The Old World Siberian Chain Escape by Aaron Smith.

The release of my Old World Siberian Chain Escape met with tremendous success. I am very thankful for the support I get from the magic community—humbled by the response. But it is a double-edged sword. I make each Escape by hand with painful—literally!—attention to detail. After a solid week of burning-hot chains melting my skin and the blistering sparks of welding debris bouncing off my arms, I decided to take a break…

And off to The Magic Castle I went!

My good friend Gerald Kirchner, CEO of Magic City, offered to drive (that’s a big deal in L.A. traffic). He charged up his new all-electric Nissan Leaf, and we made our way to The Castle for a night of magic.

Gerald weaved masterfully through the streets of Hollywood, and despite a wrong turn suggested by yours truly, we pulled up in front of the legendary mansion in record time. A valet greeted us and Funny Eddie Medrano walked us into the lobby. With an “open sesame,” the bookshelf moved to reveal the private club.

Bruce Gold is an Emcee Centerpiece

Bruce Gold’s performance of The Floating Table was extraordinary. He takes it to a whole new level.

The first show of the evening was in the Palace of Mystery, emceed by Bruce Gold. I have followed Bruce on Facebook for a while and was eager to see his magic. Bruce introduced the acts, Chris Randall and David & Dania, but in a lucky twist, David & Dania’s show required extra setup time, so we were treated to extra Gold.

Bruce Gold could read the instruction manual to an Ikea kitchen table and the audience would hang onto every word. He is a superb speaker, an excellent showman, and a skilled magician. All three understatements in my opinion.

Bruce has a celebrity-like presence he uses to enhance even the most basic movements. His performance of The Floating Table is the best I have ever seen. In fact, I overheard a layman remark later about how the table came out over the audience. Only someone with Bruce’s reach—both physically and magically—could create such an illusion.

You can learn more about the smooth and charismatic Bruce Gold on his website and on his Facebook page.

John George Fills the Room

John and I are about the same height, which isn’t saying much. But John’s skills—both with an audience and with his props—are enormous.

John George is a likable guy, but don’t let that fool you. He packs remarkable talent behind that innocent persona.

I first met John at an IBM convention in Dallas a few years ago, where he solved a Rubik’s Cube in about thirty seconds. I asked John if he had any tips for the cube, and he said it is virtually impossible for a normal person to solve a Rubik’s Cube without help; going online, watching a video, or having someone teach you a method. When I returned home from the convention, I accepted the challenge and manically worked with the cube, learning to solve it without any assistance. When Gerald and I told John about my endeavor, he said, “See? I was right. You’re not a normal person, Aaron.”

A compliment and a rub, cubed! Well played, Mr. George.

Rarely do you find a full-time, working magician with John George’s technical proficiency. Without naming names, I have personally heard some of the most decorated members of our craft discussing John’s act behind his back, bestowing on him compliments of the highest order.

But it isn’t just John George’s dexterity that makes him a good magician. His persona on stage is also impressive. He combines both disciplines seamlessly into one entertaining performer. The Closeup Gallery came alive within seconds of John George entering the room, and he engaged the whole audience while executing flawless magic.

You can see his early work on the Closeup Magic of John George DVD, and even learn some material for your own show. However, if you ever get to see him live, you will walk away having witnessed one of the best closeup magicians alive today. Visit John George’s website for more information.

Will Fern is Crazy Entertaining

Will Fern’s show was the most exciting I have seen in years. He is incredibly funny and has amazing range.

I spoke to Will Fern twice. Once before his show, next to the bar (don’t ask me which one, they all taste the same to me), and then after his show. I remember having two very distinct impressions of the guy during both meetings. In the first conversation, I found him calm and courteous. If I had to guess, an executive maybe. Or perhaps a well-dressed high school principle who pastored on the weekend.

After his show, standing next to his dressing room, I was in awe of a genius. Well, of a genius and of the blow-up doll dressed in a mermaid outfit Will uses for one of his mentalism routines. What had I just witnessed? The calm guy I met earlier was replaced with a Gangnam-style version of himself. It was the same guy, just 1000 times funnier with an explosion of stored energy.

Will Fern is a master at layering one effect on top of the next. He overlapped a series of tricks, calling each one back and incorporating it into following routines. For instance, he performed a book test, [believably] gets it wrong, apologizes and moves on to a Kozar type prediction effect. Later in the show, the before mentioned mermaid assists him in revealing the numbers and the word from the book test.

His show is quite complex… not cluttered, just “full.” And it takes a master of layout to properly routine such an act properly. I can’t wait to see Will Fern’s show again, but if he picked me to help him on stage, I would be a little nervous!

You can read more about Will Fern on his website.

Walking the Halls of The Magic Castle

Back at the bar—a different one this time—Gerald introduced me to his friends Dale Hindman and Milt Larsen. Walking through the hallway, I heard a loud Joe Monti-like sound that turned out to be Joe Monti. He was “performing” something with his shoes that will definitely stand out in my mind as one of the strangest things I have ever seen at The Magic Castle. Actually, I laughed so hard I cried a little.

It was getting late, so we made our way to the front room. I shook hands with Franz Harary and he graciously introduced me to the group at the bar. We chatted for a bit and then Chris Randall performed a cellphone in balloon routine. A unique pleasure, as I happen to know a thing or two about putting cellphones in interesting places.

And with that, Gerald and I hopped into his Nissan Leaf and drove back through L.A., all the way to Long Beach.  Thanks to that wrong turn I suggested at the beginning of our adventure, we had used more charge than originally planned. Thus, we conserved energy by traveling the freeway at 41 miles per hour—40 being the minimum speed of course. Gerald squeezed a 90 mile journey out of an 80% charge.

Now, with a nod of the head, my welding helmet falls into place. Back to The Old World Siberian Chain Escape!

Please, share your Castle stories in the comments…

However it came about, Sands of the Desert is here to stay. Over the years, very little has changed. The methods behind the trick have, relatively speaking, stayed the same. Even the performance of the trick is fairly standard. It’s a simple trick. But of course, the best tricks always are. Audience reactions to Sands of the Desert are remarkable. Magic that bridges the language barrier. Perfect for all ages. Packs flat and plays big. The trifecta!

And on top of all that, there is something about this trick I just can’t seem to let go. I devote a considerable amount of my time to investigating both its history and its future. Over the past three years, I have released several Sands of the Desert products, and over the next year, I plan to release several more. This trick will soon be unrecognizable in its current form (it already is if you have my recent instructions where I published a couple of my most prized never-before-seen-in-print Sands tricks).

If you want to come along on this journey, to watch the mystery unravel and to witness what this incredible trick can do for your stage, street, or closeup show, then it all starts with a choice: which Sands of the Desert sand is right for you?

Lucky for you, you don’t have to go through this alone. I have prepared this easy to follow Buyer’s Guide.

Before we begin, I should clarify one point. There are other ways to perform Sands of the Desert besides specially treated sand. Two are quite popular: the hollow ball method and a gimmicked vessel. Both of these have their advantages, but their versatility overall is quite limited. Neither will work for all (or even most) of the tricks outlined in the instructions that come with my Sands of the Desert and they will not work with the tricks I have slated for release in the future.

Otherwise, there are two types of Sands of the Desert sand. Both are hydrophobic—literally, afraid of the water. You can buy cheap hydrophobic sand in a number of places on the Internet, or even make your own. But the sand available here—the sand being discussed in this article—is a specific brand of sand. It is performer-grade hydrophobic sand. Made specifically for magicians from years of research. The sand you buy from me is handcrafted in small batches by yours truly. If you buy Sands of the Desert from another store, make sure it has the labels you see on these pages. I guarantee its quality.

1. Wax Sand

Waxed sand is the oldest version of magic sand. Methods for making waxed hydrophobic sand were first exposed in the 1800′s by the likes of Roderburg, Hercat, Kellar, and Dr. Holden. However, the science behind the magic has been well-known since the ninth century, when the Persian chemist Razi wrote about the special oils in his “Book of Secrets,” the Kitab al-Asrar.

For years, magicians have made their own Sands of the Desert magic sand with store-bought wax, typically white paraffin wax. What many magicians don’t realize is that the sand works despite the paraffin. When regular folks say, “wax,” they picture a block of wax, not a fatty acid. In fact, the impurities within a regular block of wax must be burned off—removed completely—before the waxed sand will work for Sands of the Desert. In my process, I simply eliminate the impurities all together and use a plant-based product instead.

Wax Sand Pros:

waxed sand stays together well underwater when squeezed into a clump and can withstand vigorous stirring. The magician can easily perform with more than three colors of sand. Sand colors can be poured into the water all three at once (or more if the vessel allows), which significantly increases the magic aspect when the colors separate for the grand finale. Instead of just cheap paraffin wax, the way traditional wax sand is made, the new process creates a more durable sand (lasts longer no matter how many times it clumps together), and falls apart easily for the big reveal when it is removed from the water. Waxed sand can stay underwater longer than synthetics, without succumbing to the pressure of the water.

Wax Sand Cons:

I tried to eliminate as many cons as possible, but some aspects of wax sand are a fundamental characteristic of this type of product. Wax sand “clumps” together when you squeeze it in your hand. Some magicians view this as a feature, while others prefer the clump-free nature of synthetic sands. During the wax sand manufacturing process, sometimes more than one grain will stick together—waxed sand granuals are bigger than their synthetic counterpart, not as uniform, and may float on top of the water until the pour gets heavy enough to sink the sand. Heat can damage waxed sand.

Click here to see Sands of the Desert WAX on The Magic Depot!

2. Synthetic Sand

The first synthetic hydrophobic sand was patented by Wham-O in 1980. Their method is still the standard: silica-based sand exposed to the vapors of trimethylsilanol. The chemicals are relatively cheap when purchased in bulk, but making it is time consuming. A small operation can only produce a few pounds of performer-grade sand in a day.

Some magicians have tried making their own sand using spray waterproofer. Such methods are not even in the same league as the method described above. Synthetic hydrophobic sand would have been lost to magicians when Wham-O discontinued their sand, had it not been for Gerald Kirchner, owner of Magic City. Through considerable effort and a great deal of investment, he was able to find a company to make high-grade synthetic hydrophobic sand in the 1990′s. Since then, he has increased the quality and consistently produces some of the best synthetic sand on the market.

Synthetic Sand Pros:

the coating on synthetic sand is thin, barely a molecule thick in most instances. Treated sand looks identical to regular sand. The grains are uniform and flow easily, just like regular sand. The sand retains its density after treatment, so it sinks to the bottom of the vessel easier than waxed sand. Synthetic sand can be poured from a greater distance from the water’s surface, and will “curl up” on the bottom with little effort from the magician. Heat has little effect on synthetic sand.

Synthetic Sand Cons:

the thinner coating wears off and can dry out if left in the open air (though it will repair itself if left in an enclosed container). Almost all colored sands available—even outside the magic industry—are a regular white sand painted to the desired color. The paint can liquify during the vapor process, creating an improper seal on the grain. Synthetic sands do not clump—at all—so you cannot stir the water as vigorously as a waxed sand, thus more sand is lost over time and the effect is difficult for beginners. Some tricks are much harder to perform with synthetic sand than the new wax sand.

Click here to see Sands of the Desert SYNTHETIC on The Magic Depot!

The type of Sands of the Desert sand you choose is ultimately a personal decision you will have to make. Neither will go to waste. Consider buying both to see which you like better. If you are new to Sands of the Desert and want to know which to start with, I suggest the wax version. It is easy to use, and other than a few little moves here and there, is nearly self-working.

Waxed sand and synthetic sand are very different substances, both in look and feel. If you have tried one, but not the other, now is your chance to get a good quality product and add this legendary effect to your repertoire.

Like I say in the instructions:

“Sands of the Desert has been handed down from generation to generation; from magician to magician. Now it is handed to you. Take it and make it your own. Perhaps someday, you will be part of this incredible trick’s amazing history.”

Please note: this website is no longer at magic.org. The Magic Depot is now located at www.themagicdepot.com

Thank You!