See full article on Las Vegas Weekly:
http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/blogs/luxe-life/2008/nov/24/strip-scribbles-motley-crues-world-tour-schedule-k/

The self-described “bad boys of hypnosis,” Michael Johns and Terry Stokes, celebrate a milestone tonight (Thursday) with their 2,000th show — now the longest continually running hypnosis production in Vegas. And for the first time ever, they will put each other “under!” Since landing here in early 2001, Terry and Michael have bounced around at five different venues — but never skipped a night or a show of their Dirty Hypnosis Unleashed.

They began at the Bourbon Street, moved onto the Tuscany Suites & Casino, then the Empire Ballroom, onto the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, then the Stardust before it was blown up, and finally –- and permanently — at the Harmon Theater alongside Planet Hollywood’s Miracle Mile. Now that’s a journey!

Michael told me: “We have been very fortunate to have had such a long and successful run even with all the different showrooms. Now we’re looking forward to another 2,000 shows. Since we’ve been in Vegas, there have been nine other hypnotists over seven years and we’ve outlasted them all! The Harmon Theater is reminiscent of Old Vegas. It’s an intimate theater that lets the audience be a huge part of the show.”

Terry added: “We’re the only dueling hypnotists show in the world and for the first time tonight we will both hypnotize each other. We’ve never done that before so it will be very interesting to see what happens tonight!” Their show mixes mind-blowing hypnotic antics coupled with hilarious comedy — and the extraordinary and surprising behavior of the real-life audience volunteers who perform some of the wildest — and naughtiest — hi-jinx imaginable.

Here’s our conversation, “before they put me to sleep!”:

Michael & Terry: Everyone can be hypnotized but not always during a stage show. People become hypnotized every day of their lives. They don’t realize it, but they do it when they’re watching a TV show or reading a book. Ever been watching a TV show and someone walks into the room and asks you a question and you answer it, five minutes later after the show ended you say, “Did you say something to me?” A lot of folks call that marriage. But if you think about it part of your mind heard a question, analyzed it, thought up an answer, delivered the answer and you didn’t even have a clear memory of doing it. So everyone can be hypnotized, but during a stage show, no you can’t, we usually get about 80 percent of the audience who can be put right out.

Robin Leach: Looking back over 2,000 shows, and I want to come to the funny bits and the heart break bits in a minute, have you used different methods of hypnosis I think of the man with the dangling watch or stare into my eyes routine. How do you hypnotize somebody?

Michael: You talk to them, Robin; it’s a focused concentration. And to get them to focus enough on just what you’re saying, again going back to the analogy of the TV show, when you’re so focused on one thing that you don’t hear that, surrounding things don’t bother you so the dangling watch is the focal point but basically if you’re standing in front of them and you’re doing it properly you’re their focus point, you are the dangling watch. We don’t have to lower our voices or deliver the words in a softer or more monotone way. It’s just regular conversation.

RL: Is it a miracle to achieve 2,000 continuous shows in Vegas?

Terry: I think so, we’ve been very fortunate, we’ve had some great showrooms and we’ve had a great following for a long, long time. So yeah, I think it’s kind of a miracle and we’re lucky to be where we are.

We’ve also been very careful, you know a lot of shows come into town and they say, you have to have a half a million dollars to get your show launched and well, we didn’t know all that so we went ahead and made a profit our first week. We had not been told to spend this much money. We waited and when we had enough money to buy a billboard, we bought a billboard and so we have never been in panic mode. The shows have always been good and the crowds have always been good. But I see so many shows coming in and they ask, don’t you have to have hundreds of thousands of dollars to do a show, well that’s one way to do it, but for me it’s not the smart way to do it.

RL: You must have had really funny moments, strange moments and even heartbreaking moments?

Michael: I was a standup comic and went for hypnosis to make the act better. But once I’d been helped I saw it as the only form of entertainment I wanted to perform. I used to do fairs and travel all over the country and I had a bit that was basically the talking teddy bear and it’s cute, everybody liked it. I had the prop up on stage one night and decided to try something a little different with it and Robin, it became my signature bit, and the guy would wake up and there would be this teddy bear next to him and he thinks it’s a cute bear and when he looks over a few minutes later the bear is looking up at him, smiling and then the guy who happens to be an expert on the subject of sex decides to instruct the bear in the proper ways to do it. It’s a sick moment but we also average about eight people a night howling on the floor from laughing so hard.

Terry: We had one regular lady come to see she and then us stopped. She was away for a while having heart surgery. She came back to us nightly just to laugh to make her feel better. Her daughter wrote us a beautiful letter saying that her mother had died after being taken ill at one of our shows -– but she died doing exactly what she wanted to do -– laughing and being happy.”

RL: Is it safe to say that the people who come are totally skeptics or are they in the zone to be hypnotized?

Terry: It totally depends on your crowd, but you do get a lot of skeptics up there that say, “I’m going to get up there and I don’t think this is going to work but I’m going to give it a shot.” And they turn out to be the stars of your show 100 percent of the time.

Michael: The people who say they can’t do it, they’re my favorites because a lot of people will come back three and four times to see if you’ve got the same people on stage or if you’re using plants.

RL: So there’s no green house effect on your show with plants?

Michael: People will come back night after night and finally they will say, “Well, hell, if these guys are making enough money that they can hire actors every night, or is it for real, and they end up being the funniest, stars of the show.

Terry: I was a skeptic before I got into this business. I saw a hypnotist on my Spring Break and said he couldn’t be real; so I went onstage and he turned me into a stripper on a pool table. I even made $20, and when I knew it was for real I changed my major to “behavior modification” studies. Now we can use it for entertainment and for teaching. We’ve hypnotized people very successfully and given them good advice to stop smoking, get weight under control and motivate them for success and relieve their stress. So that’s all good.

What: “Dirty: Rock Hard Comedy Hypnosis”
When: 11 p.m. Sundays through Fridays
Where: House of Blues
Tickets: $42.95 to $53.45; 632-7600
(Please keep in mind these are old show dates. View our Show Schedule for our current show dates, times, and locations.)

From clean to dirty, the House of Blues is covering all bases.

While the atmosphere in the magic show is wholesome, bright and untainted by four-letter words, the hypnosis show is laced with profanity, provocative and adult on every level.

“Before we came here our show was very risque,” says Michael Johns, whose co-star, Terry Stokes, was performing out of town. “This show, ‘Dirty,’ has taken that to a whole other level.”

The first 25 minutes of the show – the part where Johns prepares the audience and the volunteers for what to expect – involves a lot of comedy.

“I come from a stand-up background,” Johns says. “In my show you’ve really got to pay attention because I’m always throwing out one-liners.”

He says because of his unusual background the show is a blend of hypnotism and stand-up.

“The combination of the two makes it different from anything else in Vegas,” Johns says.

Also making a difference is Stokes. He isn’t as raunchy as his partner and carries a different air about him – sophisticated to Johns’ streetwise persona.

When Stokes is out of town Johns carries the show. When Stokes is in town the two usually rotate nights. In the past they have sometimes shared the stage, playing off of one another.

“It’s a good partnership,” Johns says. “Sometimes we do a two-man show … we try to outdo each other onstage.”

Johns says adding a live band to the mix has been a big improvement. The group plays several rock numbers while the audience is being seated.

“The energy level in the room is unbelievable,” Johns says.

A dozen or so people are brought to the stage and hypnotized. They simulate smoking pot, watching porn, sitting in vibrating chairs and performing other actions of an adult nature.

“But there’s no nudity,” Johns says. “We don’t humiliate anybody. A lot of shows will get somebody onstage and trash them. We never have and never will, but we do step over the line of good taste.”

Copyright and Published by the Las Vegas Sun on August 2, 2007

Just call it the House of Laughter.

Two comedy shows – one magic, one hypnotic – have taken up residence in the House of Blues, better known for concerts by top blues, jazz and rock artists.

“We’ve never gone in this direction, not totally,” Las Vegas House of Blues General Manager Greg Encinas says. “What we try to do is offer a wide variety of entertainment. But looking at what the consumer wants in the Las Vegas market, I think they want some standard entertainment and also some things with twists and turns.”

Enter “Keep It Funny starring Tim Gabrielson,” a family-friendly afternoon show, and “Dirty: Rock Hard Comedy Hypnosis,” an adults-only late-night show featuring Michael Johns and Terry Stokes.

Gabrielson is a sleight-of-hand magician who blends wholesome humor with magic.

Johns is an X-rated stand-up comic who adopted hypnotism later in his career. He and Stokes, a comedic hypnotist for about 40 years, joined forces more than three years ago.

“What we’ve done here is we have gone after a totally new angle or tack on some existing style of shows in Las Vegas, and I think we’ve put that House of Blues touch to it,” Encinas says.

The venue hasn’t abandoned anything. There are still major concerts. The regular lineup includes the acoustic music show “Unplugged,” hosted by Michael Soli, on Thursday nights; Prince tribute artist Jason Tenner on Sundays; Boogie Knights on Saturdays; and Rockstar Karaoke on Mondays.

But “Dirty” and “Keep” are more like ongoing Las Vegas production shows.

Gabrielson, who began at the House of Blues July 14, was filling in for comic magician Mac King at Harrah’s when Encinas first saw the performance.

“He had that thing you can’t put your finger on,” Encinas says. “He was extraordinarily interactive with the crowd, and they were so warm to him. It was a very good show, entertaining. He did some different things I haven’t seen in magic shows.”

He said Gabrielson’s clean act was perfect for an afternoon show.

“That time of day you have people coming back from the pool that are wanting to relax, stay inside and have a cocktail, looking for something to do,” Encinas says. “This is an opportunity for them to see a show. The interesting demographic is the families. Vegas has opened up for families, and this offers wholesome entertainment for them – and for couples who want to have a margarita, sit back, relax and enjoy a comedy magic show.”

The flip side of the coin is the adult show put on by Johns.

“In Las Vegas I think there are about, if I’m not mistaken, about 13 hypnotist shows in town,” Encinas says. “This one is pretty good. It’s entertaining and it’s edgy.”

Perfect for the late-night adult crowd.

Encinas added the House of Blues touch to the late show with a four-piece band, led by Bonnie Mizell. The house band plays a couple of opening numbers and then plays music cues during the show – a departure from canned music.

“I thought that would be a perfect marriage – an adult show with live rock ‘n’ roll music built around it,” Encinas says. “It’s become a rock ‘n’ roll hypnotist show.”

Copyright and Published by the Las Vegas Sun on August 2, 2007

“It wouldn’t have been so bad if it had been a showgirl,” said Johns, whose show is built on such audience participation.

Snippit published on Monday, March 26, 2007 by John Katsilometes of the Las Vegas Sun in his original article titled “John Katsilometes reports on a unique wedding ceremony for a similarly unique couple in the downtown arts districts.”

HYPNOSIS UNLEASHED! is a perfect description for comedian/hypnotists Terry Stokes’ and Michael Johns‘ Vegas show. Your jaw will drop (just like it may have years ago when you very first, naively had a glimpse of one of the Girls Gone Wild-video advertisements.) You will find yourself saying: “No way-he’s gonna actually do it!” The hilarious, adult fun can be seen by both comedian hypnotists as they share their venue and perform individually on separate nights. Their comedic style is very different, which makes it fun to go a second time, not only to get a chance to see both performers, but you’ll also see a whole new gang of participants. Maybe you, yourself, will decide to join the hypnosis hilarity and jump up on stage and become a star in the show.

SLV found out some interesting background history, while interviewing these two hilarious showmen.

SLV: After high school you joined the Army. Was it difficult to suppress your comedic personality during your military years?

Michael: You know, I was always in a lot of trouble. I was never the kind of guy who knew when to keep his mouth shut. I did a lot of push-ups. When I got out, my upper body, I was pretty ripped.

SLV: (laughter) When did you decide that you wanted to be a hypnotist?

Michael: I was actually doing stand-up. When I was in the army, in Georgia, they had a little comedy club in Columbus, and I would go do Open-Mic there. And when I had a little time off I would go do Open-Mic in Atlanta, too. And then one night, I got hypnotized on stage-and I was just going up to help the guy out. I didn’t think it would really work. But he was a nice guy, and I figured I’d just help him out, and at least just fill a chair for him – because nobody was getting up there. And the next thing I know-it’s an hour and a half later-I’m opening my eyes-and I was the star of the show. So after that, I said, “I have to learn how to do this.”

SLV: Did you wonder afterwards, if you did anything embarrassing?

Michael: I don’t get embarrassed easily, but I did a lot of things that I would not ordinarily do. In my show, we step over the line of good taste a lot-but I don’t think anybody has anything they need to be humiliated about. If you have a good sense of humor, you’re gonna really enjoy being a part of the show.

SLV: What method did you use to educate yourself about hypnosis?

Michael: I went to Miami, Florida and I learned from a guy there who’s name is Gerald Kine, and he is probably one of the top Hypnotherapists on the planet-doing this for 40 to 50 years. He’s made some incredible discoveries and breakthroughs. So I took what he taught me and I applied it to the stage. With the comedy background, it was a natural progression.

SLV: Do you have any extra sensitive abilities, or just great showmanship?

Michael: It’s the comedy and show-I love the “performance,”-and I love the challenge. You never know the kind of people you’re gonna get on stage-and you don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s always new-it’s always fresh.

SLV: That must make some difficult nights for you.

Michael: Some nights you get an audience that doesn’t realize that it’s an audience participation show, and that they need to get involved. We take what we get on stage. We
make a show out of it. We never use plants or shills. We’ve never done that-and we never will-and quite frankly, that’s cheating.

SLV: The Adult-Rated comedy in your show-in particular-makes it uniquely hilarious. What are some of you comedic influences?

Michael: I love all different kinds of comedians. I don’t care if it’s dirty, if it’s clean… I love Seinfeld, a guy named Brian Regan-he’s absolutely brilliant. I also love guys like Carlin. And another guy, he’s dead now, he’s probably the greatest comedian who ever lived. His name was Bill Hicks. He would come on stage and tell you why you were stupid, how stupid you were, and you’d sit there and laugh at, ‘cause you’d say, “Yeah, this guy is right.” He was so funny. He was probably one of my biggest influences.

SLV: Do you have a favorite personality-style for a volunteer?

Michael: I would like to say the really, highenergy, fun people, but sometimes you get people on stage that are really timid and really quiet until you get them hypnotized-and they’re just insane.

SLV: I noticed the female volunteers seemed to really lose their inhibitions. They had like a “come-hither” look on their face. And then the male volunteers went to this innocent, trusting, child-like look.

Michael: Exactly-you never know. And other nights it’s exactly the opposite. (laughter)

SLV: Have you ever used your hypnosis techniques on a girlfriend, for your personal pleasure?

Michael: You know what? I think I can’t incriminate myself and answer that.

SLV: I had to ask…

Michael: No-I’ve never actually done that. Maybe I need to give that a try.

SLV: What do you like to do on your day or night off work?

Michael: I’m a single guy-kind of private. I’m waiting for Paris Hilton to come around. (laughter) I love the Vegas lifestyle. I like the restaurants, movies. I’m a sports car fanatic. I like to hit the interstate and drive as fast as I can… SLV

Click HERE to read Terry’s interview with SLV.

Hypnosis Unleashed!
Harmon Theater inside Krāve
(Valet parking on Harmon Ave. at entrance of Desert Passage and Aladdin)
3663 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Showtimes: 9:00pm • 7 nights a week • Ages 21+
702-836-0836 • PURCHASE TICKETS

Michael states, “I come from a stand-up background, so there’s a lot of comedy in my show, off-the-cuff stuff. In my show I never try to embarrass anybody. There’s a line I refuse to cross. Nobody is going to walk off my stage and feel ashamed!”

What is also great about this show is Michael is having as much fun as the audience! Go, have a fun night and watch suggestions become reality right before your very “laughing” eyes!

by Robin Roth, The Blonde from The Blonde and The Maven
Contributing Writer for South Florida’s Entertainment News & Views Magazine
View Full Article: http://www.entnews.com/Archives/February2006/newtravel.html

Paid more than $100,000 to host Tao nightclub’s party, she was a no-show for the midnight countdown when Michael Buffer of “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble” fame ticked off the final seconds of 2005.

Spies tell me her Greek shipping-heir boyfriend, Stavros Niarchos, 19, was initially turned away from the club because he’s on the radar of state liquor watchdogs.

Paris did a countdown, but it was in Tao’s restaurant, and she and Stavros were seen going into the nightclub about 12:30 a.m.

When they arrived at the nightclub, he was holding a champagne flute filled with what appeared to be orange juice.

In August 2001, The Venetian’s C2K nightclub played with fire by allowing Britney Spears, then 19,and boyfriend Justin Timberlake, then 20, in a VIP area from 2:30 a.m. to 5:30 a.m.

SIGHTINGS

Stevie Wonder, a surprise arrival at Pure (Caesars Palace) at the midnight roofdeck cork-popping of a 20-liter megamagnum of Cristal champagne, hosted by Nicky Hilton and her boyfriend, Kevin Connolly. Paris and Stavros, along with her parents, Rick and KathyHilton, joined the Pure party. Wonder showed up at the door with his wife and bodyguard, asking if they could see the fireworks. … Denver Broncos All-Pro defensive back Champ Bailey was on the terrace with friends, checking out the fireworks as a heavy beat version of “What a Feeling” from “Fame” blared over the sound system. … Kanye West and Fantasia, his opening act, leading the New Year’s Eve countdown at Curve, the nightclub at Aladdin/Planet Hollywood after their concert. In the crowd at the concert: the Rev. Al Sharpton and Tichina Arnold of “Everybody Hates Chris”… Egged on by ghostbar VIP host Marko Greisen, Kelly Clarkson and her galpals sang her hit “Since You’ve Been Gone” when the fireworks show ended. Also at ghostbar and Rain: Terrell Owens and his agent Drew “Next Question” Rosenhaus, Javon Walker of the Green Bay Packers, New York Yankees reliever Shawn Chacon and NBA vet Anthony Peeler. … At Mix (The Hotel at Mandalay Bay): Kenny G and Rob Lowe, hanging out together. … Shannon Elizabeth of “American Pie,” finishing first among 83 players, including pros, in the grand-opening celebrity poker tournament in the new poker room at Caesars Palace. The win was worth $55,000. Among the field: George Eads of “C.S.I.,” Lance Bass of ‘N Sync and poker professionals Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Phil “The Unabomber” Laak, David Williams and Layne Flack. … Paula Abdul, shopping in high heels at Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance near Anthem on Saturday. She bought a flat iron for hair. … Susan Hawk of “Survivor,” being hypnotized by Michael Johns on Friday during “Hypnosis Gone Wild” at the Stardust. Later they all went to New York-New York for the dueling pianos at Times Square. … Monte Carlo headliner Lance Burton will be performing his magic on the FTD float today in the 117th annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif.

THE PUNCH LINE

“With grades like that, you’ll be able to operate any Slurpee machine in town.”
– Roseanne in “Roseanne,” to her daughter Darlene (Sara Gilbert).

Copyright and Published by Las Vegas Review-Journal on January 01, 2006
Written by Norm Clarke

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com.
Find this article at:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jan-02-Mon-2006/news/5166865.html

1. Biggest parties of the year? Cirque du Soleil’s Beatles show opens in May in the former Siegfried & Roy Theater at The Mirage. Word has it there will be a Yellow Submarine restaurant next door.

Also: the Aladdin’s conversion into Planet Hollywood in December, during the weekend leading into the Radio Music Awards.

And the Playboy Club opens atop the Palms’ Fantasy Tower this spring.

2. Look for “Ocean’s Thirteen” starring George Clooney and fellow heistmeisters, to be filmed here.

3. The arrival of “Spamalot” from Broadway and Bette Midler will take Wynn Las Vegas to another level in entertainment.

4. The next celebrity chef to enter our stunning, ever-expanding constellation: Mario Batali, known for his rustic Italian menu, will open an Italian seafood restaurant at The Venetian. It will open this fall near the Blue Man Group Theater. He’s also reserved space for a second restaurant when the Palazzo opens at The Venetian in 2008.

5. The Comedy Festival was just the beginning of a new wave of big-time comedy in Las Vegas. The main rumblings center on comedic headliners at the Rio and Harrah’s. The race is on, I hear, to land Dave Chappelle and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, the hottest acts out there.

THE SCENE AND HEARD

Costumes and props for “Love Is A Pain,” the critically savaged new show at the Riviera, were missing on Friday — along with the cast. Never a good sign. …

Barry Humphries, who finished her “Dame Edna” run at the Luxor on Saturday, told Robin Leach that after hearing of fellow Aussie/high roller Kerry Packer’s death, “I looked out my window expecting to see the casinos covered in black crepe.” The whale of whales, Packer, 68, died on Monday. There’s another local connection: Aladdin CEO Mike Mecca ran Packer’s Crown casino in Melbourne for four years. Happy New Year’s and thanks to all who made it such a memorable one.

SIGHTINGS

Terrell Owens of the Philadelphia Eagles, buying a Batman shadow box signed by Christian Bale at the Antiquities store in the Forum Shops at Caesars on Saturday. … Rob Lowe and his son, checking out Rick Thomas’ big-cat show at the Stardust on Saturday. … Kid Rock, dining at N9NE Steakhouse (Palms) with NFL pass catchers Keyshawn Johnson of the Dallas Cowboys and Owens, who spent most of the season on the Eagles’ reserve-suspended list. … Kanye West, with no security or entourage in sight, shaking hands with fans in the Aladdin casino on Friday. … Checking out the opening of Jet (The Mirage) on Friday: Nicky Hilton and beau Kevin Connelly, Benjamin McKenzie of “The O.C.” and TV prankster Jamie Kennedy. … Hilton and Connelly had dinner at Stack (The Mirage) with sister Paris Hilton and her boyfriend, Stavros Niarchos. … Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees, at Caramel (Bellagio) on Friday. … Paris Hilton, going industrial- strength blond at Canyon Ranch salon (The Venetian) on Saturday. … Supermodel Linda Evangelista, having champagne with a gentleman at Light (Bellagio) on Friday. … At Tryst (Wynn): Kid Rock, Cedric the Entertainer, Jason Giambi, Tito Ortiz, members of Matchbox Twenty, Javon Walker, Ice-T and Owens. Ice-T also attended Celine Dion’s show with wife Coco, dined at William B’s (Stardust) with showbiz hypnotists Michael Johns and Terry Stokes and attended Stokes’ “Hypnosis Gone Wild” at the Stardust.

THE PUNCH LINE

“Passed out in the onion dip is Robert Downey Jr.”
– David Letterman’s Top 10 Signs You’re At a Bad New Year’s Eve Party.

Copyright and Published by Las Vegas Review-Journal on January 01, 2006
Written by Norm Clarke

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com.
Find this article at:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jan-01-Sun-2006/news/5159238.html