Passing Of Illusionist Rick Walker

Illusionist Rick Walker

Illusionist Rick Walker

It is with much sadness that I heard second-hand of the recent death of my friend, Master Illusionist Rick Walker. He died way too early at the age of 64. The date of his death was Saturday, July 20, 2013.

I had not seen Rick for several years, but last I heard is that he was still very active in magic, along with his other businesses. Apparently (as it has been related to me) Rick had an accidentally fall, which caused a bump to his head and caused brain hemorrhaging leading to his death.

Rick Walker & Company was one of the first illusionists I ever saw perform live (at the Florida State Magic Convention in the 1970’s) and had a big influence on me. This was the first time a had seen a magician of a higher caliber perform with the the large illusions – and from that moment on was something I wanted to aspire to. Rick was about 13 years older than me, so when I saw him perform he was in his prime.

Rick was originally from Monticello, Mississippi, but moved to Dallas, Texas in 1977 where he spent the majority of his adult life. He was also an assistant for the Harry Blackstone, Jr. show early in his career. He had numerous national television appearances, was a magic consultant to the movie industry, as well as performing world-wide with his show.

Rick, you will be missed. But your influence and magic will live on.

You can see a video of Illusionist Rick Walker’s performance below.

Computer Problems & New PC

Hi gang… I have not been able to post as much as I like lately due to my iMac’s hard drive recently crashing, etc.

Back online finally with a new temporary Windows PC. Both the hard drive & the motherboard are being replaced in my apple system currently and I should have it back by next week. But the Windows world is not as bad as I thought it would be.

Just glad to be back around online on this blog & otherwise on a regular basis again!

Houdini’s Contract Rider

Besides the magic and illusions in our show, I am also very heavily involved in the staging side of things. For that reason I am a crazy about old, classic entertainment contracts along this their related associated riders (quite rare to come across).

For that reason I was quite excited when I came across this “Scene & Prop List” (essentially also a Backstage Contract Rider in it’s day & time) from the Harry Houdini show.

Thanks to the Society Of American Magicians (SAM) for the original find. Enjoy…

houdini's contract rider

Another Great TAF Product – Tower 05

As you all know from my previous post, I am a big fan of TAF – Truss Aluminum Factory. I own many of their excellent Trussing products (through my main Orlando, Florida dealer Stage Equipment & Lighting, aka SEAL).

Known as the Tower 5, it is a solid option as a multi-option trussing tower. Maximum lifting height is 6.5 meters (21.33 feet) with lift loads of 500 kilograms (1,100 lbs).

It is not replacing my trusty Applied Electronics L16’s just yet, but it is pretty damn close and is a viable future option.

Great job to the folks over at TAF!

Bangkok Total Event Show – Part 3: ‘After-Show Pics’

Now that the Cera Sanitaryware 2013 Gala Dinner & Show was concluded, it was time for all to let their hair down a bit. International Indian DJ Dominic Dom (and his partner) took things over and everyone partied & danced into the wee hours of the night.

That gave us a chance to relax too and snap a few pictures for our memories of the event.

certa after show joe conrad and dancerJoe Conrad together with his beautiful lead show dancer and assistant just after his show.

certa-after-executives-winnersAll the key executives of the Cera Sanitaryware Company & employee prize winners, led by Mr. Abbey Rodrigues – Vice-President of Domestic Sales (pictured 2nd from the left). 3 cars were given away that night. WOW!

certa-after-danceAfter the spectacular gala dinner event, everyone was in the mood to party and dance the night away. As you can see from the pic, looks like they could have done with a few more women on the stage to join them!  😉

certa-after-pretty-girls-dancingEven all the Thai ‘pretty girls’ got in the party mood and started dancing!

certa event after pics joe conrad and angusJoe and Angus hanging out backstage.

certa event after pics joe conrad and photographer nokJoe Conrad and his ace Bangkok-based photographer Khun Nok. (Who did all the photography too for this series of blog posts on the Cera Sanitaryware event).


Then after that the official event was concluded. Another hard part for my some of my technical team and staff actually begins now – as the illusions and props are packed away, light, sound, AV & set equipment are torn down, put into the the truck and so on…

A conclusion to another Joe Conrad Magic Company produced event. We normally do not go into this much detail documenting what goes on at one of our events. But since we were in total control of producing it, it allowed a unique opportunity to document it too for our many fans and readers.

A big “THANK YOU” to all of my team and everyone else involved. It was a lot of work but a lot of fun at the same time. Until next time…

Bangkok Total Event Show – Part 2: ‘The Show!’

We finally get to what all this hard work was for – The Cera Gala Dinner & Show!

certa-show-robert-thomas-mcThe evening started with expert Master of Ceremonies Robert Thomas entering the stage and welcoming everyone. Robert was flown in special from Sydney just for this event!

certa-show-belly-dancer-jeta-barooshkaFirst on the bill was the internationally acclaimed belly-dancer Jeta Barooshka. She was a big hit with the all-Indian audience. She was to present her spectacular fire act too, but in the end the security of the hotel did not allow any fire whatsoever in the ballroom (which is becoming more & more common these days).

certa-show-shaolin-master-soloNext up was a grand master Shaolin martial artist. He presentation brought gasps from the crowd and thunderous applause.

certa-show-lion-danceBesides Joe Conrad’s magic, one of the other great highlights of the night was the presentation of the Lion Dance. This kind of act is very unique to Asia and the region, which is the reason why it is usually requested to be included in an event of this nature. With over 13 cast members that are involved in the act, it is something that must be seen live to be fully appreciated.

certa-show-award-winnersA short break from the entertainment took place now. This was so Cera Sanitaryware could give out some awards to some especially hard-working employees across multiple departments. Congratulations to all of you that worked so hard for this top-notch Indian company.

certa-show-illusionist-joe-conrad-linking-ringsIllusionist Joe Conrad smiles playfully at the audience while performing one of his tricks.

certa-show-illusionist-joe-conrad-dancer-paulaPaula, one of Illusionist Joe Conrad’s beautiful dancers, just as she disappears in an illusion.

certa-show-illusionist-joe-conrad-sword-basketJoe Conrad plunges a one of many swords into his basket illusion, while the dancer is still inside.

certa-show-illusionist-joe-conradFrom the reaction of the audience, all of our hard work was worth it! Everyone had a great time and enjoyed the show immensely. Which was a big relief to all of us involved in producing it!


COMING UP – PART III: ‘After-Show Pics’

Bangkok Total Event Show – Part 1

Indians are some of our favorite audiences to perform for. (And for any of the minority of our ignorant American friends out there – I am referring the citizens in the country of India, not the ‘Native American Indians’…)

So when our client Cera Sanitaryware from India contacted us to handle the entire last evening of the gala show, we were happy to oblige. Most people know us just for handling the illusion & technical parts of our own show – however we are also a full-fledged event company and have the full inventory & services to handle this side of things (and can do it much better than bigger dedicated event companies).

For Cera, not only did we do all the elements associated with the Illusionist Joe Conrad show, but my team handled all the the staging, set pieces, backdrops, audio-visual, entertainment (with many different acts), lighting, sound, theme design, staging personnel, photography, video, hostesses, production, coordination, direction, as well many other aspects.

It was a very tiring week leading up to the event, but the stellar results were worth it. We are so proud of it for our client we have decided to document the whole event with photos and break it into two different posts.

The gala event was held on Thursday, April 11, 2013 in the beautiful Crystal Ballroom at the 5 star Holiday Inn Silom Bangkok Hotel in our home-base of Thailand.

Note: For die-hard magic fans of Illusionist Joe Conrad, apologies ahead of time. This first post deals mostly with the production side of the event and what it took to get the show up. The second ‘PART II: THE SHOW’ post will have a bit more of my magic & pics. Promise!


Normally we are able to get into the hotel the evening before the event and work throughout the night to setup until the early a.m. (and use that day to fine-tune and rehearse). But since the hotel had a full event schedule, they did not allow us to unload until 8:00 a.m. the same day of the event – so that is what we did. All vendors were ready & standing by, and we got to work…

With this tight timeline, there is no margin for error. All elements must come together perfectly (and some people cannot even start their jobs until certain technical elements from other teams are completed). I am happy to say it all came off without a hitch and we where able to start our dressed rehearsal on-time that afternoon at 4:00 p.m. sharp.

I’ll let the pics below (with their relevant captions) tell the rest of the story.

01-certa-crystal-ballroom-entranceThe beautiful entrance to the Crystal Ballroom at the Holiday Inn Silom Bangkok. Even though not the largest function ballroom in Bangkok, it is very classy and has an intimate feel.

02-certa-set-02After laying down the stage decking, the specially produced backdrop & side panels were next to get constructed & up. They will take 3 to 4 hours to finish their work. Lighting, sound & the AV (audio-visual) teams can begin their preliminary work too while the backdrop set company does their job.

03-certa-set-05Stage lighting design being fine-tuned to prepare for the dressed rehearsal shortly thereafter.

04-certa-av-setup-01One of our top AV technicians preparing the projector for the evening’s award presentation.

04-certa-av-setup-03The AV set-up continues. This is the monitor so the CEO & award presenters don’t miss a beat. You didn’t think they memorized all that stuff did you, hee hee! Doing it this way we prevents the need for a cumbersome podium too, that would block other elements of the production.

04-certa-av-setup-04A final check of the AV equipment & presentation with all the key personnel involved.

05-certa-sound-setup-01Sound speakers and monitors placed in the correct positions on the left & right front of the stage. These will be more than enough for this mid-size ballroom.

05-certa-sound-setup-02All plugs in their proper place for the amplifiers and other equipment.

05-certa-sound-setup-03Joe Conrad reviewing all the show cues with top Indian DJ & Sound Man Dominic Dom.

06-certa-mc-pre-show-03Joe pacing & reviewing to make sure everything is set properly for the final run-through.

07-certa-rehearsal-02All lighting designs, including with the moving heads, are perfected during our final rehearsal and walk-through. The chandeliers on the the ceiling, above the stage, cannot be moved and would normally be in the way – but instead we use them to our advantage and bounce light off of them. This creates a beautiful light pattern.

certa table settingThe simple but elegant table centerpiece.08-certa-table-setting-02All the banquet tables are completely set-up with everything in it’s proper place by the staff.

09-certa-thai-pretty-girls5:30 p.m. and all four of the “pretty girls” (know everywhere else in the world as hostesses or models) have arrived and are properly rehearsed. They will be the first to greet the guests as they arrive, as well as assist them safely on & off the stage for all presentations.

12-certa-guests-arrival6:00 p.m sharp, doors open and guests arrive. All exactly on-time!  🙂


COMING UP – PART II: ‘The Show!’

Unexpected Guest At The Production Facility

You never know what guests will pop around to see us while we are working or rehearsing. In this case it was a big live lizard – that surprised us all!!!

Thailand is known for it’s large reptiles, but this is the first time I encountered one this close up. My dogs where going crazy and chasing it around too, but I kept them at a distance for their safety. We chased & chased him all around the warehouse until he rested for a while under my tool case you see below. After that, my Thai neighbor helped and he was carefully escorted out the door to the field from which he came from.

Never a boring day here at the Joe Conrad Magic Company.  🙂

lizard-in-warehouse-01

Staying for a while.

lizard-in-warehouse-02

Going, going…

lizard-in-warehouse-03

GONE!!!

Beautiful View In Vladivostok

While in Vladivostok, Russia hiring a new team of dancers (for an upcoming tour) I snapped this breathing taking pic from my hotel lobby.

Even though a bit overcast, the view of the ocean is breathtaking.

(Before those of you that might ask, that is not a line in the middle of the photos. It is a crazy electrical cable hanging down from the hotel roof for some work they were doing!)

beautiful-view-vladivostok-russia