Doc Seaton's Magic Sideshow

You may remember that last year (2010)'s TAOM had something a little extra in it: the Austin Street Magic Festival. The festival was a smashing success, so much so that the Austin SAM decided to have it again, but this time they were going to honor the man who had made it possible: Doc Seaton. And so Doc Seaton's Magic Sideshow was born, and Clay Dippel and I were invited to perform.

This year, the Sideshow was attached to the Old Pecan Street Festival, something that is apparently a very big deal in Austin. The Sideshow even got the Mayor of Austin to declare the section of Trinity Ave that the Sideshow was on "Magic Street." It turned out that hooking up with the Old Pecan Street Festival really did us some good. I can't tell you how many people wandered through the Sideshow looking for magic and excitement.

Read More

Motorcycle Magician part 1

So with just a week left, I'm furiously preparing my gear for the long 1500 mile trip to Los Angeles.

For those of you who don't know, I will be making this trip on a motorcycle, a Honda Shadow Spirit 750 to be exact. I've been working on the bike itself, trying to come up with ideas on how to get everything (and myself) on it safely, and I think I've got everything just about worked out. The hardest part of this has not been figuring out how to pack the bike though. The hardest part has been figuring out how to pack my table and gear.

Now my table is a 32" trey table, the kind the waiter uses to bring you your food at a restaurant. The table top is simply a 20"x19" piece of covered plywood.

Now I know what you're thinking: "Why don't you just get a new table out in LA and save yourself the hassle?" The answer is simple: I'll still have to transport the table on the bike in LA. So to solve this problem, here is what I did:

The table top itself I cut into fourths and hinged two pieces together and then latching the two hinged pieces to each other. This has worked out great because the table top folds up into a 10" square (more or less) and is easily portable. The downside is that it is a little flimsy. I'm working that part out by shimming the top a bit to add more tension and create a more stable top.

In the future, I would instead cut the board in half and have two long sections that latched together. A bit less portable, but not by much.

The trey stand itself was a bit more interesting. I started with the idea to cut the legs below the rivet (the one that lets the legs make the "x") and hinge them so they folded up nicely. Turns out finding hinges that small (and sturdy enough) is extraordinarily difficult. My next idea was to simply put pegs in the legs allowing everything to pop together nicely. That didn't turn out as well as I had planned. The final idea (which worked) was to latch them together using trunk latches (they're called drawer latches, but I've never seen a drawer with one).

So the final product is a table with legs cut at an angle (to allow better support when unfolded) latched together with trunk clasps. And it works beautifully.

In the future I would make sure that the cuts are all perfect. My table works great, it's just more of an aesthetics thing.

So, I'm going to be latching the folded up table and table top to the bike and it should work great. I'll post more about how it actually worked once I ride the bike with the table strapped to it.

Permit Issues

As I've said, soon (1 May) I'm off to California to try my hand at busking at Venice Beach, the Third Promenade, and any other place I think I can get away with it. Unfortunately, this has put me up against the same problem that buskers have been facing for a very long time: the issue of permits.

Now busking is considered an expression of free speech. I don't rightly care if you think it should be, it is. The Supreme Court has upheld this many times as have many appeals courts across the United States.

I can see your brain cogs a whirling! If it's free speech, you're asking yourself. "How can you need a permit? Ah, there's the rub! The courts have said that while busking is free speech, the city may also require a permit to busk. This started out the cities issuing permits for hundreds of dollars a piece. Well the courts didn't too much like that either, so they said that while you may require a permit, the permit may cost no more than the amount of money to create and administer it.

That's right! And still cities require permits. But I found out where to go about getting permits to perform at the locations I'm wanting to busk at, and here is that information in a handy little bundle for you:


"Venice Beach: Individuals interested in exercising free speech, public expression, or performance at the Venice Beach Boardwalk are required to obtain a Venice Beach Boardwalk Public Expression Permit. Permits can be obtained at the Venice Beach Park Office, located at 1800 Oceanfront Walk, daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Photo permits are issued the same day. Individuals requesting a permit will need to bring photo ID, pay a one-time, $25.00 fee, and will be required to sign a statement that states they have read and understood the Venice Beach Boardwalk Guidelines. The guidelines are based on Los Angeles Municipal Code 42.15, which can be viewed online at www.cityofla.org."

"Santa Monica Pier: A street performer’s permit can be obtained at City Hall Permits Office, 1685 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401. The contact phone number is 310-458-8745. The fee is $37 for a street performer’s permit."

"Third Street Promenade: Street performers' licenses are issued out of Santa Monica City Hall at 1685 Main Street, Rm 103. Call 310-458-8745 for more information. An application may be obtained in person, and two passport-sized photos and a photo ID are required. The licensing office is open between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and alternate Fridays. The application process takes three days. The license fee is $37 per person for one year and runs from January 1 to December 31."


So there you are readers. Keep up to date as I jump through the red tape hoops.

www.kingstoyou.com