Slim is on the right track, look at how horriably whacked up the magic community has become from the wholesale rape of our trade secrets. Can you even imagine the sideshow world with marketing slogans like "Easy To Learn!" "Master In 10 Minutes" "No Skill Required" - insanity!

Slim is motivated by the love of the art, not the greed and lust of the dollar. That is why his candle will never go out.

JoeJoe

That's true,keep it up dudes!

Once again Slim comes through. He had emailed me the Human Dynamo schematics a few months ago. I'm just getting around to wiring it and needed clarification, well, I shot an email to Slim and sure enough, just moments later, a great response. Now hopefully I won't fry myself.
Thanks again Slim!!

Thanks Slim for all your help!

Once again Slim has come through with some great information and I wanted to thank him publically. So, thanks Slim!

Ask Slim about an act you already think you know, something you have performed week in, week out. You might be surprised at the little things you have missed, and it could make all the difference in the world.

Many thanks to all who have posted comments on Slim's notes. They are the truth, based on many, many years (nearly sixty) of experience. I go to a lot of trouble to write them, and they would cost a fortune if I charged for them. To those who appreciate them, my thanks. To those who waste them, a curse... They started as a book 1n 1993, but I chose not to publish it. Today, I am an old geezer and trying to pay back all those who helped me. It's my way of "Keeping the Candle Burning."
Slim

Thanks for the help. The extra info will come in handy as I put together my act.

Just wanted to say thanks Slim, just recieved your notes and it was just the info I needed !

From a different point of view, I was priveledged to meet with Slim and swap stories, photos and info in person. It was a most enjoyable experience.

My props and respect to him, and Krista, always.

A special time for me was meeting Pele! I consider her one of the true stars of this profession...She is also a person who enjoys the world, and covering lots of fields.
Good company too! Don't miss her in performance...
Slim

Hey Slim!
How are you and Krista doing! I'm living in L.A. now. Don't know what these mysterious notes are, so I can't thank you for them.
But I do know your generosity you both showed me in opening your home and teaching this wayward freak was something you simply cannot put a price on.

Thank You!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank goodness for a world that's not PriceLess.

The notes are a collection of "essays," originally intended for a book I started writing back in 1996. (I think) Because of the risk to those who could read a book and misuse it, I chose not to write it...
Like teaching, as you know, when I share information, I lean toward making a dangerous profession as safe as I can. Thanks for the kind words.
Slim

Beginning Sideshow Arts
I sometimes get mail asking about how to start learning sideshow arts. This is my answer,
First you need to analyze your self, and your reasons. If you want to learn to impress the guys at the bar, or your frat buddies, or to get girls, forget it! By and large, the acts are dirty, invoke some pain, take years to learn properly and you will find that “normal” people will look at you as something less than normal. The acts will probably cause you medical problems later in life, or immediately. It isn’t like magic at all, the damage you do to yourself can last for years. I often think that in our current media society, people think an accident (there will be some) goes away at the end of the clip, or movie… This is not true. An accident can take weeks or months to recover from, and can even cause you permanent disfigurement… The best (only) way to learn is with a pro teacher who has lived this life. I don’t mean the kid at 7/11 who sucks fire from a Bic. I mean a working professional. Learning from a book is the worst way to get this knowledge. I think I have read most of the books on the subject, and I am often appalled by errors, missed points, plain lies and oversights, all of which can bite you! Even when you know it all, a pro can see a lot of things you will miss, and might save you a lot of damage to yourself or others. Slim’s notes are overwritten to prevent as much of this as possible, but sometimes surprising interpretations slip in. I remember writing several additions to a note to clarify putting a Band-aid over a thumbtack...
Most of the people who chose to start learning sideshow acts are young, impressionable, frequently misfits, and are looking to make some kind of mark. This is understandable, but the fact is that there are a lot of better, easier, cleaner, and more profitable ways to make a living. Working at McDonald’s will earn you more, and you won’t spend most of your time looking for the next gig. Even the best performers have dry spells.
Although most of the acts however dangerous, are simple, few initiates realize the need for learning to be an entertainer. This is really what separates the tyros from the pros in every field, not just sideshow work. Theater is what will make the money and work for you. If you are still in school take advantage of your theatrical options, acting, stagecraft, voice, costume, scripting, learn anything and anything you can. If you are a “civilian,” do the same. It’s an investment sure to pay off…
Don’t try to learn everything at once...There are dozens of nuances in any single act that can only be learned by exploration. Mastering one act and doing it well, (and adding your own persona) will always serve you better than “shotgunning” several badly done stunts. When you begin working a sideshow act, the first thing you will want to do is ‘push the envelope.” This, more than anything else will get you in trouble… Give your art a little time to nurture, until you really understand it… Above all, learn one on one from a pro mentor.

An after thought :
Learn to stop calling what we do "Geek Magic." That is a term that real sideshow performers find very offensive. Geeks were the lowest form of sideshow performers, Low drunks and junkies who would eat the grossest things. Live snake heads. Live chicken heads, for example, just to get a fix... Jim Rose is not a good example of true sideshow work. Although he introduced a whole new generation to sideshow acts, his methods of presentation leave, for me, a lot to be desired. Sideshow work does not need to be presented in a gross, frenetic manner as he does. Why do I mention him? He is, I think the person most likely to have misused “Geek”, as in his claiming to do “Geek Magic.”

Slim,

Thanks again, that is a great introduction to the art!

Yours,

Paul

I just received Slim's notes on the human blockhead. Thanks, Slim!

Slim,
Your commentary on learning was wonderful and so very, very true.
Thank you for saying that. I think, with your permission, I am going to print it out. Kindest and respect always..
P~

Any one who can stand my cooking can't be all bad! My Burritos should be a sideshow torture act...I'd be honored. Krista says "Hi."
Slim

Slim I THINK that I have e-mailed you several times but my e-mail is a bit quirky, but I did PM you about myself, I'm looking forward for your response!

I think you need to refresh my memory... My E-mail is
<sanscan@4dcomm.com>
Slim Price

I, too, would like to express my appreciation to Slim. He kindly sent me his notes on glass walking, and they are terrific. What Slim demonstrates is that EVERY branch of our art deserves careful thought and attention. Thanks to performers like him, people will be performing these extraordinary feats long after the world tires of card tricks...

Bob

I got the notes for glasswalking, very helpful. It was bascially all the info I had seen before gathered neatly and comprehensively. I felt bettter about trying it becuase I didn't feel like I was missing some vital piece of info.

:) Tried the glass walking with much success and even got one of my fellow performers to try it.