FOLLOWING THE SUCCESS of the John Derris book KISS, we sold out to uk and european magicians fairly quickly so we had to give instructions for a second printing for outstanding requests. Consequently the second printing arrives next Wednesday to service outstanding orders and for the many telephone requests we received also at the recent MacMillan International Convention. So if you want to be sure of a copy order today through this website or by calling 0208 467 7856 for immediate despatch.
Many magicians have said they have found the background information on selling oneself and simplifying their magic to be of immediate benefit and the bonus of a selection of practical John Derris routines that have been presented around the world for the past 16 years really worthwhile. Particular favourable comments have been expressed about the production of a bowl of goldfish from an executive briefcase! “Worth the price of the book alone” said one magi.
Big news. Following favourable reports the book is shortly to be launched in the USA!
Check out magicderris.com for further details or contact John Derris direct.
THANK YOU TO ALL MAGICIANS who purchased my new book “KISS”. We’ve had some good reviews from both the UK and USA and many have written saying how valuable it was to find a book that helped you in presenting their magic rather than another publication on moves and routines. As it says on the cover – 31 ways to better magic, better bookings and bigger fees! I know it works for I ran a successful commercial business based on the marketing ideas and strategies listed and then converted the concept to professional magic, all over the world for 16 years!
So much so we’re now into a second printing of the book (allowing of course for complimentary review copies etc.) Keep a look out for further reviews or have a word with magicians who’ve purchased the book or seen it at lectures I’ve been doing at magic clubs. Give me a call email europro@tiscali.co.uk if you would like to arrange a KISS evening for your club.
YOU WILL HAVE SEEN ON THE TV RECENTLY the programmes featuring a magician called Dynamo performing street magic very much in the style of David Blaine. Technically he handles himself very well and his technique is very good although I would personally challenge some of the “mind reading” effects and methods he uses on tv.
I’ve been aware of him for some time at conventions but perhaps have regarded him as yet another of the hundreds of younger magicians who consistently parade their repertoire of card moves and flourishes as proof of their claim to be a magician. In his tv programme he did add some headline grabbing stunts such as walking across the Thames (?) but again…I don’t know.
However he clearly has some smart marketing management behind him for on the football coverage on national tv he appeared performing an excellent parade of card flourishes, changes etc with playing cards bearing the pictures and names of top football clubs and players. This was imaginative and perfectly fitted into the format of national football coverage with very high viewing figures. And now I see he has a DVD with national distribution in shops with excerpts of his first shows on tv.
Whilst I raise an old fashioned eyebrow at the endless and mindless display of card and coin flourishes, I was thrilled to see such skill adapted to modern media presentation that clearly has impressed a large audience and created an excellent awareness of Dynamo on a national basis that will quickly project him to national recognition.
Selling oneself and not just ones digital dexterity was the basis of my recently published book KISS. As I said in the book “people pay you for what they see – not what you do” Best wishes and good luck to Dynamo and congrats to whoever is steering his career.
JOHN DERRIS’S NEW BOOK “KISS” not only gives first hand information and guidance on that oft neglected aspect of magic – presentation -but includes a whole section on his personal effects that took him round the world. Genuine, subtle, move by move, word by word descriptions of many standard routines that were proven entertainment from Morocco to St. Petersburg to Buckingham Palace for many years. But amongst this treasury of entertaining magic is included an original routine “Welded Bliss” in which a ladies engagement ring is linked to a gentleman’s signet ring – permanently. An absolute winner at weddings and anniversaries
As confirmed by the enthusiastic reports from professional magician Tom Whitestone who recently pulled this item on the bride and groom at an Indian wedding reception. Tom reported that their excitement and comment continued throughout his close-up performance almost to the exclusion of the rest of his programme. Tom said “There is no doubt that this will be a permanent item in my show in the future. It’s visual, easy and very magical and was a talking point long after I collected my cheque.
The 132 page book “KISS” contains eight John Derris routines that formerly retailed at £100.00+ that were performed for over ten years as well as the unique “KISS” principle that has led many magicians to new levels of performance and creativity.
Some of the comments I’ve recently received from magicians who’ve read the new book.
COLIN ROSE: DEALER AND FORMER PROFESSIONAL MAGICIAN. “I toured as a professional magician all over the world for years and appeared in the Richiardi show for much of that time. The information on presentation that John Derris gives in his new book KISS is the real thing for real magicians in the real world. Common sense information that many magicians overlook that you can’t buy in a magic shop. Not only on performance but the excellent visual effects and routines that he gives in detail that has taken him round the world for the last 15 years. I was inspired by this book”.
IAN KEABLE: PROFESSIONAL MAGICIAN: “John Derris has a straightforward philosophy when devising his commercial magic; it is to make sure that all his tricks are simple and easy to do. He calls this the KISS principle. Although nothing especially new in terms of effect, his methods and presentation of the eight tricks are universally excellent. You can tell that all of them are thoroughly practical and have clearly been used by the author with great success. I was particularly impressed with his “Welded Bliss” a real stunner. And a great addition to someone’s professional repertoire. My advice is buy the book for the excellent tricks”.
BOB YELLAND: IBM UK & IRELAND MARKETING MANAGER AND MAGICIAN “I have just finished reading your book and I really enjoyed it. The essence of KISS achieves both clarity of effect and elimination of complex handling – this delivers a strong visual trick whilst enabling the performer to focus entirely on presentation. The effects and routines you provide at the end of the book are excellent examples of this technique. The book is an easy read and very well illustrated.”
TOM WHITESTONE: PROFESSIONAL MUSICIAN AND MAGICIAN “This is a very well produced book of common sense practical information and extremely visual and practical magic routines. I have seen John perform all of the effects for the past years with much success and I was completely sold on his “no load” routine for the coin in the bottle which in my personal opinion is the finest version of this classic which I now use.”
ROY WALTON: DEALER AND OUTSTANDING CARD MAGICIAN “I have now read the book and enjoyed it very much and I think the advice given and the tricks explained are both excellent.The quality of the book is well produced and clearly the contents are invaluable to any performing magician”.
MICHAEL BAILEY: FORMER TOP CORPORATE MAGICIAN AND PRESIDENT OF THE MAGIC CIRCLE “John Derris’s philosophy of keeping it simple works in advertising (his former career), works in business and can work for you as a magician if you follow what he calls his common sense approach.I’ve always believed in simplicity of both plot and method so that the focus is on presentation and personality. But the great bonus in the KISS book are the tricks that John has originated or improved upon which he explains so well in these pages. No pipe dreams here -they have been well tried and tested in the real world of commercial entertaining. They are good. Read the chapters carefully and practice what John preaches. It will pay dividends”.
MARCEL BURN: MEMBER OF THE NOTTINGHAM GUILD OF MAGICIANS “I have performed the “Staggered” routine and got a great reaction; this has given me confidence. I’ve now got a purse and a wooden coat hanger and am looking forward to doing that routine as well. Thank you for a really inspiring evening when you came to see us in Nottingham and I hope we can talk again in the future.”
A GOOD MAGIC FRIEND OF MINE has just come back from a magic convention in South America. He says it was a good event but what stood out was the number of magicians all doing the Racoon Routine EXACTLY like David Williamson. Complete with munchie, munchie, munchie, the Tonto and Madonna impersonation and “live animals not allowed in this restaurant sir!”
This is the awful legacy of the internet and DVD’s where magicians the world over are buying the work of a famed performer and repeating it exactly, rather than finding their own interpretation and injecting their own personality into a routine. It’s sad.
Paul Daniels always said he read the instructions of an effect he’d bought, threw them away and then worked out his own routine that echoed his personality. One look at his high speed chop cup routine will confirm the wisdom of personalising a trick around your personna. It’s unlike any chop cup routine that is done by the thousand every saturday night in a restaurant somewhere.
To be a successful magician you have to sell yourself first and hang your magic on your personality. Channing Pollock did it. Fred Kaps did it. Ken Brooke did it. (I once saw a London magician do a Ken Brooke routine and unknowingly slip into a Yorkshire accent Awful.)
So many magicians copied Don Alan’s magic routines and very personal patter and material that he abdicated from the magic world and didn’t appear at a magic convention for ten years To be succesful and connect with your audience you must develop your own personality. Read chapter 19 of the new book “KISS”
WHEN PRESENTING CLOSE-UP AT WEDDINGS or anniversaries, this is a blinder! The magician approaches the table and makes pleasantries about the bride and groom. In so doing he displays at his fingertips a ladies diamond ring on the finger of one hand and a gentleman’s gold signet ring on the other.Telling of his own long, matrimonial happiness he displays the rings quite openly then drops them into a nearby empty wine or champagne glass.
The spectator picks up the glass, shakes it and on tipping out the two rings onto their hand – they are seen to be joined together in permanent union. The rings can be examined. You will get an outstanding reaction from the bride and groom appropriate to the occasion with comments about a long life together etc.
I’ve done this many times and on one occasion I performed it at a cocktail reception at The Crown Jewellers dropping them into a half full, cut glass champagne flute. The impact was amazing.
Where can I get this stunning close-up effect I hear you ask? It’s one of the very visual routines described in my new book “KISS” (Keep it Simple Stupid). It not only includes a number of performance-proven routines that I’ve done for the past 15 years, but gives a simple business strategy that I adapted to re-evaluate magic presentation which can lead to a higher level of performance, creativity and fees. It’s a system that got me bookings in Athens, Copenhagen, Istanbul, Marbella, Osaka, Paris, Rabat, St. Petersberg and Buckingham Palace!
JUST SHORTLY AFTER PUBLICATION, I gave a special presentation of my new book “KISS” for the Nottingham Guild of Magicians.During the evening I covered the concept of selling and presenting magic as well as a programme of the simple and visual effects that I have performed around the world for the last fifteen years using the KISS principle.
Club President Graham Harper said “It was a stunning lecture and members gleaned a valuable lesson in getting back to basics in magic and keeping the effects and presentation as simple as possible. The value of the evening and the information disclosed was proven by the fact the 50% of the membership purchased this new, unique book on the spot”
“I’d recommend John Derris’s KISS lecture to any magic club where members are seeking to lift their magic to a new level. Excellent!”
THERE’S A TERRIFIC repeat series of programmes on Sky TV at the moment called “Heroes of Comedy” It’s produced by the former head of light entertainment at BBCtv and later Thames TV John Fisher. A man passionate about variety, magic, comedy and real talent. He’s also a member of The Magic Circle and was the man who created the Magic Circle Centenerary Celebrations acclaimed as the greatest magic gathering ever.
His series covers performers with a real talent for entertainment and comedy – people like Kenny Everett, Tommy Cooper, Les Dawson, Mike Yarwood, Terry Thomas and yes even Alastair Sim, Thora Hurd and Joyce Grenfell.
All great stars but many who endured awful privations in their early career. Dodgy boarding houses, gaps in their bookings, crooked agents and many other problems that went with being in variety. Watch it. You’ll learn a lot.
But the one virtue they all possessed was persistence. The desire to go on. It’s so important that I devoted a whole chapter “Persistence is your business ally” in my new book “KISS”. A book that shows how I adapted a system that brought me success for 30 years when I ran an advertising agency, but a system that I adapted when I turned to professional magic 15 years ago. Not only containing a programme of performance proven effects and routines but packed with all the know how of how to be ahead and travel the world performing magic and earning a profit. Forgive the boast but I did it! And only gave up a year ago due to illness.
So instead of buying yourself a couple more DVD’s of variations on the matrix effect, or a few packs of cards, why not invest in your future success and read how an ordinary middle of the road magician got bookings from St Petersburg to Buckingham Palace – all in 31 steps. It’s called KISS – Keep it Simple Stupid!
The words of Roy Mackenzie, President of the South London Magic Society at the official magic club launch of John Derris’s new book KISS.The publication that promises to help magicians to a new level of performance by adopting a business priniciple that John Derris successfully used in his advertising agency for 30 years.
On retirement he adopted the system – KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid!) – to magic that led to engagements all over the world including Japan, Russia, Africa and all parts of Europe, This could be the book you’ve been waiting for ever since you took up magic!
Members were the first to see the new book and the presentation included a summary of the concept together with his unique performance-proven routines and effects that made the KISS programme so successful.
John Derris’s presentation can next be seen at the Nottingham Guild of Magicians on Thursday 21st April. Details frolm Andrew Morrison 0115 9605844. For further details about KISS www.magicderris.com
JOHN DERRIS has been performing magic since he won several talent shows as a young boy. During his National Service with the R.A.F. he toured with a service revue "Revel And Fun" and appeared in a number of shows and stage plays.
On returning to civilian life he decided to continue his career in advertising. For many years he ran his own international advertising agency and on retirement returned to magic and performed for many of his clients in all parts of the world - and has even performed in a TV celebration with Whitney Houston in Istanbul!
Today he is a full time professional magician and has performed at St. James's Palace, The House of Lords, Castle Howard, Wardour Castle, Claridges, The Dorchester and many other international and prestigious venues.
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