Little Too Lame?

Well, the new video is ready - complete with music. This is a nice step forward in my evolution as a producer (never thought I would come to think of myself as a producer). Dana was a huge help in this project, from helping find just the right song, picking out the video clips, and being supportive every step of the way. Thank you again Dana!

And another big thank you to Rick Tallarigo for letting us use his music for this project. For the record, the song "A Little Too Lame" is copyrighted 1996 by Rick Tallarigo and used with the permission of Swingin Gypsies Music. Be sure the listen to some of Rick's other music ... he plays with "3 Root Soup", a very talented trio based in Cincinnati Ohio and I highly recommend them. :)

Over the course of filming this video, I remember one night where I made some type of comment in an attempt to draw a crowd. It worked, and I had a few people gathering around and go into my routine. When suddenly, this guy interrupts me to apologize - he said he didn't realize that I actually worked there when he so rudely ignored me and walked off. I sort of just dismissed him and continued on with my show, but it really confused me ... I just try to show people a good time, if they don't want to have a good time they are free to walk away - I never considered it "rude" of them, but obviously this guy did!

So it started me thinking. Does my employment status change the way people should treat me? I mean, is it really ok to be an ass to someone that doesn't work at Barefoot Landing? Would I be less of a human being if I was just street performing and not actually hired by the venue? Why do people feel they need to be rude to someone just because they don't know them? Just because they are dressed differently? Just because they talk funny?

We hope this video makes you stop and think about what the song is saying ... how do you treat someone that doesn't fit in? I live my life as a magician, not for the fortune and fame ... but because I want you to realize that you can do anything you want to do. We are all born believing in magic, but as we grow older society begins to place rules and boundaries on us. When you are a child, you may be battling a fire breathing dragon ... at least, you are until your mom tells you to let that lizard you caught out of the jar.

Only by breaking down these rules will the human spirit truly shine, only then will you be able to quit your 9-to-5'er and live the life you have always dreamed of living. For without these rules, the amount of money you make ... the size of your car ... and all the fancy clothes you have suddenly become unimportant as your real goals and desires manifest themselves for all the world to enjoy.

[ Low 150kbps 2.8mb ] [ High 340kbps 6.4mb ]

JoeJoe

Starving Arist ...

Not long ago I was criticized for proclaiming myself a "starving artist" at the Magic Cafe (an online forum for magicians), as if to imply it meant I didn't make enough to even feed myself.. I didn't have the heart to tell this poor soul that the 'starving' part has nothing to do with food nor the money to obtain it ... I am hungry, I want to perform - I want to see people laugh smile and have a good time. I could do a show every day of my life, and still be starving for more. In fact, the more shows I do the hungrier I get ... all I want to do is magic - I'm starving for it!

So here I am in Myrtle Beach South Carolina at Christmas. Let me tell you something about Myrtle Beach, see ... nobody that lives in Myrtle Beach is from Myrtle Beach. It is a ghost town during the winter, especially over Christmas because all the "locals" go home for Christmas. When I was younger, I would have just hit the road until I found somewhere to perform ... but as I age my desire to settle down grows stronger, the road is a hard life and I've already lived my fair share of it..

Now I learned the value of video a long time ago, I still have tapes from Coconut's Comedy Club that I will on a blue moon pop into the VCR for laughs. I then get this idea: "just think about it JoeJoe, if you could record the entire summer you would have lots of video"! Ok, ok ... so you don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure that much out - but I still thought it was monumental! So in addition to lugging all my props and stuff to my pitch ... I also lugged an old camcorder and an even older tripod.

So now I have lots of video that I can create lots of clips from and continue to entertain people all winter long all from the comfort of my warm little house!!! What a way to wet my appetite! Here is some excellent footage of me floating a cigarette ... I do hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed performing it. :)

Happy Holidays,
JoeJoe

The Magic Is Coming!

Dana (my girlfriend) and I have just about finished watching over 20 hours of performing tapes from Barefoot Landing over the summer - she enjoyed it a lot, but I myself was bored out of my brain pulling my hair out! I mean hey, I already had to live through it once, and it was torture having to do it again! I couldn't help notice that while I was doing it a second time, my hat failed to double in size - what a drag this has been!

So now we have 20 hours of footage captured to digital format and logged into Notepad. We have also secured the rights to use a song in an internet video format - this project is taking longer than we would like, but it is coming along. Now you see why I haven't made many blog posts, as we have been pretty busy with all this video stuff not to mention preparing for the holiday season.

After viewing all the footage, Dana and I now have a better vision of what we can accomplish. I have been enjoying playing around with video clips, it feels like an extension of my performing and I intend to pump out some of this footage in the near future. There is more than enough footage here to put something together - we are aiming for a video collage representing the summer of 2005.

One last thing ... a special thank you to Dana, she has been extremely supportive of this project and my magic in general. She is responsible for any success that I have, without her I would not have been able to create many of the routines that are now the cornerstones of my act (ie: The Disappearing JoeJoe). She has been a large part of my magical world and I feel it is past time I give her a little credit for it - thank you very much Dana, you are the most magical part of my life. :)

JoeJoe