What I’ve learned from Rob Zabrecky is that magic, at its best, is the highest art form. The great magician writes, produces, directs, and performs, bringing the audience into a world where the rules of reality dissolve.
It was an honor to sit down with one of my heroes.
For context: Rob Zabrecky spent the first decade of his creative life as a full-time musician, fronting the band Possum Dixon, before dedicating himself to the magical arts. Today, he tours the world performing, acting, and lecturing on the history of spook shows and séances, while also hosting his own performances in the Magic Castle’s legendary Houdini Séance Room. His autobiography Strange Cures tells the story of his stranger-than-fiction coming of age and his transformation into the artist we now know as Zabrecky. It’s an essential read and one I reference throughout our conversation.
ABOUT ROB
Rob Zabrecky is a Los Angeles-born magician, actor, author, lecturer, and musician known for his darkly comedic, theatrical style. LA Weekly once called him “one of LA’s most interesting natives.” His work spans film, television, stage, and lecture halls. His 2019 memoir Strange Cures (Rothco Press) captures his coming-of-age in 1970s–1990s Los Angeles. The LA Times described it as “a punk poem to a forgotten Los Angeles.”
A celebrated magician, Zabrecky has performed worldwide and earned seven Academy of Magical Arts awards. For 17 years, he has hosted séances in the Magic Castle’s Houdini Séance Room, blending eerie storytelling with sleight of hand as a theatrical spirit medium. On screen, he’s appeared in A Ghost Story, A Desert, Lost River, and Strange Angel. In the 1990s, he fronted the indie band Possum Dixon, releasing three albums on Interscope Records and leaving a lasting mark on the LA music scene.
ABOUT VIVI
Vivi Henriette is a Los Angeles-based astrologer and tarot reader whose collaborative approach to divination weaves together storytelling and mythology, creating a space for clients to explore their personal narratives. She hosts the Los Angeles Astro Salon at the Philosophical Research Society, the podcast TALKTALKTALK, and co-organizes LA Astro Fest.
