Smash Magic Tour in full swing.

March 31st, 2013

The 2013 Smash Magic Tour started 10 days ago in Bear Creek, North Carolina. It took a short break for the YFC Impact Conference in Ocean City, MD and the Eggtravaganza in Indianapolis. Tomorrow morning we head out for the west coast & Texas leg of the tour:

4/5 Gilbert, AZ Sun Valley Community Church
4/6 Carlsbad, CA Daybreak Church
4/7 Long Beach, CA Family Church Signal Hill Campus
4/9 Anna, TX Pin Oaks Christian Fellowship
4/10 Decatur, TX Victory Family Church Decatur
4/11 Crandall, TX Central Baptist Church
4/12 Kingwood, TX Strawbridge UMC

Tickets can be purchased at smashmagic.com/tour/

 

New Video

February 5th, 2013

Hey gang here is our new promo video. It was shot over three days during the Freedom Experience in Keller, TX. David Altizer is the brains & talent behind the cameras. He also did all the post production. If you ever need any video work, he is the guy to go to. vimeo.com/davealtizer We’re pleased with the direction he took in overlaying a message on top of the footage. Enjoy!

 

Freedom Experience

August 28th, 2012

Hey guys Freedom Experience is invading Keller, Texas this week. Kristen and I are honored to be sharing the stage and ministering with Pro Skateboarder Tim Byrne, hip hop & speaker CZ, strongman Dennis Rogers, artist Eric Timm, bands The Afters & Bldg 429 and Rapture Ruckus. Shows are Wednesday, Thursday & Friday nights.

We’re all doing school assemblies during the day then collectively putting forth a powerful show & message each night. Kristen will be doing some aerial stunts and her full view water torture cell.

I’m speaking two of the nights. Wednesday night will be ‘When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.’ Thursday night will be ‘Courage and Conviction.’

Check out Freedom Experience on Facebook for more info. See you there!

On The Road

July 6th, 2012

Kristen and I are 3 days into our summer tour. We passed through Salt Lake City to pick up some gear from our newest sponsor. We’ll share more about them next week.

We are in AZ now with three shows this coming Sunday July 8, at Impact Church Kristen Johnson, recognized as the World’s Premier Female Escape Artist will be attempting her Full View Water Torture Cell three times Sunday morning. The show opens with a big surprise, so don’t be late.

Monday we head to CA and pick up two of our stuntmen and our director. As you know we also produce a Stunt Show. 50′ high falls to a stunt airbag. The best part about Movie Stunt Adventure, is in between shows, You’re The Star.  Our back lot turns into a stunt school where you can train with us and learn to do high falls yourself. It’s a huge rush. In fact our motto is: IF YOU’RE NOT LIVING ON THE EDGE, YOU’RE TAKING UP TOO MUCH SPACE.

 

Sometimes The Answers Are Right In Front Of Us

June 18th, 2012

7 Secrets of Success That I Found Right In My Room:

Roof said: Aim high
Fan said: Be cool
Clock said: Every minute counts
Mirror said: Reflect before you act
Calendar said: Be up to date
Window said: See the world
Door said: Push hard to achieve your goals

LADY HOUDINI TO PERFORM AT FINAL STAMPEDE GAME

April 6th, 2012

BOISE, Idaho, April 3, 2012 – Ridgeway & Johnson, the international touring duo featuring the World’s Premier Female Escape Artist, Kristen Johnson, a.k.a Lady Houdini, will attempt the World’s Only Full View Water Torture Cell Escape for the halftime show during the Idaho Stampede-Bakersfield Jam game, April 7 at CenturyLink Arena. The game begins at 7 p.m. (MST).

This will be Johnson’s second time coming to Boise, as she performed in the Ridgeway & Johnson show on their own stage for a standing room-only crowd during the Western Idaho Fair back in 2007.

Lady Houdini is inching closer to breaking Harry Houdini’s record for the most Water Torture Cell escapes ever performed, which historians and magic aficionados worldwide estimate to be just over 1,000. Her attempt in Boise will be Lady Houdini’s 976th attempt. This year also marks the 100-year anniversary of Houdini’s first Water Torture Cell Escape, which took place on September 21, 1912 at the Circus Busch in Berlin, Germany.

The escape consists of Lady Houdini holding her breath under water for up to 3 minutes, 18 seconds while she methodically picks padlocks, handcuffs and leg shackles that hold her in the water cell. She has struggled twice, and during one performance, she suffered a hypoxic seizure. She has only been denied the escape three times out of 975 public attempts.

Nashville Rocked!

February 25th, 2012

Kristen and I were in Nashville, TN over the weekend. We were doing a showcase for NRB, National Religious Broadcasters, at the beautiful Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. It was a great opportunity for us, along with the other ministries & performers that Reach Your City represents, to showcase what we do and how we can help make an impact across the country. Kristen performed her Full View Water Torture Cell twice to a breathless audience. Gresham, Tim & Natasha with Reach Your City did an incredible job putting this showcase together. The Gaylord Opryland Resort is a must see if you have not been there before. It truly feels like you’re outside.
Thank you to NRB for letting us be a part of this great convention. We look forward to next year!

Opryland at Night

Hot Hearts Beaumont, TX

January 24th, 2011

Hot Hearts in Beaumont, TX was an incredible youth conference. 5500 teens from Texas filled Ford Park Arena. The event featured speaker Clayton King, funny man Kacy Benson, Christian Stanfill, rapper Tedashii, Family Force 5 and yours truly, Living Illusions.

Kristen kicked of the event with her aerial stunt. She wrangled herself free from a straitjacket while upside down at about 30 feet in the air. Next she pulled herself up and released her feet from the footloops holding her in place. Now hanging by her hands, she let go and did a High Fall to an awaiting stunt airbag. Christian Stanfill led worship for both days. It was moving and got everyone praising God together.

Clayton King really brought home the message. Throughout Friday & Saturday over 1000 came forward and gave their life to Christ. Kacy made people laugh till their sides hurt. Together Kristen and I did several illusions. Kristen also did her Rope Tie piece where she ended up with a gentleman’s jacket on underneath the ropes and knots he had just tied himself. I brought my straitjacket out for a comedy bit. Sorry about the $50 guys.

Family Force 5 rocked the house Friday night. They are good friends of ours and it was great seeing them and catching up. Solomon really knows how to work the crowd. They had them in a frenzy.

Saturday morning we got serious and talked about people’s lives. A teen named Tyrin came up and I hope he never forgets what transpired on that stage. Remember, When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

The afternoon session started and it was time for Kristen’s Full View Water Torture Cell. This was her 893rd attempt. She did great, the crowd was eerily quiet, then erupted with a standing ovation as she escaped that watery grave. The crowd was loud and it was humbling to see the outpouring of appreciation from the crowd. After the water cell I gave the message ‘You’re The Love of My Life’. The true story of Kristen’s incident in the water cell 4 years ago, the extra time I had with my father before he passed away and how God wants to use us, in spite of our failures. Wrapping the message up with my coke can illustration seemed the perfect way to drive the message home to everyone.

Tedashii closed the conference Saturday afternoon with an impressive performance. The bass was thumping, his lyrics were right on target and the crowd was really into it. He reminds me of rapper LG Wise. I talked with him after the show. He’s legit and I hope our paths cross again this year.

Thanks to Adam, Reed, John, both Micah’s, Lee, Andrew, Cindy with Ford Park and everyone else I forgot for helping make the weekend a huge success! You guys made our job easy and we greatly appreciate each of you. To the teens and youth leaders…you guys are awesome. The outpouring of love & support in just the past 2 hours on Facebook has been overwhelming. We love you guys. Texas ROCKS!!!

Kevin coke can

God, Family, Stryper
Peace out,
Kevin & Kristen

Can’t Get Enough of Ridgeway & Johnson

August 26th, 2010

WOW…what a very humbling and incredible review we got while performing at the Kentucky State Fair. The following is from the office of public relations for the Kentucky Expo Center.

http://kystatefair.tumblr.com/

There are things that we, as collective humans, come across that make us happy, sad, cry tears of joy, shout expletives, nervous, cry tears of panic. Normally, we are in no place to experience this cavalcade of emotions. We are having a bad day. We are busy. We are in a hurry. We are here just for a good time. These things touch our lives and we never forget.

I wrote this immediately after walking out of today’s 3:00 p.m. Ridgeway and Johnson show. As you bloggers are aware, we, the blog writers, are people too. We like things. We dislike things. We love things. We hate things.

We, or I, love Ridgeway and Johnson.

The show is to be experienced, not reviewed for entertainment quality. Yet, regarding entertainment, this show had it all. Audience participation, humor, ridiculously awesome tricks (sorry, but “ridiculously awesome” just kept popping up as I watched the show three times) and a show finale showstopper guaranteed to make you look at your watch and look up… look at your watch and shake your head.

The entire show is a showcase of every illusion, magic trick, card ruse and the classic “stuff-a-pretty-girl-into-a-box-that-my-3-month-old-son-would-struggle-to-fit-in.”

The 3:00 p.m. show ended in a fashion befitting $100 seats at the MGM Grand (in Las Vegas). Kristen Johnson, the world’s premier and only current female water torture cell escape, performed her signature trade. Bound with two Smith & Wesson shackles and padlocks galore, Johnson jumped into the 140 gallon tank on a single breath, but not before a simple, quiet moment with her husband (the other half of their name, Kevin Ridgeway). One cuff at a time, Johnson removed her shackles.

Let’s not leave any room for disbelief. Every single second that passed by, as a spectator, was gruesome. I felt for her. I longed to leap out of my seat at every wince and grab an ax to bust her out. But quietly and with a couple shakes of her head, Johnson managed to ease closer to taking her next breath.

I won’t spoil the end because it simply cannot be missed. It cannot be described effectively enough.

Memorial Day Prayer

May 29th, 2010

Dear Heavenly Father,

As we remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, we think of how they have followed in the footsteps of your son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Please hold our service men and women in your strong arms. Cover them with your sheltering grace and presence as they stand in the gap for our protection.

We also remember the families of our troops, and ask for your unique blessings to fill their homes and your peace, provision and strength to fill their lives.

May the members of our armed forces be filled with courage to face each day and may they trust in the Lord’s mighty power to accomplish each task. Let our military brothers and sisters feel our love and support.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.