Hollar! We've been covering a lot of ground lately. Over 2,300 miles in 3 days! Thank goodness diesel prices are lower this year than last.

I've picked up a new phrase while being on this leg of the tour :-) Here it is..."SNAP DRAGON!" I have no idea where I got it from or what it means but it's driving everyone nuts. Hahahaha! So next time you have the chance give it a try....be like "oh man...snap dragon!"

We have the week off and then next weekend we'll be right outside of Chicago at the Metroplis Performing Arts Center. Last I heard the show was close to sold out so hopefully it is by now. We're definately looking forward to the show!

As always working on a bunch of new toys and slowly getting them into the show one by one. It's always so tough deciding what to take out to make room.

Before I go I have to send a shout out to my biggest fan out east...Donna. Hey Donna! My crew and I thank you for breakfast and hope to see you again soon!

Stay Tuned!

-BB3

We've been traveling a lot lately and my laptop is on the fritz so I haven't been able to post. My team and I spent last weekend performing in Pittsfield, MA, at the historic Colonial Theatre. The entire staff and stage crew of the Colonial were a dream to work with and we thank everyone for their hard work!

We were actually in town a few days prior to our shows. This gave us the opportunity to be a part of the Pittsfield 4th of July Parade which is one of the top 5 July 4th parades in the country!

(lining up for the parade)


In addition to the parade we were also featured guests at the Pittsfield baseball game at Wahconah Park which has been hosting baseball games since 1892!! It's one of 2 baseball fields in the country that actually have a sun delay! The game was held for about 15 minutes due to the angle of the sun to home plate and the players not being able to see. We all had a really great time at the game!

We had 2 shows on Sunday (7/5) and debuted my new Walking Thru Steel illusion. I'm excited to say based on the audience reaction...it was a hit!!! We received a standing ovation at both shows which is always a great way to complete a performance.

After the show my team and I met up with my agent Simon to grab a late night snack before we headed to Boston to catch our flight.

(team photo after the show)


We had a great time in Pittsfield and look forward to coming back. Thank you to everyone who came out and made the show such a great success!

Pittsfield you rock!

-BB3

My team and I have been working very hard lately on some new illusions that have been in the works for a long time. The process of creating new magic and getting it to the stage is a very long one. It all starts with an idea and takes off from there. We take those ideas and sit around and have lengthy conversations about them and literally dissect every possible option. What will it do, how will it look, in what order will things happen, how can we make those things happen, etc. Then we turn to my good friend Ryan to provide us a 3D rendering of the illusion so we can look at it from every angle and actually watch it prior to it ever being built. It's amazing what technology allows us to do!

Breaking new ground is always a challenge b/c you have to go through a lot of trial and error to find what works and what doesn't. It can be frustrating at times but I always think back to a great quote I heard years ago. Someone said to Thomas Edison while he was inventing the light bulb "You failed over 2,000 times" and his reply was "Of course not, I just discovered 2,000 ways it wouldn't work!" Nothing could be more true. The same goes when creating magic illusions.

We currently have 4 projects in the works right now. Three of these projects are actually fabricated and one is working 100% and will be added to the line up very soon. We're still working out the little details on the other two but with a few more weeks of shop time we should have them all figured out soon.

It's very rewarding seeing these things come together after the investment of so much time. Be on the look out for these new effects in our tour this fall.

-BB3

(here's a shot of one of our new illusions being tested this past weekend)

As many of you know I'm from Wisconsin. Holla to the chedda! There is a rumor out there that we're working on a levitating cow illusion for the show.

The idea came up over dinner while I was in Vegas last month. We were sitting around and joking about doing an illusion with a levitating cow. Tim Clothier's wife was quick to point out that the effect had already been done by a performer overseas.

Obviously this was all a big joke over dinner but Tim felt it had merit and found me the perfect cow for the job! Check her out...isn't she a beauty?!

Be sure to catch the levitating cow in my tour this fall (obviously I'm joking)!

-BB3



*No cows were hurt in the taking of this photo. This is not a real cow.

This past Friday night I was invited to take part in an event at the Metropolis Performing Arts Center (one of our tour stops this fall). The event was a preview night to announce their upcoming season as well as thank the sponsors and donors who make it all possible. Our MC for the evening was actor/comedian Tim Kazurinsky! Many of you might remember him from his role on SNL as well as numerous movies such as Police Academy where he played Officer Sweetchuck.


(Tim and I prior to taking the stage)

I had the pleasure of closing out the performance portion of the evening. I can't even begin to describe what a crazy performance it was. Crazy in a good way though. Let's just say a 1 hour open bar prior to the performance segment made from some VERY hilarious/interesting audience interaction with the lady I had up onstage to assistant with a rope trick. Before I knew it she was tying herself up and grinding with me onstage which brought the house down! Take that Madonna! Hahhaa!

I do have video footage from the performance but I'm going to keep it in the vault for now ;-) Who knows though maybe it'll pop up on one of my behind the scenes DVD's.

The lead singer of the band asked if I could give him a lift...I said sure!



What a night!!!!

-BB3

As many of you know in my spare time I enjoy the motorsport of drag racing. As a car owner and driver, I always look forward to spending some time at the track with friends and family on race days in the summer.

Over 2 years ago my best friend and I sat down one night and talked about getting into racing jet cars. These are drag cars with jet airplane motors in them! So we made some calls and ended up taking a trip to Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, IL, to meet with legendary jet car racer Roger Gustin. We had the opportunity to spend the afternoon with him and learn all about the jet car industry. Roger is to jet car racing what Houdini is to magic. We were very fortunate to have this opportunity to meet with him. We came away from that day with an amazing amount of information and even made a few contacts with some jet car racers who happened to be racing at the event that day.

As I mentioned a few years have passed and I decided to keep the focus on continuing to build my career and expand the illusions featured in my show. I realized with the required financial investment I just couldn't do both to my full potential. However, my best friend followed through and found a racing partner to form a team with and they ended up purchasing a jet funny car. This past weekend I joined them at the track to take the car out for it's first trip down the 1/4 mile with the new name and paint scheme. The entire day was awesome!! I want to thank the team for having me out and for letting me stage the car at the line!

If you've never had the chance to see a jet car check them out on youtube. Nothing beats seeing them live though!! It was such a rush standing directly in front of the car while flames were shooting out the back as it came to the line!! All I can say is woooo!!! Hope you get a chance to see one live sometime b/c there is nothing like it!

-BB3

(Me with Fury, Venom and Mayhem)

This past Friday I had the opportunity to be the celebrity guest MC for Gladiator Ball! The show is basically like the movie DodgeBall but the main team was made up of celebrities from the TV show American Gladiators. 10 local teams took on the Gladiators for their shot at bragging rights to say they beat the American Gladiators.

My friend Barry rode up to the show with me and we had the pleasure of playing the warm up match against the Gladiators prior to the doors opening. The game started and Barry whipped the first throw and took out Mayhem! To ice the cake....on the second game I did the same thing! I think Barry and I are going to try out for the American Gladiators when the have an open casting...haha!

All in all it was a great night and it was cool working with everyone. I always enjoy being a guest at events like this b/c you meet some many cool people that also have the fortune of having a unique job that they love. Not to mention by the end of the night we were all chatting it up, sharing some laughs and exchanging information. I've made some cool new friends and had a blast being a part of Gladiator Ball!

-BB3



(Warm Up)

Currently we're in the process of rolling out a variety of new illusions into the current show. We'll be phasing them in one by one over the next 9-12 months. I recently stopped in at Illusion Projects to meet with owner Tim Clothier to check progress on an illusion he's currently building for me. It looks awesome!!! It's scheduled to leave his shop and ship to my warehouse in Milwaukee the first part of next month!

We also took some time to meet on other projects that are in the works as well as discuss some new ideas. Lots of great stuff came out of that meeeting.

Stay tuned b/c you haven't seen nothing yet!

-BB3


(Tim Clothier sharing a new concept)

I've been invited by Ben & Jerry's to take part in their Free Cone Day on April 21st! I will be joining a cast of celebrities as we put on our Ben & Jerry's aprons and volunteer to scoop ice cream for charity. The value of every scoop of ice cream that is served will be donated to local charities throughout the country.

This is a great day to pack up the family and head on over to your local Ben & Jerry's between 12-8pm on Tuesday, April 21st to receive your free scoop! Enjoy a great treat and help your selected local charity at the same time!

For more information visit:

http://www.benjerry.com/scoop-shops/fea ... -cone-day/

Hope to see you there!

-BB3

P.S. As a side note I don't care what the commercials say...CA cows have got nothing on WI!

The last week and a half has been a very tight schedule filled with a lot of travel. Just this week alone I've been in OH, PA, MD, MA and NV. I can honestly say that I can recite the flight attendant pre-flight safety annoucement by heart now!

Had a great time in Las Vegas over the weekend. I was there to review a new illusion I have being built. The effect is coming along nicely and will be featured in my tour this fall. It was designed by well known magic designer Jim Steinmeyer who has created some of magic's most notable effects. In addition to reviewing the current illusion I also met up with my good friend Ryan. We had the chance to catch a few magic shows on Saturday night and then meet up with my builder Tim to discuss additonal projects and ideas we're working on.

We all had a great time but my stay there seemed way too short. I look forward to the next opportunity to go back but had a great time while I was there!

Viva Las Vegas!

-BB3

I was recently approached with an opportunity to work with the stars of American Gladiators in a new exciting show called Gladiator Ball! This new show is similar to the concept of the hit movie Dodge Ball but uses the stars of American Gladiators as one team taking on other "local" teams.

I have the pleasure of being the celebrity guest MC for their upcoming live show in Milwaukee, WI! In addition to the American Gladiators I will be joined by special guest referees Haystacks Ross (formerly of the WWE) and Muhammad Ali Jr.!

It's sure going to be one heck of a show so if you're in the area on Friday, April 24, come check it out!

-BB3

Throughout my years in magic I've met many great people. Everyday I remind myself that all of this is possible due to the people I've met at various times in my life that have been along for this amazing ride.

One of those people is my good friend Ryan Reed. He and I had the pleasure of meeting over 5 years ago while I was working on a project. He was brought onboard as a consultant for a specific effect and we've remained friends ever since. I was even the best man in his wedding last year. He and I share the same passion for magic however my passion is onstage and his is being the unseen factor offstage which helps to put all the pieces together. From lighting, music, video and effect design Ryan's work can be seen throughout my show. It's key people like him that help to make the Magic of Bill Blagg (MOBB) what it is today.

Ryan and I will be meeting up in Las Vegas next week to review a current fabrication project in the works and discuss current plans for this season. I'm looking forward to seeing what exciting ideas he has come up with for staging these new effects and how I can apply my personality to make them unique and features of our show. Be on the look out for these new illusions in our upcoming east coast tour starting in July.

-BB3


(Ryan and I in San Fran stopping for a pose)

There are so many things that go on behind the scenes in regards to touring shows and ours is no exception. As an audience member you arrive at the theatre a little before show time to find your seat and settle in for the show. On the other side of that equation are the people who are responsible for getting our show to the theatre, loading in all of the gear, setting it all up and of course running the show. Once the show is over the complete opposite happens but in a fraction of the time.

On an average day you'll find my team arriving at the theatre in the early hours of the morning to start this whole process. I had a close friend join me for a full day at a tour stop to see the whole process take place. At the end of the day he looked at me and said, "I never had any idea the amount of work it takes to put your show on. It's a whole other world coming in the stage door and standing on the stage seeing the show being set up."

I want to take this moment to thank my entire team and the local crew who work so hard to make our show possible. None of this would be possible without them.

-BB3


(shot of our show beginning initial set up)

My family had the pleasure of hosting Mr. Walter Blaney from Texas recently. Walter is well known in the magic industry as a performer and an inventor of magic & illusion. His most notable invention is the Blaney Ladder Levitation which has been performed by David Copperfield, Harry Blackstone, Lance Burton and many others. I also perform an illusion in my show called the "Suspension 3001" which he invented which allows me to make a member of the audience float in mid air! My father recently completed building Walter's famous Sawing a Lady in Half illusion which has never been released. (A pic of us is above)

My parents, crew and fiance' had a great time hearing Walter's stories from his years in the magic community. It was truly a memorable event. We took a trip to the famous Magic Inc. in Chicago, IL, where Walter was able to reconnect with long time friends in magic and make some new ones.

This is by far one of the most amazing weekends in magic I've had the opportunity to be a part of! It was unbelievable being able to have a legend in the industry sitting on the couch in my house sharing stories about some of the legends in this industry I've admired for years.

Cheers to you Walter! Look forward to seeing you soon!

-BB3

Hey everyone!!! What a crazy 2009 it has been and it's just getting started! So much going on and to share!! Sorry for all the energy but I'm hyped up on some green Monster Energy Drink!! Holla! Where should I begin...

My new site is live! We're tweaking a few final changes and then finishing up my online store "Third Gear." Have a few meetings this weekend to finalize the goods and once they're set the store will be live so keep checking back.

Make sure you take a second and hit the home page and sign up for my MOBB e-mail list. This way you can get secret updates that won't be posted here in my blog. Trust me...you want to make sure you are on that list!

I have so much more to share so I'll be back! I want to thank Vipin, Rachel and Ryan for all their hard work! Feels great to have the blog back online and the new site up and running.

-BB3