MNW #76 :: "ZINGMASTER" ALEX RAMON

The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus's Magical Zingmaster is our guest for this episode of the podcast. In one of our most interesting interviews to date, we discuss Alex's evolution from performing for friends and family as a teenager to his latest gig as the host of  "The Greatest Show on Earth!"  We go far beyond the world of the circus and talk about his working relationship with the show's magic guru Jim Steinmeyer, find out what happened to some of Doug Henning's stage props, learn what he felt was a huge insult to Lance Burton, talk about what he learned from Mr. Electric and discuss his role in the development of the show.

LISTEN TO THIS CHAT WITH ALEX

OTHER WAYS TO LISTEN: ITUNES :: MP3

MASTERS OF ILLUSION :: AMAZING JOHNATHAN

Masters of Illusion premiered last night on MyNetwork TV and featured performances by Scarlett, Jeff McBride, Kalin & Jinger, Farrell Dillon, Hillel, Krystyn Lambert, Guy Bavli, Ai and YuKi, Tony Clark and The Amazing Johnathan. Here's a clip of Amazing Jonathan from the show in case you missed it. Tune in next Monday for Episode 2!

KEITH BARRY :: DESTINED TO BE A STAR

The Herald has posted an interview with Irish magician Keith Barry  entitled "Heart up his sleeve." Barry tells the interviewer, "For me, great magic has to be entertaining, first and foremost. Different magicians have different styles, obviously. It's like asking if you like Christina Aguilera or Britney Spears? Do you like Penn & Teller or Keith Barry? My aim is to make people laugh first, and then be fooled by some good magic afterwards. When I was at college, my girlfriend -- who's now my wife -- was studying psychology, and that's when I got interested in incorporating that side of it. I started studying hypnosis as well. So, for me, I like to play with all the different aspects."  In case you missed our interview with Keith during his Las Vegas performance series, you can listen below: LISTEN TO OUR CONVERSATION WITH KEITH BARRY:

DOWNLOAD THE MP3 :: OR :: GET IT VIA ITUNES<

TELEVISION :: MASTERS OF ILLUSION PREMIER

REMINDER :: The new magic program produced by Gay Blackstone, Masters of Illusion, premiers tonight on MyNetwork TV at 9PM EST.  According to MyNetworkTV.com, "The greatest illusionists in the world are featured in this amazing magic television series shot in front of a live audience. No camera or computer tricks, see women turn into tigers, birds appear from nothing and quick change in the blink of an eye! From one amazing illusion to the next, these acts come at you non-stop in a spectacular display of reality-twisting, mind-blowing magic."

MNW #75 :: RICHARD KAUFMAN

The Editor and Publisher of Genii Magazine, Richard Kaufman, joins us again for the 75th episode of the Magic Newswire podcast. Beyond giving us a quick overview of the January 2009 issue of the magazine and a quick preview of the February issue, we take a look back at the magical happenings of 2008 and find out what he's looking forward to in 2009. He talks about the differences between Criss Angel & David Copperfield, shares his thoughts on David Blaine's evolution as a magic performer as well as much, much more.

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OR CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD KAUFMAN:

MAGICIAN HEADLINES GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH

"The Greatest Show on Earth" aka Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus has revamped its' show for 2009 and 2010 to feature a magician as the star performer. Alex Ramon began performing magic eight years ago when he was only fifteen and is now the "Zingmaster" for the all new Red Tour of the circus called "Zing Zang Zoom." Ramon told the Tampa Bay Tribune, "I'm the very first zingmaster in Ringling Bros. history," Ramon said. "So the first question is, 'What's the difference?' I am going to be doing the announcing, as a traditional ringmaster would, but I'm also going to be performing magic and illusions throughout the show. It's a very big change for the circus."  One of the featured effects in the new show is an elephant vanish. For more info on Zing Zang Zoom, visit the Show's website. According to Richard Kaufman at Genii, Jim Steinmeyer is the magic consultant for the show and is in Florida working with the team as they get ready for the tour.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAVE A MAGICAL 2009!

MORE MAGIC APPEARS FOR THE IPHONE

Earlier this month we posted a popular article listing the various ways in which the iPhone can be used to do magic. As we end 2008, we've found a few more to share with you. Take one of theswith you a New Year's Eve gathering and show everyone that magic is as cool as the iPhone! MAGIC XRAY BONE BREAKER ::  Magic Bone Breaker creates the illusion of X-Raying your fingers, breaking one off - then fixing it back onto your hand. Vibrant graphics, animation and a secret move combine to create this jaw-dropping magic trick. POCKET MAGIC:: :: The trick presents a colorful screen and asks you to select one of the many numbers that appear, and indicate what color it is. After some nice animation, you are asked to find your number again among the many on screen, and again indicate what color the number is again. At that point, the app can usually guess what number you selected. It also successfully predicts a magic color that appeared at the beginning of the trick.

CRISS ANGEL MEETS LARRY KING TONIGHT

CNN has reshuffled its' holiday schedule and moved the Criss Angel schedule from New Year's Eve to this evening. According to Robin Leech in his Luxe Life column at Las Vegas Weekly,  it will " feature gal pal Holly Madison in the final 15-minute segment. If you haven’t seen Believe at the Luxor, then you should know that Larry has a cameo appearance announcing the “disappearance of the missing magician." 

KOZAK APPEARS IN ATLANTIC CITY

From PR USA,  Tropicana Casino is playing host to one of the best Magicians in the world, 2008 Merlin Award Winner...Kozak. Long recognized as the nations finest sleight-of-hand magician, Kozak's show combines comedy with magic in a one hour show at The Comedy Stop that critics have called "flawless". Kozak has drawn praise not only form fans all over the country, but from some of the world's top prestidigitators. Criss Angel and The Amazing Johnathon have both been ardent admirers of Kozak since the day they first saw him. Kozak's show at The Comedy Stop is a family friendly show that all can enjoy. Kozak takes the stage at 6pm each night, 7 days a week. WATCH KOZAK PERFORM IN THIS VIDEO CLIP::