STEVE' LUCY

walking in the plaza of a cathedral in barcelona me a some other buskers walked up on a show. it was silent to old sad french folk music. there was a massive circle. he did many beautiful stage effects many with birds.

what we noticed right away was how all the women in the audience reacted to his show, they were all crying to his sad magic mime act with sad puppy dog eyes.

the men just stood and looked on with awe.

this happened show after show, me and the other performers asked each other if we ever seen any one cry in a magic show and none of us ever had.

we were jealous with envy, we hated him......he was to good and we had to work there too!

we approached him and he was incredably humble {like all the greats} he asked if we liked his show and we said yes, he asked if we liked him and we said no! but we just couldn't hate him he was such a good person he even charmed us.

he asked i had any suggestions {to my amazement} so i suggested he try a comedy approach to his middle trick.

his next show he did and the girls stopped crying for a second and laughed with sentimental sniffling and then when the show went back on track they went back to crying.

after the show he rushed up to me and said, "jimmy, jimmy, they cry, {and with emotion in his voice he said,} then they laugh, and then they cry.... i love it jimmy."

where ever we went girls tripped over them selves for him and he was shy which only drove them more crazy for him.

well now he work sidewalks too.



he is a french magician who began in montplier, his brother johnny is also a magican and i will be writing about him soon.

here he is performing my favorite trick where he draws a bird.

notice the tone of the girl filming it when she talks about him and see if you can hear all the women cooing in th backgroung twards the end. this is just a small reaction because he is just doing sidewalks you would have to see his long full circle show to get full audience impact.



steve' is modest, kind polite, street wise, and an absolute master at our art.

i am honored and humbled that he would even call me his friend. his silent magic street show has had the biggest impact on me in my career. he will leave you in awe, really.

i should also add that his abilities as a master slieght of hand and manipulator with any and all objects are impecable, he learned from one of the old greats back in france.

his knowledge of stage work is also incredable.

steve' is so kind he even spent time with me on my show and i still do some of the manips he taught me in my show to this day.

he has a great site with footage of his stage shows and street stuff, check it out;

http://www.stephenlucy.com/index_uk.html

steve' if your reading this thanks for everything.

your pal jimmy.

TAFFY

a welshman grown up in the inner city of london with cockney accent. way back in the day he was a mod, complete with clothes, scooters and lingo. he's a rough but educated guy.

great friend to have, pulled me outta many a scrape.

started performing with a diablo many years ago in italy, he learned from an italian master there and 2 of his english mates ed and adi, he got so good so soon when he went to greece next he made personality of the week on all the t.v. stations and newspapers.

he performed since 1998 in london and is currently in amsterdam workin the sidewalks there.

here he is working james street covent garden.



the unique thing about him is his skill at a sidewalk show, like all diablo or jugglers he can do big shows but what makes him so unique is his absolute mastery of a sidewalk show.

watching this next clip you can see him working the crowd building for a bigger show.



i have shared many a pitch and a squat or two with him for a while. along with his obvoius skills, he is also a master mechanic, and can work on anything inna building.

he is also an inventor. if you are a diablo worker and you are lucky enough to catch his act live one day you may notice that he is doing some unique moves that couldn't usually be performed.....it's the sticks they are a special design, they are tubes so the strings can be pulled in and out to adjust the diablo as it spins.he does some really unique cat's cradle type effects by pulling the sticks in then letting them drop and untangle magically yet still keeping the diablo on the spin.

anyway he makes em and sells em, ask him about it and he might be able to direct you to the people he's got selling them.

here's another of him working a smaller sidewalk show.



in his younger days he was quite the acrobat.

he's a true sidewalk performer and as street wise as they come. he is a bit of a legend in london and knows all the vetran performers there.

my pal TAF

MATT RAMBLES

originally from kentucky, but cut his teeth as a busker in the streets of L.A. calif.
traveling the world, up and down sidewalks silent or spoken shows.

jimmy talksalot's number one student, matt rambles.

he's a tough street wise character, with a punk anarchist traveler back ground....survivor/ performing talent.

you'll recognize him emediatly by his modern jester look and masterful manipulations.

with a back ground in the arts back to his childhood, not just street smart but school and self education can be detected from him also. much like a younger sonny holliday.

no matter where he is at he adapts.

he has a serious respect and love for our work and is constantly thinking and creating.

true friend, truly loyal to his work and his friends.

he is a better student then i am a teacher, he's my right hand.

right now he's taking on europe with nothing more then a small bag and his talent.

i have always envied his silent sidewalk work, it's the hardest work to take on and he knows how to do it.

i am looking for some footage because my words can't do him justice.

MR. ISTVAN

for well over twenty somethin years of performing straight on the street mr. istvan is amazing.

i was at his house and saw all the passes for some of the most prestiges festivals in the world, these passes were what he wore from being hired by them. he said he keeps them as trophys. he has a silent act backed with an incredable sound track,his act has often been copied, but never performed at the level istvan does it.

he is a class act no question, to say he has the royal touch is an understatement.

istvan holds court in barcelona. he has forgoten more then most magicians know. he's not only a real nice guy always willing to share, but he is incredably intelligent and well read on just about any subject.

he has what we call here in the states gumpshin, a tenacious optomism to occomplish what others think is impossible. and this is exactly what istvan does he does what others only dream of, i have never been so impressed with a master performers will, as i was with istvan, he meets all his goals and refuses to fail.

he is extremely disiplined in what he does and it is evident in his work. this is why i am always telling my students to be disiplined and fanatical in thier work.

istvan took me in and let me stay at his house in hard times and instrcuted me in my performance and in my life. he is the major inspiration in my rope work and gave me permission to use some of the things you may see me do.

istvan in my opinion is, classy, graceful, intelectual,a real magician and a close friend.

istvan, master magician.

LORD LUCAN {COVENT GARDEN PAUL}

Here he is finishing his sidewalk routine. i know it's his sidewalk show by what i see on the table.

He has a larger show and his larger show is hands down the best cups and balls I ever saw.

He is my favorite cups and balls performer. His larger show finales with everything you see on the table plus a key of "coke" [salt], a huge slew of coins, and thousands of marbles, all of which listed of course flows from the cups.

orinally paul began as a giant circle act walking glass and various other stuff. he is good friends with peppe, sonny holliday, and several other edgey street performers.

He is a true sidewalk performer, bangin out show after perfect show raking in the respect, awe and laughter of his audiences.

You probably wont catch any footage of him, he's too old school to allow filming.

I have squatted with him and some other performers for a while in London.

the thing about Paul is he is real London, every town has it's icon. for example Dr. John is real New Orleans and Tom Waites is real old time american city.......Paul is real London. when i think of inner city London culture or cockney or rhyme slang which he taught me and I ain't tellin a porky....I think of Paul.

A TRUE FRIEND.

he follows the rules of the street like his bible and the thugs tremble with respect.

one of the most original and old school sidewalk acts in the world, a world class talent as Sonny Holliday calls him.

Highest point in my career was meeting Paul.......Lord Lucan.

NICKOLI - DR. STREET

Dr. Street - He's not a medical doctor nor a professor of history,

but rather a philosophical doctor

and professor of mystery.



His high energy street theater show and gritty sense of magical comedy has folks not only asking how he does it, but "Why?!" Either way

they ask for more.



Because of its traditional street theater style, Dr. Street's magic

can be performed in any location

or venue. You'll never be more amazed, amused, and possibly confused than when you witness

the mesmerizing operation of Dr. Street............

OR SO IT SAYS ON HIS WEB SITE, nicksharpe.com



i met nick some years back and have shared a pitch with him many times. he has been street performing for many years and has worked and ran with many of the greats. he has helped me emncely in my life and in my work infact if you go to my other blog on learnin street performing and look him up there you will find he taught me a valueable lesson and he has allowed me to pass this wisdom of to my readers.

ZU ZOO MAN

New Orleans icon, you may see him sellin praline candy or pecan or sweet potato pies, keep an eye out for the zu zoo man rollin accross the waters of the mighty mississippi. famous for his singin and new orleans eccentric antics he is truly a jewel and a fine example of our culture. you might be able to catch him on royal singin jimmy hendrix new orleans ocopello style or the metors my favorite.

started in 1959 in front of a live audience, started on the street some odd 15 years ago full time inspired by tranpa and stoney brooks who you may have seen in documentries or on commercials about the city.

he hand makes all his goodies and is a self taught musician.

he is a spiritual man a christian with a love of his own unique form of gospel, he considers himself saint with saintly ways which gives him a mystical orah that motivates him to wanna convert, "to be better then what i was, not better then anybody else."