Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: I'm Dr. Todd. I'm Todd Day and this is Magicians Workshop.
Welcome everyone, to a podcast where I interview magicians. Why? Because it's my podcast and I think magicians are cool. That's why. And if you don't like it, get your own podcast. I'm particularly stoked because we have a killer guest today. Not only because he shares the greatest name of all time, but also because he's super cool. With over two decades of experience in the art of magic, Todd Day has performed for audiences across the country. From intimate part, from intimate private gatherings to sold out theaters, leaving spectators amazed, entertained, and always wanting more. Welcome to the podcast, Todd Day.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
[00:00:56] Speaker A: You know, a story that I thought people would really could really connect with. First of all, we'll start with this thing. Everybody's going to ask you about being magician. What is your earliest memory of seeing or experiencing magic?
[00:01:09] Speaker B: Yeah, no, it's a good question. I think a lot of people always start with the grandpa magic trick and it does involve my grandpa, but he wasn't a magician. It was my dad's dad. He, he was more of a prankster, a trickster. So it fell in that line and he had this little bit he would do and he said, how many fingers am I holding up? And you know, you'd be like two. And they're like, oh, no, it's three. And then the next time, how many fingers? You would go, I would say three and be like, no, it's two. And I just love this. That little trickster prankster kind of fooling people like a betcha kind of bar trick.
And that's probably my earliest memory leading to like the David Copperfield Specials in the 90s. You know that they were probably reruns at that point, but like Statue of Liberty, Great Wall of China, making an airplane disappear. Those are my first kind of core memories of how I was into magic. Yeah.
[00:02:05] Speaker A: Now, kind of a tangent, but did you incorporate your grandfather's kind of trickster personality in your, in your performance identity? Or do you, are you, do you have a different kind of a different Persona when you do magic?
[00:02:22] Speaker B: That's a good question. I haven't really thought about that, so I'm guessing no.
I.
There's a bit about like the whole gotcha thing that sometimes rubs people wrong. So I'm more comedic about it. Sometimes I use comedy, some mystery.
So maybe not so much.
[00:02:39] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that's probably good. Yeah, you could definitely, if you want to get invited back, don't. Don't make fun of your. Don't make fun of the hosts.
[00:02:46] Speaker B: Right, right.
[00:02:47] Speaker A: Was there a particular moment where you said, I'm going to do this more like I want to start performing for people, for money.
[00:03:00] Speaker B: Yeah.
I mean my magic history or story is like a little broken up. Right. It started at like, you know, age 5, 6 when my grandpa did that. And then like 6, 7 is when I started doing magic and because I saw David Copperfield in the 90s. And so in that part I, I was doing it, you know, I started buying like everyone knew to buy me. Like I love magic works. I think Teno used to make those, you know, Toys R Us or kb. Toys R Us had them. So I got into my like early teens, I was going to Wizards, which was a store in Universal City. Walks no longer there, unfortunately. There'd be like a. Someone demonstrating and then doing it.
And then it got somewhere in high school where it just kind of like many people that, you know, I want to be a magician or a rock star, an actor. It's just kind of like counselors, like, what do you want to do? I said a magician. And you know, we decided we're not doing that. And you know, I went to college, you know, I went to UCLA in la, I did economics, I started a career in finance. And so a long way to answer your question is about 2017. 18 is when I got back into it as an adult. You know, magic stayed with me. I still loved it, was passionate about it, I watched it, but I wasn't really practicing magic. You know, some really performing for money, as you say, or for people. It was just. Yeah, I put that away from like my teens until like, you know, a little bit in my adult life.
And there was a couple triggering points in 2017, 18 that, that came to be. So probably 2017, 18 is where I started doing it as an adult.
[00:04:35] Speaker A: What was there any moment that you said, oh man, I remember this. And you started getting into it more like, did you see something or like what, what kind of convinced you that you wanted to get back into it?
[00:04:47] Speaker B: Yeah. So 2017, I came out of a long term relationship. It was like a seven year, five, seven year type of thing. And I was really about discovering myself. And I was reading a lot, like a lot of self help books about the mind, about finances, about.
It just makes you feel better, rediscovering yourself. And one of the books was, I wish I Remembered. I read so much that year. But it was about happiness and it said, think about what you wanted to Be as a kid, you know, that's what the book said. And, you know, like, was there some for you, Todd? Like, was it a magician or is it something else? Or before society, before family, before anyone influenced you, was there something.
[00:05:24] Speaker A: No, I thought I always wanted me a marine biologist. I didn't know what that was, but I thought it meant you got to play with dolphins. And then I saw the movie Jaws and I said, forget that.
[00:05:35] Speaker B: Great movie.
[00:05:36] Speaker A: It's a great movie. But, yeah, I dabbled in magic. I always wanted to be an actor.
And. And I acted all through. Yeah, I acted all through high school, all through. Through college, but it just. I didn't have the balls is where it came down to. I didn't have the cajones to say, I'm gonna go for it, because I thought for every. My whole thing was, like, for everybody that was as talented as I am. And I. Everybody always said I was good, but, you know, and they're. When you're gonna go, you know, when are you gonna go to act? I was like, well, I'm probably just gonna. My dad's a dentist. I'll probably just be a dentist. But if I always said, well, for everybody that's as good as me, there's like a thousand people that are better. Which was totally the wrong way to do it. Knowing what I know now, I would have pursued. I would have given it a good two years.
Like, what's two years, right, of going, maybe work, you know, working, probably not doing magic, but trying to, like, trying to perform.
So, yeah, you know, I think that's the problem is for a lot of us, especially the hobbyists, which is most of the, you know, me and a lot of other people that get in that. Yeah, basically the main magic supporters of magic websites, we, you know, we do other stuff, but I.
It's. It's just for me, it wasn't having the. I wasn't confident enough to even try. And it bothers me to this day that I didn't do that.
[00:06:57] Speaker B: No, I hear you. And, you know, I put it away for, like a long time, 10, 15 years. So that the moment for me was that book. And it said about what you wanted to be. And I had thought about it for a second. I was like, what was it? I was like, oh, my God, I wanted to be a magician. You know, and the book was not saying, go quit your day job or, you know, go turn your life around. I'm saying, get involved somehow. So for you, if it was acting, maybe taking acting classes, improv, Classes, a local theater, maybe it's, it's, you know, if someone said I wanted to be a vet, it's like, you know, you don't have to go to vet school. Maybe you could.
[00:07:30] Speaker A: Sorry.
[00:07:31] Speaker B: We have a new.
[00:07:33] Speaker A: This is the Kimmy the cat. She is not afraid of anything.
[00:07:37] Speaker B: So I started taking classes at the Magic Castle. I've been to the Castle before for a dinner and I didn't even realize they have a magic university where you actually take courses there. And I got trained there as an adult and it was just kind of getting back into it. And that's when I got back into it and I got really good at it. And I'm like, man, I'm happiest when I'm actually doing this. And that's what the book was saying. Get involved with that thing. It's the child in you and learning it, watching it, performing. I'm happiest. So it just escalated from there, like the learning curve just because I would love to do it. And I kept doing it whether it was paid or not paid. I was doing magic everywhere. I always say magic everywhere. I honestly do magic everywhere. And that's paid much dividends as I got like residencies and gigs and kind of grew my magic. Kind of, you know, leaning more into my magic kind of thing.
[00:08:27] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And I definitely. And that leads into. The next set of questions I had was actually about the Magic Castle.
When did you. How did you know about the Magic Castle? Like how long did you know about it? It's not something that everybody just knows about.
[00:08:44] Speaker B: No, that's true. And you know, I grew up in la, by the way.
I moved to New York about eight, nine months ago. So I'm just recently in New York. And unfortunately I'm finding out not everyone does know about the Magic Castle. Like if you're from Southern California or you're in magic magic community, you kind of know. But here some people know, but not as much as, you know, the Southern California because it's such an exclusive, fun looking place in, in Hollywood. And it's, it's many things. I would love to talk about the Castle more because I spent a lot of time there.
[00:09:14] Speaker A: We. Oh, we will.
[00:09:15] Speaker B: Yeah. But I, I got invited to a dinner from a friend's girlfriend that had a students. The dad was a magician member. So we got that, you know, it's invite only. Right. It's magician. It's a clubhouse. That's what I want to talk about. It's very different than, you know, Chicago Magic Lounge or Magic Speakeasy here in New York City. These are venues that sell tickets. You. There's no tickets. Right. It's a clubhouse for magicians and they're invited guests. So it's, it's a very different type of atmosphere. The way the venue works, if we could call it a venue, it's a clubhouse.
So I went there for dinner and then later on when I was looking up where should I learn magic again, I saw a bunch of Vegas kind of schools and I was like, I don't know if I want to move to Vegas.
I live in la. And and then I was like, wait, the castle's right here. And being a student you get to have access to the castle. That's one of the coolest perks. You're allowed to bring a guest. So I'd impress a lot of dates, friends, family.
I can get you into the Castle that, you know, it's a big thing in la. It's invite only. You dress up. It's like a time capsule from the 60s. You just feel like you're in a different world when you're in there. And it's my favorite place in the world. So.
Yeah. Hopefully that answers your question.
[00:10:27] Speaker A: Does.
What was it like to take classes there? Because it was like. It sounds like a dream come true. Like what do you start with? I guess you could say like. So you enroll then what's like your first kind of experience there as a student?
[00:10:43] Speaker B: Yeah, good question. So the curriculum changes yearly. But it's like when I was going as five levels, I think that four now like one of the coolest things. My level one instructor was Mark Wilson. He's very well known at the mat. Yeah, he has like the most famous magic book.
He's well known at the Castle.
[00:11:01] Speaker A: I have his book right over there. Yeah. So.
[00:11:03] Speaker B: Yeah, me too. It's right here.
So it's. He was my level one instructor. I mean that's amazing just to be learning from this guy. And so they have some great magicians obviously and they're usually members and so you learn from them. Level one is, I mean basic self working tricks.
How to hold deck of cards, how to shuffle different shuffles.
But you know, it's the building blocks and you know, me having, having some magic background, some of it was repetitive, some of it was new, but just kind of being there at the castle and hanging out at the castle, that, that, that was awesome. And then you know, level 2, 3, 4 and 5 got better and better. Yeah.
[00:11:47] Speaker A: How long is a, how long is a course? Like how long do you study there?
[00:11:52] Speaker B: Yeah, it's six weeks, once a week, two hours.
[00:11:55] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:11:56] Speaker B: Obviously that is the in class, hands on training. It's expected that outside of class you're practicing and it will show the following week if you're not. So you spend a lot of time outside doing it yourself.
[00:12:09] Speaker A: Okay. And then so you graduate then. That sounds, that sounds awesome. Did you feel like you were. How prepared did you feel after you had graduated?
[00:12:22] Speaker B: Not that prepared.
[00:12:23] Speaker A: Well, yeah, sadly.
[00:12:25] Speaker B: So, you know, the audition process to become a magician member is difficult and it's made like that on purpose. I like that. It keeps it exclusive.
[00:12:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:36] Speaker B: I mean, there's a bunch of hoops just to get to the audition, right. You need a sponsor, you need two references, you need a. They do a fit interview from the membership committee, and then you finally get to the live audition.
And that audition includes a lot of things that is not just magic tricks.
[00:12:51] Speaker A: Oh, okay.
[00:12:52] Speaker B: It's. Yeah. So it's your, your, your ability to perform your, your patter, if you have one, or to music, but the transition between the tricks and your charisma, if any. You know, people come to the cast will be entertained and you could have amazing sleight of hand. But if you don't present it well, well, that, that's kind of a, it could be a problem.
So it's the full package. Right. You know, they even ask you stuff like who are your inspiration, what magic books do you have? And it's a fool. They want all of it.
[00:13:22] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:13:23] Speaker B: Obviously your magic has to be superb to, you know, your handling and all that.
[00:13:27] Speaker A: How long is the act in the audition?
[00:13:31] Speaker B: You get about 10 minutes.
[00:13:32] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:13:33] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:33] Speaker A: So to be able, you have to, you have to be, you have to show off. Right? Is it, is it like, is there a certain amount of magic that they're expecting or like if you just do one trick and. But it's just like you're. Everything about you is, is perfect. Is it, is that fine or do you that not be enough?
[00:13:51] Speaker B: Yeah, I don't think they have like a number of tricks. It just seems to work out to be two to three, depending on your presentation.
I guess if you had one long trick with multiple slides or multiple moves, it could potentially work. But you know, if I don't think like a two, three minute thing would be enough for them to be convinced because, yeah, they just want to see a breath. And for me, my suggestion was I use kind of three different things. I, I did a rope trick, I did a coin trick, and then I did a Card trick.
[00:14:27] Speaker A: Okay. And would you suggest that that's kind of a. I mean, would you suggest that that's a good balance, or would you. Would you have done anything different, knowing what you know now? Or did you feel like that was. That was the best that you could have done?
[00:14:40] Speaker B: Yeah, you don't have to use. If you're purely a card guy, you could be a card guy. If you're a mentalist, you don't have to start doing cards. But I think there's a lot of scrutiny around the card, so that's something to be careful around because it's the classic prop that we're using. Cards, cars are very versatile. I mean, you could ask 10 guys about your double lift, and they're all gonna have a different opinion on it. So, yeah, you know, it's. It's. It. You. It opens up room for them to critique you and. And not pass you. I'm sorry. I didn't do a card trick for that reason. I'm sorry.
[00:15:18] Speaker A: Oh, okay.
[00:15:18] Speaker B: Well, someone.
Yeah, I did. I did a money trick. I did, like, extreme Burn, which is like, you know, with the ones to 100. So, like, paper money. Yeah, Yeah. I just. I was going to put it in an ambitious routine, and, you know, there's like multiple double lifts. There's a lift in mind. There's a palming. There's a lot of room to flash to like.
[00:15:39] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:15:40] Speaker B: Not. It's. It's your double could. Look, I was advised not to do it. Yeah.
[00:15:48] Speaker A: You know what? After what you've said, I agree. I wouldn't. Unless I had, like, the world's best self working card trick. I. I would probably avoid it.
[00:15:55] Speaker B: That probably be safer, honestly.
[00:15:57] Speaker A: Yeah.
Yeah. Good to know. Are. Are any of the tricks. Are the tricks mostly classics that people perform like that? You know, they're just that. That, you know, they know the method. Or are there any that like. Or is the. Most of the time, it's just stuff that will actually, like, just fry their brains.
[00:16:13] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. No, you're not going to fool these guys. I mean, that's not the goal here.
Most these guys are older. They've been doing it all their life.
You know, like, David Regal's on the audition committee. All right.
[00:16:25] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:16:26] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:16:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:27] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:16:27] Speaker A: Cool.
[00:16:27] Speaker B: Let's pull him.
[00:16:28] Speaker A: Yeah, that's not happening.
[00:16:30] Speaker B: Yeah, A lot of other great guys on there, you know, and so the. The point is to show you have the skill, you have the presentation, you have the transitions, you have the charisma. You know, all of that. So. Yeah, you're not going to fool them. It is going to be classics usually, so they're going to know what you're doing.
[00:16:49] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:16:50] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:16:51] Speaker A: I want to talk a little bit about, first of all, your, Your act for the Magic Castle. So you're booked for a week, right? So how many. How many shows? It's that. Is that once a day or twice? Twice a day. What's the schedule?
[00:17:04] Speaker B: Yeah, so it depends what room you're in. I mean, I was in the close up gallery, which is my favorite room at the Castle. It's obviously close up. I'm a close up magician.
I was doing the cocktail hour, which is three shows a day, so it's 21 shows.
[00:17:20] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:17:21] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:17:23] Speaker A: What did you notice people doing? Were there a lot of people that were doing more of the classics or were there people that. Because I did it feel more intimidating because you were performing for magicians or did it. Did it matter at all which kind of tricks you were going to do or were you really cognizant of that or were you just kind of, hey, I'm just going to do my favorite stuff?
[00:17:42] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, that's a good question, because I think about this a lot and I think it's the real style. My magician, as I got kind of. I quickly learned in magic that.
Well, let me answer this. So it's not all magicians at the Magic Castle. There is a lot of guests and I used to.
I will say I'm like a people's magician, right?
I. I perform for the audience. Like, I know who hires me, who wants to see me, who's impressed by me.
And I found out really quickly that sometimes I have an effect that I do that I took maybe six months to a year to perfect. And it doesn't correlate with a layman's kind of reaction. And it's really disappointing. And I'm like, what? And then I'll do a trick that I could probably teach them in five minutes because it's an easier trick.
And they still talk about it for like months later. And I'm like, what? This doesn't make sense. And.
And I'm like, you know how hard that other one was? And, you know, so I've learned that I'm just gonna do what gets the best reactions and what layman really like, because at the day I'm performing for them, you know, there's some people that just want to fool other magicians, and that's great and like Fism and these kind of things. But for me, I. I kind Of I chose my tricks that did the best in that impromptu spaces. You know, I tested it out. That's the beauty of that space. I ran 20 minute tight shows because all the shows of the cast are 20 minutes.
And I swapped things in and out and I recorded all the shows. There's no videos or cameras in the castle, but in that cellar room you could actually plug in a USB in and the cameras will record. And I watched and watched and I re, I, I said, you know, I cater the show to like what the audience loves and that what gets the claps and the laughs. Because most magicians, I mean they, they will maybe clap and laugh for support, but they're not like, wow, how did that happen? So like, you know, I, I went for those wows and you know, so I choose my tricks based on the audience reactions and not the skill it took to do that trick.
Now I, I do love slides, you know, doubles and LG clown and doing a pinky count. But like, no, if I could do that same trick with an easier slide and it gets the same reaction, that there's no point. Right.
But yeah, that, that's my take on it. It is not all magicians at the castle. There's a lot of invites that go around. There's a lot of company parties that come out to the castle and I, and I try to impress them.
And you know, you know Jack Goldfinger, the entertainment director there that hires you, he watches all the videos. He chooses the people he cares about, you know, the people being entertained too. He's not hiring purely magician foolers. Right? That's not his goal. So.
[00:20:38] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. What, what, so tell me about how the impromptu spaces work. How, how does that work?
[00:20:45] Speaker B: Yeah, so there's a few spaces, there's some rooms and some spaces at the castle that are kind of, you sign up the day of. There's like as simple as a clipboard.
You have to be a magician member and it's kind of like your privilege or your right to like use that space. You get a 30 minute slot, but you kind of run like a 20 minute show.
And so, you know, if you got from friends there or people you want to show some magic to, you sign up, you take a spot and you know, there'll be other random people that come into your show that had just happened to me in the castle, and maybe some of the other rooms are full and they come into your show. So that's how they work. They're less formal as the booked rooms. There's no, there's not someone presenting you, you present yourself. People could get up and walk in and out of your show during your set. Whereas like the book performance, you know, they shut the doors and there's a presenter, like, you know, someone from the staff kind of introducing you.
So it's a little bit more casual, a little bit more impromptu as the name says. But I've spent a lot of time in that. The cellar was my favorite space in the castle. They just call it like the haunted wine cellar, but just kind of call cellar. And there's a lot of guys that just perform there. Amazing people, amazing magicians that, you know, try this stuff out there. Yeah, it doesn't perform for the audience. The layman. Right. And so that's why I do tricks that have a great reaction. I'm not trying to fool a magician, but also I use a lot of variety. And you know, like most magicians, we start with cards. And I probably am the best at cards. I spend the most time in cars, but I really spent time getting away from cards. And, and this came up to me when I took one of my friends to the castle. And, and you know, when I go to the castle, I make it efficient. We catch a parlor show, stage show, a close up, an impromptu of bar. She saw like four or five shows and she's like. I was like, hey, there's this great guy in the impromptu. And she goes, could we not see card magic? And you know, the guy was my good friend. I said, hey Joe, like, he's a great guy. He has a bunch of characters I like. Joe, can you do no cards in your 20 minute set? You know, up to you. It's your show. He's like, yeah, let's do it. I love the challenge. And, and that's when I realized, like you could be the most amazing card magician and just a card mechanic, like blowing minds. But if you have one person in your audience that just doesn't like cards, right. For whatever reason or has seen so much card tricks like you do at the count, you're going to blow them out right away. And then I was like, oh man, you know, I want to use coins, everyday objects, money, cell phones, ropes. And in my shows I, I do use that variety. I do even like a little mentalism one, but because again, it's for the audience, right? I don't want to blow someone out just because they hate mentalism or they hate card tricks. So I use a variety. Now on the flip side is I am not the best card magician, right. Because I'm dividing up my work and the types of magic I do. Whereas if someone spent all their time doing a mem deck, they're probably better at me at that. Right. And so that's, that's the downside. But again, I'm not trying to be a magician fooler, so I use a good variety of magic. Yeah.
[00:23:47] Speaker A: So I want to talk a little bit, kind of switch gears a little bit and talk about magic in different cities. You grew up in California and you've recently moved to New York. So you performed in both. How would you compare the magic scenes in each place?
[00:24:02] Speaker B: Yeah, well, it's still new here in New York, so I'm discovering the magic scene. I've been to some of the magic venues.
I mean, I think because of the Castle being in that location and being such a mecca or icon or landmark in the city, once you say you're a magician member at the Castle, that buys you the street cred or whatever. You know, we don't have accreditations or degrees. Right, right. Like I am good enough. So. But if you say I, I'm a magician member or I've performed at the Castle, which are different things. And this is what I mean as it is a different, like people could be members and never been a performer at the Castle, or they could have performed at the Castle and never became a member. I'm luckily both very lucky that I got, I got booked perform there and I'm a magician member, obviously. But yeah, when you say that someone, it just, they already know the sort of caliber that you have to jump through all the hoops to like prove that you're a magician. That doesn't, you know, it doesn't carry the same amount of weight here in New York.
So that's, that's, that's like the biggest difference I've noticed.
[00:25:09] Speaker A: Okay. And you talked about performing. I, I glossed over that you have performed at the manager castle, which is different because I'm assuming there's more members than there are spots to, to perform.
Yeah.
[00:25:21] Speaker B: So the way it works is they, they set a set of performers for the week. You only get a seven day contract to like work there.
So some people are confused. They're like, oh, you work at the Magic House? No, we're members. Right. It's a clubhouse. Like we pay for membership to be part of this clubhouse, have the privilege to go to that, bring friends, have a drink, go to the lectures, go to the workshops, go see magic.
That's the membership. The performers, they just get access for the week. They get paid for that and that's it. So, yeah, there's about, I think like 25 to 3,000 magician members.
But they're not all performers. Some of them don't even want to be. And you know. And that's fine too. Yeah.
[00:26:03] Speaker A: What percentage of the. Of the members would you say are full time magic or in how many are kind of like me, that they just love it and they might be, they might be better at it than, you know, a regular hobbyist, but that they have a regular day job as well.
[00:26:18] Speaker B: Yeah, I, I don't have the stats, but it. More people than less have some other thing they do, whether it's a line. Yeah, no, it's. I know a few full time magicians and, and I give them a lot of props because it's difficult kind of to do that on your own unless you're like a Vegas guy. Right. Or your residency in Vegas. But more people than less. Do something else at the Castle. For my friends, I've made At the Castle for sure. Okay.
[00:26:47] Speaker A: Have you had to change your material or your style for a New York audience versus a California audience?
[00:26:53] Speaker B: No, I think magic's pretty universal. And some people ask me, oh, you know, I used to work in this place in Beverly Hills and sometimes they would get some celebrities there. I'm like, they're like, did you do anything different? I said, no. They react the same way as, you know, someone not. That's not a celebrity. And, and so no, I, I think magic's pretty universal language, different countries, different states.
I haven't really had to change my style now.
[00:27:20] Speaker A: Great.
And I know you, you right now, you have some residencies in restaurants.
[00:27:25] Speaker B: Yeah. So one is Joanne's. Joanne's is in the Upper west side here in New York City.
[00:27:29] Speaker A: Got it. Yeah.
[00:27:31] Speaker B: It's an Italian restaurant owned by Joe.
Joe's all about giving back to the artist community. You know, you know his, he's in the family of the business. You know, he's Lady Gaga's dad and he's all about comedians, magicians, obviously, singers. So like I'm there every Friday night. We do this thing called cabaret magic. There's like great Broadway singer. She's done Broadway shows. Her name's Grace. And we, you know, she does the, the magic singing part. I do the magic. We go, we switch back and forth. So I do that every Friday. It's a real place where for like emerging artists and artists kind of combine with food with their family recipes, Italian recipes. The other place is called Rose Room Lounge. It's in Hudson Yards again in the city. This is kind of like a really swanky espresso martini bar. Kind of a louder lounger, fun place. People are more just dropping by for drinks, small bites, fancy kind of looking place. And that I do table to table magic.
And that one's pretty cool too. That one we do this thing called Midnight Magic. There's a tarot card reader and then me.
[00:28:38] Speaker A: Oh, cool. When you are doing walk around or table. Table to table magic, what are some of your go to tricks? What is your, what's your style when you do. When you do that?
[00:28:47] Speaker B: Yeah. So I, I got three things that I do for every table I hit. That's like my first opening set just from experience of doing this for so long. And so I open up with Extreme Burn. It's. It's kind of a fan favorite. It's like real money. I hand out the money, the $1 bills and you know, they're. They're hundreds. Right. It's something they're used to. They've seen. They felt sometimes with, you know, using ropes or coins. People are not that used to that Even playing cards. People are not playing cards anymore. Like, I can't believe how many times, like some people don't know all four suits. So.
And so, you know, let's say the younger people. But. So yeah, I open up with Extreme Burn and then I do a kind of a bit of a mentalism bit. I'm not a mentalist, but I do some mentalism. It's kind of a. Think of a number one through 99 and I have it written down on a notepad.
Yeah. And some people like that because they like the mentalism bit. There's less props and, you know, sleight of hand.
And then I do a calculator trick which is using tech. So I'm hitting a little bit of different. Everything is if I hit them a second time, then I'll bring out the cards.
[00:29:56] Speaker A: Yeah. How often do you.
Do you usually get a chance to hit every table or do you usually have to go back in an evening or.
Because I used to do restaurants and I, you know, it was a bigger restaurant, so I never ran out of people. But your venue is a little smaller.
[00:30:12] Speaker B: Yeah, they're not huge. So I definitely know which tables. Love it, want more of it. I will go back to them. Some people are there for just a dinner or the drink and that's it, that first set. And you know, I always open up with, you know, I'm the magician here. My name is Todd. Would you Guys like to see some magic. And, you know, 99 of the time they say yes. There's times like, hey, we're having an intimate night or we're talking business or something like that, and I say there's no problem. But I, you know, some people just say yes to be nice. And, you know, I don't have to hit them a second time. I could tell just from experience and. But there's some tables like, oh, do another one and do another one. And, you know, I know that. Go back to those guys, you know, they're usually the better tippers. They're the better, you know, fans. They want to add me on Instagram, they want to come hire me for their birthdays or whatever, you know, that, or their company parties.
[00:30:59] Speaker A: So, yeah, what, what is the biggest challenge of working in upscale restaurant? I mean, for me, I worked at a American style food and there was, in the corner, there was a.
One of those riding bull things. So it wasn't like, you know, it was just like, okay, well, I just got to kill some time till the bull riding opens up. But is there, is it, is there anything special about working in an upscale restaurant?
[00:31:26] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I am usually in a tuxedo. Not even a suit. I don't like wearing a tuxedo. Yeah, I mean, I grew up with the Castle. Like, so there's a dress code and for la, you got to have a tie and a coat on. That's really hard for LA people, but that's what I'm used to. That's what I perform in. The jacket helps with the pockets for pools. It's perfect. It's fine. And I like dressing up, you know, it's great.
But yeah, so, like, I think I've had this happen in the Beverly Hills place. The place was called Tell. They've closed down. It was a Spanish restaurant. But, you know, some people, I don't know, they'd be like, you know, there's kids on that table. Do you want to go over there? Sure. You know, that's fine. Like, this is just a courtesy of the restaurant for entertainment while you wait. So, you know, I've gotten that before. It's fine. You know, and Joe's is a little bit more casual and some people are. Real people are really into arts. I would say Rose Room is a little bit of a, you know, people are really dressed up and stuff, but for the most part, people. People love it, you know.
[00:32:23] Speaker A: Well, it's, I mean, it's. Honestly, it's. It's a, it's A. It's a dream for a restaurant worker to work in an espresso martini bar. You get the best of all. People are amped up and tipsy now, are taught now they are. If they are, no one else is going to be any more ready for magic than that.
[00:32:39] Speaker B: Yeah. I mean, the bartenders are always like trying to get me a drink. I say, hey man, the magic's gonna get real bad if I drink. You know, the magic is better for them. Keep pouring for them. You know, I do get their coffee though. The coffee is fine. I do like a little bit of caffeine before I perform. Yeah.
[00:32:55] Speaker A: How, how late does does do those shows go?
[00:33:00] Speaker B: So Joe's, we're doing it like 6:30 to 8:30.
[00:33:03] Speaker A: Right? Okay. So not so bad.
[00:33:05] Speaker B: Sure. Yeah. And I'm doing a little bit of a show. I'm doing a little parlor show there. And I really appreciate that. Joe wanted the.
The show part on top of the table to table.
And that's nice because I used to perform, you know, so at the Magic House, I should show like once or twice a week in the impromptu spaces. Not as a book performer. We could talk about that later too. But there's these great impromptu spaces where I would perform at least five to ten shows a week sometimes when I was preparing for my actually booked show.
But I get to like, I don't have that here in New York. I don't have the castle 10, 15 minutes away from me. So I get to do a little bit of a show where, you know, everyone kind of watches at the same time.
And then. Yeah, so it's still 8:30. And then at Rose Room, we go to about 11ish at night.
[00:33:51] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:33:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:33:53] Speaker A: Have you ever created a trick?
[00:33:54] Speaker B: My first trick I created, I think I was about 8 or 9. And you know, I forgot I even created this trick. I was. Sadly, I was at my grandma's funeral and one of my younger cousins just trying to talk to me. He's like, do you remember you convinced us all you had a hole in the back of your neck? And it's my younger cousin. I'm the old eldest of the guys in the group. So I was like, what? And I go, oh my God, yes, Henry, thank you for reminding me of this. I forgot. I invented this trick where I convinced all my younger cousins that I had a hole in the back of my neck. I'll put a quarter in and I'll pop it out of my mouth. It would go through my neck, out my mouth, and. And I would blow all Their minds. And that was my. You know, I'm happy to say I've created three tricks. None are marketed yet, but that was the first one. That is like eight, nine years old or something like that. I'm proud of that.
[00:34:44] Speaker A: Wow. I can't wait for the Todd Day DVD where we learn about that and other tricks.
[00:34:50] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay. Go find a DVD player. Yeah.
[00:34:54] Speaker A: Oh, that's. Oh, we. I just gave my age away. Oh, man. That's. What. Yeah, that's that. I mean, did you ever, did you ever like learn from any of the old 90s or 2000s websites, like illusionist or anything like that or.
[00:35:09] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm a big penguin guy. I know you love the penguin.
[00:35:12] Speaker A: Love the penguin lectures.
[00:35:13] Speaker B: Yeah. So I, I get, I don't know if I'm. I should be proud of this or not, but I get like an email every quarter.
Top 100 customer, here's the discount. And I'm like, I used to.
[00:35:23] Speaker A: That I don't get anyway, but I used to get that. I felt good about it, doing well. Yeah, I felt very proud of myself.
[00:35:30] Speaker B: Yeah.
So I did check out those websites a lot. I do have a bunch of still DVDs laying around and then I have all these old school books too where you can find gems in there or you can't find anywhere else. But yeah, the Castle offers you a lecture every Sunday. And now that I'm even here, I get to watch a streaming. It's recorded.
[00:35:49] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:35:49] Speaker B: I mean, world renowned magicians, right? Lecturing you on their whole, you know, act and everything.
[00:35:57] Speaker A: That's crazy.
[00:35:57] Speaker B: There's the conjurors workshop every month. I used to go when I was in la. I would go, everyone working on a piece. There'll be the board of trustees supporting it. Paul Greensbrick part of that. He and other great magicians and giving you advice and critiquing you on the piece you're working on. So the cast just really makes you a better magician. Whether it's the lectures, the workshops, the impromptu spaces, watching other magician hanging out with your idols just at the bar or whatever. It's amazing.
[00:36:24] Speaker A: That's awesome. Oh, man.
What advice would you give to magicians who want to perform more professionally? Like somebody who's a hobbyist who just wants to get out there and, and just perform more. What would you recommend they. They do?
[00:36:40] Speaker B: Yeah, no, that's great.
What I always say, like magic everywhere, you know, I always have something on me, whether it's, it's a magic thing or I'm at a friend's Kid's baptism, you know, whatever. I'm just there as a guest, Right. There's always my extreme burn in my wallet. There's always my phone that has, you know, my calculator trick I use. I have this other one, another money trick, breach, that's always in my wallet. I do some great magic with tear and restore with a napkin that could be at any bar, any restaurant. So I'm just. Just do magic everywhere for your friends, for your family at work.
Just. You meet someone at a bar, you'll never know. They'll remember you and call you back for either a gig or an ongoing thing. So just do magic everywhere, especially if you love it, right? I love it. I was just doing it for free, and I just got so good that I started getting hired and hired and more and more, and that just kind of led to residencies and gigs and that kind of stuff.
[00:37:35] Speaker A: Love it.
[00:37:36] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:37:37] Speaker A: What you've, you've had access to the, the Magic Castle has a library.
[00:37:41] Speaker B: Right.
[00:37:41] Speaker A: If you're a member, you can see all the, probably all sorts of books are out of print. What. What is your favorite magic book that you have come across?
[00:37:54] Speaker B: So, yeah, they do have a great library. Bill Goodwin's librarian there, Joe Fox, also runs it too. I mean, it's just not books. They got like DVDs and all that kind of stuff, and they're very resourceful in that way, too.
My favorite book is a Malini book.
This is, you know. Yeah, it's.
I, I, historically, he's my favorite magician. My, my idol in life is David Copperfield. That's the reason why I became a magician. But let's say if we went historical, it's Malini, because he was all about kind of the sacrifice for a great trick. You might have planted something six months in advance or, like, came in your house and did something extreme things. And I like, I really love that. Like, I might have something awkwardly in my pocket for, like, four hours for that two minutes where I could pull that thing off. So there's a great old school Malini book in there. Yeah.
[00:38:46] Speaker A: Oh, great.
[00:38:47] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:38:48] Speaker A: Looking back, what's been the most rewarding part of your magical journey so far?
[00:38:55] Speaker B: I, I think it's just making people's day and making them happy. I, I remember I did a wedding gig. I, I do a lot of wedding gigs, and the bride was having some kind of disaster happening at, at the wedding, and the maid of honor said, hey, can you come just do something for the bride? And it took her mind completely off the issue she was laughing, she was amazed. And during this time, luckily it wasn't. It was my doings. They fixed whatever her issue was, but she was so happy. Like, you know, I took her mind off her for a minute. They were able to assess the situation.
So just making. Taking people out of whatever they're going through at that moment and laughing, smiling, being amazed, feeling like a child. So that's the most rewarding thing when I could do that for someone. Right. If someone's going through a bad day or a stressful time or family issue, whatever it is. Right. So that's the most rewarding is them feeling that way. And the concrete example was that wedding gig. Yeah.
[00:39:59] Speaker A: Yeah. That's amazing. That's a great sidebar. How are our wedding. Is wedding magic kind of being. Coming popular? Because I know it was really popular in like Europe.
How popular is that in this in the States?
[00:40:11] Speaker B: Yeah. So in la, I did a lot. I mean, and people kind of started knowing me and word of mouth was helping with that. And I haven't done any in New York.
I've talked to a few people that have weddings coming up in this summer, so potentials.
It's.
I'm Armenian, by the way.
It's not common in our weddings, but I think in other cultures, like Asian cultures or, you know, let's just say traditional Americans, white people, they love magic at their weddings. I see it a lot in la in New York. I've been inquired a few times. They usually it's during cocktail hour, usually. Right. People are just hanging around, holding a champagne and just kind of bored, not loose yet. And people are not. They're in little clicks and so it just kind of loosens them up, gets them entertained if they're just waiting around. And I think it goes great with it. I've had people text me saying, you were the highlight. I was like, no, no, come on, it was your wedding.
I was like an hour of your. Your, your cocktail hour or the. Or two hours or something like that. But, you know, people just love it. It kind of gets the, you know, before the party takes off, the dancing and the DJ start, you know, it's getting people in the mood and laughing and having a good time. So it starts to party off great at that point.
[00:41:29] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
Where can people see you perform? Let's give your Instagram. Let's get your website there.
[00:41:37] Speaker B: Sure. It's Todd Day magic. So that's three Ds in the middle, right. T O D D D A Y Magic dot com. It's also. It's all. I've kept it all consistent. Today magic on Instagram, Today magic on Facebook, tick tock, YouTube, all that's all line. Todd Day magic.
You know, I have my public shows in New York and yeah, I think the website or the Instagram is best because it stays up to date. Yeah, absolutely. Check it out kind of things. But yeah, I have my public shows and obviously I do a lot of corporate and private gigs.
The public shows are more for consistency. Meeting people handing out my card and you know, that kind of thing.
[00:42:14] Speaker A: Perfect.
All right, well, that's all the time, unfortunately, we have for today's episode. Todd Day, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate you taking the time to sit down with us and tell us your story. Anyone listening? If you like what we're doing here, please like and subscribe on YouTube so you can watch this inglorious video. And trust me, you want to see the two Todds and and glorious video. You will never see anything so glorious again. So follow and rate the podcast. So we continue to spread the word that magic is for everyone. I am Dr. Todd and this is Magicians Workshop and we will see you next.
