Who knew!?

Dateline Early April Basalt Colorado

This is the Press Release from the latest wonderful thing that happened..
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Doc Eason was just named Best Closeup Magician in a Reader’s Choice poll awards at about.com.

The Readers’ Choice Awards highlights the best products, features, and services across a wide variety of topics. This year the Readers’ Choice Awards showcases the best in hundreds of categories across most of About.com’s channels, from technology to hobbies to sports. It is an international internet based site.

Wayne Kawamoto, the Editorial Guide for magic.about.com, adds, “I was very pleased with the field of nominees that my readers created for the 2012 Readers’ Choice Awards. It was a competitive group of highly qualified and respected close-up magicians from around the world. Doc Eason’s win shows that he is a popular, knowledgeable and influential entertainer in the world of magic. He is a more than worthy winner.”

Doc says he is frankly stunned by this honor. “I didn’t even know this competition was going on! The list of names came out of the blue at me. No one is more surprised than I am. The nominees include many of my personal heroes. To be even named in the same list as some of these men is very humbling.”

Doc has been a major player in the Snowmass entertainment scene since 1977. He held forth at John Denver’s World Famous Tower Comedy Magic Bar in Snowmass for almost three decades. Still based in Colorado, he has been sighted recently in Florida and California.

Doc is the recipient of four Academy Awards from the Academy of Magic Arts in Hollywood. Currently on tour in Florida, he will also be appearing at the famed Hollywood Magic Castle in May. He is also planning a trip to Denver’s own Lumber Baron Magic Cabaret in June.
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Awards… what do they mean? I guess it means that enough people like what you do, they give you an award. Zippety doo dah..

I have never been a competition guy. There are, however, a lot of magicians who are. They put together a routine that fits in a tight time frame. Points are taken off if the routine runs over the allotted time. The object is to fool or surprise the magician judges. If you succeed in doing that, then you win a trophy and a title such as #1 closeup magician in (Pick your favorite city or region). I never saw the point.

My introduction to bar magic showed me an entirely different approach. Get into the trenches, behind the bar and take the patrons on a ride through hilarity and amazement. It was a whole different pace and could never be shoe horned into a time constraint. So I steer away from competitions when ever I can.

I just kept my head down, showed up for work, even if I didn’t feel like it, and slogged through, for 35 years.

A few years ago, I was entered (rather reluctantly) into the “sweepstakes” by the Academy of Magical Arts. But, this was different than a contest. Everyone who performs at the Castle is eligible for nomination. The membership of the Academy (peers) vote and a short list of 5 people are named. Then the membership votes again on those. One member, one vote. Because I live a thousand miles away, I did not campaign for it, either by glad handing or handing out swag. I was flattered and honored to just be on the list, let alone win! After more than a few fruitless ‘trips to the altar’, I was finally awarded Closeup Magician of the Year (for two years in a row!) This is humbling. An Academy award! Unbelievable. I am lucky enough to have a total of four Academy awards.

But then this about.com thing comes in ..

magic.about.com is an international public website for people who are interested in the craft. They had apparently polled their membership as to the “Best Closeup Magician” and Wayne called to tell me I had made the short list along with magicians from Spain, Sweden, Japan, Las Vegas, Hollywood and NYC. My initial excitement to even be on this list was dampened by the fact that multiple votes were allowed; sorta like American Idol only this was only one vote per day. So this looked to be a squaring off of people who knew how to manipulate Facebook and the internet and those who don’t even have a presence on the net. Plus it was anyone and everyone voting, not just magicians.

Once I understood what the rules were for this, I pulled way back on the contest, and refused to beg for votes. I just went back to work and figured that someone else would be much more deserving than me.

Wrong. The first of April, I found out that I had won this silly competition. I really don’t know what to think about it. Didn’t ask for it, would rather have not been involved but it was beyond my control. There is no trophy, no cash award, just ‘bragging rights’ (for whatever that is worth).

So I am flattered, richly honored, a little puzzled and at a total loss as to how this could have happened when you look at the other guys on that list. Thanks if you voted for me.

As Michael P Shore would say, ‘Famous-er and famous-er”