you make what we do out there look good.

KOZMO

2007-11-27T19:39:00.000-08:00

thats me on the left and a guy a busker named sketch in the middle and kozmo on the right we're in new orleans

People are always asking me my opinion about Koz, so here’s my two cents;

I first met Kozmo back home in new Orleans when I was learning how to street perform professionally. We started talking about street performing and he started bitching about his day and I told him, “what are you talking about you’re living THE DREAM, your doin it!”

When ever I talk to Koz this is the story he always brings up. Then he tells me that what Cellini gave him he could never repay…

Yeh fellahs, he learned from Cellini.

He also took instruction from Gazzo.

He has been the biggest voice in promoting Cellini’s name in the united states and one of the biggest in promoting busking for magician’s through film not to mention other venues.

When I was learning, it was these dvds that were crucial for the speed of my learning.

When I came back to the states from Europe, New Orleans wasn’t workable [huricane Katrina]. And it was Kozmo who directed me to good solid pitches over the phone around the country so I could support myself.

He’s the one who told me about ocean city.

When I wanted to meet Danny hustle in Boston {one of my heros at the time}, it was kozmo that made that happen.

When I wanted to learn how to make bigger hats, Kozmo showed me his methods.

Back home in new Orleans we would hear tales about the size of his hats, so me and the other fellahs spent a week hangin around and watched his hats and they were big, just like we heard.

The thing about Koz is when he goes out to the pitch, it’s NOT ABOUT BEING A MAGICIAN, tradition, perfect mechanics, artistic integrity, style, finesse, good taste and form [not that he doesn’t happen on these occasionally].

With Kozmo and this is important fellahs - It’s ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT AND THE MONEY.

Yeh, ENTERTAINMENT AND THE MONEY, the thing most of us forget as magicians. Maybe one of the more important of the top ten.

When Cellini told us, “there is no art without money “ Koz took this to heart!

Is Koz important?

Well, if you think making money at busking is important then yeh, he‘s important.

But if you think magic is more important, you might have a problem.

Don’t get me wrong from what he has told me he loves doin magic and some stuff he does he does impeccably.

But with our tradition he is not a fanatic. Sacred doesn’t come to mind for me with Kozmo.

You see, I believe I am a fanatic and what bothers me, is I feel Kozmo is much more talented then me. Both mechanically and entertainment wise.

He has been workin the street longer then me and it shows and I don’t believe I will ever catch up.

Insult to injury, he makes stronger hats.

I’ am not flattering him, infact, this is my honest opinion and I truly wish it was not true.

Do we owe him thanks....yes.

Even if mine is reluctant.

Thanks Koz wish I could repay you but I don’t see a way.

I would hope one day that he would hold our art sacred also……no wait a minute that would give him even more reason to be cocky and he’s already too cocky to hang around with.

TOM FRANK

2007-11-27T19:38:00.001-08:00

student of cellini, master in his own right.

TOM FRANK is the one of the least talked about, but is the most important american street magician.

everyone of cellini's students took one of cellini's traits and tom frank took cellini's most powerful trait.

when my wife left me and i felt like killing myself i was asking everyone what i should do and no one could gimme the right answer till i asked cellini and he told me. and all the circumstances surrounding his life came together and fixed my problems it was spooky... a real mystery.

i went on a journey for a couple of years and at the end was when i met tom frank and he gave me the final answers to my remaining questions.

asking them even tho i didn't know them seemed natural and i just knew they had the answer, i had faith in their authority as the real deal.

tom frank understands who we are as street magicians. he understands our true nature. out of all the guys i've met he gets it, he really gets it.

his student BLACK MAGIC JAMES told me he's followed him for years for the grounding and the knowledge.

BLACK MAGIC JAMES would say about tom frank,"you gotta follow the master"

his student is an incredible magician but of course he would be with tom teaching him.

doug conn ran with him back in the day but lost track of him for years.about a year or 2 ago he fell into a big low he found tom's blog and it saved him.

http://tomfrank.blogspot.com/

this blog is incredible for finding yourself as a magi and how we should be living our lives.

my favorite cups and balls routine by anyone is by tom frank you can see footage of it here;

http://buskercentral.com/video.php#magic

here's his site;

http://www.industrialstrengthmagic.com/

as far as magic goes there is NO ONE doing magic at the level he's doin it.

important because he's pure artist but makes good money.

he's gotta be the best example to us.

the fact is the guy's all pro and has been for years and i could only hope to achieve that kinda greatness one day.

here's a great auto-bio clip of him;

ERIC EVANS

2007-11-27T19:36:00.000-08:00

Student of Cellini and master in his own rite. he wrote the secret art of magic, has dvds on coin manipulation, a product line of busking equipment he hand makes of the finest, most practical and durable on the market.

he painstakingly finds the hardest and best woods to make his wands they are incredible so's all his other stuff.

he busks and lectures around the world.

if there is one man out there i could say i respected the most as a street magician it would be eric evans.

the fact is he is the closest thing to the next cellini we got right now. and don't get me wrong, there is a lot of other guys who are Cellinesque out there and i thank god for them. further there is a lot more guys out there who are better then eric with certain things in their own ways, but when i read the definition cellini gave of a street magician, only a few magi come to mind and when i think of cellini,

eric is all that is left.

he's gotta spiritual side thats genuine and wise but not hokey or made up.

when people are watching him they know they're watching a real magician.

he's loyal to his teachers, students, friends, and the art, to a point that some might say is fanantical, but i wouldn't because in order for me to respect someone thats the qualities i look for.

i chose to be instructed by him [ yeh, i begged him] and it was the wisest decision i ever made. i have been working with him for the past few years and learning from him and it has been the most productive in my life as a entertainer.

the thing about Eric is he's sort of a recluse around other magicians, i think he likes other performers better then magicians some times because i've noticed he's more apt to socialize with a busking piano player or other busker more then a magician if he can help it.

he does lectures, so if you know your local magic society guys you should tell them to book him so you can have the luxury of learning from him.

i not trying to "sell" his lecture, i really think he improves street performers and this might be the only way you "up and comming" guys might have a chance to meet him.

i got to meet him through doug conn and i made it my business to try and get around him to learn from him.

years ago when Cellini told the american magicians that he had a school in europe Eric was one of the wise ones who did what ever it took to get to switzerland to learn from the master.....and as we can all see it was a wise decision.

i would suggest y'all try and do the same.

try and catch one of his lectures.

ELLIOT GORTON - PARANORMALIST, STREET MAGI.

2007-11-27T19:33:00.000-08:00

this is a picture of elliot

so there was the time that elliot scared a cop so bad he started crying...bad.

back when i was a mentalist me and elliot were always lookin for spirtualist work.

well one holloween we got a good one it was a large house that had been sectioned of for different theme rooms and we had the joint rigged to the hilt.

people would come to our room at their leisure and we would spook em with mind reading spirit manifestations etc.

now understand elliot looks like an average proffessional in a suit which makes him all the more clinically scary looking....he looks real not like a guy in a cape.

well at the end of the nite elliot had em on the ouija board but i asked if he could do something else cuz i don't like those boards.

so heres what he did, best i can remember it was @12 years ago i think any way,

he asks the owner lady if she's got any eggs in the house and for her to fetch em and a large glass bowl.

he does a short scan of the people reading them with his eyes to find the proper victim then he picks this one guy who looked average to me.

he asks the guy to pick an egg and that they were gonna try an experiment.

so the guy does and elliot takes the egg and starts rubbing it all over the guy and as he does this he's saying to the guy "some thing has happened i know! and we're gonna rub this egg all over you and we're are gonna try and take these bad things out of you we're gone change these things"

"this has effected some one close to you someone here to today and we're gonna take out the bad"

when he was done rubbin the egg he cracked it and open in the bowl and there was blood chunks of meat and hair....lots of hair.

the guy and the girl next to him started wailing like like some thing was hurtin them and the guy burst into tears you could barely make out the story he was tellin.

but the jist of it was that he was a cop and he would ordinarly get emotional but he had cheated on the girl next to him and their relationship was really on the rocks because of it and they needed something to make it better and then they came to party and then this happened.

of course the couple left happy that nite but i still feel dirty inside even as i write this.

elliot is another student of dougs.

a brilliant man well read and versed on human nature.

he's loyal to his and has chops few could stand up to especially with a deck of cards.

elliot is one of my closest friends and one of those icredible human beings you would usually only get to read about.....but it's his mind that should have you looking him and his work up.

good sidewalk man.

here's his myspace.

http://www.myspace.com/elliotgorton