A DeKalb native is returning home to charm the community.
“I have here a deck of standard playing cards. It's true. You can trust me,” said Magician James Ember as he does a magic trick over Zoom.
Ember goes by James the Magician. The magic man fell in love with this mystic practice in kindergarten when his gym teacher showed him a card trick.
“And I really liked it,” he said. “So, I asked him after class where he learned it, and he told me about a shop that was open at the time in Rockford called Magic Manor.”
That place is closed now but this is where Ember’s journey began. Ember said his mother loves folk music. A festival in Rockford gave him the opportunity to go visit it. That day his mother bought him a Riverboat Rich Magic Kit. That is also the day he met Richard Gough. Gough was the store’s owner and Ember’s first trainer. Ember said this is where he learned sleight of hand, which some refer to as quick fingers.
“Card magic evolved from gambling cheaters. Ember explained.” “So, one of the oldest books on learning sleight of hand is actually a book on how to cheat at cards and in magic, we just call it Erdnase. Nobody actually knows who the real author was.”
Ember said the magic shop was unique because the owner knew the ins and outs of everything he sold. Ember said whenever he got the opportunity to go to Rockford he stopped by the shop and took classes.
He practiced the craft by performing at school, kids’ parties and other DeKalb events.
“I used to perform at the YMCA there," he said, "and then, when it moved over to the Convocation Center, I was performing there for quite a number of years. That was the longest running regular event.”
He did this event for almost three decades.
Ember's brother also contributes to the enchantment. His brother owns a construction company and has helped him build mechanisms that he uses on stage. And the fun doesn't stop there.
"At Hopkins Park out there, as a tribute to Houdini, I did a suspended straitjacket escape," he said. "And it just so happened that the Brian had a crane, and so we tied my ankles to the to the cherry picker, part of the crane, and hoisted me 40 feet in the air from my ankles while I was in a straitjacket and 100 feet of rope, and we recreated one of Houdini's great escapes."
Ember also loved ceramics. He studied art at Kishwaukee College. During that time, he worked for a pizza place. He fell in love with cooking. He continued his education at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
The trickster helped open a pizzeria in his new state. It turned into a chain of restaurants, and he became the operations director. He said the 60-hour week position was stressful.
“I was approaching the age of 40," he said. "I was about three years away from 40, four years away from 40, and I was kind of saying to myself, you know, I'd hate to turn 40 and say, 'I wonder what would have happened if I tried.' And so, I didn't want to wonder anymore. So, I put in my notice. It was about nine months’ notice.”
Ember started doing magic full-time work eight years ago. He said his business experience helps him make a living as a performance artist. He teaches young magicians and occasionally takes part in magic competitions.
This illusionist said his goal is to lift people up but not literally. He’s a part of the Las Vegas Mystery School. He said this group shares his same purpose.
“Too often," he said, "you may see magicians that brings people on stage and kind of use them as a prop and make them kind of the butt of a joke. And it's really unfortunate, because nobody wants to go to a show and leave feeling bad.”
He said he believes people should feel good after volunteering to come on stage and help the artist. He lectured magicians about this and also wrote an article for Vanish Magazine.
Ember said he thinks that magic is an art that everyone should learn because constant mistakes will make you resilient.
“Even if it's just one, I'll just say easy card trick," he said. "You know, some, some beginner card trick, just because this, the satisfaction of it working is, is awesome.”
And he's ready to share that feeling — and his skills — with a hometown audience. And he promises to bring back his Plexiglass trick.
"I've been working on this trick since probably 1995 and it's just clean now," he said. "It's just, it's such a strong trick, and I can do it at competitions. And, you know, even though magicians know how it works, they have no idea how it works."
Ember will perform at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18 at the DeKalb Public Library. Admission is free.
