I'm on the road from July 12th to August 17th.
No physical item orders will be shipped until I return on August 18th.
Digital products will still be emailed during this time
-Louie Foxx Dismiss
On this episode of the Moisture fest we welcome in Paul Magid. This is the first part of a three part conversation with this new vaudeville Pioneer. We discuss Paul’s early life and learn about the origins of one of the most successful variety acts ever, The Flying Karamozov Brothers.
In this conversation, we discuss the early years of the group and learn a bit about Paul’s writing style. A wonderful conversation with one of the most prolific variety acts ever.
Magic clubs are a great way to speed up learning magic, because you can ask questions, get answers, and see things that you can’t over the internet.
When I was a kid getting seriously into magic, the local magic club was a HUGE resource for me and really helped me grow, being able to see things performed with my own eyes! It helped me learn what styles of performing magic I liked and didn’t like. That’s something that’s hard to do if you want to do a long form, in person show by just watching internet videos.
Many performers have a stack of tape like this stuck to some case that’s not seen by the audience.
This is mic tape, that’s used to keep a cheek mic in place. Usually, when you take off your mic, there’s not a trash can nearby to throw it away, so you put it on something…then it grows into a mountain over time.
This came in handy the other day, I was setting up a show and putting my mic on and couldn’t find my roll of mic tape. I realized I could peel off one of those squares and it would get me through the show. That works, but I also thought there should be a better way to do this than using old tape.
A Better Way To Be Prepared For An Emergency!
What I did was put a strip of mic tape on across my case, then put a second strip on top of that. That’s going to keep the adhesive on the outermost piece “fresh”.
Now, if there’s an emergency, I just peel off what I need from the outer layer and use that. It’s an easy way to be prepared that takes up no space in my case!
In my children’s show, I use a mouth coil as the end of my ball manipulation sequence. I use the mouth coil as a production coil, so I don’t use the double loop ones like the David Cressey Mouth Coils, but the ones that are just a coil of paper. The ones I’ve used for years (decades?) are the Bazar de Magia mouth coils.
Recently I noticed that Murphy’s Magic is now making them called Professional Mouth Coils. I was running low on the ones I normally use, so I decided to give the Murphy’s Magic ones a try.
The coils look the same when coiled up, there is a slight texture difference that I can see. The picture below shows both of them inside of the case:
The main difference is that the Murphy’s ones are made from thinner paper than the Bazar de Magia ones. The Murphy’s are also ten feet longer, but both coils are pretty much the same size.
For me, the uncoiling action of the Bazar de Magia mouth coils works better. When the ball turns into the coil in my routine, I start by pulling on the end one long pull, then let gravity do its thing as my other hand catches it. I don’t let it fall on the floor. The main reason is that if kids are sitting on the floor, anyone not in the front row won’t be able to see the coil as it piles up. I think the Murphy’s mouth coils, being a lighter paper, don’t pull themselves out of the coil as well as the Bazar de Magia ones, which makes my catching hand have to do a lot more pulling initially.
For me, and how I use the mouth coils, the Bazar de Magia ones are the winner! They work better as a production coil in my hand. The Murphy’s mouth coils still work fine, but if I have a choice, I’ll grab the Bazar de Magia ones. If you produce them from your mouth, you may be looking for different characteristics than I am.
-Louie PS: The first half of my ball routine is called Sankey’s Balls and in my lecture notes 2 pack. That part is my version of Balls In Net, which doesn’t use a net. The second half of my routine that uses the mouth coil is unpublished, but basically Percy Abbott’s Perpetual Balls with a couple of surprises thrown in.
One of the things that I think is interesting is how different magicians keep their props in their prop cases. I’m not referring to how they are in the case when set for the show, but for traveling in between shows.
Years ago, I heard about how Billy McComb had a different Ziploc bag for each routine.
A Better System for Storing Magic Tricks
I’ve used Ziploc bags, but recently found these hard sided cases. I think they’re sold as make up cases.
I bought them as a prop for a routine idea that I have, but realized the other day that they’d be perfect for travelling with props. They’ll protect the props a little bit, but I can see into them, so I know exactly what’s in each case.
I just did my first week with these, and I’m really liking them. The next thing will be to make a list of what goes into each box and write it on the box.
This is an idea for a “chair test” or “color match” sort of effect. You have four boxes, each with a different colored interior. Then you have four cards with a different color. The cards are mixed up and one is put face down in each box. The colors match the interior of the box they were set in!
That’s a simple and direct method that’s 100% surefire!
I think if I were going to do this trick, I would have one more card than I have boxes. That would make opening the last box a bit more dramatic as there could be a failure at that point, instead of it being a known result.
Last week I finished reading Card Man Stuff by Al Leech and this week I started reading another card magic book by Al Leech called Super Card Man Stuff. This book is pretty good. I’m about halfway through it, and while I don’t think it’s as good as Card Man Stuff, it’s still pretty good and a worthwhile read.
Here’s a Card Trick I Love!
In the book, there’s a gag that’s essentially an impromptu novelty card, like the ones that came in a FAKO deck. Here’s what it looks like:
I think this is a great trick (gag) to have in your brain for emergencies. I can see many opportunities where knowing this and having it in your mental toolbox, ready to be used, would be helpful!
Many times knowing little bits like these have bailed me out of situations or enhanced them!
A few weeks ago, I started reading the booklet Card Man Stuff by Al Leech. This booklet is full of card tricks that feel modern. In fact, I’d have no problem doing all of them (except for one) at a close-up magic gig! The effects are direct and have solid methods. It was written in the 1950’s so if you update a few methods to techniques that didn’t exist then, you have even better tricks!
One of the tricks, I updated by giving a theme and changing a couple of moves and the sequence, and ended up with a new trick that I call Discount Transposition.
Want to Watch the Card Tricks?
On my Facebook and Instagram, I’ve documented the whole book with the original techniques. Here are some of the videos:
Where Can I Get the Book Card Man Stuff?
This book is still available from Magic Inc in Chicago for $10! It’s totally worth the ten bucks, and you’re supporting a brick and mortar magic shop! I don’t make anything if you buy from them, I just think this is a really cool “forgotten” book and a hell of a deal at $10!
**The daily blog will continue to be updated below this notice**
I will be out of town performing across the USA from July 7th to July 13th 2026. That means no orders of physical items will ship until I return on July 13th, 2026.
Digital items will still be emailed during this time!
