BOOMERANG RUBBERBAND as taught by AL ANGELLO

What The Audience Sees:

'This week Jamie did this crazy stunt where he shot an elastic band and it landed like ten feet in front of him- and then it rolled back to his feet like a little wheel! And he kept saying, "This one's for You!"'

How It Went:

Before we start, let's all take a minute to Thank Al Angello for not only teaching us the Boomerang Rubberband but for just being Al Angello. Thanx!

I believe, and this is just me, that magicians should know some things that normal people don't (and I'm not talking about magic here). The whole part of being a magician, in my mind, is being mysterious, magical, and slightly off the wall a bit. People obviously know that we put insane amount of time into practicing magic (at least some do), so wouldn't it make sense that we put that effort into other things as well? Whether it's speaking another language or knowing bizarre facts, I like the idea of magicians, as a whole, being unique apart from performing wonderful pieces of magic. So I took the time to learn to shoot a rubberband and make it come back to me.

I didn't even do any setup, patter, or anything. I just went all around today and said, "Hey! It's Magic Friday today. Check this out! This one's for you!" Some people would say, 'That's not magic...' to which I'd reply, "No, but it's pretty cool, though.' and they'd say, 'Yeah, you're right!' So there you go. Others, though, went...

Best Lines:

'NO IT DIDN"T! NAH UH! IT DID NOT COME BACK TO YOU! GUYS, CHECK THIS OUT! HAHAHAHHAHAH!'- some people got realllly excited. Why not?

'What the $%^& just happened there...'- that's what I thought the first time I saw it.

Angry Bob Rating:

I have a co-worker (Bob) whose uncle was a magician and thereby has a good working knowledge of how magic works. He's pretty grumpy but likes Magic Friday's because he can tell me how he figured out how the effect is done... A high rating means he'll never figure it out.

5/5. Yes, he knows the trick is in the way I shoot it, but he'll never in a million years (which is almost as long as it took me) learn it without being taught.

My Rating:

It did blow some people away but it is just a stunt. Maybe I could have presented it as 'Magic' but I just left it as a unique skill. So magically it receives a 7.5/10. Maybe 8. Don't let that fool you, though. It's something that'll come in handy one day, I'm sure. And you know what? It is pretty cool.

The JDG Tip:

Okay, here we go:

1) Elastic band selection is crucial. I found that the smaller ones work better for me because I can max out the tension necessary to put the crazy backspin on it. I ended up using ones that could fit over two of my fingers.

2) Coloured bands work better. Don't ask me why. I went to Staples and bought a bag of coloured bands and used the smaller ones. Some would come back amazingly fast.

3) Your hand needs to be turned over clockwise a fair bit. You want to shoot the band at almost a 2 o'clock position (I'm talking the index finger here. It should be upside down with just a slight bit of finger nail seen on the left) because it'll rotate counter clockwise in the air (the band, not your finger). You need it to hit the ground dead up and down on it's edge.

4) You want the band to hit the ground just before it ends it's flight.

Closing Thoughts:

It was a fun day today but I won't lie to you, I'm not 100%- it took more than a few times for some people. But if you keep at it you'll get it. I'd say I'm 90% now on the first try. Have Fun!

THIS ONE'S FOR YOU!

Jamie D. Grant
www.whatizit.net
Vancouver Magician
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