Real strength never impairs beauty or harmony, but it often bestows it; and in everything imposingly beautiful, strength has much to do with the magic.
–Herman Melville, Moby Dick, chapter 86 “The Tail”, 1851
Greetings Magical Friends!
We’re all excited here at the Las Vegas Magic and Mystery School! So many good things have been happening lately; let us tell you all about them! Did you hear the great news, Romany, the Diva of
Magic, recently spent some time in Las Vegas, doing some private sessions with Jeff, as she was preparing to enter the competition at the Magic Circle in England. After several hours of inspired time together, she went on to win first place in the competition, winning the Best Stage Magician prize. She is the first woman in history to claim this title from the Magic Circle, and we are absolutely thrilled for her success! Congratulations, Romany!!
To learn more about this “original, zany and theatrical magical artiste,” go to:
We had a great time in Orlando, Florida two weeks ago doing eight shows in two days for ten thousand people at Universal Studios for
their “Horror Comes Home” weekend. We were performing on the same stage where Animal Planet is filmed each week, and thoroughly enjoyed being there. We got to meet some of the animal actors, and had a lot of fun with the giant alligator in the lagoon onstage with us, too– watch out for those teeth!
We came home just in time to rehearse our magic for the String
Cheese Incident’s “Vegoose” concert, where we, along with
about ten of our magical friends, were onstage, doing our own versions of The Death and Resurrection Show, while the band accompanied us. Performing in the biggest arena in Las Vegas, for thousands of screaming fans was definitely a highlight of the weekend.
During the same weekend, we were excited to host the Magic and Meaning conference. We had George Parker and Robert Neale as our special guests, along with thirty participants from all over the world. Everyone had a great time, learning how to weave deeper meanings into their magical performances. Two noteworthy events during the weekend included the Witches and Wizard’s Masquerade Ball, and an all night, outdoor fire circle in the middle of the desert, called BoneDance. From start to finish, the weekend was a roaring success!
And now, we’re moving full steam ahead to open our full evening
show at the Edgewater Casino in Laughlin, Nevada this weekend! Jeff is happily editing the music for the show, and our new assistant, Jayson Morrison will be arriving tonight to work with us for the run. Also, coming up this weekend, Dr. Jay Ungar will be joining us for the Magic for Medical Professionals conference, happening here at the House of Mystery. We’re expecting a house-full of physician-magicians, and looking forward to being able to say, “Yes, there *are* doctors in the house!!”
In the meantime, stay healthy as it begins to get chilly, and we’ll hope to see you at one of our upcoming conferences or performances soon!
Magically yours,
Jeff & Abbi McBride
“Wisdom begins in wonder.”
—- Socrates
Greetings All…
Jeff and Abbi here, in Las Vegas. We are wondering what to do about the dilemma that faces us every year at this time! We need to make a wise choice!
Jeff’s big dilemma!
Which mask to wear on Halloween? With the hundreds of masks in Jeff’s collection, when Halloween and the Las Vegas Witches and Wizard’s Ball rolls around, it’s often challenging to pick “the one mask” for the big night. When you visit The McBride House of Mystery , we can give you a tour of the many exotic masks Jeff has collected from his travels around the world. In a recent interview Jeff said, “I remember my very first mask. It was a paper mache devil mask, from Mexico. I got it when I was six years old, and it’s still hanging on the wall of the House of Mystery. I was thinking about the symbolism behind my little devil mask. I guess I kind of was a little devil when I was six, and maybe I still am now!” If you look at many of the old- time magic posters from the Golden Age of Magic, you will almost always see imps, demons and little devil motifs woven into the artwork. Apparently, magicians thought these images evoked a deeper sense of magic and perhaps, made people think that a source of their power was tied to the unseen realms of mystery and dark forces.
While we are speaking of masters of the “dark arts .
The wisest wizard of them all!
Next week, our teacher and our friend, Eugene Burger, Dean of the Magic and Mystery School, will arrive to spend three weeks with us, and the festivities will begin! Of course, you all are invited!! Eugene has spent the past little while performing his new show “SPIRITS: a lecture and demonstration of mystery and magic”. He will be presenting a small segment of his “SPIRITS” theater show at our upcoming Las Vegas Witches and Wizard’s Masquerade Ball. We will also be offering some new magic and a few surprises, too.
Go take a look at what we’ve got planned for the weekend before Halloween, including our all night desert fire circle ritual, BONEDANCE, by visiting us as our Vegas Vortex site.
Jeff at Vegoose!
One of the biggest concerts of the year in Las Vegas is called Vegoose. 
This year, on the 29th of October, at 11:30pm, Jeff, Abbi and the Vegas Vortex Drummers and Dancers will be appearing at the Orleans Arena. (Yes, the *really* big arena) We will be presenting a magical ritual theater experience as the mid-point of the String Cheese Incident’s set. Jeff and Abbi have been working or magic and big rock and roll concert venues for SCI for many years now, under the direction of Johnny Dwork from Peak Experience Productions. Johnny and our friend Dr. Dan also co-created our Sacred Fire Circle installation at this year’s Burning Man Art festival.
For more information about this concert, go to http://www.vegoose.com/nighttix/
The String Cheese Incident is becoming one of the most famous jam bands on the planet, and are legendary for creating a multi-sensory, audience-immersive experience.
Hot news!
In case you haven’t already heard, we will be doing a run of thirty shows at The Edgewater Hotel and Casino, for the month of November. This is a new show for us, we will have special guest magicians Jordan Wright and Jayson Morrison assisting. If you get to the show early, you’ll see some of our new close-up and mentalism that Abbi and I have been working on. We will do this as a special “pre- show’ addition to our full show!
http://www.edgewater-casino.com/offers/offers.aspx
Also Students attending our upcoming MASTER CLASS FOR MENTALISTS, will get comp tickets to all of our shows! We have mentalists from all over the world coming in for this special seminar…I can read your mind…you’d like to be here in Vegas with us, yes?
ZOOM, BOUNCE &FLY.
Thank you for all the comments on my new DVD! Tobias just cut a short trailer that you can see on our NEW Products Page We’ve just re-ordered and restocked and you can now get them on our website and Bryce Kuhlman our webmaster will make sure to get you one almost as fast as you can say ZOOM!. There was a great article this month in MUM, John Moehring did a series of articles featuring our “Magic for Medical Professionals.” Tobias will have a copy available on our site for you to look at soon.
Upcoming Classes & Private Sessions
October has been full of students coming in from around the world and it is a great pleasure to be able to assist our magic friends. Abbi has been getting many calls to arrange private sessions. If you’re going to be in Las Vegas and would like to have Jeff work one-on-one with you, please call 702-450-0021 to set up your private session. We will be starting again with our full class schedule in mid-January, kicking off our full calendar of events for 2007. We’ll see you when you visit Las Vegas; make sure to weave us into your schedule for your class, seminar or private magic session….. It is a joy and a blessing to be in this profession of magic. Here, we are able to open the eyes of wonder in all those we encounter, whether we’re on tour or at home in Las Vegas at our House of Mystery. 
Your friends in mystery,
Jeff & Abbi
Greetings Friends…
Abbi and I have just given birth… To our new project: Zoom, Bounce & Fly! Well, it really did feel like I imagine giving birth does, but it took longer than nine months…. It took nearly twenty years to birth this
project! This new DVD contains many of my closely guarded pet secrets from my full evening show. If you love card magic, I know you will enjoy seeing the magic and learning the techniques. On Zoom, Bounce and Fly, I have offered my very best to you, my friends.
Here is what one reviewer says:
Zoom, Bounce & Fly! by Jeff McBride
“I just finished watching this DVD and I can truly say that this is the end all work on this subject. This has always been one of the most exciting parts of Jeff’s card act and now you can learn all the secret techniques as well as receiving the secret little gimmick that makes it so much more accurate. I highly recommend this DVD as I do all of Jeff’s teaching DVDs. He is one of the most informative teachers of magic and we are fortunate that he gives so much to our magic world today.
Learn the inside secrets of extreme card spinning, floor bouncing, and spinning productions.
McBride’s famous floor bouncing, extreme card spin productions, flourishes, card juggling, and much, much more! Taught to you by one of the world’s greatest teachers of magic!”
Includes the Special McGrip-Tip Super Card Shooter
DVD Contents:
The Thurston Throwing Card
Special Preparation of Cards
Bobby Baxter at the Richiardi Show
The Walsh Tarbell Spin
Walk-On Jumbo Card Sequence
Thumb Flick Spin
Del Rosso Flick Flourish
Fan Catch and Spin
Backhand Catch
The “Dropping a Card†Out
Hacky Sack Kick + Devil Stick Flick
Perfect Spinner
Two Hand Spinner
Card Spinning
The McBride Grip
Safety
Loading Gimmicks
Arcing
McBride’s Famous Floor Bouncing
Bonus Footage: McBride On Stage Archive Footage
So, come fly with us, friends… And have your cards take to the sky with Zoom, Bounce and Fly!
“When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.â€
– Leonardo da Vinci
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MCBRIDE MAGIC AT THE EDGE!
We are also very excited to be presenting our full evening show at the EdgeWater Hotel and Casino in Laughlin, Nevada, November 3rd through the 22nd. I will be home for most of October, doing private sessions with students from around the world. Abbi and I are also preparing for the Magic and Meaning Conference, October 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th. Abbi and I will also make a special guest appearance at this year’s VEGOOSE concert, a huge rock & roll event at the Orleans Arena here in Las Vegas, Sunday night, Oct. 29th. We will be presenting a number of illusions during the String Cheese Incident’s late night set.
We appreciate the emails and letters we get from all of our friends, letting us know how much you enjoy our Museletter and staying connected to our web of community and friends. We look forward to seeing you on the road, or when you visit Las Vegas.
We’ll see you soon!
Magically yours,
Jeff
NOTE FROM TOBIAS:
We currently have “Zoom, Bounce & Fly” in stock at Yourmagic.com, shipping withint 24 hours of your order on line. We also have a special, limited time deal combining “Zoom, Bounce & Fly” with a set of Jeff’s special manipulation cards, the entire package available for just $45.00. We have a large stock, but expect demand to be high for this product between now and the holidays, so we advise you to order early! Just come to shop.yourmagic.com!
“[The artist] speaks to our capacity for delight and wonder, to the sense of mystery surrounding our lives; to our sense of pity, and beauty, and pain; to the latent feeling of fellowship with all creation–and to the subtle but invincible conviction of solidarity in dreams, in joy, in sorrow, in aspirations, in illusions, in hope, in fear…which binds together all humanity–the dead to the living and the living to the unborn.”–Joseph Conrad
Greetings Friends!
We’ve recently returned home from Burning Man, in Northwest Nevada. We had a wonderful time there, along with forty thousand others.
Some of the highlights include, watching the gradual construction of the mammoth artwork called “Uchronia,” also known as “A Message Out of the Future,” or “The Belgian Waffle,” created by a team of 60 artists from Belgium. This piece was made
out of 2X3 planks of wood, practically 5,000 feet of lumber, nailed together into an arching structure that was more than 50 feet tall, with a floor span of nearly 200 feet. Yes, on the last night, they burned it, and it was, by far, the biggest and brightest fire we’ve ever seen.
Another particularly interesting piece was the Serpent Mother. This astounding piece of art was created by the Flaming Lotus Girls, and according the Girls, “is a highly kinetic participant controlled installation.” The space that is created by the Serpent around her egg encourages participants to connect and interact with one another, turn inward for reflection or activate her fiery spirit. One can chose to make the serpent’s head and neck move or make the jaws open and close. An individual can initiate 10
different sequenced patterns for the 31 poofers, activate each poofer via buttons or proximity sensors, or operate buttons, which activate the liquid fuel bursts of the egg. The LEDs illuminating the body are also be interactive changing based on a participant’s heartbeat. The freestanding ribs of the serpent can be moved by the participants’ interaction with them.”
Being able to control the fire shooting out of the serpent’s spine was absolutely incredible. The fireworks display on Friday night, which happened all around and above the sculpture was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.
There was so much to see, and so much to do. It’s hard to put it all into words and images…. We spent several hours each day working with a film crew on Jeff’s newest project, “McBride’s Magic and Mystery Tour.” We got to film our special blend of magic all over the festival, from making cigarettes disappear at the Death Guild, to levitating in the middle of the playa, to my personal favorite, escaping from a straitjacket in the middle of Center Camp. Jeff will be going to finish up the new project with Louis at L&L Publishing. Look for it soon!
One of the highlights was performing as part of the Fire
Conclave. This involved 500+ of the most talented fire artists in the world all working together as part of the main event! If you want to see great footage of the Burning Man event, click on the following link. When you get to the web page, click on the 9.02 screen (this is the night of the burn). About two minutes into the footage, the scrolling
screen credits at the bottom will say “dance dance immolation.” At that frame, you will see Jeff shooting the biggest fire balls of the night up into the sky, flanked by our friends Johnny D and Lieve, inside the spinning fire cube costumes. Amazing!
http://currenttv.com/burningman/
In the meantime, the day after we got home, Jeff took off for Magic in the Rockies, where he did a fast and furious round of teaching, lecturing, and performing. He got home on Monday, ready to work with several private students here at the House of Magic and Mystery, and then we’re gearing up for more magic in the fall!
Until we see you again, we send you magical inspiration and excitement!
Abbi & Jeff
A quick note from Tobias:
Registrations are going well for both “Magic for Medical Professionals” and the “Master Class for Mentalists – but we still have a few spots available.
Also: Jeff and Abbi will be performing their newest show, “Magic at the Edge” at the Edgewater Resort in Laughlin, NV from November 3-22nd. Let us know if you’ll be there, so we can make a point of seeing you after the show!