Just thought I'd mention in passing that Gazzo is lecturing tomorrow night at Penguin Magic... 26th February 7pm eastern.

I think it'll be worth tuning in.

tom

I've got a gig and won't be able to make it... Do they allow you to download the prerecorded session if you miss it?

Penguin says if you register and miss it, you can download it after it ends.

Darn, I already missed it.

The Doctor

Did you? It happens this evening, 7pm Eastern.

Yes, you can watch it afterwards. However it usually takes2-3 days before you can download.

How was it?

I was disappointed. The first hour and fifteen minutes was spent on a series of three card tricks strung together. Gazzo took a break for some questions, I asked about busking laws to which he said he didn't want the lecture to be about busking. I didn't pay to learn card tricks from one of the worlds best street performers. I want knowledge not tricks. Gazzo then started talking about his egg bag, which seemed more interesting but I didn't finish watching so hopefully there's some good tips in the end.

Thanks MARyan... That sums up everything I wanted to know.

I am with MARyan, Penguin kinda misleads you here. It was pretty
good for the beginner, but when your expecting one thing and then
they give you something else it hard to see the value as you battle
your expectation not being met.

I believe everyone who signed in were expecting busking info here,
yet you were given a treatise on classic magic. Gazzo was emphasizing
the classics and how the classic techniques are what really works for an
audience.

So as an example for like the first 45 minutes he spends on a card
routine; explaining the details of the routine, and then goes over
some "classic" handling of cards. A small spat on questions, then
he goes to the egg bag routine which he then explains his working;
again, as an example of the classics.

There were some tips, antics, and jokes to walk away from but I was
led to thinking this would be based on street performing which Gazzo
said somewhere in the middle of the lecture he didn't wanna get into.
So the Penguin folks ignored everyone's questions which was mostly
about street performing. The Penguin folks kinda mislead you here
as their advertisements talks about street performing and their
demo video shows him at the Penn and Teller show...I wish they noted
that.

So I think it was disappointing to most from that perspective only
due to the expectation that was set. But with that being said there
is value; probably more so for the beginner on what works for real people,
some technical details, and using the classics to entertain people.
I like the routines and his thoughts and the egg bag routine.

I have a different view on the lecture ( I'm a huge fan, so take that into consideration ).

I got that he offered golden wisdom:

stop buying all the latest tricks that are released each week. Learn the classics and go out and perform. America is not a pro-street performing nation and if you spend your time checking on laws, etc. you're wasting your time. Just go out and do it and you'll get better.

I LOVED his egg bag. They are going to release it on a dvd, so I bet that one shows him using it on the street.

Clarke

Yeah that's certainly good advice, there some good bits but overall It just wasn't what I was expecting. Believe me I'm a huge fan too I'm sure anyone in this forum is but an hour of card tricks from one of the worlds best street performer and after that hour him saying it wasn't a busking lecture was a bummer.

I get why Gazzo wouldn't want it to be a busking lecture. He's got products out on that already.

In one of the emails Penguin sent me it said something along the lines of "even if you've already got his cups and balls dvd, this is all new material!". I kinda figured by that it would be more "trick" focused, and that's cool. Just not what I'm interested in. I've got more than enough tricks.

For me the question was... "I've scraped together $20. Do I buy his lecture or his book?" I now know I need to go for the book.

I'm sure the lecture was great and that there's plenty of value there. I totally agree with the "stop buying all the latest tricks" sentiment. Ironically that's why I was hesitant to buy the lecture in the first place. lol! ;-)

So it sounds like the definitive answer is "If you want to learn some solid, proven card work buy the lecture. If you want info on busking buy one of his other products"...

Cool.

Not really, unless they reshoot the existing DVD. He has one already but I don't think it was sold other than at lectures. If you saw the Penguin lecture, you pretty much saw what was on the DVD.

I,m not Gazzo, nor as good as Gazzo, but I have taken his masterclass and learned from him when he teaches with Bobby Maverick. That said I will answer your question. If there are laws against busking, then do what the cops tell you and STOP! BUT, as they say in the military, "don't ask, don't tell." Find a pitch and start to work, if it's against the law the worst thing that will happen is a cop will tell you to stop. If that happens, DO IT.

Remember the busker's credo is "it is easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission." If you ask the likely answer will be "no" if you just start the likely act will be to let you alone and you'll make money.

I think the complaint is mainly that Penguin didn't really say what he would be lecturing about. It was "assumed" that it would be street work, or if not that, then "new material" as they promised. Maybe Penguin didn't know either, but they should have known ahead of time to market him properly.

The "new" material was him teaching old (classic) sleights. It might have been new lecture material, but those of us who have seen him live already saw pretty much all he was teaching, including the egg bag material. For me, as a non-card person, the first half (two thirds actually) of the lecture was great for future reference, but it really didn't hold my attention.

In watching the twitter feed throughout the broadcase, it was apparent that he didn't want to go the direction the audience wanted to go. Whoever was screening the twitter feed seemed to know what Gazzo wanted to teach and withheld many of the questions that flowed in. To me, it sort of defeated the purpose of an "interactive" online lecture. Except for a few times where he answered rather generic questions, it could have easily been a static download of a recorded session.

I love seeing Gazzo, and I supported the concept by registering, but in reality I could have just sent in a donation and skipped the lecture. As it turned out, I watched very little of it in real time and opted to wait for the download archive that came later.

If you want to see Gazzo lecture on street magic, and don't have the opportunity to see him in person, buy the Mario Morris DVDs where Gazzo teaches portions of Mario's Street Busking class.

Thanks for all the comments here in this thread. I only just saw it, but had heard similar comments soon after the lecture.

I'm sorry we weren't more clear. While our advertising wasn't specific about what he'd teach, I *know* many were hoping for busking content. I didn't know in advance that he'd skip those questions (and at his lecture, he's the boss!), but I can now understand why. Buskers are a very small group.

That said, my response was to immediately call Gazzo and ask if he'd do a special "pro busking" lecture just for those few who really want to learn about his busking experience.

So, TOMORROW (Saturday March 10th) we're delivering. We're flying Gazzo back over for a second lecture dedicated purely to busking, street performance and the business of making money with magic.
http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/2649

And for anyone who may be suspicious now (I hope no one), I'm happy to guarantee satisfaction, no questions asked.

Thank you all for supporting live magic.

Faux pas, Saturdays are when Buskers work Brother.
It's our go to day. The notice is way too soon for
anyone to schedule it in etc....good luck to you both though.
:applause:

Is there a discount for the people who paid for the last lecture and were disappointed?

Unfortunately, Saturday is booked solid for us, so we will not be able to check it out, and this is the one we want to see the most.

~Nanci