News from Richard

In October my wife Rosemary and I officially relocated to Logan, Utah, a university town in northern Utah where my parents have lived since 1969. Although I moved here with them, I have only spend four years here and only two of those contiguously, and all of them more than 30 years ago. So I have been enjoying exploring my "hometown" and getting re-acquainted with the area.

Logan is in Cache Valley, a fertile valley than runs north into Idaho between two mountain ranges. Three of my four grandparents were born and raised here so I am bumping into my family's history on an almost daily basis. One of my great-grandparents was twice mayor of Smithfield, Utah, a small town just north of Logan, and another had the town of Nibley, just south of us, named after him!

In January we opened a school of magic and music in a beautifully restored 1878 Mansion just off Main Street in historic downtown Logan. It was built by George Thatcher, one of the richest men in town at the time and the boss of my great-grandfather Hezekiah Eastman Hatch, who worked as a clerk in the Thatcher Brothers Bank, eventually becoming President of the bank. Perhaps it helped that Hezekiah married Georgia Thatcher, a niece of his boss! The Mansion is now owned by the City of Logan and reserved for use by the local arts community. Rosemary has a very nice studio on the second floor and my magic studio is in the attic, which is very mysterious. Here's a photo of one corner:
http://www.usustatesman.com/polopoly_fs/1.2450909!/image/3844746504.jpg
In addition to teaching, I have started a local magic club to flush out kindred spirits:
http://www.meetup.com/Cache-Valley-Conjurers/
We have 15 members already and may outgrow my studio space soon.
On April 9th we start to offer monthly matinée performances of magic and music at the mansion, in a space downstairs that seats about 50.
Earlier this week I went to my first convention since turning H & R over to Marshall, the World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas. The big draw for me was the workshop on Thursday by Juan Tamariz and he did not disappoint! What a wonderful performer and deep thinker. I'll be re-reading all of his books and looking forward to the forthcoming Hermetic Press publications by him.
While in Las Vegas I also had a chance to see Paul Vigil's performance at King Ink and highly recommend it if you are going Vegas. It is an engaging, intelligent performance of the kind of sophisticated conjuring and mind reading that I most admire and enjoy. Following that I went to Penn & Teller's show at the Rio. I had seen them years ago in New York (when Rosemary and I were still in New Haven) and then years ago in Houston. I have always enjoyed their work, but their stage show at the Rio was even better than I had expected. I was repeatedly surprised and look forward to seeing it again soon.
I'm doing some consulting for the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles and will be at the opening of their upcoming exhibit:
http://bit.ly/gXzhLZ
In May I'll be attending the MCA Weekend in Chicago for a panel discussion of the Erdnase mystery and then the IMX convention in Las Vegas, which has a great line up, low price and the Orleans is just $35/night!
http://imx2011.com/web/
I'm looking forward to being a part of the H & R reunion at Magic Live in August.
I hope to see many of you at these events. If you are curious about our school, here's the website which includes links to many news reports in the local press in the news section:
http://www.hatchacademy.com/

I'm also slowly catching up on my magic reading and DVD viewing. I'm working through Roberto Giobbi's CARD COLLEGE DVD set (http://www.magicbookshop.com/product_info.php?products_id=15945) and enjoying a sense of deja vu since I worked through this material years ago when translating the books. Roberto is a wonderful teacher, both in print and in person and the DVD communicates many nuances that are difficult to capture in print. I think this is a good value if you are serious about your card magic.

News from Charlie

Marshall tells us that people keep asking what we’re up to, so he’s asked us to tell you via the blog.  Although Richard’s moved off to Utah, I’m still here in Houston, and I’m still working on publishing new books under the H&R banner.  Currently, my focus is on the new Nick Trost book (Vol. 3) and the FFFF book.  With Marshall taking over the day to day running of the business, I get more time to catch up on other stuff I haven’t had time to do the last few years.  I’ve even had time to completely read some of the new magic books! I just finished the new Sleights of Mind book, which was a lot of fun in-depth science mixed in with a bunch of guys we know. I didn’t agree with everything in the book, but I did find the whole thing very thought-provoking. It’s always kind of neat to see what outsiders (in this case, “former” outsiders) think of magic.

I’m also reading Roberto Giobbi’s Secret Agenda.  It’s quite enlightening to only read a page or two a day -- giving you plenty of time to think about what’s being said.  Gary Plants and I shared the rubber band powers of darkness trick with some friends, and it went over very well.  

I also just finished the new issue of Magic magazine and really enjoyed Adam Rubin’s article on Mark Setteducati. Mark’s a very fascinating guy who’s been able to turn his creativity into a great career. I remember Mark pushing Mel Stover around in his wheelchair and thinking, "there are two creative geniuses."  Finally, just got the new catalog from Gabe Fajuri for the new Potter & Potter auction.  Besides some really cool gambling apparatus you’ll find a few books from us! That’s all for now.

----Charlie

Finally- A Permanent Location

The past weekend was spent moving the shop from the temporary location in Vidor, to the permanent location in Beaumont. This will be the last move for awhile, at least I hope so. Half of the inventory is still in boxes, so things are still moving a little slow. The hope is to be completely moved in by this weekend. Here's to hoping!!! I've been reading the most recent Gibeciere. I enjoyed the first article on the reporter Nellie Bly. Bly was a skeptic and the first female investigative reporter. Hell bent on exposing fraudulent mediums, Miss Bly had a keen intellect which allowed her to solve the mysteries she observed. She was not afraid of confrontation, and her stories of altercations with "mind readers," make for an entertaining read.  I have to admit that this is my first experience with Gibeciere. I am hooked. Highly recommended.

Welcome to the H & R Magic Blog

If you are reading this, I can assume one of two things. Either you enjoy reading about magic, or you stumbled upon the page by accident. If you enjoy reading about magic, then you are in for a treat. The blog contributors will be myself, Richard Hatch and Charlie Randall. You can expect all kinds of updates here, as we plan to cover reviews, magic news, sales, announcements, and whatever else may come to mind. So, sit back, add us to your reading schedule, and enjoy the ride.

P.S. - For those who stumbled upon this page by accident, you are more than welcome to read along as well. Although, you may find yourself lost at some points along the way. If you are interested, I have a couple of books that might help you understand this blog a little better. :)  


Marshall