Meet Jeff Walsh | Comedy Magician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeff Walsh and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeff, do you have any habits that you feel contribute to your effectiveness?
Patience and perseverance are definitely the most important habits that’ve sustained my career. I’m not sure it’s possible to be your own business without those habits. You need patience at every step because there’s no short cut to building your own business. It takes time and hard work. You must patiently persevere in a near constant bombardment of failure.

My favorite quote from Gary V, “Fail your way to success.” Every failure is a lesson learned and I know that’s so cliche, but if you aren’t learning from failure, you’re wasting some seriously valuable time. No one, and I mean no one, steps up to the plate and hits a homerun every single time. And even more certain, no one has ever picked up a bat for the first time and only hit homeruns. It takes thousands of swings and misses to train yourself to hit, and even then, they aren’t all homeruns. Business is the same, and being patient with yourself, and keeping the mindset of, “I’m going to do this,” is how you get to your long term goals.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Like many magicians I got into magic in my teens. I saw Lance Burton on the Tonight Show making candles and cards and doves appear out of thin air, and that was it. I NEEDED to know how he did the things he did. I found a local magic store, met the owner Presto, and a couple years later I was behind the counter demonstrating magic to would be buyers.

Being a magician is interesting because it’s not like any other performance art. Comedians and actors put their skills on display for everyone to see. Professional musicians literally produce their music. Magicians are odd because we practice so that you CAN’T see the skill involved. We practice doing abnormal things, secretly, that then are supposed to look normal. With that though comes a benefit that only magic gives, and that’s the ability to suspend belief in what is known as fact. We know people can’t fly on their own, yet we’ll be amazed at a magician levitating. We known the coin can’t vanish and reappear somewhere else, but that’s exactly what we see when it happens, and in that moment, there’s no other explanation. That’s what magic, or being a magician is: it’s giving people the ability to have that childlike wonder once more.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, most of my friends are magicians, so there’s a good chance we’d spend most of our time “jamming.” That’s when magicians get together and sort of talk shop, show off things we’ve been working on, asking for help or ideas, and all of that is nearly always done with food and booze close at hand.

So, if I had to plan a week long stay it would involve a lot of pizza, and buffalo wings, paired with some beer, whiskey and mixed drinks.

On the occasional break, we’d most like head out to get Korean BBQ, and play poker with each other. And Playing poker with magicians is exactly what you’d think. We absolutely cheat but if you get caught there’s a pricey penalty paid to the one who caught you.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
A few people deserve a lot of credit, and the most deserving is my wife. She’s a crazy support to me. As it with a lot of creatives, we’re all over the place mentally and emotionally. My wife is the rock standing strong in my storm. Without her, I don’t know where I’d be.

After that would be my parents who’ve have provided me help my whole life.

Then I’d be a total jerk if I didn’t mention my magician friends. They’re a source of creativity, inspiration and a resource that every creative needs. We are the 69.

Lastly, even though they’re not with us anymore, Amos Lefkovitch and Fred “Presto” Broder. These were my mentors early on in magic. They were giving, kind, and amazing men and I’m grateful to have known them.

Website: http://jeffwalshmagic.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffwalshmagic/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-walsh-784229238/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwp5RQVytqnsKD3lRasRRPw

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffwalshmagic https://g.page/r/Ca_HH9yLhVu_EB0/review