VANISH MAGIC BACK ISSUES vanishmagazine64 | Page 7

VANISH FROM THE EDITOR MAGAZINE PUBLISHER Paul Romhany & Joomag EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & DESIGN LAYOUT Paul Romhany THANK YOU TO Chipper Lowell ASSOCIATE EDITOR / LAYOUT FEATURE Hal Meyers ASSOCIATE EDITOR Nick Lewin ASSOCIATE EDITOR Ben Robinson STAFF WRITERS Jeff Christensen, Louie Fox, Nick Lewin, Paul Romhany, Gregory Wilson, David Gripenwaldt, Hal Meyers, David J. Atwood, Joe Ledoux, Felicity Fields, Matthew Dinaro EDITORIAL SUPPORT EXECUTIVE Hal Meyers, Ben Robinson ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Paul Romhany & Sydnie Anderson CREATIVE DESIGNER & LAYOUT Paul Romhany VANISH CONVENTION DIRECTOR Steve Hocevar CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTION Harry Morgan ADDRESS 1183 Blind Bogey Drive Qualicum Beach, BC. V9K1E6 CANADA AN INSPIRATION I recently returned from a magnificent magic festival called the Ontario Week of Wonder - OWOW Magic Festival in Fergus, an hour out of Toronto Canada. The organizer was Ryna Joyce who did an incredible job making sure all the acts were well looked after, and everything ran like clockwork. It’s his dream to make this an annual event. Therefore, if you are looking for an intimate festival with live shows, lectures, workshops and amazing company, then put this one in your books. This edition features one of my favorite magicians, Sean Watson. Sean’s story is very close to home and it’s encouraging to know that magic can be a tool which helps people choose positive steps in their lives and they in turn help others. Sean has overcome numerous adversities shared by many children and it’s encouraging to know these hardships can be overcome and those affected can accomplish amazing things. This is an extremely moving article, one I hope you all read and share. As I said, this story is close to home therefore a very special one for me and my family. Another VERY important article was written by Hal Meyers (aka Dameon) concerning Respect. The best advice I got when I was 18 was from my friend Alan Watson. It was prior to me going on tour with Chuck Jones and wonderful guest acts Ricki Dunn and Marvin Roy aka “Mr. Electric”. Alan told me to sit back and not show them card tricks, to let them talk rather than me try and prove myself to them. It was the best advice ever. The golden rule when around other professionals, especially those who have been in the business for twenty plus years and are well respected within the community, just SHUT UP! The more you try and impress them the LESS impressed they will be!! Remember, they’ve seen it all. Acts come and go in this business, one minute you might be a hot ticket and the next you are just another cog in the wheel. In my case, on this tour, I shut up and the other acts opened up, they shared stories and advice, this turned out to be a fantastic trip. I ended up with life long friends and mentors. Now the advice I often impart is to be humble. Hey, on your own turf, go nuts on social media to promote yourself, however, when around other entertainers humble goes a long way. In many cases when acts keep talking about how great they are and build themselves up it is often a sense of insecurity. Tough love advice for some, but trust me, it goes a long way, especially if you want to have a long successful career in this business. Hopefully you will notice I’ve made physical changes to the size and style of VANISH. I am looking at condensing it to fewer pages and offering a printed magazine down the road. Paul Romhany GROUP EDITOR-IN-CHIEF NOVEMBER | 2019 7