UPDATES

 I have just started a site that I think you will love. 

It's called The Sidewalk Performer.

It's going to be my new home base, I'm combining all my content on that one site, so go over and look around at what I put up so far and sign up it's free.

Also I gotta Buy Me A Coffee and you can go over there and sign up and get free stuff and discounts.

You may have heard about my fund raiser for my van.

Well, we are half way there, I'm almost out of the hole, please don't forget me. I want to thank everyone so far that has helped me out. I have been able to get medical attention, pay off outstanding bills  and pay off most of the old wrecked van. I just need to pay off the remainder of the old van and go shopping for a new used van.

I'm hoping for this soon, I want to be able to travel again to good spots and get my family back up on our feet.

HERE IS THE LINK FOR THE FUND RAISER

Post settings Labels No matching suggestions Published on 9/28/22 3:27 PM Permalink Location Options Post: Edit

My Van Was Hit And Run, And I Need Help.

UPDATE

Thanks so much to all of you that have donated so far to my fund raiser, also thanks to all of you that have shared the link, and got the word out for me. 

We have reached 25% so far, so we have not reached our goal yet, but already I have been able to start paying off what I owe on the old wrecked van and paid some backed up old bills, and today I can finally afford to go to a doctor appointment. I need to go bad. 

I'm hoping the donations keep coming in so that I can reach my goal of getting a new van and getting my life back.

Please keep me and my family in your prayers.

Once again thank you so much for the donations it has made a huge difference in our family's life.

Gratefully yours

Jimmy Talksalot

We still need help to reach our goal so, HERE IS THE LINK TO THE FUND RAISER

Jimmy Talksalot Needs A Work Van

My name is Jimmy. I've spent my life traveling and performing to support my family. 

A van for my job is crucial, it takes me to the job sites across the nation and provides me with a place to sleep at night so I can send more money back home to support my family.

My old van that I used for years died and due to not being able to travel and the increase in price of used vehicals recently, it took me almost two years to buy another one. 

When I did finally buy one, it cost me nearly $6000. I had it for about a month and someone slammed into it in the middle of the night, while it was parked infront of my house. They knocked it off the street and up onto the sidewalk.

When our family went out to see, the people who hit us were gone.

We later found out, that due to our own error, we only had liability coverage. So now I am still paying on the vehical even though it is wrecked.

On top of all of this it has been in triple digit heat for a couple of months here with no hope in sight of cooling off (I work outside) and my health is bad and bills are stacking up.

We're scared.

The funds will be used to pay off the old van, pay other important bills and try and get a new van.

My whole life I have tried never to ask for hand outs, it was the way I was raised, but I feel it would be irresponsible not to, for my family's sake. This is just too much for me to handle on my own.

If you can help please click on THE LINK

THE LATE GREAT, DIOBO!

This article is an excerpt from my new book THE NOBLE VAGRANT.
Diobo chose to be my student many years ago in Barcelona. I met him by his real name Maciek Musialik. We shared a pitch on Las Ramblas, with Antonio Labella, and Diogo Alvares, all under our master Istvan.

Istvan ran a tight ship, and we all loved him, and we were all very good friends. These were some of the happiest days of my life, and I know, because I am an old man. So it broke my heart, the day Antonio called me, and told me Maciek was dead.

Maciek was the most unique street character I had ever seen. Even his stage name was unusual, DIOBO. He told me once, he chose his stage-name, as a twist, off Diogo Alvares' first name.

His strange Act began with a cigarette moving around on the ground, as if possessed, then it would levitated up to his mouth. And when he took it out, it began to appear and vanish in his hands, until it just vanished all together.

This was all compounded, by his very mysterious appearance. His clothes were dark and rugged, and tight fitting. He wore a medieval hood, and moved like an insect. He created an instant crowd.

A very bizarre act, at one point a wine glass sitting on the ground filled itself with smoke. Things vanished and appeared in peoples clothing. Small animals seemed to appear and vanish at his command. 

A scrap of paper was found on the ground, and wet in a puddle, and balled up. It was placed in a wine glass and swirled until it grew into an egg. When it was cracked open on the glass, a mouse poured out.

All of this, without a word spoken.

He was tall, slender, and Nordic looking. His strange moods and theatrics, seemed to attract women, which of course brought men. He was not a safe Magician, he dealt in the experimental and the bizarre. A very polished experienced full timer. He lived well and sometimes dangerously.

He didn't worry about cops, even working forbidden zones, because his show was Rambo. He walked up, did his bit, collected, and moved on, unless he could milk the pitch. He had a small rig, no amp, and an uncanny street smarts at all times. 

This is not to say he was not capable of doing circle shows, I saw him do many. In fact, in some countries, that's what he was famous for. 

I've seen him work with a borrowed amp, to music, which made him seem like a big expensive act, creating huge crowds, enthralled in what he was doing.

Where he excelled, was in creativity, always doing effects almost never seen, on the street.

A real worker, a genius.

A MAN.

That is what we lost Ladies and Gentlemen, but I lost more, a lot more.

He was my student, and the triumph of our Artist Guild! He proved that we are not merely craftsmen, but that we are true Artists and that Art itself, is divine. He proved this over and over again, in his humility, his words, his dedication, his loyalty, and in his character as a Man. Few of us in our ilk, have done that. 

I feel humbled and even shamed that I could not do more for him, or even reach his stature as a Gentleman Magician. May God have mercy on his soul. In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

Goodbye Maciek, for now.

I break my wand for you.

I dedicate my new book to you.

Hi, I'm Jimmy Talksalot.

And this is my blog of Sidewalk Performers and Magicians I know, or have heard of, over the years.


Many of these people are old masters, some of which have passed away since their posts.

I have been away from this blog for awhile and I haven't added too many people recently, but I'm back now.

I also have another blog that is dedicated to learning the fine art of busking as a full time job, it is my main blog, and that's where most of the action is, you can go there by clicking HERE.



Lastly, I  sell busking instructional manuals, some of which have become very well known in the industry,  Like my first book To Lure With Spectacle. It made quite a stir when it first came out many years ago. You can check out any of my books by clicking on the "Buy My Books" links at your top right, it will send you to a sales page with free previews.

Or you can tip me right below in my virtual hat.

Your Pal.
Jimmy.

Nolan Davis

Hometown Pitch- New Orleans.
Region- Louisiana/Texas
Music- 1950's Rockabilly.
Band Affiliation- The Eastside Birds.
Full time Busker and Gig-er.

You may find him working for huge crowds, in big city markets or festival events.

You may find him in bars and gin mills across our country.

You may even stumble upon him on a Downtown sidewalk working a trickle.

Or you may find him just signing hot-rods for his fans.










But where ever you see him, you'll know you stumbled on something weirdly authentic. Weirdly because of his age and the age he lives in. Nolan it seems would have fit in better somewhere in the middle of our last century.

His duck-tail is cut right, his clothes are right, and his sound is right and after getting to talk to him you'll find the attitude's right.

When I hear his music, I hear some Johnny Cash, some Eddie Cochran, and something I have not heard since the very early days of Punk, I hear raw.

As our nation seems to be fighting over everything, looking for false utopias, this young man has looked somewhere else, he looked inside himself, he looked inside all of us and tapped into what makes us proud of who we already are. This young man, wise beyond his years, remembers who we are.

When he plays people forget their problems for a time and just want to breath in our culture, and our thing.

If you're a street performer this is the vein you want to hit.

He started out influenced with Delta Blues Porch Music, an old sound, before country and blues made such a prominent split. His music evolved over the years while busking across country, into his own version of Rockabilly.

Being a son of mine, he has been around entertainers all of his life, so he has cultivated quite a show over the years.

The Late Great Keith Wilson was a very close friend and teacher of his, they considered each other family and Keith taught him quite a bit about the streets, stage presence, and patter.

Nolan's moves and antics were heavily influenced by old footage of Iggy Pop and Chuck Berry. This article does little justice, to really appreciate what he does, he should be seen live.






Video footage doesn't do it either, but I thought I would post some anyway just to give you an Idea.

Over the past year his career has boomed, he works every day, and is a huge help to many of the other musicians and performers, helping them get gigs and teaching them to street perform and changing lives for artists less in the know on making a living in the U.S.

Nolan thanks for your life work, you have made me the proudest dad.

Check out more stuff about Nolan at his Instagram and Youtube accounts.
Or at his Band's Facebook

The Eastside Birds

Gypsy Joe

When I first met Joe, years ago, he came up to me in a dapper, but very conservative, suit and tie. He looked like he just came out of a board room. He had just watched my show and told me, that, this is what he wanted to with his life. Having heard this from enumerable and convincing young men, I sloughed it off and went on with my life.

But every day he was out there.

He didn't know much about magic, at all, but he wanted it. So me and Kris Bentz gave him a Svengali Deck, a Silk Vanish, and a half dollar, and left him alone for months. He was on his own, because at the time we were swamped with our careers, around the world. I still feel bad for not giving him all the time and opportunities we gave the other students.

A couple of years went by and we had heard about Joe's exploits and we would check on him from time to time. One day, Daniel Devenport stumbled up him and spent time with him and that launched Joe, that time with Daniel launched Joe big.

Daniel is a master and knows how to make masters. After teaching Joe the state of mind, of a Magician, Joe began doing magic.

Magic that nobody was doing. Mind blowing creative stuff.

You see, Joe started out with nothing. 

So he couldn't be influenced by all the clones and hacks out there who would try and "teach him" the canned formula, that was really designed to make the magic sales industry more money, and not designed to make the artist a great artist. You can't package artistic inclination. So he dodged that bullet, and created an original show, with original material.

His latest claim to fame, is working the medians and cement islands at streetlight intersections, and working in front of grocery stores and box store's doorways. He works them, as they come in and out, from the store parking lot. No one "taught him" that doing this wouldn't work. So he did it. For lack of a "proper spot." He did it. Because in his life, at that point, he didn't have any choice. 

One day, I went down to meet him, for lunch in a local suburb. I was broke, so I told him, I couldn't pick up the tab for both of us. He told me no problem and asked if he could work for a couple of minutes. I laughed and said, where? 

(In the U.S. suburbs, there is high car traffic and almost no foot traffic.)

He walked out to the island in the intersection and began doing silent visual effects, for the cars, and to my great disbelief, I watched him get handed tips from moving cars. In a short time, he made about a hundred bucks, and told me, lunch was on him! 

So...

For the next few weeks, I went out and watched him. 

Newspaper reporters would come out every once in awhile, and interview him, and take pictures of him on the cement islands. I read some of their articles, about him, and it was impressive, they loved him, and knew a good story when they saw one. 

The cops didn't love him so much, but got to know him and would look the other way, so he could work, or told him where they wanted him instead. 

Joe didn't have to go to a "Busker Training Workshops" or watch and memorize some one's act from a DVD, in fact the reason Joe is such a success is because he didn't. He just went out and made it work and created magic with imagination, reason, and experimentation. 

Instead of a Magic DVD.

Yep, he just used his brain, unlike so many in the magic community. 

Yes, granted, we did teach him some very few basic moves and very few techniques, but not routines or patter. We tried to teach him STATE OF MIND, instead. So he took what he had, and made magic effects, and routines, and put them into an order, to make a show that worked. He can work anywhere; doorway acts, half circle shows, full circle shows, grocery store fronts, intersections, indoors, outdoors, and whatever!

Gypsy Joe is a real magician.

He also incorporated other performance art forms, into his act, that he picked up on the way.

And he IS the street. 

And this write up does him no justice to show his variety, sorry. 

He belongs to those, we sometimes see hanging out on street corners, "Spanging" and "Flying a Sign" for spare change. They look like grungy Peasants, from fairy-tales past, but with a modern, dangerous, punk, hippy, gypsy, look to them. 

Unlike the rest of us magicians. 

He's not "famous with magicians." Most magicians, don't even really know who he is. But the gutter punks all over america do. And his audiences of middle class families all over america do, and the people and festivals that hire him.

They do. 

And they all love him. 

And I love him. 

Because Joe has the Royal Touch. He can interact with the Corporate world or in the diciest of situations in shadey neighborhoods. He can work at Burning Man (a bohemian festival in the desert) or at a corporate company picnic. Needless to say he would prefer not to work at a corporate company picnic, ha. 

Joe to me, is what every american sidewalk performer, should strive to be.

He's Authentic.

A final thought, to whom it may concern: 

Gypsy Joe attracts the masters and veterans of the streets, with his work. A good example of this is "Sleeveless The Magician," who saw him and took him under his wing and taught him quite a bit. 

This is notable, because "Sleeveless" is a bit of a recluse when it comes to other magicians, so it says a lot for Joe, that Sleeveless would feel, that it would do our art-form good, to give Joe a helping hand up. 

you can check out Sleeveless Here.

And a note to Joe: 

Thanks for being such a good and loyal friend. I am so proud of you and your work. I am proud of being associated with sidewalk performing, because of you and your work. You make us all look better, than we really are. God Bless you Gypsy Joe. 

We're all grateful for your life's work.

DANIEL DEVENPORT

I've seen Daniel Devenport do any size show.

one on one, doorway acts, trickle, half circle shows, giant stage circle shows with hundreds watching.

Daniel -IS- street theater.

I met Daniel a number of years ago out in Frisco.

He was workin the sidewalk on the Warf.

A student of mine had discovered him before me and told me that, he didn't like Daniel's "style."

So when I was going up to see Daniel's show, I had a preconceived idea about him.

Then I watched him.

And as I watched him. 

I turned to my student and told him to pay attention, because this was the epitome of a sidewalk performer.

A few days later, that same student had gotten into some trouble with a large group of buskers and thugs. 

They had weapons and wanted trouble.

There was just me, an escape artist, and that student, against a bunch of them.

Daniel barely knew us, but he jumped in on our side anyway.

Because that's who Daniel is.

Don't expect this from too many street magicians, just the few real ones.

Another thing Daniel is...

He is a master.

He's a fanatic with his work, a perfectionist, a natural born entertainer, and a respected magic teacher.

A survivor who grew up on the streets, so he's a loyal friend who takes care of those around him and can handle himself in most situations.

I have had the privilege of working with him around the country. 

You know where you stand with Daniel, no games.

All the masters in our country know who he is.

In fact he's good friends with Tom Frank, Sonny Holliday, Doug Conn, Eric Evans, Eric Cash, Chris Carne, and the list goes on.

He is my vision of a sidewalk magician from the day. 

He dresses spot on, he's got the gift of gab, and the chops to back it up. 

Fast hands, and fast talkin.

If your watchin him, you're watchin a piece of our history, and our tradition, on the sidewalk. 

So it figures that his students are also the most creative mind blowing performers out there.

These guys aren't actors playing the part of magicians, they are magicians!

So if you're walkin by and you see this guy Daniel Devenport, 

stop what you're doing and watch him, 

because this is a once in a lifetime thing, believe me.

And a note to Daniel,

You've worked hard, your whole life on our art form, and it shows, you've brought our art, to levels many of us never thought possible.

We've all been watching and we're blown away at what you've done.

Thank You.

I'm telling you, because you know as a street magician it's tough getting acknowledgment  from any of our peers.

Thanks for your life's work, 

Your Pal Jimmy. 

Daniel, Doug Conn, and Me on the west bank of New Orleans on Mardis Gras years ago.

And here's a video of him just goofin around in L.A.

CHET HARRISON

when i set up this blog i set it up for those artists i believed were not getting the credit they deserved.

chet is definately one of these.

he is a master musician and a serious scholar of music and has been all of his life

I met chet in the 80's. he owned a swapa tape used record store.

me and my hoodlum friends used to go in there and sell used tapes and records that we had "aquired."

some of the best musicians in town would float in there and we would all hang out in the back room.

he educated me to music.

he has forgotten more music than most of the pros even know.

the picture does him justice, because he is a sage no question.

i had not seen chet for many years, when i stumbled on him in balboa park in san diego busking.

i would say most buskers no matter what artform will use theatrics and street tactics to get peoples attention.

this is a must, because the attention span of the passer bye is that of a gnat.

it has always been said that talent doesn't make a busker a living.

but, chet breaks all the rules here.

his technique is simple, he plays mind blowing music and people stop.

when you hear him play you know his music is on a skill level not heard on the radio.

he stops people because they know he is a virtuoso.

i have always looked up to chet, so seeing him working the street confirmed that i was in the right place in my life.

chet i want you to know that you have inspired alot of people in your love for music.

i'm magician not a musician, but i know you influenced my life and how i approach art.

and now it has influenced my son's life.

he turned to music and one day he and his friends came home thrilled,

telling me they met a guy named chet who was an increadable musician.

i just laughed because i felt the same way when i met you all those years ago.

i let them know i knew you and that they should watch you if they wanted to learn from a master.

thanks for your life's work chet.

your pal jimmy

here he is on his pitch in balboa;



here he is on stage doing a mini concert;



i would urge the reader to find chet if your ever in balboa park, he is well known in the magic world here in san diego as a master at what he does.

here he is on his pitch in balboa park.

UKULELE BOONE

I met Boone some years back in the gaslamp in san diego. i watched in amazement how he could just mingle with the passer by. he could start up a little party right on the sidewalk just by telling some jokes, playing a tune, or tellin a story.

people fell in love with him right off the bat.

he made it look easy, but i assure the reader san diego is the tuffest town to busk in.

boone has probably the highest respect out there on the street because he is true street. he is not a weekend warrior. he is every day.

this is a nice clip where he tells us a little bit about himself and what he does.

;
;
;
Boone is from the same stock of free spirits that pioneered this country, in fact he has told me he is a decendant of the legendary Daniel Boone. it's not hard to believe after talking to him for just five mibutes.

boone is a good hearted, adventurer, a sage, and an artist.

he could pop up any where, i've seen him workin in the most unlikely places.
;
;

;
;
;
;
he takes his art and the tradition of the street seriously.

i've seen him help out fellow musicians and street artists in need and people always seek his advice...i know i have.

it was honor hanging out with him and i always look for him when i'm out.
;
;
;
;
;
;

one of my busker friends did a write up of him too and i would hope you'd read it too!UKULELE BOONE

Anibal Lautaro and Valeria Maside

WORLD PERFORMERS.

FROM; Buenos Aires, Argentina.

One day in Barcelona I was walking down Las Ramblas…as people do, and I saw a well-dressed couple set up and begin to tango.

As I watched, I was struck.

I am a magician and magic moves me, and this moved me.

My friends in brief, this is what they did.

They moved like two in an over whelming love that seemed to drug them into not caring who saw what they did.

The man was handsome, but with the look of a brute.

He was a big powerful and lumbering man when he stood waiting to begin.

So when he moved and moved gracefully it shocked us onlookers.

The woman, a petite and curvy beauty who when by herself for the brief moments, looked lovely and alluring, but in his arms looked helpless and almost struggling to cope with the cage and control he put her in by his mere size and power.

Yet, as you watched on, you realize it was a trick!

Because, she almost swam in his arms and loved it.

When she was in his space she shined…it was their struggle that made her beauty shine just a little bit more.

Once when she moved away from him, I saw him give a look of interest and slap her on the butt, and she slapped his face in response and then they embraced and moved again.

Wow.

Granted, it is hard to explain to my friends who are not Latin how much their performance touched me and the people of Spain, but I hope the reader will realize that I don’t usually talk in this manner unless it was amazing.

So much so that I saw this performance many years ago and still remember and get the same feelings.

When they dance they complement each other so perfectly it draws a crowd in seconds.
The audience is literally drawn and hypnotized.

they have several routine and dances you can watch them on youtube.

here's one i think really shows off their skills



they are also teachers and have won awards all over the world.

in Barcelona many of the performers hung out together and i got to meet them.

they are the nicest people in the world.

ROD CANNON

WORK TOWN: NEW ORLEANS.

i first met him in L.A. on venice beach's boardwalk.

years later i met him again in new orleans.

i watched his sidewalk table act and was inspired to go back to close up. he built a crowd with verbal bally and bottle caps "chink a chink" or as some know it as, "shadow coins", done with bottle caps.

in his hands it is a beautiful mystery indeed. he had a nice little act, and his manips were graceful.

it's a good act, but it's Rod's character that struck me enough to write about him here.

he didn't yell and scream like the rest of us do to get a crowd, he just let the magic speak for itself. people were drawn to him because they liked him and were genuinly interested in what he was doing.

when i first came up to him in new orleans he thanked me for inspiring him to follow his dreams all those years before and now he was doin what he loved.

and it showed, the audiences really loved him.

he's a legitimately a nice guy and he brings fun and happyness to the sidewalks.

he dares to do what so many other magicians working the streets won't dare to do.....

he does magic...lol....no really.

so many magicians feel they have to use cheap gimmicks like insulting the audiences, use harsh blue humor, or steal other performers "tried and true" acts to be a success.

Rod doesn't have too do these things, Rod is creative and talented, he belongs in this field of work.

Rod just does what he loves, on his terms.

He makes people feel good about themselves and believe in magic like when they were kids.

as far as the way he interacts with his peers;

he doesn't fight over pitches, or try and talk bad or down to other performers.

working around him was great especially in the gossip and competitive world of the new orleans busking scene.

when i went home to new orleans on my last trip, there was a lot of tension from some of the egotistical performers there and Rod made the the spots we were working an indurable place to work.

i chose to work around him and i felt like i learned a lot about our artform, how to present it, and how to behave around our peers.

So look for this guy if you're ever in new orleans i promise you his act will blow your mind and leave you with the feeling that there really is magic in the world.

great performer and a good friend.

thanks Rod.

you are a great example to us magi.

we all see how hard you work and how great magic can be when in the right hands of a proffessional.

your pal jimmy

GARY KNIGHTS

WORLD PERFORMER.

MAIN WORK COUNTRY: UK.

AKA: GARY ANIMAL

Magician, street performer and maker of the Gazzo cups and Animal cups.

Gary hand machines the best magicians cups in the world. every magician covets them.

gary is also one of the best cups and balls manipulators in the world...go figure.

he is also one of the funniest guys i have ever met and he has forgotten more magic than most of the guys in the industry.

A master?

No question.

i just met him at the saint wendall street magician's competition in Germany.

he showed up with a very small bag of funny bits and pieces he had found at a dollar store type of place on his way over.

but no cups and balls.

the master craftsman and worker of cups and balls didn't bring his cups.

he told me he left them home because he was sick of showing up to events and seeing 12 cup acts cued up. so he decided to show up and throw a show together at the event.....

....at a world competition.....no really.

the show he came up with involved killing a bannana as a finale......no really.

he won an award for best comedy.

why?

how?

because ladies and gentlemen he is a master.

gary could do a show with finger puppets and bring the house down.

he had NO table.

he had NO amplifier.

and yet he built massive crowds even while other, much larger acts, were playing all around him.

he built crowds in far off out of the way impossible corners of the town while huge acts were going.

he came up with stuff off the top of his head and structured it all as he went along.

it was increadable watching him work.

he did doorways, half circles, and full circles.

i was very intimidated when i first saw him, because of his huge reputation as a legend in the entertainment world, but he made me feel comfortable right away and i think we hit it off pretty good.

i think of him as a good friend now and always brag about being able to work on the same pitch as him.

he borrowed someones cups and showed us some of his moves, i got fooled a bunch of times, it was great.

Gary's a natural on the streets, truly in his own element out there and moves on his instincts.

many of the magicians out there only know him for his fine cups that he makes, but i assure the reader he is a world class performer.

his approach is always artistic and engulfed in thought out perfection, weather it be makin his cups or performance.

i know this after talking with him for hours on the subject and watching him work and seeing the cups he makes.

frankly i think he is not appreciated for the genius he is.....but i get it.

thanks Gary for puttin up with me.

thanks for your lifes work.

thanks for inspiring so many of us.

and thanks for everything you do, for all of us magi out here.

no really.

NICKEY FYNN

WORLD PERFORMER.

MAIN WORK COUNTRY; THAILAND

TEACHERS; KENNY LIGHTFOOT AND GENO DEVILLE

OTHER INFLUENCES; TOOT, JOHNNY FOX, ISTVAN....AND ME.

when i first got into magic i had only seen one magician i thought was real, Cardini (i had seen him on tv).

all the rest seemed fake, until i met doug conn, and from there i was introduced to more artistic and real ones like Cellini, Eric Evans, Tom Frank and the list now goes on to so many others i have been privledged to meet.

Nickey is one of those guys.

I think Nickey is the shining star in our faternaty's cap. when i started the instructional blog for street magi, Nickey was exactly the type of guy i was thinkin about.

someone from a small out of the way place in the midwest who had little to no contact with information or masters in the field, who was looking for a future in magic.

one day i got a letter from him telling me he had read my blog and began working in thailand after moving there on his own from the midwest of the u.s.

next thing i knew he just exploded on the scene. a huge success. he started out building a double decker bicycle and road accross asia and performed magic in cities and little villages.

he toured the sidewalks of europe and made a huge impact on the busking scene there.

came back to the states and worked here, while visitinbg family.

nickey is superman, nothing can stop him.

he is constantly on t.v. in asia and has met almost all of the masters.

in my opinion he is the biggest and quickest success story out there.

ironically he is the most humble of all the performers i know.




This guy can clean up with impeccable costuming and play t.v. and exclusive caberet/theater or he can throw on street costuming and work street plazas and squares or even little doorways.

he works for millionars and dignitaries and he works for 3rd world peasants. his show plays in any culture from asia to europe to the states....big city or small town u.s.a.

Nickey is the one the masters talk about.

he can work silent or spoken.





he creates his own routines and equipment and props.

he didn't copy someone elses show and go out there to hustle people like so many american performers do.

He didn't have to, he is pure talent and a real artist,

he just did what he was born to do and the universe handled the rest.

i am greatful that i got to see a man like this in my life time.

He re-establishes my faith in magicians and in our industry.

i don't think our industry knows how much we need guys like this and that's why i have posted this here.

the reason i have not posted this earier is because he was so humble he kept telling me he didn't think he deserved to be put up here.....the fact is i'm honored he even gives me the time of day.


thank you Nickey for your lifes work, i know you worked harder than most.

your pal jimmy

DEVIOUS

WORLD PERFORMER.

MAIN WORK TOWN: SAN DIEGO, CA.

MENTOR AND TEACHER: JOHN CALVERT.

OTHER INFLUENCES: HARRY MURPHY, OPIE HUSTON, AND GEORGE SANDS.

Devious can usually be found in the gaslamp, in down town san diego at night or at seaport village/embarcadero during the day.

He mainly works as a close up performer doing table magic in a doorway.

when i first met him many years ago, he was a successful local indoor/outdoor stage magician living and working in El Paso, Tx, when he wasn't on the road doing gigs.

As i searched around the internet for footage of him i was very disapointed to find anything that i felt did his work justice. the reader is welcome to look for themselves, but i would urge you to see him live on a sidewalk to get the experience i am about to describe.

many of the local street guys know him and have seen his show and all agree that his show is amazing in it's simplicity and directness.

His show is about atmosphere.

Everything he does seems to be possible through 1800's technology or some sort of wierd blavatsky phenomenon. It's reasonable and pleasantly disturbing.

his simple direct work, with hand made budda papers, is brilliant....finale material.

which shows his creativity.

being able to take an old Adams trick usually overlooked by the pros and turn it into an Annemannesque transformation, leaves a magician with warm fuzzy feelings.

For those of you non magicians wondering what i'm saying,

suffice to say, he's leaving us jaded magicians with the feelings we had when saw our first magic trick.

understand; Devious is not a "in your face" wild man on the sidewalk, he's a wizard you happen on.

like a proffessor in dissertation, the show is delivered as steampunk, phantom, hypnotic, believable,and playful.

excellent act and a wise and humble guy.

and because of this he knows most of the biggest names in magic.

he constantly contributes his knowledge and expertese on the net, and magician functions around the world, i would suggest any magician should make it their business to better themselves by becoming familiar with his theories.

he is also a prolifc inventor of diabolical gimmicks, of which i have seen with my own eyes in action.

i saw a dancing hankerchief fly around and jump to the top of a light post and dance well out of reach and with no strings, surrounded and outdoors, in plain daylight....really wild stuff.

he is the type of act that other magicians love to watch, because of the effect on the audience.

he is a real magician, because he believes in magic and believes in what he does and anyone who watches him understands this emediatly, the impact this has on audiences or anyone around him is crucial to our artform.

he's not out there for the money he's out there because that is who he is.

he has my respect and loyalty.

thank you devious for your lifes work.


.
.

.
.




i could go on and on about him.

but i won't here's HIS BLOG

GRNDL

By the by it’s pronounced Grendal.

Aka- Chris Cromartie.

Home pitch; Vegas

He has toured up and down sidewalks all over America.

So I did a lecture in Vegas and GRNDL was in the audience and I was tellin people how to work small sidewalks. The next day I went out to some of the tuffest sidewalks I’ve  ever worked and  he took me to school….I should have attended his lecture.

The thing is on every pitch in the world there’s a busker who has mastered that pitch. I get emails and phone calls from a lot of people asking what to do, when there’s already someone in their town who has mastered that town.

My advice is ask that busker.

In Vegas GRNDL is that master, he works Las Vegas sidewalks like they all came to see him. It blew my mind.

The way it happened is I was working a spot I had scouted out, he came over tried a show and had a tuff time, so he told me that I should go to another spot…..but I’m stubborn, I kicked off some shows there and it was work to stop them…..hard work. Then I finally went to his and he was kickin them off effortlessly over and over. To my dismay I couldn’t even get one proper one off……

My lesson that day is that Vegas had to be learned. All spots have to be learned….but especially Vegas…wow.

Any way I managed to make enough to get out of there.

GRNDL knew on the strip, that folks there were inundated with people hustling them and would only trust a performer who had someone in front of them first, so he’d stop a person first then go into his show.

My method of course is to stop the entire sidewalk, this worked on Fremont street, but barely worked on the strip, the correction was to either not work the strip or to bally one or two people before I went into my big bally.

Anyway,

GRNDL is a real magician.

What do I mean by that?

I mean that to be a magician, it’s more than doing tricks, you need to be a wise man, knowledgeable about the world and the universe, and you need to hold yourself like a magi.

I am not going to go into it here but suffice to say he meets the criteria, no question.

We talked for hours about philosophy, history, the occult, religion, science, theater presentation and a host of others things.

The biggest reason I say, he is the #1 sidewalk magician out there is because he’s not doin huge amplified productions with the type of show you might see at a corporate event, he’s doin a gritty sidewalk show....every day all day.

 There is no question in the minds of his audience that they are watching a real street guy.

It is so hard to convey this to many club magicians who are thinking to go out to the street with their slick appearance and corporate marketing mentality…..but the laymen know what I’m talkin about. There’s something about seeing a real street character, who belongs out there.

When the other -street element people- out there see him, whether they be thugs, hustlers, gutter punks, liquore store owners, cab drivers, bums, cops, or even other street buskers, they know GRNDL represents the street like their king.

GRNDL is not trying to fit in by wearing some worn clothes with a $50 dollar hair cut…….GRNDL fits in because GRNDL is the street.

Of course any true street performers out there know I just gave him the highest compliment….but some dandy business  magicians won’t get it and they will continue to come out and plague us with their high maintenance behavior…..and they’ll never get it….but us street guys will…..and most of all the lay public will.

His audience’s faces are lit up, they are finally seeing something REAL in public, instead of a canned show, or an armature attempt, or a pure a hustle.

You see…..

When GRNDL works, his character is natural, his show’s atmosphere is vivid reality, and you could tell he loves what he is doing with his life the whole time.

He’s street grime regal….he’s my people.

it is no great mystery that when we all went the magician’s meetings and magi hang outs, it was GRNDL who dragged me and Sonny Holliday out to the parking lot to drink wine and smoke cigarettes while the indoor magi went on hobnobbing and being seen with the in crowd.

Thank gad for GRNDL.

.

.

.