Derricks beware

Comedian T.J. Miller wants to talk to you

T.J. Miller entertains audiences with a tour de force stand-up comedy routine combining smart jokes, physical humor, improvisation, audience participation, and notes of philosophical wisdom.

It’s an impressive accomplishment considering his recent workload has included acting, writing, and/or adaption work on “Silicon Valley,” “Deadpool,” “The Gorburger Show,” “Crashing,” “The Emoji Movie,” and more. But his busy schedule doesn’t keep Miller from focusing on his stand-up. He released a new special, “Meticulously Ridiculous,” on HBO earlier this year.

On October 14 at 8 p.m., Miller brings his comedy to Tulsa as the night’s headlining act at River Spirit’s Paradise Cove. For tickets and more information, visit riverspirittulsa.com.

Andrew Deacon: Awesome. Well thanks for taking the time to talk with me. I’m a big fan of yours, so I’m excited to be doing this interview.

T.J. Miller: Oh thanks dude. Are you in Tulsa right now?

Deacon: I am.

Miller: My cousin and a bunch of my family lives in Tulsa. Miller Davis, who is also my writing partner, is from Tulsa. We have a script with Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment right now. He and I did a pass on the “Emoji Movie” so he’s like this successful writer in Hollywood that’s from Tulsa. I love Tulsa and this is my first time performing there. I’m OK with Oklahoma.

Deacon: I remember when you did your comedy rap album, The Extended Play, it featured a hip hop artist from Tulsa named Johnny Polygon, who I’m a big fan of.

Miller: Oh Andrew, this rules. You see, Johnny Polygon is on the album because of Miller. Miller Davis was a fan of Johnny Polygon and we threw him on there.

Deacon: That’s great. On your latest special “Meticulously Ridiculous” was there anything specific you tried to do differently as compared to your last special, “No Real Reason?”

Miller: I think for me, one of the things that I needed to do was up the ante. I realized nobody really saw that special because Comedy Central doesn’t play it anymore. They don’t play most of their specials. They’ll run them once or twice. So some people have gone back and retroactively seen it after “Meticulously Ridiculous,” or after finding out that I do stand-up. I’m in a position where I consistently have to remind people that I’m a stand-up comic. What’s fun now is to leave “Silicon Valley” and be able to continue to tour and tour more because I really like doing stand-up. It’s really, really fun and it’s a great way to speak directly to the audience rather than speak through the mouthpiece of a character, which is the mouthpiece of the writer, which is the mouthpiece of the show, the network. You have a lot in between you and the audience and so stand-up for that reason is really, really fun. I also think that we can stream so much stuff that live entertainment has become so much more interesting. For me, the experience of seeing something live has a much bigger premium on it because I can stream anything to my phone from anywhere at any time.

Deacon: How did it feel to record that special in your hometown, Denver?

Miller: We are immensely happy to be in Denver and to record that special at the Paramount which is such a great theater. It was really, really, really—it was fucking special with a capital F.

I also realized that I might want to do my next special at The Comedy Works. I ran the special there the night before the HBO Paramount show and I’d say arguably it was a slightly better set. I’m interested in doing another show in Denver that is a compilation of or just one paced performance in a comedy club, in a smaller venue.

The interesting thing about playing a casino is that a casino’s always very different. A theater is different from a casino is different from a comedy club is different from a laundromat or a sex toy shop, which I have a show in Los Angeles where I perform at a sex shop.

Deacon: I’ve been to that show.

Miller: Oh really?

Deacon: I saw Eric Andre perform there a couple years ago. The Pleasure Chest?

Miller: That’s awesome. Thank you. I do all different mediums. I play all different venues and they’re always different and it’s always great. It’s just a different vibe and I like that. It’s my first time in Tulsa so it’ll be interesting to see who comes to this type of venue and is a fan of my stand-up and how many people are like “I saw him from Silicon Valley” or “I know him from Deadpool.”

Either way it’s always a good time because at a live performance I make sure it’s actually live. I’m not going up there and giving you my HBO special set. It’s going to be all different material and a lot of improvisation. There’s going to be a lot of riffing with the crowd and a lot of stuff that’s improvised on the spot. Derricks beware. If there are Derricks in Tulsa I’m going to be interacting with them. If your name is Derrick, come to the show and get on stage and let’s talk things out. I’m here to talk to the Derricks of Tulsa.

Deacon: You recently moved to New York from L.A., correct?

Miller: Yes. New York has its own set of challenges. One of those challenges is carving out stage time. You’d think someone like myself, who is fortunate enough to have access to quite a bit of stage time in New York City wouldn’t have to worry, but you have to carve out where to play, what kind of material plays where. You have an entire world, an entire nation right there in Manhattan with all different types of audiences and all different types of people. Everything differs so much whether you’re in Greenwich Village or playing somewhere on the West Side, but it’s great. I have that work ethic that a slow night for me is six sets.

Deacon: That’s a lot of performing.

Miller: Yeah, I like that. Nick Vatterott and I talk about this a lot—that the best comedians are in New York.

Deacon: I met Nick recently. He was at the Blue Whale Comedy Festival here in Tulsa. He’s an amazing performer.

Miller: He’s so great. He’s probably the best right now, maybe. We all aspire to something and right now I aspire to be as funny as Nick Vatterott.  In the meantime, we need to do “The Emoji Movie.” I’m gonna reboot it. It’s not even a franchise yet and I’m rebooting it.

Deacon: That’s the perfect time to reboot a franchise, at the inception. What other comedians do you love to watch perform?

Miller: Well, Nick Vatterott for sure. I’m loving Brent Weinbach too. Brent has twin brothers, Max & Nicky Weinbach. They’re also ridiculous and so funny. I’ve been getting to see Kate Berlant a lot recently. I might get to perform with Maria Bamford in Toronto.

Deacon: She is a comedic inspiration for me.

Miller: That means you like the weird stuff. I love that. Here’s another great thing about New York: I got to see Jim Gaffigan in New York working on new material. He had a good set but was trying things and ultimately it was one of my favorite things I’ve seen in comedy in my life. He was at The Stand working out some new stuff in between having a meal with the kids and putting them to bed. That’s what I’m excited about in terms of living in New York, so you can have that type of life.