busking book

[martin ewen]

Sly viral marketing

Cept we're past book stage.
The multiple link to the one performer would seem to be either a give away or feint.
There's a $29 book that outlines the elements required in the construction of a street show.
That stuff has to be learned somewhere and we now know there's a legit testimonial so it's helped at least someone.
The hard sell copywriting is a little late night vendor channel but as any marketer will tell you, 'You grab them by their innocent throats and shake till they spill their wallets contents.'
'If you don't give at least $29 to the writey man then that can mean only one thing, you will become discouraged by compound failure, seek work as an adhesive chemist and live a life of muted despair, surrounded by an impenetrable sense that your life is a vicious parody.'
Apparently it's a helpful book. All that remains is to drag it's author from behind his foliage and....
Then find something else to do.

[Rachel Peters]

Re: Sly viral marketing

Originally posted by martin ewen
and....
Then find something else to do.

like each write our own book.
done and done!

And yeah, I think if he's so protective of his identity, he probably wouldn't have made all the links go to his own site. My bad for looking to the obvious.
I really want to know who the publisher is, but don't have the energy to go hunting.

And if he's a member of the forum, which he/she could very likely be, there's no way he/she will come out of hiding now -- after all this suspicion and sarcasm. ...dang.

(I keep saying I don't care... and then I keep coming back for more. curiosity has gotten the better of me.)

[Rachel Peters]

...sigh.

the whole thing's made me a little sad now. poor guy.

[gav]

I don't really care, but it's minus 15 outside

'Truly odd' has never worked Fremantle festival, so I guess the fact that all those links go to his site is a mistake in his favour.
Could be Mr. Bunk, but I doubt it.
Could be me, but I've never worked Halifax.
Could be Arizona Jones, but i thought his name was Tim.
Could be an absolute sham, testimonials included.

[jesus]

I dont think that all of the links pointing to one place is part of the mystery, I think who ever did the web site just blew that one.
Arizona Jones real name is Tim and I dont think this would be his kind of gig.
Its not keeping me up at night but it is helping to pass the time.

[martin ewen]

Rumple?

????!

[Frisbee]

after much thought and research

I put my vote on Dado...

I have done a bit of looking to the posted email reply...took a few words that were said and used them as keys...I then used my thought of it being Dado and confirmed that he has done fremantle, waterloo and various other festivals...

I do not know if I am correct, but I would almost put money on it.

[Rachel Peters]

no no no... can't be.
I'm currently (like, right this second) illustrating rockin' stuff for Dado, and he'd totally use his own name, if he had written it.
and lots of pictures.
and fun stuff like free toys that came with the book.
And like Martin's future book, Dado's would also involve multiple chapters dedicated to poo jokes.

And I just don't think he has the time for aliases. He's too busy inventing.

That aside, linguistic behavior/speach patters differ so entirely between e-mails... He's just out. not him. no chance, man.

[newyorkstreetdean]

Dado says his name is Daniel, and I believe him.

The website seems to be leaning tword the magican side. Weird links to magic organizations, specific extra info about magic. And all of the wording seems like infomercial speak, which could easily be compared to magician speak.

Also, the book is related to "Flaming Torch Promotions". I checked and they also make a book about Beta fish (that really has nothing to do with anything). This operation seems to be out of Singapore, address: Thomson Road P.O. Box 41 SGP 915702.

Of the two names I could find anything on from the people quoted, Alan Soh seems to come up alot related to Singapore or Malaysia.

It seems to me that there is a stron connection to Singapore (but there are not many performers in Singapore I understand) and I would be really suprised if it is not a magician.

[nick nickolas]

Here's the reply I got from Shawn...
I just really want to know who this fire twirling magician is...
Hello Nick,

Sorry it took so long to reply. You won't believe the amount of emails i
get daily.

I've been performing for the past 9 years...i've performed in canada, US,
Japan, Singapore, India(not a place you want to busk), UK, etc.

I'm a juggler and i do some fire twirling too. I occasionally do some
magic since I started off performing magic. Juggling just seems more fun
to me.

I use Dube torches...I feel they are the best. Balanced and a really good
feel to it. I've tried Renegades and Beard...but still I like my Dubes. A
tip for you though...always try to get as much silver decorations on your
torches as possible. Colors may look pretty...but when your torches are
spinning in mid air...its the silver ones that really gleam and look
flashy. Makes the spins look faster than they are.

You can use Kerosene(paraffin) or just lighter fluid. I use
kerosene...because I use a lot of fuel. I've got 3 staffs, torches, poi,
etc. Lighter fluid just doesnt cut it...and costs a bomb.

In the end its up to you. One thing that all fuels have in
common...they're bad for health. Just breathing in the fumes is doing
damage to the body. I guess its a price to pay for being a performer.

Hope my info helped.

Shawn

[jesus]

Clues within?

Ok here is the text from another of Shawn's emailings.


"Hi Geoff,

Let me relate an incident to you. I was in Singapore about 3 to 4 years
ago for a buskers festival and I made friends with a street performer
there. His name is Arun...and we really hit it off and I actually
published my ebook with his event company.

Anyway, Arun, has an excellent way of getting members from the audience
to help him out with his act.

He tells them, "Ladies and gentlemen, I need 3 people to help me out
with my next act. We'll be giving away 3 prizes to these contestants. The
third prize is a candlelit dinner for 2, the second prize is a
dishwasher and the first prize is a back massager. So just come out, help us a
bit, take your prizes and get lost. This is our show!"

He never fails to get members who willingly volunteer...and trust me,
Arun, gets them to dance and do the most embarrassing moves...and they
do it...everyone laughs...and has a good time. At the end of the act,
the audience decides the order of winners by applause...this is when the
kicker comes in.

Arun says, "People...people...I've not had a very good year...so I had
to cut costs...and that means, your prizes. BUT...don't worry, I'll
give you what I promised"

For the third prize, "A Candlelit dinner for 2"...Arun gives the
volunteer 2 candles and tells them to provide their own dinner.

For the 2nd prize, "a dishwasher"...he gives the volunteer an ordinary
sponge...the rectangular yellow kind complete with the green top, so
often used to wash dishes.

And for the 1st prize, "a back massager"...he gives the winner a toilet
brush...the kind used to scrape the stains from your toilet bowl.

His act always gets lots of laughs and he is a natural. Getting
audience members to help you out with your act can be real tricky especially
in Asia...I've had a lot of difficulty myself, but this guy does it with
ease.

So why am I telling you all this?

For one reason. When I complimented Arun on his audience act, he said
thanks...but he also added that one other performer copies his routine
and performs it elsewhere. He found this out when a few other performers
told him that they saw another guy doing the exact same audience
routine. Imagine that!

Arun was bitter but he didn't do anything. I would have not been so
kind. It's appalling!

I just want to say this...Do NOT rip off another person's material. I
see this done all the time and it disgusts me. It really does. It's sad
that some performers who are supposed to be in the creative arts, are
too lazy to be creative.

You must think and shape your own act. That is the ultimate learning
process. Your unique identity and flavor will only come out if you
perform a show that is truly yours. Stealing material from another person is
downright pathetic.

If you really cannot think of anything, then get your ideas from others
and MODIFY them. Do not COPY the act wholesale.

Do not copy the another's personality, jokes, moves, etc. Be
yourself...BE YOU! People are there to watch you.

Well, I guess I gave my 2 cents worth on this topic. I really feel so
strongly about this. Ripping off material is too rampant these days.
It's got to end."

So who did Singapore 3 or 4 years ago? Who did this "killer" bit, and who complimented them on it?
This is all like a lame murder mystery. If we were kids playing a game I would want to be Magnum PI!
I also must say that I like the part in the email to NIck about silver on the tourches!

[gav]

for the sleuths amongst us

here you can find a list of the 2002 performers at the singapore busker fest.
Everybody sing
'who could it be now,
who could it be now,
who could it be knockng at my door
selling a book
I have no use for'

[Peter Voice]

My guess would be that English may be this person's second language unless perhaps he is Singaporean.

Sean spelled Shawn? Aaron spelled Arun?

[Rachel Peters]

on the jorb.

My deductive reasoning tells me that this is a man, 6 feet, 1 inches tall, with dusty blonde hair (and early, onset male pattern baldness). He has green/brown eyes. This "Shawn" was born in Denmark, but adopted and raised by a loving Japanese couple, named named Sven and Gerta Christiansen.
He has a severe curvature of the spine, and experiences a nervous tick in his left eye when he tells a mistruth. He's wall-eyed, has a 6 inch goiter shooting out of his neck, a hairy mole on the right side of his forehead (so large, it covers the entire right half of his forehead), and is missing all of his teeth, but the bottom front, right.

...and that's where I always get stumped.

Does anyone know any performers of this description?

[Doctor Eric]

douchebags are for...

Apparently Zoobie and Shawn know each other, why hasn't Zoobie piped up?

http://www.buskercentral.com/insights.php