Peter Wood: The Collector of the Impossible

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome back to magician's workshop. I'm Dr. Todd and today I am thrilled to be joined by Peter Wood. If you've ever seen Peter perform, you know, he's not only an incredible magician, but also a maker, building his own props, creating custom pieces and putting a unique stamp on everything he does. I first got to see his behind the scenes brilliance at the DC Festival of Magic where he was running sound and lighting like a boss. And it really struck me how much thought goes into every detail of the magic experience. So today we're going to dive into his journey, his creativity, and his advice for magicians who want to make their shows unforgettable. Peter, thank you for chatting with me today. [00:00:33] Speaker B: Dr. Todd, thank you for having me. I've been looking forward to this. I'm so excited. [00:00:38] Speaker A: What was your first and earliest memory of magic and what got you hooked? [00:00:43] Speaker B: Yeah, I don't, I wish I had a story like, you know, my mom was an exotic dancer in Utah or something. [00:00:49] Speaker A: You know, it doesn't have to be true. No one's going to fact check you. [00:00:52] Speaker B: I should just fake something. No, I mean, you know, there's a Polaroid picture of me at 3 years old wearing a top hat and holding a magic wand. So, you know, I was literally interested in magic at a time before I could create lasting memories. Right. But, you know, the official beginning of it was when I was five. I had a friend whose older brother had a magic kit and he was definitely lording that over us like he was, you know, older brother. Classic. You know, hey, hey, I know how to do these things and you don't. But I think I also genuinely was enjoying it, entertained by it. And then when, at my sixth birthday, my parents got me not just a magic kit, but that same magic kit. And I don't think they realized that that was, you know, attempting to be turf wars or whatever. But, but now all of a sudden, I have all the secrets. Right. And so I loved that and I, I, you know, dove right into it. But I don't remember seeing a magician for, for years after. I mean, I don't want to say that I was the first magician that I met. I'm sure that I saw magicians at random, other events, but I was already interested in magic and performing little tricks before I started meeting other magicians in the community. [00:02:10] Speaker A: Who were some of your early influences or mentors that helped shape your path. [00:02:15] Speaker B: Yeah, well, I mean, so definitely, you know, in terms of influences, it was during the era of Copperfield. [00:02:22] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:02:23] Speaker B: And also very much during the era of World's Greatest Magic. Those TV specials, I love those. Yeah. I mean, and so, you know, getting introduced to people like Matt King through those specials was incredible. And it definitely, it was a big part of Thanksgiving for me was, was those specials. [00:02:45] Speaker A: Oh, I forgot that's when they were on. I had them on tape and I wore those tapes out. [00:02:51] Speaker B: Same. Yep. I think I still have a couple of VHS's. I no longer have a VHS player, but I have some VHS tapes. Maybe someday I'll get around it, you know. [00:02:59] Speaker A: Yeah, they're not as good. [00:03:01] Speaker B: I was, I was really fortunate. We had a family friend, Rich Kitterman, and he was a part time magician. And so when my parents had gone through all of the things at the toy store and they're like, what are we going to do with this kid? He's just consuming as much magic as possible. They were able to talk to Mr. Kidderman and he was able to point them in the direction of one local magic shop here in Maryland, Barry's Magic Shop. And then also one mail order company, Hank Lee's, which is no longer around for a couple of reasons. And then also, you know, the library. And so I tore through all the books in the library. But I really appreciate. And Rich Kidderman was kind enough to introduce me to the idea of fraternity. So specifically the IBM. But now I do a lot of stuff with the Sam here in Maryland. So just the idea that there were clubs and sort of a bigger circle and also like there's a whole gradient between me and David Copperfield and that somehow makes it a little more attainable. Right. Not that I'm ever going to beat Copperfield, but if I'm just looking across that gulf, that seems impossible. But the fact that there might be some guys local who are a little bit better than me, but not crazy better, was definitely inspiring early on. [00:04:24] Speaker A: Yeah. So we're, we're both Maryland boys. I'm Southern Maryland. What part of Maryland are you? [00:04:30] Speaker B: So I'm pretty central, near the Frederick area. That's where I grew up. I lived in Baltimore for about a decade and then, you know, my wife and I moved back sort of to the country area central. And it's also been great. I didn't even realize it growing up, but the fact that I'm sort of 45 to an hour from both Baltimore and D.C. yeah. Meant that I basically was able to double my, my area that I was traveling. You know, the fact that I'm hitting these two major cities, I was able to, to grow my Client base in a way that wouldn't be possible if I was living somewhere that was just the one city and then it's, you know, six hours to the next big city or whatever. [00:05:11] Speaker A: Absolutely. Yeah. That's. That. No question. That's a great location to be in between two cities. [00:05:16] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. [00:05:17] Speaker A: When did you. When did you kind of go pro? [00:05:20] Speaker B: I was 10. [00:05:22] Speaker A: And so I put you on the street and you started doing balls for change? [00:05:27] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, No, I was left. Left home at. No, I was. I was 10 years old, fifth grade, and Mrs. Richmond, a mom of a girl in my class, asked me if I would do a birthday party show for money for her son. And so, of course, you know, for the first four years of it, it was just a hobby, and I enjoyed it, but I wasn't thinking about it sort of in. In those terms. And then I guess I, you know, I did that and maybe a handful of other small local things. But then I distinctly remember a conversation that my mom and I had driving home from a magic shop. I used my birthday money to buy. To buy things. And she said, you know, some people do this as their job. And she wasn't being a pushy showbiz parent or anything. She was just letting me know that that was a possibility. And so now, you know, looking back, obviously, that was sort of planting that seed of, you know, getting permission to. To have that be a. Be an option. [00:06:24] Speaker A: You know, it's awesome. I. I tell my kids all the time I wish I had. I wish I had gone more into performing, for sure. But, you know, you go to dental school when you don't think you're gonna make it. You know, that's just how you. It's just how you do it. But that's incredibly. That's amazing how supportive your. Your parents were. Cause that's the key to. I think the key to performing really, is having support. [00:06:45] Speaker B: Yeah. And. And also, I mean, something we talk about, though, you know, I talk with them now about it, is that, like, we never had a scare that, like, decided to do that when I was 20. I'm sure they would have been a little bit more concerned about me taking that leap. Right. But I'm 10, so I don't have a lot of, you know, bills and a family and stuff like that to worry about. So it. It kind of all happened gradually where. Because I was doing this for money throughout middle and high school, and then I decided to go to college, but I kept performing, and I paid for college by performing. [00:07:24] Speaker A: So. Great. [00:07:24] Speaker B: So by the time I graduated from college. It was basically like, all right, well, I guess I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and. And see how it goes. But there was never. I feel very lucky to have never had that sort of scary leap sort of thing that a lot of performers have to have to deal with. [00:07:44] Speaker A: Yeah. You had built up so slowly that you were just like, okay, this is, you know, and it's great because you already knew what to do. You know, getting gig wasn't a problem because you. You've been doing it for so long. [00:07:55] Speaker B: Sure. Yep. [00:07:56] Speaker A: Gosh, I gotta. I'm gonna have to get an advertising with you because that's. You probably. You probably have it down pat by now. [00:08:02] Speaker B: I mean, it's a moving target. What I love and hate about marketing is there's always more you can do. So you're never, you're never like, all right, I'm done. And. And I mean, I guess that's true also for your show. Like, there's always improvements that can be made, but. But I mean, yeah, a lot of it. I definitely started in the era of like, getting business cards printed at a kiosk in the mall. That. That was the beginning. Parts of it. I never did any print, like phone book, you know, yellow pages sort of a thing. I guess I was young enough that by the time, I mean, I wasn't using that stuff. So I kind of sort of saw the writing on the wall. And then I started getting into websites very early and sort of tinkering with, you know, always having a website of my own, always doing it myself. And then I. Now, my wife is a freelance web developer. So it's always been, you know, as long as we've been in a relationship, you know, she has been able to help me out. And that's always been a big advantage where, you know, my, My, my web presence, I guess it's much easier for me to get in there and sort of monkey around with it. And if I can't figure it out, then Christie's able to help me out, assuming she has time. The problem is I don't pay her, you know. [00:09:12] Speaker A: Yeah, you get the last. Yeah. My wife's in marketing and I'm still waiting for her to. To set out an Instagram for me, but. [00:09:18] Speaker B: Yeah, no, it's tough Cobblers. Children have no shoes. I understand, I understand that, you know. [00:09:24] Speaker A: Your, Your, Your website is actually very well done. So. [00:09:28] Speaker B: Thank you. Yeah. [00:09:29] Speaker A: What's the name of your website so I can make sure I put it up? [00:09:33] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. So I Mean, the easiest if you just go to peterwood.com that is sort of my umbrella site. So, you know, that's for hiring me. That'll, you know, the, the hiring me website is Collector of the Impossible. We can get into that at some point. But basically the, the theme of great website. Thank you. It's. I wish it were shorter, but I mean, that's the. Yeah, but beyond that. Yeah. So the, the idea of the Collector of the Impossible is that I don't have any magic skills or mental powers, but I have this collection of stuff, impossible objects that do amazing things that I can bring to events. [00:10:08] Speaker A: Yeah, I love that. That's actually the next question I wanted to ask. [00:10:11] Speaker B: Okay, sure. [00:10:12] Speaker A: Literally, it's. The next question is how would you describe your performing style and how did it evolve? So you got to tell me a little bit about how you came up with that idea. Where did it come from? Because it's really, really clever. [00:10:23] Speaker B: Sure. Thank you. Yeah, no, I mean, so it took years of just being vanilla and sort of, you know, having sort of less of an aesthetic or a style or a theme and more just stuff that I was interested in, you know, tricks that I would see or if I needed to make a sign or a business card, I would kind of just, you know, design something that I liked in the moment. But there wasn't really as much of a unifying sort of thing. And then probably it's about, about 10 years ago now was when I really started struggling with, okay, I need to pick a lane. Basically. I need, I need to sort of polish this, this brand. Because I was having a hard time from a marketing standpoint. Everyone talks about your unique selling proposition, whatever differentiates you from other, you know, competitors or similar products. And I was having a really hard time putting that into words, basically. So I realized that I was already drawn toward kind of old fashioned looking magic. This was sort of inspired. I mean, obviously you and I know about the golden age of magic, but around the time where I was sort of making this transition was right after the popularity of the Prestige and the Illusionist both set in that, that era. And so basically I decided, look, what if I do a show that looks like it existed a hundred years ago? [00:11:47] Speaker A: I love that. [00:11:48] Speaker B: And it's not going to be a period show. I'm not doing like a renaissance thing. If someone pulls out an iPhone, I'm not going to say, oh, what is that device, sir? Like, I'm not going to be a jerk about it. But as soon as I made that rule and then the other, the other, you know, in addition to sort of the aesthetic, the rule of I don't have powers, but my stuff does automatically then I, I, it helps me to not buy every trick that comes out that looks awesome. [00:12:14] Speaker A: That's. Yeah. Because it's got to fit the aesthetic. [00:12:17] Speaker B: Yep. And, and like, you know, there's some amazing iPhone tricks and Rubik's Cube tricks and you know, that is not going to fit the, the look. There's a, also a bunch of mentalism stuff that involves like fishing basically where, okay, I'm getting a, it's either an M or, you know, so I, there's a lot of, you know, both method wise and with the way something looks by sort of creating a theme and a world and a, and a superpower that I'm, that I'm sticking with. It's really helped to not go chasing every shiny new thing. And then also it helps to make the show a lot more cohesive and sort of feel like a show show and not just a guy with a collection of tricks. [00:12:59] Speaker A: Do you feel a little boxed in by that? [00:13:02] Speaker B: Yes. And I kind of like it. I mean, I, because for example, I just used, I just told you how fishing is hard, but I made a thing called a remote viewer that is this little gadget type box where I'm able to look through it. And allegedly it's picking up on what someone is thinking. But in the story it's not quite, it's not exactly hd. So I'm trying to figure it out. I don't know, it's a, it's an M or it's an H. One of those two. Is that right? And so the, I can, I can get away with phishing, but I had to come up with the, the creative solution to make that happen. [00:13:45] Speaker A: And immediately that's going to make it not look like anybody else's version of that. Which is another thing I like is that it's, you are very unique and I love that it's, you know, you, you're not just gonna, I've been to, I, I've been to shows where I could turn on my Penguin magic. Like go to the Penguin magic site and be like, okay, that was 200 bucks. That was 50 bucks. That was. And it's, I probably would have a harder time doing that considering that you, you know, all your stuff is custom. [00:14:12] Speaker B: Yeah, no, I mean that's definitely like part of the marketing that I wanted to be able to tell people is that if you hire me, you're going to see stuff that you're not going to see anywhere else. [00:14:22] Speaker A: I love that. [00:14:23] Speaker B: And, and, and that, that definitely comes at a price for sure. [00:14:26] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:14:27] Speaker B: Not, not just financial, but just the, the hassles of like, oh, that's a great trick. But if everyone's doing it or even if other, you know, a good number of people are. I have a few. You know, there are some rare exceptions. Have a finger chopper routine that started before the collector of the impossible. And I've been able to figure out sort of a mechanism to still make that fit in that world that is using a, an off the shelf prop. But it's, it's one of those where it was a darling I just couldn't kill, you know, do you, do you. [00:14:59] Speaker A: Ever take off the shelf props and make them look the way you want them so that you can. Or is most of your stuff built by. By from scratch? [00:15:08] Speaker B: Yeah. So yeah, I guess both. I will definitely. I mean I'm still buying raw materials from a magic shop for sure. And then there have been times where I will grab something off the shelf and then sort of reskin it, I gu guess to make it look different. But a lot of times it, it is just a matter of making it. I mean like the light bulb thing that I did on, on Penn and Teller is based on an ex, an existing lineage of a magic switchboard. And that's obviously been around for a while. You know, most famously made by Wellington Enterprises. But I didn't buy a Wellington board and take it apart to make that happen. I started from, from the ground up because a lot of times that gives me the highest level of customization, you know, where I can make sure that not only does it look different from what other people are performing, but it also behaves differently. And it's exactly right for the show that I want to put on. [00:16:10] Speaker A: Now that does bring me into the fact you're fantastically gifted maker of things. At the D.C. festival, you made the sign, this amazing sign that looked just like the logo and it lit up and it was so cool. You build props, signs, all their custom stuff. Where did you learn how to do all that? [00:16:30] Speaker B: So I was very lucky to, to grow up with a great wood shop in, attached to my house. My dad has always been a, you know, sort of an amateur cabinet maker and so he would go to yard sales and he would buy raw materials among other things. We had all sorts of weird stuff growing up, you know, at our house because it was at a yard sale and it was five bucks and dad was like, oh, I thought this was cool. So, you know, basically the fact that there were always raw materials around, and my parents were very generous with. With allowing, you know, my brother and sister and I to. To play with those. [00:17:09] Speaker A: Tinker. [00:17:10] Speaker B: Yeah. And so, you know, a lot that. Allow. That opened up a lot of exploration, I guess. And also a lot of times it would be. I see a thing on the shelf at Barry's Magic Shop, and it looks really cool, but it's $150. And I don't have $150. But what I do have are random bits of wood around the shop. So, you know, I would then be able to cobble something together. And what's funny is that, like, what started as a way to save money has now sort of become this. This calling card. I mean, what. What separates me from other. Other performers. And. And I. Even though I can afford something off the shelf now, I specifically won't buy it because it's going to look like what other people have. Yeah, that. [00:17:56] Speaker A: That speaks to me as. For some reason, I've always been one of those people that if somebody else does it, I don't want to do it. Like, growing up, I was. I was just like, well, I know that being. Nobody wants to be a dentist, so, you know what? Job security. [00:18:11] Speaker B: Nice. [00:18:12] Speaker A: I'll go. I'll do that. So the minute I feel like, oh, everybody's. It's like with the. With certain. Certain magic tricks, when I see them advertised, I was like, oh, everyone's gonna have one of those. I'm like, can you. I'm just like, let me see if. Let me find something that not everybody has bought. But that's. I mean it. So it's like, it would be nice to have like a. And. But that's. If you wait long enough, you know, nobody's gonna remember that it existed. [00:18:35] Speaker B: No, that. And that's. I mean, yeah. And I. It's tough. Like, I love Bill Abbott and Kevin James and Jay Sankey. Like, there are some amazing creators out there. But, like, we've all seen magicians do a Bill Abbott show, right? [00:18:52] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:18:53] Speaker B: And first of all, they're never going to be as good as Bill because he's amazing. But second of all, the chances, unfortunately, because those routines that he puts out are so strong and sort of almost turnkey. Not that again. I don't want to take anything away from the effort that you have to put into it. But then if somebody goes on a cruise every year, they're going to get real familiar with Bill Abbott's material because that is what a lot of entertainers are pulling from. It's fine if you've never seen a magician before, but I think people are seeing between fool us and between, you know, encountering magicians in other capacities. I think folks are seeing more magic than. Than ever before, which is. I'm obviously thrilled about. That's good for me. But. Yeah, you know. [00:19:41] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm noticing the same. Yeah, I don't want to go and just see a list of things that I could see anywhere. And you're right, I think. And if we're lucky, it'll continue where people will get more educated about magicians and be more discerning, and the cream will rise to the top. And it's like somebody always. Somebody was telling me, like, if you go to see a bad magician, you don't go, oh, that was a bad magician. You go, no, I hate magic. [00:20:05] Speaker B: Right. [00:20:05] Speaker A: So it's like, you see, if you see a bad singer, you don't go, I hate music. Yeah, but that's what you have to deal with. So if, you know, we're really. You fight this. Like, if people are educated about what good magic is, then they'll see, like, okay, that was. That was good. And so I agree. [00:20:23] Speaker B: And I think. I think we. I mean, magicians have been doing it to ourselves for sure. And so we, you know, we're the first ones who have to kind of break that mold. But just the idea of people know that there are cover bands, you know, and. And that's okay. But I don't know if people know as much about magician cover bands. Right. Where. And so it is sort of the. Do you hate the singer or do you hate the song? If I go to see a concert, I can differentiate between the two. I can say, wow, I really like that song, and I really do not like how this person is doing it, you know? Yeah. Or I can say, I love this performer, and I think this song is awful. And I think you and I can do that with magic, but the average layperson can't, so. But I will credit Penn and Teller. I mean, I think that with Fool Us, they are doing a wonderful job of. Of, you know, opening it up to a wide variety of performers, not just the diversity of the performers themselves, but then also all of the amazing things that they're sharing on that show. [00:21:31] Speaker A: Yeah, it's brilliant. And to trick. And the biggest trick on that show is people that watch it to think that fooling them is the point. [00:21:39] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:21:40] Speaker A: Like, that's the best part is, like, it has Nothing to do with the point of the show is not to win. People like people that watch the show and like they, but they just got tricked into watching magic, you know, to think if it's a. But it's brilliant. I love that. And you know, to get on twice, that's just, that's a big deal, man. [00:22:01] Speaker B: That was real cool. I was, I was very flattered because, you know, again, first time not to take anything away from it, but I'm a new face on the show and I realized that's part of what they're trying to do. So it was very flattering when I had the opportunity to go back for a second bite of the apple. [00:22:17] Speaker A: So cool. [00:22:18] Speaker B: Yeah. And it was. But at neither time was I expecting it to be fuller. I would have loved to have that, you know, icing on the cake. But in both cases it was, let me take something that's. In my current show that I am proud of for how original it is and let me. They will create an eight minute national TV commercial for me that not only will continue in reruns, but then obviously I've been able to use clips from that in, in now selling and adding legitimacy to my show, you know. [00:22:48] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that's, I think that's just, that's awesome. [00:22:52] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:22:52] Speaker A: I want to talk to you about like your sound and lighting expertise because that really is. I was impressed because when I first met you, I thought, I thought you were just a professional audio, visual, like designer. Where did you get that expertise from? [00:23:10] Speaker B: Well, so my degree is in technical theater. [00:23:13] Speaker A: That's right. We talked about theater. [00:23:15] Speaker B: So. Yeah, well, you know. [00:23:17] Speaker A: Oh, sorry. [00:23:17] Speaker B: Okay. Yeah, our friend listening wasn't there, so we have to, you know, so. Yeah, so. So, you know, what I went to school for was, was lighting and scenic design, but it was, you know, overall technical theater. So all elements of sound and lighting and costuming, makeup and all, you know, building props and sets. So. But I mean, I've always had an interest in it as well. And it's, it's fun. Like when I went to college, LED lighting was not a thing same. So an awful lot of what I learned about theatrical lighting was moot even five years after I was, I was out of college because that just changed everything. So a lot of it is self taught. But I still think that, you know, I want my shows to have the best sound and lighting possible, but ultimately I do. I'm still a journeyman performer and so I'm not going to bring in a giant lighting rig to, you know, Afternoon corporate show. I'll still try to do my best to have the best sound possible. But again, even that, you know, I'm going to be sort of bringing a smaller, more compact system as opposed to maybe something with a full soundboard and a bunch of stuff that I can analyze. Because in that situation, I'm wearing the hat of both the performer and the sound person. But yeah, I think that I, I'm also just a big fan of themed stuff. I'm a huge Disney theme park fan in particular. [00:24:42] Speaker A: That's right. We did talk about that. We love, we love, we love us some Disney. [00:24:45] Speaker B: Absolutely. And just idea theme parks, but Disney in particular, you know, I think there's so much in their attractions in terms of placemaking that is done with audio and lighting and scenic elements. [00:25:03] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:25:05] Speaker B: And so it's really a testament to being able to sort of manipulate those elements and really try to transport somebody to a different place. And so I enjoy that challenge and I wish I had the opportunity to do it more. And so that's part of why I love helping out, you know, Brian at the festival doing that tech stuff is because it gives me a chance to put on my theater blacks again and sort of be behind the scenes, you know, playing with, with those toys. [00:25:37] Speaker A: So cool. [00:25:38] Speaker B: And not, not worried as much about the being on stage part. You know what? [00:25:43] Speaker A: Okay, so say it's you. You've got a hundred. Okay, say you're doing like I'm doing. I'm going out in October to a yacht club that's 20 minutes away. A hundred people, no stage. But I want people to hear me. What should I bring with me? [00:26:01] Speaker B: So the first thing that I like to preach about with sound systems solo. I mean, so again, like, assuming you don't have someone coming with you, if you, if you're bringing a sound person, that's a whole nother can of worms. But for a lot of performers, you are there showing up and you're the only one. You know, I really try to get the mixer, the knobs that you're turning, get that away from your speaker whenever possible. There has been a trend recently to sort of the all in one speaker, which is really, it seems really practical. And it is, I think for a person who has a corded handheld mic and is playing a guitar in a coffee shop, I think that's, that's great for, for that application. But most magicians are going to want a wireless microphone. Usually it's going to be either a clip on or a headset. And because it's Wireless, then going to, you know, you're not only going to be moving all around, but you want to be really careful about feedback. And so if you need to adjust the level during the show, if you have to walk over to the back of the speaker and turn a knob, that is the worst place. Like, you want to stay as far away from that speaker as you can in terms of feedback. So what I, you know, my go to is always, you know, get a powered speaker, get your wireless microphone, but then get a little mixer and it can be a small. I mean, they make like just a couple of few channels for under a hundred bucks. Even though there's a mixer on the back of that powered speaker, just the fact that you don't have to go over there to adjust it is great. So, you know, starting with those three components and then near your mixer can be your sound. The other thing that I do, I have a Bluetooth remote for my iPad that's running my show cues. I don't need to use like an audio ape or something with a really crazy range because I always want my iPad and my mixer to be close enough, you know, not center stage, but, but in the wings basically, so that I can go over there and make a small adjustment if, if I need to. So for me, a Bluetooth remote, I'm pretty much always within 30ft of my iPad. So that's, that's not a difficult thing. So, yeah, so I would say 100 folks, if you start with a decent sized, you know, speaker, you know, again, it's, it's powered, so. Powered, yeah, you have it hooked up to, you know, power and a signal that's coming out of your mixer and then your mixer has all the stuff hooked up to it. And then as you sort of evolve from that, my system that I have now, I've eliminated as many cables as possible. But so the speaker is not only battery operated, but it has a little microphone like a mic pack receiver on the back. And the mixer is sending a signal wirelessly so I don't have to run a cable now between the two and I can also. Then I've got two of those wireless signal, you know, it's a basic, It's a mic pack. That's all it is. So if I am doing a bigger show and I want to have two speakers, I still have my same basic mic mixer, but then I'm sending that signal out to, to my two speakers. So it's, it's really scalable. If I'm doing a small private house party or If I'm doing something at a big fair or festival, my core system is still the same, and all I'm doing is changing the size and the number of speakers that I'm bringing. [00:29:33] Speaker A: Okay. Wow, that's. That's perfect. Now, as a side note, what is a common or common mistakes that you see performers make when it comes to sound and lighting that we may not have just covered? [00:29:44] Speaker B: Yeah, trying to think. I mean, lighting is pretty much. You have less control over the lighting. [00:29:51] Speaker A: When do you concern yourself about lighting? Like what? Brian's show, he's got great lighting, which I think you've helped him set up. But he does that same show at that same room, like, once, you know, a couple times a month. So the lighting is very important for the atmosphere. But when should you concern yourself with lighting? [00:30:10] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, the number one goal is that people need to be able to see what you're doing well. And the reality of it is, a lot of the venues where I perform, the only option is just to turn everything on bright. And if I have the opportunity to maybe dim the lights over the audience a little bit, I will do that. But again, it depends on where you are and how the room's laid out. And you don't always have that ability. So I think just general being able to see you is priority one, and then priority two is trying to focus. So if you can light up just the area that you're in and not the rest of it, that will make it feel more theatrical. And then I would also, I guess a common mistake, slash pet peeve, is that a lot of LED lights, you've got red, green, and blue that are all mixed together to make white. But the problem is the blue LEDs are typically a lot stronger. They're more powerful than the red and the green ones. So if you have all three of those on full throttle, the light looks a little bluish. It looks kind of like a. Like a bad version of a hospital fluorescent light kind of a thing. [00:31:21] Speaker A: Okay. [00:31:21] Speaker B: Yeah. And so I think, you know, anyone who's using LED lights like that, what you can do is if there's. There should be some settings in there where you can adjust how much red, how much green, how much blue. Pull that blue down until you get, like, a nice, warm color on the stage. And you might be surprised. A lot of lights that I've played with, I will drop the blue down to, like, 20 or 30%. [00:31:47] Speaker A: Okay. [00:31:48] Speaker B: And so you lose a lot of the brightness with that. But you don't have that weird semi Smurf looking color. It feels more like a nice warm, theatrical, classic spotlight kind of a feel as opposed to like a really harsh blue sort of color, you know. [00:32:05] Speaker A: Okay, nice. [00:32:08] Speaker B: And I think that I answer, we talked about audio. Yeah, I think that's the. [00:32:12] Speaker A: Yeah, say you're in. So how would you say you move on to a bigger venue, a place that normally does sees music and you're talking to the sound people. Is there anything specific you should tell them as opposed to, for a magician, that would be different than a singer, I think. [00:32:30] Speaker B: I mean, honest. I will usually ask for no monitors, which is, you know, little speakers on the stage that are aiming back at me. Depending on the venue, you can get a little bit more volume out of the main, your microphone if you don't have little speakers aiming back at you. So unless it's a really huge cavernous place where you need to, to make sure you're getting some of your voice back. That's something that a lot of musicians will, will want, you know, because they're playing music along with it and they want to hear what their vocal quality sounds like and all that's fine. But because I've got somebody running a soundboard in a venue like that, I trust that they are getting the volume level correct, you know. And then the other thing that I find to be a struggle in those venues when I have someone running sound for me is that all of my music show cues, I have adjusted the levels to know whether it's supposed to be a background track, whether it's supposed to be like a big sting, you know, something loud that plays over top of me. And one of the problems that happens is that the audio technician, because they don't know my show, if I'm controlling, if I'm triggering my music and I've got a background track, they might sort of slide that slider up to whatever level they think it should be, which is great, until I trigger a loud cue and then it's blaring out and then they're pulling it way down. And. And now the next time I do something that's sort of background. So I really try when I, when I do a sound check with them, I will play the loudest cue from the show and I'll say like, I'm going to play you the max, you know, adjust it however you want. But then I usually rephrase it. Like, hey, I have done all the sound mixing for you. Like, you don't even have to touch that, that knob again. I've Got it under, you know, just take, take a break and. Which is a nice way of saying, like, don't touch it. [00:34:21] Speaker A: Because that's a nice way to say it. [00:34:23] Speaker B: I've been honing my levels for years now, and I've got everything the way I want it. And if you come in and start, you know, working against me, it's not going to sound as good. [00:34:33] Speaker A: You know, it must be very difficult for them to not to touch those knobs because I've had to do that and I'm just like, oh, I want to touch it. [00:34:40] Speaker B: So. And they. And they want to feel justified in being there. Right? Like, the, the irony is that once sound check is done, all they have to do really is unmute me, you know, and even that they might not have to do if, you know, if I just, you know, turn off my mic pack and then I turn it on when it's. When it's time. So that's, I guess the irony is, like, because 95% of my gigs, I am doing it solo and I've trained. I'm prepared for that. The fact that I show up and I'm so sort of low maintenance and turnkey sometimes works against me because then they're trying to sweeten some vocals or adjust the levels and I'm like, no, no, don't. You know, but it's good. [00:35:26] Speaker A: Everything's good. [00:35:27] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. [00:35:28] Speaker A: So you perform for probably every type of audience at this point. Are there any shows or moments that kind of stand out as career highlights? I mean, obviously fool us, but like, anything. [00:35:37] Speaker B: Sure. No, of course. No, I mean, it's. Well, yeah, I guess going back when I was in fifth grade, I did a show for the entire school. [00:35:49] Speaker A: That's cool. [00:35:51] Speaker B: But because of the size of the cafeteria, I actually did five shows. So I did. Or six. I mean, I did one for every grade. I don't remember if kindergarten and first were together. But the point is, there was one day in, like, late. Late in the school year of my last year in elementary school where I basically didn't go to class. I just went on the stage and set up my show. I mean, they asked me to. I didn't just go rogue. And they brought in, you know, the kindergartners and I did my show and then they went out and then I reset my show and then the first graders came in and we, we did that. And. And so at the end of the day, then it was me doing a show for my, my fifth grade peers. And that was wild. Just, you know, definitely cementing like, oh, yeah, you're the guy who does magic. Like, for the rest of my public school career, that was the. You know, people still remembered that show. [00:36:45] Speaker A: That's so cool. [00:36:46] Speaker B: And. And then for me, just the idea of, like, you know, wait, I didn't go to school today. I mean, I did, but I didn't. You know, arguably, at the end, you know, you're a couple weeks away from summer. You're not learning anything anyway, so, you know, but. But yeah, I thought I. This. That was. That was definitely memorable. And then when we got, you know, when I was. When I was in, like, high school, I. I. It felt weird to. To be a part of the talent shows that were at school because I was doing it for money. [00:37:17] Speaker A: I was, you know, I'm lowering myself, right? [00:37:20] Speaker B: Well, no, no, less that and more just like, you know, somebody who practices a talent and then does it for the show. Definitely didn't have in the flight time that or the stage time that I did. [00:37:32] Speaker A: That's true. Yeah. [00:37:34] Speaker B: So I forget whose idea was, but I thought it was. It was awesome. I would come out and I would do a routine while the judges were tabulating the scores. So I never won because I wasn't actually in the contest. [00:37:50] Speaker A: It would have been a little unfair, probably. [00:37:53] Speaker B: Yeah. It's also. I mean, it's the whole problem with America's Got Talent. Like, did that singer sing better than that magician magistrate? And it's like, it's really hard to compare the different. The effort that went into it in the art form, especially with magic, where, like, we're trying. It's like, you know, it's juggling, but we're trying to hide those skills. You know, we're trying really hard. So you don't see how hard we worked to make this happen. But. So I never got an award, you know, in high school at the talent show, but I always got to be the final act, which. Which was a really fun sort of. And. And I, you know, I think some of the organizers, like, okay, well, even if there's some stinkers and some people who aren't at least, like, we know that Peter is not gonna leave us on a bad note because he's doing this for money on the weekends, you know. [00:38:41] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:38:42] Speaker B: So that was. It was always fun, you know, getting a chance to. To perform for. For peers like that. [00:38:49] Speaker A: Nice. What do you think? Separates. And you're definitely somebody that can speak. To speak to the difference, because not only have you performed for so long, but you've seen a lot of magicians as well. Especially if you saw the D.C. festival's open mic night, which I was a part of. And did you see mine? It wasn't my best work and I didn't realize everyone was going to be doing card tricks. I was like, of course they were. I was like, I would have brought an egg bag. And I felt really dumb. [00:39:14] Speaker B: I missed yours because I was still finishing up from the tech of the previous one. [00:39:18] Speaker A: It was a self working card trick. It wasn't that good. I was just playing around. [00:39:23] Speaker B: Sure. [00:39:24] Speaker A: But the. What do you think separates a good magic show from a great magic show, man? [00:39:31] Speaker B: Well, I mean, one of my favorite. I've got a handful of quotes that I stick next to my monitor. One of them was from Teller. It was advice that he gave somebody and they were asking, what, what, what should, you know, what do you think I should do in my magic show? And he just said, surprise me. That was it. Like, I love. I mean, and, and I realize that that's, you know, for some people the surprise is that that dollar bill showed up in that lemon, you know, and for you and me, that is not a surprise because that is, you know, a classic. So I think it can be a moving target because it can be audience specific. Right. What makes a great magic show for one group will be different from another, obviously. But I, I do feel like. So, you know, when I, I've given a lecture a couple of times and I have a book where I started as lecture notes and then once I got past 100 pages, I was like, okay, I guess this is a book now. [00:40:32] Speaker A: It's a book now. Yeah, yeah. [00:40:34] Speaker B: And one of the things I talk about is sort of the journey to originality. So the first step is you change the pattern. Right. So you. Yes, you've got the pattern that comes with it. And. But now like, you know, when they say make it your own, like that's the least you can do is just put your own words so it sounds like it's coming out of you, you know, and then the next step is routining. So that is taking a few existing things and sort of smooshing them together. So, you know, an example would be you've seen a silk disappear with a thumb tip and then you've seen a change bag. But if I routine them together, I can now make the silk vanish over here and say that it teleported. And now when I open up the change bag that was previously empty, now you pull out a silk. So neither one of those is original or, you know, but but by putting them together, you're at least not doing it the way everyone does it. And then the step after that is innovation and substitution. So, you know, I've done card tricks in my show with cash, with postcards, you know, other, like, photographs. Like, a magician would recognize it as a card trick, but the fact that I'm not using the four of hearts, the fact that I'm using a postcard of a country still takes it a notch away. And again, if it's something that you found or made to be able to do that substitution now, it's. It's going to be something that other people aren't going to be seeing. And then sort of the last one is originality. And that's what I'm always striving for. You know, honestly, I don't get there as often as I would like to, just because especially in magic, everything is based on something else. Right. And so anytime someone says to me this is an original effect, I'm normally skeptical. Like, okay, yeah, because, like. And that was. I mean, back to the light bulb thing, like, you know. Yeah, mine was custom made, and it's original in that nobody else has this one. But obviously I was inspired by other magic switchboard routines that existed and were out there. So I. I would not claim, you know, that this is a fully original rout, but that is always my goal. That's what I'm always striving for. And so I wish more magicians would sort of would do that again. It doesn't have to be a completely original show that we've never seen before, but at least see what you can do about some of your sort of hack stuff. How can you push it to make it a little bit more your own and to make it unlike what other people have seen. [00:43:15] Speaker A: Yeah. And that reminds me of every time somebody says that they've come up with an original card trick, I go, no, Marlo came up with that. I don't even know. Yeah, but chances are that Marlo already did it. I don't know. [00:43:28] Speaker B: Or, you know, Hoffman, you know. [00:43:30] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. [00:43:31] Speaker B: You know, it was in discovery. Witchcraft, you know, Exactly. [00:43:34] Speaker A: It might have been what I. What I. Like, we were talking about, like, something about magicians or something. It's like, stuff to avoid. I just want to say, if anyone's listening, definitely. And this is. I. I don't want to miss that, how important this is. Don't wear a vest with a pattern. Yeah, stop. [00:43:51] Speaker B: You know what? [00:43:52] Speaker A: You don't have to wear a vest if it's part of a three piece suit. Awesome. [00:43:55] Speaker B: Like. [00:43:55] Speaker A: Like, if you're a John Armstrong and you've got that. Or Matt King and you've got that dope ass suit, that's great. But if. If you're just wearing a vest and it's got like cards on it, you're doing it wrong. [00:44:06] Speaker B: You're. [00:44:06] Speaker A: Don't. [00:44:07] Speaker B: You're. [00:44:07] Speaker A: That's your. We're past that now. I think we're talking about, like, fool us. Like, hey, we don't. We don't do that anymore. [00:44:12] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:44:13] Speaker A: So as much as I'd love to get away with it, that's. Did you ever have one of those vests when you were like in fifth grade or. [00:44:20] Speaker B: No, I'm trying. I mean, I did. I am guilty of having a playing card tie once upon a time. [00:44:26] Speaker A: Every. Yeah, everyone did at some point. [00:44:28] Speaker B: No, it was. I mean, there was a while. I mean, I had a regular restaurant gig for a while and they did not do a great job of advertising that there was going to be some sort of a performer. And so I felt the need to make it very clear, even from like across the room, that I was a professional who was meant to be there. And here's my function. And so I feel like a costume might be a little bit more important in that environment of sort of reading that you're a magician. But yeah, and I feel the same way about music where, like the word magic or abracadabra or Houdini. You know, Dua Lipa sang this song called Houdini, so I'm gonna put it in my pre show music now. And it's like, that's not what the song's about at all. Like, you realize this has nothing to do with Eric Weiss, but so it's just funny to me that, you know, that's. It's like, hey, I saw this tie. It's got playing cards on it. I'm gonna wear that. And that's where the magician stopped thinking in terms of how it would be perceived by the audience, what their character is, any of that stuff. [00:45:37] Speaker A: Yeah. In my restaurant job, I wore a top hat with LED lights wrapped around it. [00:45:41] Speaker B: Nice. That's like Inspector Gadget. [00:45:43] Speaker A: Yeah, it was just like you could see me across the whole Cadillac Ranch in D.C. if you ever been there. [00:45:50] Speaker B: Nice. Nice. [00:45:52] Speaker A: Okay. [00:45:53] Speaker B: That's amazing. [00:45:54] Speaker A: Are you ready for the rapid fire round? [00:45:56] Speaker B: I was gonna say I'm ready. You're not. [00:45:58] Speaker A: All right, listen, my brain. My brain exploded. [00:46:02] Speaker B: Sure. All right, I'm ready. [00:46:03] Speaker A: Here we go. If you could perform for any historical figure. Who would it be and what trick would you show them? [00:46:08] Speaker B: Oh my gosh, I love Nikola Tesla. I would just like to meet him. So I feel like I would need to do my light bulb thing or maybe it'd be fun to do some sort of mentalism thing just to like mess with his, his mind. [00:46:19] Speaker A: So yeah, one of the two pre show snack. What's your favorite? [00:46:22] Speaker B: Probably number one is Subway. [00:46:24] Speaker A: Nice. [00:46:25] Speaker B: That is. That is a cold turkey sub will last for hours. And that's the one where like I don't know if I'm going to be able to eat beforehand or what if there's going to be food for me there. I don't want to get something hot. And so whether it's my favorite or not, I couldn't tell you. But I've probably eaten a cold turkey sub before a show than any other food I can think of. [00:46:46] Speaker A: Actually, that's actually good advice too. If you were a magician, what job would you mostly likely be doing today? [00:46:51] Speaker B: Most like, I would love to be an imagineer, but I don't think I would be able. I think that they're. All the imagineers are happy with their job and so you have to wait for someone to die or become a consultant in order to step into their shoes. So I probably still would have gotten into some level of like graphic design or marketing, just not necessarily. I don't know if I'd be working for myself, but probably some sort of element of marketing. Yeah. [00:47:20] Speaker A: All right, and last one. What is your favorite way to unwind? [00:47:23] Speaker B: Oh man. Oh, that's a. I, I don't get too wound up, which is the problem. Like I don't, I don't have a. [00:47:30] Speaker A: Okay, what are you doing when you're not doing gigs? You got to do something. Warhammer. Like it's gotta be something, I guess. [00:47:36] Speaker B: Like I love spending time in my workshop. Right. I love, I love you know, working on stuff or you know, but, but like that doesn't really feel like unwinding as much, you know. You know, I will say when, when I have the opportunity. One of the reasons I love going on a vacation is that I will bring along like a suitcase full of books because I love to read and I never seem to be able to carve out the time when I'm here at home with a bunch of stuff to do. And so I love like my in laws live at Bethany beach and when we go visit there, I'll bring along three or four books and I might not finish them all. But just sitting by the waves, reading a book with no other obligations that I have to deal with. That probably counts as unwinding. So I guess we'll. We'll say that. Yeah. [00:48:24] Speaker A: All right, Cool. [00:48:26] Speaker B: Sounds great. [00:48:27] Speaker A: Peter, thank you so much for joining me today. I love how you blend performances, craft, and technical experiences into your work. It is a reminder that magic isn't just about tricks. It's about creating an entire world for the audience. For anyone listening who wants to see more of Peter's work, make sure to check the links in the description below. We've got his website, Instagram. I'll have all that on there. And if you enjoyed this conversation, don't forget to hit Hit the like, subscribe and tap the bell so you don't miss future episodes of the Magician's Workshop or wherever you listen to podcasts. We're on all of them. We've got more amazing magicians coming up, and I can't wait to share those with you. And remember, we'll see you next time. And remember that magic starts with a story. See you next time. [00:49:13] Speaker B: Sam.