Tell me about your job.
My job consists mainly of magic but I've gone into a different area of psychological tricks of the mind. I like to call myself a 'sleight of the mind artist.' It encompasses traditional slight of hand, modern mind reading and con artistry. I've got a gig at a hotel bar right now, and I present weird and strange tricks to people while they're drinking it up.
How did you get into it?
I did it when I was younger like any child would, but the interest bloomed in high school. My mother was working in the Folies Bergere as a showgirl, my father was a stagehand, so I was already sort of into the Vegas lifestyle and showmanship. They pushed me into doing magic more, which was sort of surprising. But I got into and it bloomed quickly and flourished and people responded extremely well and I realized I could probably make money doing this.
So is this your full time gig?
I was in Las Vegas, I just moved out here in January. I'm still getting by on it, I had to get all new contacts and start all over but it's far worth not living in Vegas. So right now I am doing it for a living, just barely.
What's your favorite place or thing in New York?
I don't have a favorite place, but my favorite thing is the overwhelming amount of character. Coming from Vegas you have these Hollywood and grandiose ideas of Las Vegas but it's not really like that. You don't live in the city, you live in the suburbs, pretty much everyone does, its very sort of cut and dry, and can be quite annoying at times, but here you can walk the streets, get on a subway, get off and be somewhere new and be surprised every single day. I just love the charm and the character and the aesthetic of the whole thing.
What's your opinion of the Ground Zero Mosque?
I'm certainly against it, not because I don't subscribe to any religion, but because I think the best response is to rebuild the towers in their entirety. We have to continue with the whole business as usual thing. It's the only way we can demonstrate our strength as a nation.
What's your least favorite part about your job?
The association magic has to glitter, bad music, stuffing women into boxes, all the clichés I guess. My hope is to aid in the advancement of the art form by presenting something more unique, more intriguing. Something that gets under your skin.
Andrew Piccone is a photographer in New York City.
Seems like a good enough guy except for the misunderstanding about the "Ground Zero mosque." We would have also accepted, "I think the best response is to reopen the Burlington Coat Factory in its entirety."
I do wonder how many people have that misunderstanding. Maybe he's negging the Islamic center so they'll give him a free gym membership?
This is why I came here to comment as well. It seems like he thinks a mosque is being built where the twin towers used to be. Which is ridiculous, really, and a gross misunderstanding of the actual situation... but how many people who are freaking out over all of this think that? Granted, he just moved from Las Vegas (and by the way, if you guys are going to run interviews of recent Las Vegas transplants, shouldn't you first be interviewing Brad Nelson?), but he actually lives in New York, which should mean he's more likely than most to be aware of the distinction. And yet he's not. It's puzzling and more than a little upsetting.
Who would've thought a sleight-of-mind artist could be so slight of mind?
It's a trick!
Honestly, if you actually live here that goes far beyond "misunderstanding" and into the "willful ignorance" territory.
Even the Today Show of all things qualifies their sensationalism with "several blocks away" .. although, maybe the solution is for Bloomberg to pull eminent domain and rebuild the towers to a 1.5 : 1 scale and demonstrate Our strength.
My first interview: it hurts for good reason.
As much as it pains me to realize my own ignorance, nothing delights me more than to be enlightened. My thoughts were clearly the result of a terrible misunderstanding, which made linernotesdannys remark quite accurate I will admit.
Please do forgive the error, and thank you for the help. I will do my best to grow into a better New Yorker.
@MatthewMichaelCooper: Not with that forthright and accomodating manner, you won't!
Or, wait, in the context of this discussion, maybe it is the New Yorkers who are accomodating and etc. etc.
MIND = BLOWN.
He's very cute for a magician!
This reminds me of that episode of The IT Crowd where Jen breaks up with her boyfriend after Moss and Roy accurately point out that he "looks like a magician." So, I'm a huge nerd.
I thought of the same thing!!
That's what I was thinking of, but I couldn't think of a way to appropriately reference it!
I hope that this is a series where "Random" continues to mean "Cute."
I love the word "showgirl." That is all.
So this seems just nearly applicable enough to plug my favorite book about magic, Glen Gold's Carter Beats the Devil, which is an excellent piece of historical fiction and perfect for autumn. (It is at least more related than a Glenn Gould post).
Anyway, I am interested to know more about the economics about being a magician. Are there unions or pools for health insurance?
How does the ideology of the art form propagate? SO many questions.
"DEAD DOVE. DO NOT EAT."
"Loose seal!"
I've had "The Final Countdown" stuck in my head since reading this post.
i met a magician once at one of the freelancers unions shindigs... So I guess they have that option at least.
My first interview: it hurts for good reason.
As much as it pains me to realize my own ignorance, nothing delights me more than to be enlightened. My thoughts were clearly under false pretenses, which made linernotesdannys remark quite accurate I will admit.
Please do forgive the error, and thank you for the help. I will do my best to grow into a better New Yorker.
You have a good name, you'll get far in life.
Not a false pretense - a misunderstanding.
I love a happy ending.
I know a good parlor.
@MMC: I can definitely empathize with that wind-knocked-out-of-you feeling of learning you just completely missed the mark on something; part of me was actually surprised to see it printed in your interview because your position was based on a misunderstanding, and it seemed implicit that it would change based on the actual facts. Try not to feel badly, we are all human! (Also, my joke was not intended toward you personally, but those who seem to apply an arbitrary radius to their argument. And, my questions above were in earnest!)
Matthew, I also meant no offense by my "willful ignorance" remark. I've just been driven so crazy lately by even my own out-of-town relatives and their absolute unwillingness to see reason that AARRRRGGHHHH!!! Crazymaking.
I promise I will gladly pick a card, any card, any time!
(Also, a peace offering. My favorite thing EVER.)
This movie just messed me up. Plain and simple. And I only saw the trailer. Waaaay too far. Way, way, way too far. Sure maybe it ultimately succeeded as good horror but I doubt it will be remembered as an anywhere near satisfying movie. Just dispicable.