Working with a trick up both sleeves...
- Apr 10, 2017
- 5 min read
Everyone loves magic, and a magic show is something that leaves us all scratching our heads. James Harrison is a magician that makes it easy to see that performing magic is an art, while never tipping his cards at how he makes the impossible possible. Whether he is performing strolling magic or dazzling on stage, The Pickpocket Magician keeps us all guessing with a stunned smile on our faces. He took some time to let The Colony know what it's like to live as a magic man.
When did you first get interested in magic and what was the appeal?
I got interested in magic was when I blew my knee out practicing martial arts. 6 weeks turned into 6 months when they found a blood clot. So I had a lot of time on my hands. I saw David Blaine on television and thought I always wanted to learn that. After his show, a commercial showed me that I could learn magic tricks as well. So I purchased the video and learned every trick on the video. When I fooled my brother, I got hooked. When my brother found the video and watched it and knew how I did that trick, I learned to hide the secrets from him. The appeal of knowing something that my brother or my friends was very interesting to me.
You've made a career from your talent - starting out was the goal to be a performer or
just learn the tricks?
In the beginning, I just wanted to know how the tricks work. I didn't even know that I could make a living from performing. After 9 months of learning, another magician asked if I wanted to cover his performance of working at a restaurant doing tricks table to table. When I went to perform, I wrote every trick I knew on two post it notes and kept them in my pocket in case I forgot them. Once I finished the night, I got 75 dollars for 3 hours of performing. I told my dad and he said "Keep it up" So I did.
Who are some artists, past or Present, that inspire you?
I remember enjoying David copper field before I got into magic, but as I gained more knowledge in magic, the more I loved sleight of hand and tricks that were different and weird. Apollo Robbins is a pickpocket magician that inspires me with his performances. Derren Brown is one of my favourite performers. A lot of magicians from England and Europe that are too many to name.
The tricks that you've performed are incredible and always people scratching their heads, trying to sort out how you do it. Has there ever been a trick that you just could not master, a Kobayashi Maru of Magic?
Not to sound egotistical, but its never been a trick I couldn't figure out, just how can I make it fit me and what kind of performer I am.
Your performances are up close, working through crowds, for a large part. What was it about Pickpocket magic that drew you in?
This type of magic and skill always appealed to me. I always enjoyed con man movies. So tricks that involve conning the audience seem to get my attention. Picking Pockets always seemed to be something that I gravitated to. Then as I practiced and started 'borrowing' things from my audience, I found out my dad used to 'borrow' things from his friends in high school. So apparently it runs in the family.
Performing at events can lead to a soused, rowdy crowd - what makes or breaks a performance for you? People who think what I do is just for kids. That tends to be an uphill battle that ruins a lot of changes of me doing something truly amazing, instead I have to exert effort into making sure that person or persons see that what I'm doing is worth while. I've busted for many years. I can do it, but it saps a lot of energy out of the performance I would rather exert into making it something for you to remember forever.
You do stage performances as well, sometimes with other magicians. What changes the dynamic of how you approach a show as a collaboration, rather than a solo act?
As sad as it to say, with other magicians, you have to see if anyone is doing the same tricks. Everyone wants to do killer magic, but sometimes you pick tricks that other magicians perform as well. The only way to make sure no one is doing the same thing is to make sure you try and make it original, either with what you say, or what you do. If not, then you decide which performer has that trick as a staple of their show. Then go through what you do that can be performed instead.
You performed all over, even the Mecca of magic, Las Vegas. Are there any gigs that stand out as your best performance or the most fun? The Vegas performance was a great ego boost. Especially when I received a standing ovation for that performance. The most fun was the competition for A-1 Radio's Magician of the year. I knew many of the performers, so it was great to perform on stage with my friends. Winning the competition, was icing on the cake of a fun experience. Being a magician has to be a fun job, but what would you say is the most rewarding
part? My most rewarding moment was when I performed at a senior home in my town of Barrie. I
don't want to use this man's name. But he walked up after a show and said he loved the show. I didn't think any thing of it at the time. But a year later I performed at the same senior home and I almost didn't recognize the same man walk up to me. He had suffered a stroke. He used a walker to come up to me, and he said that when he suffered a stroke, he couldn't remember many things, but one of the few things he held on to was me performing. I get teared up thinking about it.
What do you have coming up? I have a live show that I will be performing a live show on May 27th at The Mady Centre for the Performing Arts. There will be a family show and a grown up show on the same day. 200 seat theatre and it will be a lot of fun and I can't wait to do it.
Tickets for The Pickpocket Magician's show at the Mady Centre in Barrie, Ontario on May 27th are available here.
More information on his shows, to book him or to give him a LIKE, check out his webpage or Facebook page!
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