David is the 4th generation of magicians in his family and the creator of the brand new mentalism routine 'Scents of Smell'. His Great Grandfather was "The Great Leon" who performed magic all over the world and worked in Vaudeville. Leon M. Leon was well known in the Magic community. He and his wife Teddy Leon were one of the founding member of the Magic Castle in Hollywood.
Wilm Weber: Today we are chatting with David Leon, creator of the brand new mentalism routine 'Scents of Smell'. Thank you very much for taking the time. David Leon: Thank you Wilm, it is an honor to be chatting with you.
Wilm Weber: You have quite a magical family background. Can you share some information about the other magicians in your family tree? Also, was there ever any possibility of you not ending up performing magic? How did you get into magic? David Leon: Yes, Magic does go back quite a bit. As you had mentioned my Great Grandfather is The Great Leon, Leon M Leon is my grandfather and Teddy Leon is my Grandmother. My second cousin is Les Arnold, he and his Daughter have been performing for many years. They go by Les Arnold and Dazzle. I do have a brother that is 15 months younger than me. Growing up my Grandfather Leon gave us both the chance to learn about magic. I was the only one from the two of us that was interested. I have more of the personality then my brother did. My Grandparents (The Leon's) had two children, my Mom and her brother. Neither of them were ever interested in Magic. So magic went down to Les (Leon is Les's Uncle) and then myself. My Grandfather started to teach me magic when I was about 12 years old.
Wilm Weber: Let's move straight to your new release 'Scents of Smell'. The routine looks very entertaining and fresh. Can you walk us through your creative process? How did you come up with this new effect? David Leon: Scents of Smell, it is a great and funny routine. The basic concept of the routine came from my Grandfather. He showed me this routine many, many years ago. His version was very basic but entertaining. He had just a set of small colored cards in envelopes and tweezers. The concept or method of the trick is not new. As far as I have been able to research it was invented in the 1950's but the routine is original. I have been performing my Grandfather's version for many years. I have taken it to a new level though. I have made it into a real funny 10 minute full routine. I usually perform this as stand up or parlor style using the larger cards but I am including a close up version for free.
Wilm Weber: Who influences / has influenced (besides your family members) your work most and how so? David Leon: Besides my family, well I grew up watching David Copperfield of course I really liked his work. I remember one time when I was visiting my Grandfather he had a little get together in his back yard. He was always throwing parties for the Magic Castle group. He told me to keep my mouth shut and my eyes and ears open and I will learn a lot. I was pretty young and I am not sure who all the guys were but I remember a bunch of older guys all doing tricks and I learned a lot there. I am sure there were big names= in this bunch but I couldn't tell you who they were. I do get a chance to see a lot of magicians and their work. I try to take a little bit from everyone and see if it works into my personality.
Wilm Weber: What do you love most about the world of magic and what do you like the least? David Leon: I love to see people's reactions when something blows them away! To do something that is seemingly impossible, to make people think what is real or not to entertain people and make them laugh. What I don't like. When magicians do something they haven't practiced enough to do right and that exposes something; when someone copies someone else's tricks without proper credits or permission. There are many things that give Magicians a bad name and or reputation as entertainers. I hope someday the network TV people will not show the "secrets reveled" shows any more too!
Wilm Weber: How do you see magic evolve over the next decade or so? Any predictions where our art will go? What areas will flourish what areas won't? David Leon: I think the major changes will be in technology. We will see more magic available on instant downloads. We see that most magic is on DVD's now. Usually these DVD's are just someone version of someone else's tricks. I think we will see more variations of tricks and not as much of something new but there are always surprises. As technology changes so does the tricks. We have tricks now for the iPhone and computers. I feel that magic on TV makes a real difference in our business. If there is a good special or TV show with magic then this gets more people interested in magic. But just as well if there is something...let's say...not so good on TV then the magic business may see a drop in interest. Personally I would love to see more magic academies where people can learn the art of magic. With more brick and mortar stores going away and the internet business are dominating I would like to see some kind of Internet course in magic. There isn't much real interaction and actual teaching any more. You can only learn so much from a DVD or instructions.
Wilm Weber: What tips can you give fellow magicians who want to improve their audience management techniques and presentation styles? How did you learn these skills? Any skills in this area you initially learned from books and threw out as a result of experience? What are your top 3 tips for fellow performers? David Leon: For performing, this is the most difficult part of doing magic. You can learn some ideas and techniques from books and DVD's. There are a few real good ones out there. The best way for me is to just keep doing it and take constructive criticism well. Have someone in your audience that can honestly tell you how you did and what you can do to make it better. Video tape your performances you will be your worse critic. In performing, I am myself. I don't have alternate personality I that I am playing. I would love to take an acting class; I think it would help with stage performance as well as close up. After all we are really playing the part of a magician. I am not good at sleight of hand and fancy card handling so I work more on my performance and try to be entertaining.
Wilm Weber: What's next for David Leon? Any new books, DVDs or other projects coming up? Where can people catch your shows? David Leon: I am working on a few new projects. Honestly I wasn't going to release Scents of smell but I kind of got talked into it. I am a lot like my Grandfather. He wasn't much of a public magician but he was a great inventor and creator and philosopher of magic. I have a new Card to mouth effect coming in a couple months. This is something I don't think anyone has ever seen before and it plays real well with a lot surprises. I am working on developing my David Leon Productions company to be able to bring quality magic to the world, some will be my creations some may be the creations of others. As for shows, I pretty much only do private shows. I would love to someday do a show at the Magic Castle like my Grandfather has done. I will let you know when that happens!
Wilm Weber: Thank you very much for this interview and continued success! David Leon: No problem at all, it has been a pleasure. I have a website that has some information about me and my family, pictures and some information on the projects I am working on: www.davidleonproductions.com I also have a Myspace page and welcome anyone interested in magic. Look me up under David Leon.
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