Ever heard of David Blaine?
What is the difference between his career and yours (Generally speaking)?
How to bridge the gap?

One difference is, with my accent it is very hard to pull off " Wanna see something cool!"

Blaine made magic "hip" again...and not in a spangly waistcoat way... a tall, lean figure who wasn't white! spoke and dressed plainly but had an interesting slant on everything... the magic was simple, clear but also touched upon the modern day mystic/swami type character...and in his first special, the use of voodoo chile was very clever too...

in interviews nowadays, he's more animated, articulate..he's grown and moved on...

I think he reinvigorated magic - and because he had a clean slate, he could mix in a bit of mentalism without any trouble...cos he could levitate but tie it into indian mysticism, he could hustle on the streets cos he was also a regular guy...i thought back then, and even now brilliant...

career wise, I don't even see how I can compare? don't see the point, so I won't.... I'm happy doing what I do the way I do it - and I'm sure he is too...and he kept on with the DB initials too...

I don't blame him for the street magic craze, I think he showed what simple plots mixed in with a mix of modern and classic presentations...we owe him a lot...

Haven’t completely given up on becoming rich and famous, but I don’t want to be like David Blane. We already have one. We also have a Kreskin and a Geller and (for better or worse) an Angel. There are thousands of folks out there doing the same stuff, maybe different slants, rearrange the parts, paint it a different color, but what the public is paying the most money for is almost always the personality (even if that personality is itself only an avatar).

Even when we get into debates here about whether magic and mentalism can be mixed, the examples given are always “names”: Dunninger did it, Osterlind does it, etc. In these cases, we’re not really talking about effects, but about celebrities who could in all likelihood walk out on stage and write down a headline “prediction” and then make the newspaper appear in a flash of light. People would applaud!

My goal is to find the niche that first, has not been taken, and second, actually has some appeal to an audience. It may be a “statement of faith”, but I believe when (if?) I find the right combination, of audience, character and motivation, we’ll see some serious progress. In the meantime, regular work serves as good practice!

Great question, by the way, Slim!

For me the difference is one thing ....Publicity! David Blaine first got my attention with a TV special. I've heard that it is basically up to him as to when he chooses to do another. Not sure if that is true but he does command a great deal of power in the real world.
I'm pretty sure that many many on this forum have a similar skill set as David... But the publicity is the main difference.
The secret of his first TV special is contained in the book, Mysterious Stranger.(Not sure the color of his skin has anything to do with anything )

I have a strange admiration for DB, as noted he gave magic a booster shot that was long overdue. Secondly, he had the audacity to step into the paranormal or spiritual side of things as if he were a modern-day Fakir, even admitting that part of his persona was based on figures like Buddha and Jesus -- holy men!

David broke down the door many of us from the Bizarre Magick and Mentalism side of things wanted to break down but were afraid to . . . we were mostly afraid of the cynics within the magic community that love to prey on believers of most any flavoring, but especially those of us with a more esoteric point of view. David however proved that such an entity could thrive on the streets of big city America/USA as well as in the rural villages of South America.

Moving from mumbles to someone that spoke intelligently I think came from the harsh critique given to him by so many . . . I can practically see Max Maven having lunch with the lad and chewing him a new one when it comes to such things and how it would affect him, career wise. His willingness to grow up and become more professional; realizing that "Street Magic" wasn't a destiny for someone wanting an actual career is what makes him the greater role model . . . in my opinion. Let's face it, when you see a guy like DB raise himself from the streets and a questionable reputation to where he's at today, inspiration should follow; hopefully the sort that will help his followers to step up to the same plate of change and self-improvement.

It was mentioned that DB gets "blamed" for the whole Street Magic craze and while he was a catalyst I actually blame Angel for this more and more than that, I blame the magic merchants that decided to cash in on this new cow . . . especially those young visionaries that gave us places like Penguin, T-11 and Ellusionist.

We have to admit too that the Café was a driver for this scene simply because of the chatter found here and nowhere else.

His new TV special is this November: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-fe......d-641781

Glad to see it will have no "stunts". Amazing list of celebs

He's going to have to throw some quality at the screen or the public will remember him for those boring, drawn out stunts, even though they were years ago.

It’s a good point, Slim, but I’d always assumed that publicity was a fundamental part of the game anyway. (I know, dangerous to assume anything, right?) Even a realtor or a car salesman has to get his name out there.

I think of it as a business. Of course, I’m the main product or service, but I’m also thinking about inventory, logistics and advertising. We are fortunate in that, as performers, “stunts” come a little more naturally than they would to some other fields; witness “blindfold driving” as an extreme example.

The local magic club is planning a community show at the area’s largest mall. It’s a free show that will maybe draw customers to the mall (they don’t need it) and raise “awareness” of the club. I volunteered to present a headline prediction locked in a chest that’s been hanging above the center fountain for a week or two. It’s little out of place, but can be played just “over the top” enough to fit in. I’ve been told more than once that I have the best “stage presence” of any of the regulars and I plan to make the most of that. Learned long ago to write my own intro (never trust that to the guy with the mike!) and have worked my name into the script (his and mine!) more than once

Privately, I’m working on some BOR books (what’s out there now just doesn’t quite “do it” for me), that will eventually show up whenever I perform, with my own name AND actually written by me. Hopefully they’ll enjoy the show, take home a book, show it to their friends…that’s the plan anyway.

What’s lacking most in my case is the individual contacts. I’m a naturally reclusive introvert and whereas some folks get energized by interacting with people, it physically and emotionally drains me. I have to be in an “up” time to even answer the phone. Maybe not a good mix for what we’re attempting here, but d@mn, I’m good at it! :huge grin:

Maybe what Blaine has that the rest of us don’t is a good handler. …and Publicity. Yes.

In terms of keeping track of the passage of years we have BC, AD and also BDB and ADB; Before David Blaine and After David Blaine.

In the UK BDB and ADB also refers to 'Before Derren Brown' and 'After Derren Brown'; Derren Brown is a National Treasure.

How's this for a classic example of Dav......d Blaine and This Was The Rematch.

That interview with David was years ago just as people were getting to know him in the UK. I still remember seeing that interview in the morning before I went to work and EVERYONE was talking about it when I got to work. Priceless publicity and expert self-promotion all in one package.

Regards,
Lar.

But there is a SECRET written in the book.

DW. . . you are 100% on mark when it comes to "Pitch Books" and I work with one of the better trusted publishers of such things. Some time ago I revamped a particular book and someone associated with the book's early history had a conniption fit because I "put it into my own voice". . . to my mind that's what we should be doing with any such work simply so we KNOW what the books say and too, the audience can better identify the material with us -- writing and word use styles frequently differ too much for today's public. Too, far too many of these books are too thin; I use many of the one's I get from a certain publisher as a give-away to clients they are so thin.

When it comes to Blaine and the big stunts I have to look at them another way; he was the first to do some of them, since Houini which allows him to share said fame and piggy-back his success in much the same way Henning did early in his career. Secondly, some of his endurance stunts place him alongside the Eastern Mystics, which was the point behind them -- to be seen as a modern-day Fakir and not just a different version of the classic magician. The bits were strong enough to get Angel to emulate him via the Water Cell stunt but it was the rivalry that stood between them for a short period that did far more to help Angel's name recognition more than the stunt. . . but then his ties to the WWE didn't hurt.

I'm looking forward to David's new special, he always delivers something to think about.

I think you even have to sign an agreement not to change the name of the books ... Which makes no sense at all ... I'd take just the opposite approach.

Blaine is a popularist, he is a marketer, he is successful. But the key reason is, I believe, that he blurs the line between magic and mentalism and bizarre that we all seem to so desperately want to construct. He integrates magic without identifiable props, with mentalism and bizarre. He does things with stuff anyone might find. He doesn't use boxes or tables or things that every one cannot touch and appreciate. He seems to simply exist in a magical world he shares with others. He gives the impression that at times he is as surprised as his spectators. He shares with Houdini (and with precious few modern practitioner of magic) the notion that things could go wrong. Nothing is guaranteed. Compare that attitude with most any modern magician. Somewhere in all of this lies the answer to the original poster question.