September 29th, 2008 by Jeremy
It’s been a year since I last performed here in Japan, and indeed this trip was an extremely fruitful and rewarding one. I was invited once again to participate in Wizard’s Inn Japan Magic Master Open Tournament, as well as a guest performer at the dinner show, and to present a Magic Lecture to Japanese Magicians.
I first arrived in Japan on the 10th of September, Wednesday. And was immediately greeted by Kanamori Shun, a Japanese Magician from Wizards Inn Company. Alongside was Masuda Jin, a great master of the Ninja Rings routine and incredible one hand link technique. We waited for Masahiro Yanagida and Shoot Ogawa as they are arriving just after my flight, coming in from Los Angeles. A team of about 12 Magicians were in the States together and came back just in time for this event.
The location for the convention is still at the usual place, National Olympics Centre, therefore I am very familiar with the area. Masahiro San asked me what would I like to have for the first meal in Japan, and I can never forget the Superb Oyokonomiyaki we had the year before (Check out the pic from my blog post last year August), therefore I mentioned “Oyokonomiyaki!” And of course we went there and this time round I ate 2 full Oyokonomiyaki myself!
My favourite! Oyokonomiyaki cooked in front of you!
I would be spending 7 days in Japan and of which 4 days are scheduled for the Magic Event. Therefore I had only one full day to shop around Tokyo at my favourite places such as Magic Shops, Tokyo Hands etc. I managed to discover some new magic items there and really anticipating to incorporate into my performances. I also had some time to walk around Shibuya the first day and Shinjuku on the 2nd day. Wanted to shop for some new clothes or preheaps a new pair of shoes for my collection, however they are incredibly expensive in Japan. Masahiro treated me to one of the best Tempura Restaurant in Tokyo the 2nd day and the best Sushi Restaurant the 2nd day. I really had an incredible feast this trip.
Tempura Restaurant
This year’s event had a slightly different format then the previous one which I participated. I was introduced to a concept in Japan called “Dinner Show”. I have heard of it before, especially about Cyril Takayama’s Dinner Show in Japan. Participants would enjoy a sumptuous Japanese formal dinner followed by a grand stage magic show. And Cyril’s Dinner show command up to 50 000 Yen per participant, which is close to about $500 USD for each ticket. The Dinner show which I performed in, I heard participants pay a fee of 30 000 Yen per seat, which I about $300 USD. We had a great crowd at the dinner show, and apart from myself who performed my full Commercial Show, we also had performances by Shoot Ogawa, Endo Taiga, Misty Mew, Masuda Jin & Keiko Kobayashi. The reaction from a Japanese crowd is truly the best, and you can see they really appreciate the performer’s magic and act, with lots of respect.
Shoot Ogawa and I at the Dinner Show
The first 2 days of the convention consist mainly of the tournament competition. I first saw the program booklet and noticed that if I won the 1st round of the world tournament, I would meet Shoot Ogawa, if he won his 1st round too. Therefore I decided to perform my best act when I meet Shoot at the 2nd Round. And yes indeed we both made it through our first round, and we met to compete for the 2nd round. I did my best act ever for my cups and cherries routine, however Shoot still rise above and won the competition in the end.
Magic Masters Champion Shoot Ogawa
Apart from the tournament competition, I also took part in the technical competition. The technical competition consists of the following:
Coin Roll Technical Competition
- MusclePass (Highest Record is 95cm high by Endo Taiga, Guinness World Record Holder)
- Coin Roll ( This year Endo Taiga won with 58 coin rolls in 1 min)
- Card Setting ( See the video below for yourself, 38 sec to set an entire deck back to original order)
- Recollection ( I did well and got into the finals, in this contest, you get 5 sec to remember all the cards inside the deck and name a called out number card.)
- Cards Estimation ( I also got into the finals and won 2nd prize!. To win, you need to cut to the right number of cards which I called out in 3 sec.)
Therefore my record this year would be:
That’s me receiving my award.
- 2nd Prize – Card Estimation Contest
- Best 4 – World Tournament Contest
The award above gave me the chance to be invited to this event again next year!
I still have my prize from last year which is to visit the MagicCastle in LA. I would be doing it early next year and will most likely perform 1 week in MagicCastle and spend 1 week in Las Vegas!
I was also given the opportunity to do my lecture to the magicians at the event. Both Shoot and I were slightly concern about the lecture as my lecture is completely about Stage Magic and all the magicians less Shoot and Endo Taiga are doing close up magic. I also didn’t bring that much products of mine. About 20 – 30 Sets of each item, however Keiko Kobayashi did a fantastic job for me this time as a dealer. It is the only time when I participate in a convention, don’t have to worry about my dealers booth, and she sold out every single item of mine on that table!!!! Wow! It was a record for me, moreover it was for a crowd who doesn’t do stage magic.
My Products, sold out at the convention!
The lecture was well received and I had a really great time sharing my magic, the only downside was that we could only do a 1.5 hours lecture as the schedule is so packed, therefore I could not share all my ideas. Shoot did a great job too helping me to translate my lecture.
Here are some highlights from my lecture in Japan:
Mr Masahiro Yanagida gave me the best hospitality this year. He did his best to fullfil all the request of mine, such as the food I want to eat and places I want to go., And I really had a great time learning from him not just about magic, but about being a person and also on how to become a greater magician.
The night before I leave, he brought me to a famous restaurant next to TokyoTower. The restaurant is famous for “Tofu”. It was a Japanese fine dining restaurant, with traditional Japanese rooms set with tatami mat. The location was decorated to look ancient, with a Japanese garden in the middle and also various artifacts. I was told one of the rooms at the place was brought all the way from Kyoto, piece by piece and assembled once again in Tokyo, to preserve the heritage of the place.
After Show Party, every night!
I had so much great time discussing magic with all the young and promising magicians in Japan. And I am definitely looking forward to going back again next year to showcase more great magic.
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July 3rd, 2008 by Jeremy
This is an exclusive magic showcase section of my products in Magic-I Shop at Sunway Pyramid Malaysia. Thanks Avery!
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June 23rd, 2008 by Jeremy
I was recently invited to perform in the #1 Rated Variety TV Show in Taiwan, “Zong Yi Da Ge Da”. Magic is now on fever in Taiwan due to the Special Magic Segment “Da Mo Jing” of Zong Yi Da Ge Da.
Da Mo Jing Set
”Da Mo Jing” is a program much like reality contest shows ala American Idol etc, only difference is that the competing subject is Magic. There is also a panel of professional magician judges which includes Lu Chen, Erick Ching and Luo Bing. This is currently the 3rd season of this program, while the first 2 seasons were top rated programs in Taiwan.
With Erick
I arrived in Taiwan, the evening of 16th June and was welcomed by Erick and representative from the Production House (E-Hope). The ride from Tao Yuan Airport to Taipei city was about an hour, we then visited the production house for a briefing. A lot goes into making one episode of the program and the production people usually meets till 3 – 4 am in the morning before the filming of each episode. I also managed to catch up with my good friend PJ Wen over a couple of drinks that night.
The following day was the filming of the special episode. This particular episode has no competition, therefore it was a rather exciting show with 7 guest performers! Apart from me who flew in, they also had Kyoko from Japan. I managed to catch Kyoko’s modified hairdresser act during rehearsal and it is truly a masterpiece! The other performers include the ever amusing Lu Chen, Shi Tian Xiao Bai , Poker Chen, Webber and Mike from Taiwan. Even though the 4 other performers were not competing in the show, they will still have to be commented by the panel of judges.
Group photo on set
The audiences were all very supportive, staging and lighting were great, it was an extremely comfortable experience working with this team. I believe the program on TV last about 40 – 60 min, however it took us a little over 6 hours to film all the footages. I performed my Eternal Ropes routine as well as my Stage Competition Act. Really looking forward to the final copy of the program!
Below are some photos taken on the set with the Guest Celebrity Artists, Host and Magician Friends:
With Zhang Fei, The Star of Zong Yi Da Ge Da!
Hosts of Zong Yi Da Ge Da, Erick, Zhang Fei, Myself, Huang Ping Yuan, Hong Duo La Si
Webber, Poker, Myself and Mike
Celebrity Guests of the Show!
The entire team then went to “Shi Ling Ye Shi” for Dinner. I asked Lu Chen if it was a common sight for people to recognize him on the streets, and true enough just as we entered the restaurant, 2 high school girls were mumbling to themselves, Erick’s Student then went over to the 2 girls and said “He is Lu Chen!”, haha that was really interesting.
I stayed another day in Taiwan to catch up with some of my close friends there. One of the performers in the show, Mike, brought me to “Xi Men Ding” for shopping. Webber and PJ joined us later and brought me to find Huang Wen Nan. Wen Nan aka Na Ge, is a magic dealer based in Taiwan. He often source out for interesting magic products and I always like to patronize him. Nan Ge had also agreed to help me organize a Taiwan Lecture Tour in the coming months.
Visited a Magic Shop owned by Jiang Bo Quan, he was one of the winners for the 1st season of Da Mo Jing. It was a huge magic shop with a vast selection of magic props for professionals and amateurs. I especially love a Framed up “Rainbow Deck” of cards; I will get one done myself for my office too.
With Lu Chen
I met up with Lu Chen during my final day there just after I checked out of my hotel. He brought me to the infamous “Ding Tai Feng” and we chatted over various magic ideas and updates in the magic scene. I am intending to organize the 2nd Redefine Magic: The Gathering next year on a much larger scale, and I will have Lu Chen over as a Special Guest Performer and Lecturer for the event.
I would like to thank all the friends who took care of me during my stay in Taiwan, making it a memorable and definitely magical one.
Redefining Your Magical Experience,
Jeremy Pei
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June 18th, 2008 by Jeremy
It’s been a while since I wrote on my blog. Currently I am writing this post on board a flight to Taiwan as I am guest starring as a perfomer and judge for “Zong Yi Da Ge Da’s Da Mo Jing Show” One of the main reasons being I have been extremely busy with work both locally and overseas. Over the past 6 months I maintained a packed performing schedule both locally as well as overseas. I have also done a series of lecture tours to Hong Kong, Macau, Chong Qing, Guang Zhou and Malaysia.
I am glad that I am able to turn my hobby and interest into my profession. Magic has allowed be to see the world and meet magician friends from different countries. I also had the pleasure to host many foreign magician guests in Singapore over the past few months.
A great milestone for me this year was hosting my very first Magic Convention “Redefine Magic: The Gathering”, on 1st May 2008. It was a very successful event with a series of Workshops, Lectures, Dealers and a Gala Show. My special guest for the event was Richard Mo, from Hong Kong.
Richard Mo from Hong Kong
I first met Richard back in 2003 when I was competing in the Shanghai International Magic Festival. We only met briefly then, till last year we met again when I was invited to perform at the Shen Zhen Happy Valley Magic Festival. Richard’s hospitality was amazing and he hosted my entire trip while I was there and even after that when I went to Hong Kong. We became close friends since then, and constantly work together ever since. He had only recently won the 1st Place Award for the Shen Zhen International Magic Festival in December 2007. His innovative approach to magic and sleight of hand skills is truly amazing.
I worked a lecture tour or Macau, Chong Qing and Guang Zhou with Richard in March 08. The lecture tour would not be possible without the assistance of a few behind the scene figures, Lee Kwun and Penny!.
Lee Kwun, Richard Mo, Penny, Me and Michael Lam
Lee Kwun is a Magic Producer based in China. I first worked with him at the Happy Valley Magic Festival last year and he is truly an amazing guy! He planned the entire tour for us so that everything goes smoothly. Thanks Kwun!
Me, Penny and Richard
Penny is a magician from Shen Zhen, he runs one of the largest Magic Forums in China with over 40,000 members. You can check it out here at www.magic8.com . Penny is also the co-organizer of my lecture tour as well and manages some of my appearances in China. He is a Police Officer by day and hard working magician by Night. You can view a weekly Internet Show called “Magic Your Life” produced weekly on his forum, all filmed and edited by Penny! Most of the operations on his website is taking a break as he is currently in Sze Chuan assisting in the Earthquake relief program. All the Best to him!
There are so many great magicians whom I have met and influenced my life greatly, and I shall introduce them to you in the future post.
Redefining Your Magical Experience.
Jeremy Pei
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October 19th, 2007 by Jeremy
Dear friends,
I have been away from Singapore for the past 9 days and will continue my agenda overseas till the 24th. It was such a rush schedule for me that straight after my party on the 8th, I will have to pack for my performances in Davao and Pattaya. I would like to once again thank everyone whom made it possible for the celebration as well as to all whom attended, you all have made a difference to me.
At this very moment I am writing at a computer inside the Central Festival Centre of Pattaya (Where the 3 day magic competiiton event is held). The weather here is really hot, much like Singapore, and our schedule is really tight too. I actually skip manning my dealers booth to come by the computer to check emails and type this entry.
Yesterday, myself, Liao Xiao Run (AMA Champion from China) and Tuxedo travelled to Bangkok for a TV recording of our performance. The TV show is called "The Show", and it is some sort like America's Got Talent kind of reality show but only its Thai style. According to Tuxedo, it is the TOP 5 Tv program in whole of Thailand. Both myself and Xiao Run performed our full act to a live audience. Initially the plan was to just showcase 3 mins of our performance, but the producer is so glad with our acts that he will put our whole 7 min act up on air. I will follow up with some photos I took at the studio later as I am now using a mall computer.
The show will begin tommorrow and I am excited to be performing along side a great line up of world class magicians.
Be back on 24th October and see you all then!
Jeremy (In Pattaya,Thailand)
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October 8th, 2007 by Jeremy
It was just over a night of dinner and chat with the usual magic dudes that I decided to come up a a magic table that would solve all the problems magicians encounter during their shows ( Unstable table, long time to set up, weight problem, size problem, etc). Immediately after I went home, I drew up a sketch and got the first piece of my design built the following day. After receiving many comments from my magic buddies, I made changes to the table and got the 2nd prototype built which was a huge success! However it was still not perfect and a couple of things can still be improved.
So now I would like to present to you the Redefine Magic Professional Case Table!
From appearance it may just look like a regular roll on/suit case table, however this design has some unique features not seen in other magic tables. Here are some of its unique feature:
Constructed out of Industrial ATA Case Materials, the entire weight of table is only 10kg.
Top door hindge open to allow direct access into the box ala a manipulator’s table. Also creates extra table top space for other acts. It also acts as an emergency door when the box is closed to pack last min items
Double canes holes to hold canes, poles within the box.
Full access backdoor allowing for maximum storage
Front spring latch to hold silks and cards etc.
Side handle holes for ease of handling table on and off stage.
The first range of 9 cases have been built and delivered to their owners. It holds a Special Editon Numbered Hallmark from Redefine Magic.
Case No.1: Alex T ( Blue color with custom double top door)
Case No.2: Alfred Lee (Yellow color)
Case No.3: Jimmy Chia ( Red color)
Case No.4: Frankie Yeo (Orange color)
Case No. 5 :Kyle Ravin ( Black color with custom print design)
Case No.6: Nique Tan (White color with custom die-cut print design)
Case No.7: Andrew Kong ( Black color)
Case No.8: Daisy Ho ( Purple color)
Case No. 9: Tan Eng Huat ( Black color)
To place an order for the table, kindly contact Jeremy Pei at info@jeremypei.com .
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September 2nd, 2007 by Jeremy
Finally, the brand new Jeremy Pei.com is up! I have been really busy with trips as well as shows locally. I was in Tokyo Japan last week for the Annual Magic Masters Convention organized by Wizards's Inn Japan. Shoot Ogawa and his teacher Masahiro Yanagida invited me to be a guest performer for the event.
Shoot Ogawa and Masahiro Yanagida
This trip to Japan has got to be one of the most rewarding trips for me, not only did I made lots of new friends, but also I felt the advise I received from the company there really elevated my magic to a new level.
With Shoot and Overseas guests on the Mini Bus driven by Master Jin.
The Magic Masters Convention is held annually during the summer vacation in Japan . Each year, participants of the convention compete in an unique Technical Competition, Tournament Competition, Magic Lecture and Stage Show. The Technical Competition is a rather interesting one, contestants compete in 6 categories:
Muscle Pass, Estimation, Re-collection, Card Setting 1, Card Setting 2, Coin Roll.
During the coin roll technical competition
It was really an eye opener for me as I have never seen such a contest before. Last year when Shoot came to Singapore , he showed me some of the techniques and I played with it. However, the standard in Japan for such competitions is a whole new level. A Japanese Magician, Indo Taige, even set a brand new world record for Muscle Pass to a new height of 90cm! And he could actually go higher then that only that the scale was only to 90 cm.
The Competition Chart, the one on the far right is my name in Katakana.
The Tournament style competition was next. Competitors have to compete their way up the chart to vive for the title of Central Champion and Pacific Champion. Only winning those that they get a chance to compete in the World Tournament. I was a contestant in the Pacific Competition, and had to perform a maximum of 3 acts to win the title of Pacific Champion. Initially when I received the email from Shoot, I remembered him just saying that I am a guest performer for the event but it would be cool if I caould take part in the Competition. However, during one of the lunch with Shoot and Masahiro, they mentioned that the winner of either the Central or Pacific Competition will win not only trophy and cash prize, but a return air ticket to LA's Magic Castle! My adrenaline shot up to the max after hearing this and I told myself to work hard and win the competition. My hard work paid off and I won Championship for the Pacific Competition.
World Tounament in Action and Winners of all the Competition
The World Tournament had only 8 contestants and the champion would require to perform 3 acts maximum. I had saved my strongest act, which is my cups and cherries act "Love Story", for the final battle, as I know if I win the 2nd round I will meet Shoot Ogawa in the last round. I went through the first round smoothly and secured the title of Best 4 (This means that I will be going back to Japan next year for their Convention and compete straight in the World Tournament). During the Best 4 contest, I performed my favorite card magic routines but it did not shin as well as my opponent's, hence I am unable to enter the finals. Nevertheless, both the awards of Pacific Champion and Best 4 had a great impact to my career.
Me and my new trophies, Pacific Champion and Best 4.
Apart for these achievements, this trip had really made me understood the idea of discipline, the Japanese Magicians are really disciplined. Everyday is scheduled to wake up at 7am in the morning (that's 6am in ) to eat breakfast together, no matter how late we sleep. And our schedules are so tight that we can only spend that much time at one place. Sometime I just have to buy everything I like and see because I would not have time to decide.
At the middle of Mt Fuji with Magicians. After a refreshing Hot Spring at Hakoen.
Prior to the Convention, we had a 1.5 days vacation with Shoot and the overseas guests. We visited some malls in Tokyo City area , Magic Shops, the Mt Fuji and Hakoen for Natural Hot Spring. Whenever we tried to ask Masahiro something, he will always say that we shall discuss in the Hot Spring. Apparently he loves Hot Spring, and he also mentioned that the secret to why Japanese have a longer life span is the way they enjoy the Natural Hot Spring. It was a refreshing experience for me and we had a really great time chatting.
Traditional Japanese Dinner. Oyokonomiyaki (Thats the real thing!). Shabu Shabu with magicians.
Food was great for me there as I am a big fan of Japanese food. The most memorable meal was at a restaurant serving Japanese Oyokonomiyaki (Japanese Pizza). They actually cook it in front of you and it is just so Oishiii! There is something like this available in Singapore but nothing beats the ready cooked one in that restaurant. I also had a chance to eat the Japanese Shabu Shabu since Japan Cup 2003. Apart from those, every night after our convention, we visit this restaurant in Shibuya area called, Wakame. I must say that after eating there for 3 nights in a row, the taste of the food began to bored us, but nevertheless we still enjoy the company, food and drinks.
On my way back to Singapore, I received the biggest shock in my life! The airport personnel wanted to charge me 43 000 yen for my excess baggage!!! (That is close to $400 USD). I mentioned to her that I am a loyal Kris Flyer member and she still insists that I pay the overweight charge for 19KG! I remembered in May when I returned from Hong Kong, my baggage was about 30 KG overweight and they did not even charge me a single cent. Anyway we bargained and I checked in a 27kg Baggage allowance after 1 hour of re-packing in the airport with Shoot, Shun and Ai. Most of the methods and ideas for the re-packing came from Shoot, so guess where the other 12 KG went to?MAGIC! I shall leave that as a mystery to you. I then flew on board safely with no excess baggage payment. However I forgot to pick up my Tripod which I had to check in last min as they don't allow me to hand carry it on board. I shall have to pick it up next Friday before I fly off to Manila. Till then… I'll write soon again…
Thats FICE ( Fire and Ice), a Japanese Pop Duo in the Cos Play Anime Industry.
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June 20th, 2007 by Jeremy
Malaysia hosted its first International Magic Festival in Subang Parade Shopping Mall from 8th - 10th June 2007. This International Festival attracted numerous magicians from all around Asia to attend. One of the main highlight of the event was their magic competition which carries combine prize money of $3500 USD. The program of this festival is unlike an usual magic convention as it was held in a shopping mall; main target audience is for the public.
The standard program for the day began with the magic competition in the afternoon, followed by an evening Stage Show by the invited guests. There is also a dealer's booth area behind the stage which is opening throughout the day.
Special guest magicians from Singapore include Joe Yu, Mr Bottle and A.H Teh. I personally went for the competition alongside with 2 other local magicians, John Lee (SAM Member) and Aaron Ong. 20 competitors from all around Asia competed for the grand prize of $2000 USD. All competitors had to perform once first then for the judges to choose the top 10 acts which will showcase again on the final day of the event to decide on the final winner.
These were the top 10 acts that got into the finals.
Hong Kong
Joker Lam- With his AMA 3rd prize winning act,filling the stage with white spring flowers.
Kam Hock Man- The gentlemen of magic with flawless dove production.
Thailand
Magic Hunt - Skillful Billard Ball Manipulation
J over first- Young dynamic performer with a Pirates of Caribbean Dove Act.
Neo Magic- A Spectacular Demon Act with lots of deadly surprises.
Malaysia
Hanzi - Performed a series of grand illusions with a touch of comedy.
Singapore
Jeremy Pei - I performed my new competition act comprising, rings, candles,canes and knives.
Indonesia
Ritzky Siti Fatimah - A 14 year old girl with beautiful parasol production and a stunning dancing cane routine.
China
Liao Xiao Run- AMA Champion with her "Mulan" Act and China style card shooting.
Xie Jun Fang- Dove magic and Hula Hoop Spinning Act.
The competition is judged by 9 renowned magic personnel:
- Fred Casta ( IBM International President)
- David Sandy ( IBM Past International President)
- Liew Fei Long ( President, Magic Ring Malaysia)
- John Teo ( President, IBM Singapore Ring 115)
- Dante Law ( Professional Magician from Taiwan)
- Albert Tam ( President, Hong Kong Magicians Association)
- Cris Castro ( President, Inner Magic Club Manila)
- Pairuch ( President, Siam Magic Club Thailand)
- Dr. Man ( Famous Magic Producer from Thailand)
The results for the competition are as follows:
Most Promising Magician Award
$100 USD-Ritzky Siti Fatimah (Indonesia)
2nd Runner Up Award
$500 USD-Kam Hock Man (Hong Kong)
1st Runner up Award
$1000 USD-Jeremy Pei (Singapore)
Champion
$2000 USD-Liao Xiao Run (China)
It was a really wonderful experience for me taking part in this competition as it had been a while since my last competition. It was a great time hanging out with all the professional magicians and competitors. Overall, I felt that the festival was quite a success and I am looking forward to the next event.
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