Las Vegas Weekly gives Magician Chris Randall the type of coverage we have often sought but never found.
The profile runs above and below the fold and features an interview with Mr. Randall, also known as ‘The Las Vegas Kid.’
First, let’s establish Mr. Randall’s bona fides:
Before Criss Angel and Steve Wyrick became headliners in town, “The Las Vegas Kid” was here.
As a native, he was known for making watches and wallets disappear from unsuspecting owners, performing card tricks in the back of a Las Vegas Academy theatre class or appearing to stick nails up his nose.
Learning the ropes on The Strip while still attending high school, Randall has now toured the world with his unique brand of Vegas-based classical magic that doesn’t involve sawing ladies in half or massive amounts of gaudy jewelry.
The interview traces Mr. Randall’s trek to his current well-deserved position, on the cusp of hitting it big in the biggest of all venues.
While not an overnight success, he is a success and on the verge of becoming a household name.
His dues paying days may be behind him, but the education and connections gained in exchange for those dues will likely keep him on top for a while.
Mr. Randall is a native of Las Vegas, a rare thing. But his introduction to our craft is very typical.
He was seven years-old when his father took him to see David Copperfield performer live. He was bitten, hooked, infected, smitten, taken, and enthralled.
With his father’s encouragement and access to some of the Vegas magic shops, he learned from the others hanging out in the brick-and-mortar stores.
That’s tough to do in the virtual world.
He found his way into theater school where he moved transitioned from a silent act.
I had to learn just by getting up and being scared. Theatre school helped a lot. That helped me get used to talking. I did a silent act for years; the idea of speaking horrified me. Doing monologues and not being able to do a trick with it to hide behind was a big help for me.
His act sounds fascinating; a mixture of sleight of hand and Las Vegas history.
I predict what hotel people are staying at and through the effect, I give you the history of the Las Vegas Strip.
I grew up on the Strip as a kid and got to see the Strip change drastically.
That and entertainment history in Vegas—Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin—all gets worked into my show somehow. I do stuff with poker chips, casino cups and a whole routine based on slot machines.
His on-stage persona recalls the style of the Rat Pack and fits him like a glove. He doesn’t look like a 23 year-old trying to impersonate some historical figure.
Like most magicians in Vegas and, for that matter, most magicians anywhere, his goal is to land a show on the Strip.
Until that break comes, he stays focused on performing – eschewing a “real job.”
It’d be so easy to get a regular 9 to 5 job right now . . . I have to look at certain things and go ‘I will sacrifice this to not go and get a real job.’
It’s feast or famine. The year of 2007 I had the best year of my life. I made more money than I could have ever imagined. I did Greece, Japan, Egypt, all that stuff. I was out of the country 10 months.
Not much to show for it still. I did survive off of it. I bought a lot of suits. I bought a lot of dinners and a lot of drinks.
He told the lovely Deanna Rilling, reporter for Las Vegas Weekly, the lesson he learned from the year of great success was that he “shouldn’t have bought so many suits. “
Among his most impressive credentials is that of inventor.
Inside Magic Favorite Dan Sperry performed one of his newest creations on television: bringing a dead fish back to life. He has almost 40 new effects in print and on video.
And speaking of magic on television, how does he feel about those who would betray our wonderful art by exposing secrets?
You’re not going to be able to hide it. The secret doesn’t really matter anyway. It’s the art form and how you put your character into it and your style. All that is what really matters.
Plan on seeing Chris Randall during your next sojurn to Vegas in After the Show at the Harmon Theater on Mondays, doing street magic in front of the Flamingo Hotel and Casino (on the Strip) and even on television shows like The Masters of Illusion television show on MYNetwork. (Dan Sperry is on the cover of the show’s panel ad).
Check out Deanna Rilling’s excellent interview in this week’s The Las Vegas Weekly.
Be sure to visit Mr. Randall’s outstanding web site www.chrisrandallmagic.com.
We’ll put the link up on the Inside Magic Links of Fame.
If you are visiting the site from an office computer, be sure to turn down your speakers first.
The site’s embedded video starts up right away. Fantastic manipulation and great music but you may want to keep your surfing on the QT while you’re working for the Man.
We have watched the video about 15 times so far.
The finale to his card manipulation routine not only looks cool, it also has us fooled.
We’re pretty sure he doesn’t perform the whole act with a full deck of cards jammed in his mouth but we cannot see another method.
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