Thick skin... sharp swords!

Today I am going to address a negative review of my Reality DVD at Amazon.com. This is going to be fun, so let's get started!

It's the worst thing I ever bought from Amazon. Apparently The Amazing Jo Jo is a living legend (according to the back of the dvd box) and "redefine" street magic for the masses! What does this mean and do ten to fifteen people (mostly off screen) constitute "the masses"?

In the first place, "Eng Luis Matos" doesn't appear to buy much off amazon.com ... as this is the only review he has ever posted. He also demonstrates that he can't read ... my name is "JoeJoe". I would think that if I was going to bash someone publicly, I would at the very least make sure I spelled their name right - it's only three letters repeated twice!

It also shows that he didn't actually watch the DVD ... or he would have clearly heard me state my vision of magic, and it's history ... dating back to the dark ages where magicians traveled the countryside entertaining the masses "one person at a time". He would realize the "living legend" statement comes from my hitchhiking days, being perhaps the only magician that has ever hitchhiked (as in, with my thumb) across the US not once ... but twice.

Let's hear what else he has to say......

The quality of the recording is dreadful, the camera work is basic in the extreme and the "real live magic" is actually a series of standard tricks that you can see almost any amateur magician do.

I don't believe I have ever stated it was a high quality video, quiet to the contrary ... if Luis had read my blog he would know that Reality was filmed on a tripod without a cameraman. There are no shortage of clips on my site/YouTube to see what type of camera work there is. Oh but wait ... Luis can't read my name correctly, so he probably never found my site in Google.

"Real Live Magic" comes from the fact that in most cases, the audience was not even aware they were being filmed ... I felt it was important to keep it real. Chris Angel uses stooges like they are going out of style, and David Blaine exploits camera tricks almost as bad as Jay Leno does. Even David Copperfield uses stooges and camera tricks! There simply is no real magic left on TV, it is all staged and fake and everybody knows it.

And I take great offense at the amateur magician remark. The opening trick (Misled) was performed by David Copperfield on international TV and I would hardly call him an amateur. David Blaine's first "Street Magic" special had tricks far more basic than mine (ie: folding coin, two card monte, invisible deck). Further, there are tricks on the DVD that I invented myself and have not released to the magic community (ie: Sword and Rope routine).

To call it the "greatest show of the streets is a barefaced lie and an insult to the hundreds of brilliant street acts (many of whom I book for festivals all over Europe.) It cost me $27 and runs for 18 minutes. My advice is don't buy it...

Before I address the booking issue, I want to point out that all amazon.com sales are done through my distributor (CustomFlix). I am the first to say I would like to see the price reduced. Wal-Mart sells major motion pictures that everyone has heard of for less, I know this. But this is not a mass produced DVD; this is a self-published work and publishing-on-demand generally requires less initial investment, but costs more in the long run. Since I don't have a couple thousand dollars laying around, this is the only way I can bring Reality to the public.

I have no control over what amazon.com charges for my DVD (that would be called "price fixing" and is illegal in the US). Not only must amazon.com make a profit, so must CustomFlix, so must the shipping service, and I'd like to get a little something myself. I don't understand why it cost him $27 considering they have it priced at $17.95 so I assume their free shipping offer does not extend to Portugal.



Now with that said, Luis is a booking agent and quite frankly I wish he had never purchased it - I HATE BOOKING AGENTS! I am always amazed at how booking agents think they know what entertainment is and what people want. The truth of the matter is, they know jack about talent. Comedy Clubs count the number of laughs a comedian gets period ... never mind the fact that I received a standing ovation during an open mic night at the Comedy House Theater in Savannah GA, I didn't get enough laughs and they didn't hire me.

There is a reason I do street magic these days ... it is to avoid talent brokers and booking agents! So please, if you are a booking agent or a talent scout or on the inside of the entertainment world ... please don't purchase my DVD. If I want you to see it, I will send you a copy.



Ok so, that is what I wanted to say. Luis, if by some chance you happen to stumble across this blog post ... then please actually watch my video and listen to the part about how I don't do this for the money - I stand by what I said. Since you say you are not happy, I will glady paypal you my portion of what you paid. Just click "Contact" at the top of the page to get in touch with me.

As for everyone else ... if you want flashy lights with fire and smoke, Reality is not for you. But if you are interested in seeing a real magician do real magic for real people in a real environment then you may be interested in Reality. There are no camera tricks, no stooges, no fancy editing ... it is raw footage taken directly in front of real live audiences.

Click here for Reality

-JoeJoe