Project 365 (181/365): Daniel Garcia

.:181/365: Daniel Garcia:.

I figured that since these two are a loveteam of some sort, it would be best to follow up Wayne Houchin with Daniel Garcia.

Now, Daniel Garcia is, like Wayne, fairly popular in the magic community, and has a plethora of effects that he came up with over time. Just watching all three volumes of The Daniel Garcia Project should already clue you in as to how prolific a mind Mr. Garcia really is.

Granted, the man has a few clunkers like “Fallen,” but on the average, his material is generally top-notch, and always well-performed and well-taught. Heaven knows I’ve seen enough pretenders on YouTube who try to teach a Daniel Garcia effect and end up doing it very poorly. I’m also a fan of the fact that he’s brilliant and quick-witted enough to actually do an improv card story routine (that’s not safe for work, so I’d rather not put it up here) without a moment’s hesitation. I’ve seen how he works, and how he thinks, and there is no limit to this man’s creativity.

Like Wayne Houchin, Daniel Garcia has several routines that I personally use, and really, with a library of reputation makers as extensive as his, it’s hard not to find something I could perform, such as, well, Kaos.

What I think makes me admire Daniel Garcia as a performer and as a thinker is that he definitely is no slouch on both fronts, and doesn’t make the effect about himself. He’s willing to let a routine do the talking for him, rather than overpower it with his antics, much in the way that Jay Sankey is sometimes guilty of. At the same time, DG’s sense of humor is very catchy, and light-hearted. That’s definitely a plus, as his humor doesn’t feel very contrived and flows very well with the rest of his work.

So all in all, here’s a big “thank you” to DG as well, who surprised me recently when I discovered that he has already made the jump to Theory 11 as well.