Issue date: 4/12/07 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: Courtesy of shwood.com Fire eating is one part of Brian Brushwood's Bizarre Magic Show. He performed on campus April 15.

The UWF auditorium was a scene of blood, ghosts, demons, sharp objects and pain as shock magician Brian Brushwood took the center stage April 5 to amaze the student body.
Brian Brushwood took the illusion of gore and pain, mixed it with stage blood, and added a lot of college humor to sweeten his act into a unique magic show. His unorthodox antics appeared to capture the students in attendance to watch his Bizarre Magic Show.
His program, which is a peculiar fusion of grotesque stunts and humor, includes loud music to dazzle the crowd, cartoon animation on his backdrops and projectors and screens to illustrate illusions. "Very Hollywood," if you ask Will Damato, 18, who attended the show.
"It seems very theatrical; more like a Las Vegas show than a comedy skit," Damato said.
But that is to be expected, as Brushwood has entertained people from ABC, FOX, and CNN; performed for people like Jay Leno, Steve Harvey and Roseanne; won numerous awards as an entertainer and toured with country music sensations Brooks and Dunn and Rascal Flatts. He has even produced two books and a DVD.
But in spite if his nationwide fame, he likes touring colleges
"I love the college crowd. They are smart and sharp, and it is very fulfilling as a performer to be able to reach this crowd," Brushwood said.
He has been touring colleges full time for seven years now and never gets bored with his routine.
He also never gets bored with his haircut, which almost creates as much buzz as his show.
For seven years, he has had extremely spiky hair, leaving audiences laughing and asking why he has such a ridiculous haircut.
"I asked a random stylist to make my hair like Guile off of Street Fighter II," Brushwood said. "I wanted to see how the audience would react. It got a rise out of my audience members, and it also gave me a more distinct character on stage, different from the rest of the magicians out there."
However, with his crazy hair or without it, Brushwood stands out from other magic performers.
Brushwood's genre of magic usually shocks the audience into a frenzy of intrigue or disgust. Common tricks in his act include eating razor blades, putting a needle through an arm or a skewer through the tongue.

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