OMG THERE’S BEEN A MURDA!
This quaint little village didn’t look like the type of place where a murder might occur, but decades of being on the beat had taught me that you should never judge a book by its cover, crime exists in every corner of our society.
I had seen these types of crimes many times before, but they never got any easier for me, I entered the house and my heart sank.
Forensics were everywhere and there was a large plastic sheet covering the entrance to the living room or as we say on the job: THE CRIME SCENE!
I had a good look around, searching for clues and potential murder weapons. Every floorboard creaked as I made my way up the stairs, making this particular scenario all the more harrowing.
There was clear signs of a struggle and the plastic sheets laid out around the home indicated that the killer may have premeditated the murder.
He (or She) probably lured the victim back from a Sauna in Sheffield or a Canadian Coffee shop, I whispered to my assistant.
Just as we entered the kill room…
What in the sweet name of Jiminy Cricket are you going on about now?
Sorry, my bad. I saw plastic sheets and got carried away!
Wait, so there really was a crime scene?
No, the plastic sheeting was there because Kaleb has builders in fixing his thermostat or something!
I think the thermostat’s in the boiler room actually!
I digress, we proceeded up the stairs to his Goffice.
His what?
His Goffice, it’s like an office only it’s gothic themed, you’ll not find any dead people or vampires, nothing like that. Just black walls, black furniture, an unhealthy number of skulls and some prototypes for his upcoming releases.
We jumped straight into it:
MB: Kaleb, I’d like to address the fact that you use a pseudonym; is there a reason why you don’t use your real name?
KW: Yes, there are three main reasons why I opted to use a pseudonym to release my creations to the community.
The first reason is; I am a private person by nature, so it creates a nice disconnect between my work and my personal life.
The second reason is; I’ve been performing professionally for about 10 years and I had a fear that when I’m performing my Frankenstein book test for example, anybody could google my real name and find my products.
Although they probably don’t know what a book test, L*** W*** or F**** B*** principle is, they will still know that I’m using a gimmicked book and that was a situation I never wanted to put myself in. The secrets of this amazing art form deserve to be protected.
Finally; I had no idea how well my creations would be received by the mentalism community and if my work wasn’t well received, I could have easily disappeared.
Fortunately, my initial creations were well received, and this gave me the passion to continue creating.
Also, it is worth noting that Kaleb Wade is not a random name that I plucked out of thin air. The name has three hidden meanings.
MB: Now that’s out of the way. Can you tell me how did you first become interested in Mentalism?
KW: Like most people I started in magic. As a young lad I did a few tricks, but it was around about the time when I first saw David Blaine on TV that I really fell in love with magic. I would bunk off school and go out onto the streets and just perform the same tricks I’d seen him perform but I didn’t know how his tricks were done so I had to make up my own methods to achieve the same effect.
Then Derren Brown hit the scene and that was my turning point!
MB: Looking at the products you’ve released and having seen you perform in social situations; your work seems well polished. Have you performed a lot?
KW: I spent about 10 years gigging. First as a magician/mentalist then once I’d switched to Mentalism, I became a full time Mentalist.
MB: How many gigs would you say you worked during those 10 years?
KW: I used to cherry pick my gigs and I was happy with just one or two a week.
The most I ever did was 16 gigs in a month. If I were to average it out, I would say about 50-60 gigs a year, that would be a healthy mixture of close up, parlour and stage shows.
MB: Do you still work as a full time Mentalist?
KW: No, I haven’t worked as a full-time performer since Covid-19 hit the world. When everything started to return to normal, I went back to performing again. But I was also creating effects at this point. I only returned on a part-time basis. I realised I was much happier not performing week in and week out.
I suffer with anxiety leading up to a gig, but strangely as soon as I arrive at an event all my nerves vanish. I think if I didn’t suffer so badly with pre-gig nerves, I would still be a full-time performer.
I still enjoying performing, but now it’s on my terms. My biggest realisation during the pandemic was that I enjoy creating a lot more than I do performing.
MB: What did your working set look like and what were your favourite effects to perform?
KW: Some of the ‘tricks’ I started off doing, I still do now. When I first started, I would do 21 different effects. I’d Walk around gigs like Buckaroo, I always had loads of stuff on me and I worked on the rule of 3. Which meant I’d only do 3 effects per table or group of people.
I soon condensed that down to 15, then to 12 and for the last few years of performing gigs I cut it down to 8 and I also stopped working on the rule of 3. I worked on the rule of 2 instead. So just 2 effects per table or group of people.
That way if people ask for it, I can give them more.
But also, I don’t want to bore people or hold them up any longer than needed.
My favourite effects to perform are a standard Invisible deck using my own presentation, a drawing duplication which has been in my act since the start of my career, and a book test which I still love to perform in any environment.
MB: Was it just weddings, or did you do perform at corporate events too?
KW: I’ve done all manner of gigs from weddings, birthday parties, house parties and corporate events. One of my favourite gigs was a stage show at a wedding.
In the corporate world, I’ve worked for the likes of UEFA, Liverpool football club, Manchester United football club, AXA and Stagecoach to name a few.
MB: Have you got any best and worst gig stories to share?
KW: A lot of the gigs have just merged into one, and some were better than others.
I’ve done some gigs where I’ve felt they didn’t go too well but later had positive feedback from either the booker or people that were there.
Whenever I get booked, I always say I will not work around music because I’m reading minds, people need to be able to hear me and I don’t perform around food because if it’s me against food there will only be one winner!
I will do those gigs, but I always try to deter the booker from having me perform at the same time as music or food. As I said earlier I cherry picked my gigs.
Sometimes I’d get a bad feeling about a gig, like the location or venue and those are the ones I wouldn’t take. I’ve even had nightclubs try to hire me and I’ve always said no because I wouldn’t want to put myself in a situation where I know I’m not going to perform at my best.
I’d always try to perform during the cocktail reception when guests are stood around socialising before the meal etc.
Mainly because people aren’t too drunk and it’s a pleasant atmosphere, making what I do the perfect ice breaker.
One of the worst things I’ve done at a gig was accidentally tripping up a waiter. I was booked for a charity event, the music was blaring, and everybody was seated eating food. I thought to myself; “Well I’m here now, I will try and make the best of a bad situation”.
I was doing my invisible deck routine and one of the gentlemen sat at the table was speaking to me. Although I couldn’t really hear what he was saying, I did lip read him and he was trying to say he couldn’t hear me.
I went down on my knees, so I was at his eye level. Anyway, I was part way through my routine when suddenly I felt a terrible crushing pain on my calves.
A waiter was walking past with soup and bread rolls, stepped on my calves and face planked onto the floor, there was soup and bread rolls everywhere. I felt terrible but then the gentleman who had earlier said he couldn’t hear me said “Bloody hell mate, that’s some misdirection you’ve got!”
Another time I was at a wedding, and somebody approached me with his hand extended ready to greet me, I immediately said “Kaleb” as I extended my hand, he looked absolutely gobsmacked and said, “How did you know my name?”
The first gig I ever did was at a well known local restaurant, I was booked to do a couple of nights over the Christmas period. The first night I was really nervous, everything felt like it was going wrong. My hands were shaking, and it was such a nerve-wracking experience that I wanted to give up. But I’m a very determined person. I went home after the gig, looked at myself in the mirror and said; “That will never happen again”.
I went back to restaurant the next evening and everything went great, I felt totally relaxed and was getting standing ovations from the tables. It was a fantastic experience and I still rate it as one of the best gigs I’ve ever done.
My worst ever gig, I remember vividly because my mum died the next day.
Everything was going wrong from the start. I heard someone saying, “He’s not very good is he”. And I was even accused of using the mirrors on the walls to peek information. It was a terrible gig that but the saddest part about this gig was; I would always debrief with my mum after my gigs and now I couldn’t.
I would tell her what went well or wrong, and she would give me feedback.
I would show her my effects and she’d tell me what she liked and what she didn’t like.
My mum was my Andy Nyman, I dedicate my style of Mentalism to my mum.
She loved magic but hated mentalism, because at first I was performing long-winded effects with too many mental gymnastics. She told me the magic was better because it was quick, snappy and easier to follow.
She would actually say to me “Listen lad, you’re boring me to tears with this trick, speed it up!”
This is when I realised that some people don’t have a lot of time.
I’m not saying don’t take your participant on a journey.
But don’t turn a 3-minute routine into 10-minutes.
So, my style of Mentalism developed with influence from my mum and Bob Cassidy.
It was because of my mum that I started doing what is now known as Kalebian Kickers. Snappy, punchy mentalism!
My ethos is: if you can put a kicker into an effect, then why not do that?
MB: Have you got any advice for people who want to start doing paid performances?
KW: Build a website because that’s the world we live in now. Put flyers in bridal shops and join a few agencies, once you start performing, you’ll find that a lot of your gigs come from word of mouth.
It will start off slow and gradually build up, before you know it your calendar will be full.
Stagecoach used to book me every year for 2 events. One in Manchester and one in Liverpool. That was 2 guaranteed bookings every year, I knew I could potentially get more gigs from those events and I always did.
The main advice I can give to anyone is: Just do it!
Get out there and do it, what’s the worst that can happen?
Nobody is going to die if you’re not performing at your best.
Yea, you might trip a waiter up, but it doesn’t matter if you have a bad day at the office so to speak. There’s always a next time.
Here’s another thing; Don’t ever be scared of making mistakes, I love making mistakes, that’s how my routines get better. Obviously at the time I don’t enjoy making mistakes but when I look back at it, I realise how those mistakes have helped me to evolve as a performer and a creator.
Don’t wait until your acts ready before putting yourself out there. You’ll be waiting a long time for your act to be ready because it will never be ready.
You just have to make sure it’s solid enough. As I said earlier, I work with 8 effects, in groups of 2. You could quite easily make a living from 6 effects, 3 if you really wanted to!
MB: That’s great, and what about people who are already earning a living from performing, have you got any advice for them?
KW: I have a few tips: First and foremost, do not make it all about you.
Don’t be a show off, it doesn’t come across well.
Nobody likes a smart ass!
If your participant isn’t following along very well, don’t tell them they’ve messed you up, it won’t change anything. At this point the routine has already failed and making someone else feel stupid will not help you as a performer.
Just make sure to choose your next participant wisely.
There’s no such thing as a bad spectator only a bad magician/mentalist.
This is why all my routines are quite straightforward, for example: Draw on this card, I’ll duplicate it. Think of a playing card, I’ll tell you what card you’re thinking of. Think of a celebrity, I’ll reveal your thought of celebrity.
I want all my routines to be quick and to the point, because the more instructions you give someone, the bigger the chance that they won’t be able to follow along.
MB: What qualities do you think a good mentalist should possess?
KW: A good mentalist should be well rehearsed and a competent performer.
I’ve always been a big fan of scripting. Even though a lot of my gigs were close up, it was all scripted. I used the same lines pretty much all the time. Obviously, I’d ad lib but there was certain lines I’d use that would always get me a desired response.
We shouldn’t think of ourselves as a magician or a mentalist because that’s not primarily what we are, we’re entertainers above all else. Entertainment should always come first because if you’re not entertaining, then why are you doing it?
People think I’m weird when I say I’m not interested in methods. Methods just don’t bother me; Nobody should see the method anyway! Don’t get me wrong, I do get excited when I come up with a new one. But once I’ve got the method down, I don’t give it a second thought.
The only thing that matters is the entertainment factor.
I also think some people forget to be polite and you want to come across as a likeable person. People are paying you quite a lot of money, don’t go there with a bad attitude. Do whatever you can for your clients. Do the best job you can do.
MB: I know you had a stage show at one time. Can you tell me more about it?
KW: Yes, so I had a stage show which I named after my mum, I think most magicians and mentalists want to have their own stage show at some point in their life.
My show was a bucket list thing, it took about 2 years to bring it to life because Covid hit. I loved the creative process and my mentalism releases were still in their infancy.
A few people helped me with the show, my wife was my biggest helper. She’s always been supportive throughout my whole journey.
The other people that helped me out were; Scott Daley, who is a really smart thinker and Bazz from Black Cat Magic threw some golden nuggets my way. The thing with Bazz is; he’s very knowledgeable and really good at coming up with methods. Oh and he’s a boss wrestler too!
I really wanted to do it for my mum as she never got to see it. The sentiment was: Although we lose people, we can still keep their memory alive.
The capacity of the theatre was 108 people, probably half of those were family and friends. The other half was a mix of ex clients and strangers. I sat all the people I knew at the back and only the people I didn’t know were used to participate. Even though those people had never met my mum and will never get to meet her, they still shared in that experience with me.
Music also played a massive part in my show.
MB: Have you got any plans to do another show?
KW: Actually, I do, and the show is already written up.
When I was writing my first show, there was stuff that I wanted to use but some of it was quite similar, so I left it out.
Another cool thing about my original show was; Every other effect was ‘spectator as mind reader’ because I didn’t want it to be all about me.
Originally, I was going to tour my last show, but life has a funny habit of getting in the way! My next stage show will be dedicated to my Nan, but first I’d like to give my original show another run.
I only performed my original show once, I feel like it deserves another run and even though I got a standing ovation at the end, there’s a couple of things I think I could’ve done better.
Also, it’d be nice to honour my mum again.
MB: You seem to only ever wear black clothing, is there a reason for that?
KW: I’m into metal/screamo, music’s always been a massive part of my life and I think music can dictate fashion.
I’m also colour blind, and I don’t want to think about which colours to wear. With black clothing, I know I’m safe. I don’t have to worry about wearing oddsocks!
Even as a kid; I think I was about 3 or 4, I’d be able to recite full songs and whenever we had family or friends’ round, my mum would have me sing for them and they’d be amazed at how I knew all the words to certain songs. So music’s always played a massive part in my life.
MB: Would you say you’re a born performer?
KW: If I’m being honest when I was younger, I was quite cocky and a bit of a show off. Now I’m a weird mix of introvert and extrovert.
MB: In an industry that seems to be governed by egos, how do you manage to keep yourself so grounded and humble?
KW: My mum was my biggest influence in life, and she always wanted to do the right thing. Her morals and ethics stayed with me, she really was the perfect role model for me. My wife and I volunteered at an animal sanctuary last year and there was quote that read; Be kind it’s easy, and that is so true.
In my first couple of eBooks, I put a quote on the back page which read; Be kind to all kind. I’m also a big believer in treating people how you’d like to be treated. Basically, I have too much of a conscious so I always try my best to be nice to everybody.
MB: Who inspires you in mentalism?
KW: I don’t really hero worship but there are a few people that I do look up to. Bob Cassidy along with David Hoy have really inspired me. One of my regrets is that I never got to interact with Bob, I like to think if I was creating effects when Bob was still around, that we would have got along well.
Some modern-day mentalists that I admire are Paul Brook and Marc Paul.
MB: What was it about Bob Cassidy that inspired you?
KW: I loved his style of mentalism, to me it looked real. It was all test conditions mentalism.
One thing that really winds me up is the number of mentalists that are like clones of Derren Brown. I think they’re missing a trick because how can anybody be Derren Brown? Derren Brown is already taken!
I’m all for embracing our oddness. Go to Blackpool magic convention and look around, it’s a crazy mixture of people but every one of us is the same in a weird way. Obviously we’re all individuals but we all share the same interests, and that interest is: A LOVE OF WONDER!
This love of wonder transcends mentalism and magic.
MB: How did you become affiliated with Black Cat Magic?
KW: Well, I’ve always been a loner in the industry, not so much now, but for the first 6 years of my performing career, I’d never even met another magician.
I’ve always done everything myself. I never asked for help with my website, designing my business cards or anything, I was completely self-reliant.
Meeting Bazz of BCM was something of a happy accident really.
I used to buy imp foil from Paralabs, then for whatever reason they stopped selling it and in a hunt for some new Imp foil, I found BCM.
I ordered from them and Bazz sent me a message saying “Hey, you’re only about 20 minutes away from where I live.” A few days later we met up in a local pub, had a bit of a jamming session and within a few months I’d released my first Kaleb Wade product. I really appreciate Bazz as he helped get my name as a creator out there. I bounced a lot of ideas off him, and he was invaluable in getting my products released. I’ve always been a creative person and I think deep down I always knew I’d be a creator.
MB: To date, how many products have you released?
KW: I’ve released 12 products, I planned my 13th release to be my book ‘Blessed by Demons’. But it’s been delayed by about 2 years. I keep coming up with new ideas and adding them to the book. I’ve come up with some new effects recently and they’ll be getting released very soon.
MB: Have you got a release date for your book?
KW: I’ve stopped putting a date on it now, I’m having some renovation work done at home and I have a full-time job too. As I said earlier; I’m still creating and adding to the book all the time, it’s moving along nicely now. The release date could possibly be sometime next year. But I want to get it right, just so I know people are getting real value out of it.
MB: I know everybody’s creative process is different, can I have a sneaky peek into yours?
KW: I don’t always write my ideas down. Most of my creations just stay in my head. I have a few techniques I use but I don’t really have a traditional creative process. I’m just a big believer in anything is possible.
If I have an idea for an effect, I don’t usually have a solution for it. I just know that I’ll get there. I don’t even need to be in the mood to be creative I have a technique I use called The boiling kettle. My kettle takes around 5-10 minutes to boil, so if I’m waiting for the kettle I don’t just stand around waiting for it, I’ll be thinking of ideas and bouncing them around my head.
I can look outside, see somebody walking past and be inspired.
Another technique I devised to help with the creative process is an essay in my book which I call; ‘Imagine the legends are watching’
I’ll briefly tell you about it here:
I imagine I’m up on stage, even if it’s a close up routine, on the front row of the audience there’s: Bob Cassidy, David Hoy, Paul Brook, Marc Paul, Andy Nyman and Derren Brown. These are all people that I respect in the industry.
Now if I’m using one of the legends techniques, I imagine what they’ll think. Have I done a good job with it? Have I fooled them? Will they like what I’ve done with the routine? So, if it doesn’t pass that test, I won’t put it out.
Because I’ve performed at that many gigs, I knew my routines worked, they were tried and tested. This is why I don’t like long winded effects because they can easily go wrong. I’ve never really performed other people’s effects, I’ve always just created my own. My first couple of gigs I did use other people’s tricks, but since switching to mentalism I’ve always created my own.
When I perform now, everything is my own creation and that feels great, I have a real sense of triumph knowing I’ve entertained someone using my own effects.
That’s my creative process in a nutshell.
I also have my E5 system for when I’m creating.
MB: What’s the E5 system?
KW: The E5 system is 5 stipulations I have for any effect:
Is it Energetic? (quick)
Is it Effortless? (for the performer)
Is it Easy? (for everyone to follow along)
Is there an Explanation? (no way it can be backtracked)
And most importantly:
Is it Entertaining? (if it’s not entertaining, there’s no point in doing it)
MB: How do find the time to do all the necessary research required when you’re creating effects?
KW: Here’s another thing that I do, and this will help a lot of people. I mentioned the boiling kettle earlier. I have at least 2 cups of coffee a day so let’s just say that’s 10 minutes every day, add it up and over a year that’s roughly about 60 hours. Turn dead time into being productive!
People have more time than what they think.
I have a full-time job; I’m renovating my home and have other projects on the go, and I still find the time to be creative.
I’d like everyone reading this interview to go onto your mobile phone and check your screentime, look at how much time you spend doom scrolling on social media. You’ll find that most people will waste approximately 5 hours a day. Now imagine cutting your screen time in half.
If you waste 5 hours a day on your phone, you’ve immediately given yourself 2 and a half hours every day, over a year this is around 900 hours.
If you really want to do something, you’ll just find the time.
I absolutely adore mentalism, it’s the thing that keeps me going a lot of the time. After my mum passed, I didn’t even want to perform again, I took a short break but I missed it and when I started performing again, it really helped me through the grief. I owe a lot to mentalism because it really helped me through some tough times.
MB: You recently completed your first round of lectures; how do you think they went?
KW: I think they went well because I got a lot of positive feedback. But at the same time, I know I could have done some things better. I feel as though I could have been more polished. There were 1 or 2 things I forgot to mention about certain effects however, if I keep going over the same things in my own head I’ll probably go mad.
So overall, I’d say they were a success, and a lot of people came to buy my products after the lectures, so they must have liked what they saw.
MB: You mentioned earlier that you’ve built websites and done some graphic design work. What led to you learning these skills?
KW: I don’t want to rely on other people. If I want a business card, I want to be able to design it myself. If I want something changed on my website, I don’t want to wait for somebody else to do it for me. I suppose I’m quite impatient and I’ve never liked waiting around for other people to do the things I can do for myself. I enjoy being self-reliant.
I used to have my own T-shirt business, and this takes us back to my statement earlier of ‘anything is possible’
I wanted to start my own T-shirt business. I came up with a name for it, I went and bought an apple mac and I had absolutely no idea how to do graphic design, I just learnt on the go. I wanted to do it, so I did it!
The T-shirt business failed but I’m so glad that I did it because I learnt how to build a website and graphic design skills.
Today I’m in control of all the design work that goes into my products.
Everything has led to this point, I’ve performed at approximately 500 gigs and with that experience I know what works in the real world and what doesn’t.
Sometimes people will scoff at your dreams or ideas but don’t ever let anyone clip your wings. EVER!
Nobody can tell you what you can or can’t do.
Surround yourself with good people.
Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.
Remember: Anything is possible!
MB: What do you like to do outside of mentalism?
KW: I’m quite a simplistic person, I like spending quality time with my wife, my family and catching up with friends (usually in a pub). I enjoy live music. My wife and I love spending time with animals.
I can sometimes be a hermit, but this is usually when I’m creating.
MB: Is your love of animals the reason you went vegan?
KW: I’m an altruistic vegan, which means, I’m doing it solely for the animals.
But on the flip side of this, I now get to benefit from this lifestyle, I’m healthier than I’ve ever been and my food choices are much better for the environment.
The reason I became a vegan is because I used to have 2 Guinea pigs called Luke & Leon. They’ve since passed away, but one day Leon was sat on my knee, I was stroking his head and his eyes were rolling, and he was so content.
I looked at him and thought oh my god, they eat you in Peru. I realised at that point that I was a hypocrite and I’ve never eaten meat since.
All animals are individuals with their own personalities and every animal has the same desire to live as you, me and our beloved pets.
Animals don’t have a voice, so I’d like to be their voice!
MB: What’s next for Kaleb Wade?
KW: I’m going to finally finish and release my book; Blessed by Demons.
I have loads of other mentalism creations that I want to make a reality over the coming years. I’m going to do more lectures and finally I’ll continue being a voice for the animals.
We wrapped up the interview and Kaleb shared some great ‘tricks’ with me, some of which will be available to buy from him very soon.
For more information about Kalebs products, head over to his website:
BE KIND TO ALL KIND
Ryan
Fascinating read, thanks.