John has won virtually every major close-up competion in the United States, including a first place at the "International Brotherhood of Magicians Gold Cups Competition" and the "Society of American Magcians (S.A.M.) Close-Up Competition". In addition, he has received the Silver Medal of Merit from the S.A.M., awarded only a handful of times in his prestigious history. The S.A.M. has also honored John with the Peoples Choice Award. When John is not traveling the globe or performing at exclusive events, he can be found at the world renowned Magic Castle in Hollywood, CA.
Wilm Weber: Today we are chatting with John George, a truly international champion of magic and best know for his unique blend of close-up magic and mentalism. John is also a member of The Magical Misfits. Thank you very much for taking the time. John George: You’re Welcome. I am happy to talk to you about what I do. Thanks for inviting me to do this.
Wilm Weber: Let’s jump right in. Please tell us a bit about your beginnings in magic. How did you discover your interest, when did you get involved and how did you acquire your skills? John George: I had a strong interest in magic when I was a kid. I think it was around the sixth grade when the bug bit. I taped all of the specials and watched them over and over again. I would slow them down to try and figure out how the tricks were done.
My Dad had been a hobby magician when he was a kid and still had his box of tricks. He would wow us with his tricks. This furthered my interest.
My Dad also worked at Disneyland. I could get into Disneyland for free and visit the magic store. I also followed Dana Daniels around the park as he did strolling magic. Dana was the first magician I ever saw live.
I learned many of the simple tricks that I bought at Disneyland but I didn’t really learn much sleight-of-hand at this time. I would go in and out of magic throughout high school. Sometimes I wouldn’t pick it up for months. I had many other hobbies that distracted me.
It wasn’t until my last semester of college that I got bit by the magic bug again. This time I got bit hard. I have been doing magic ever since. I remember being in the quad at Cal State Fullerton and seeing Don Frank perform for crowds of people with his superb sleight of hand. I watched him over and over again. I couldn’t believe what he was doing and I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t doing it too. I drove straight to Best Magic and got right back into magic. I remember part of my purchase. I bought Crazy man’s Handcuffs along with a book or two.
Shortly there after I started taking magic lessons from Dave Thorsen at Cal State Fullerton. Dave was great. He taught me the basics of sleight of hand and really laid a strong foundation for me to work with.
That same year I went to an Orange County Magic Club fair and saw Johnny Ace Palmer perform. I was blown away. I thought to myself---“That’s the kind of magician I want to be”. I later visited Johnny at one of his restaurant gigs and introduced myself to him. He has since become a good friend and mentor.
Wilm Weber: What is your professional background? Have you always been a magician or did your start your life on a different track? Can you describe your transition? How were you able to make performing magic a full time profession? John George: Well, I actually started my life after college as a magician.
I was very fortunate. I started by working at the Hollywood Magic that used to be in Costa Mesa. I was the lucky guy that answered the phone when the Waterfront Hilton called and asked if I knew any magicians that would like to work their brunch and get paid every Sunday for doing it. Of course I told them this was my specialty. I have been working there for the last 12 years. It was the luckiest break I could have ever got. It was (and is) a great place to grow and get better at performing for real live people.
So to answer your question about making a transition it was fairly easy. I wasn’t making much in college so I didn’t need to make a lot of money right away. I just gradually built my business up over the years.
Wilm Weber: What kind of magic do you like best? Close-Up? Mentalism? Something else? And why? John George: My two passions are, and have always been, Close-up and Mentalism.
I like the challenge and intimacy of Close-up. I like the interaction with people. I like that it is a conversational type of magic. I react to the audience as much as they react to me. It is fun to watch and fun to perform.
I like mentalism because it is so believable. People understand that they don’t know how close-up works but they know it is a trick. With mentalism there is often no explanation. People believe it must be real.
Wilm Weber: Who influences / has influenced your work most and how so? Who are your magic heroes or role models? John George: I have been most influenced by Doug Brewer. He is the other half of the Magical Misfits. He is a good friend and has been the person I run almost every trick by for the past 12 years. I met Doug on the night we were both auditioning to become members of the Magic Castle. We have been good friends ever since.
The other people I have been most influenced by are:
Johnny Ace Palmer
Warren Gibson
Derren Brown
They are all great performers that I strive to be like.
I don’t really believe I have any heroes in magic but I certainly have role models and the above mentioned would all be considered role models.
Wilm Weber: I had a chance to see the Magical Misfits in Huntington Beach last year and it was great entertainment. How did the Magical Misfits start and what are you and Doug planning for this act in the future? John George: Well Doug and I just thought it would be more fun to do gigs together so we started booking the two of us as a show. It took a while to getting it working but I think we have a pretty good show now. For a while I think we weren’t so good. We went back to the drawing board several times. I like what we are doing now. We would like to find a place where we can do the show on a regular basis. Most of our work is at private parties and corporate events.
Wilm Weber: What do you enjoy most about being a magician (besides leaning against Terry Hatcher :)? John George: That was nice---but certainly not the best thing about being a magician. I am not really sure what the best thing is. There are so many things that make it appealing. I guess I would have to say the freedom of not being tied down to a 9 to 5 job is the best. I don’t think I could handle that. I also enjoy the interaction and reactions I get while performing. It is a rush to perform. I still love what I do.
Wilm Weber: How do you see the magic world evolve and change in the coming years? Any trends you see? Any predictions? John George: I see more and more people wanting to see the Magical Misfits. I see the Magical Misfits getting a regular venue to perform at. :)
Wilm Weber: I’d like to get your take on the line up of today’s TV shows and performers? What is your opinion on shows like Mind Control (Derren Brown), Phenomenon (NBC), Mindfreak (Criss Angel) or Celebracadabra? John George: I think all those shows are great for magic. They bring attention to magic and make more people aware of magic. It makes more people want to hire a magician for their next event. But to be honest I don’t watch much television. I hear a lot about these shows but I haven’t seen most of them. Most of the Derren Brown I have seen has been online. I watched a couple of episodes of Phenomenon. I have never seen an entire episode of Mindfreak and I have never seen Celebracadabra. Maybe I am not the best person to answer this question.
Wilm Weber: What tips can you give fellow magicians who want to improve their game? How did you tune your skills? What are your top 3 tips for fellow performers? John George: My top 3 tips are
Perform as much as you can. Perform for friends. Perform for family. Perform for strangers on the street. Perform whenever you can for whoever will watch. There is nothing that replaces performance time. You can’t read the invaluable lessons that performing provides. You must perform.
Listen to your audience. You can learn so much if you listen. They will let you know if you are good. Watch their faces and listen to their reactions. You will be able to tell if they are being genuine or just trying to be nice. Your performance time won’t count as much if you don’t learn from your mistakes. So learn from your audience and work on improving during your next performance.
Have Fun! Magic should be fun. If you are having fun so will your audience. People like it when they see someone enjoying what they do.
Wilm Weber: What's next for John George? Any lectures or Magic Castle performances scheduled? Where can people see you perform? John George: I have a lot of projects in the works. Some are magic related and some are not. Keep your eyes peeled and you should see some of my projects out there soon.
I am not sure if I will lecture again. It isn’t something I pursue. I most enjoy performing for lay people. I like to perform at the Magic Castle about twice a year. I just performed there so I don’t imagine I will be there for a couple of more months.
I perform most every Sunday at the Waterfront Hilton in Huntington Beach. I perform tableside magic from 11:00 am until 3:00 pm. It is a beautiful location. You can sit outside as you eat and see the ocean.
I also perform most Wednesdays at RAXX in Riverside. RAXX is a family restaurant specializing in BBQ. They have great food.
If anyone wants to stop in please email me first so I can verify that I will be there. I will also try to make sure I can set aside some time to spend some extra time at your table.
Wilm Weber: Thank you very much for this interview and continued success! John George: Thank you! It was my pleasure.
2008 Wizard Headquarters
