T.J. Miller Wants To Rave With You

The art of standup comedy and professional D.J.ing are brothers from another mother in many ways. Both crafts are usually done solo; they rely on the ability to read a room, and in most cases, it’s never the same set twice (aside from cheesy festival D.J.s who play the same set everywhere they go). The end goal for a D.J. or a standup comedian is the same, to bring joy and make people forget about their struggle for a little while.

T.J. Miller is a comedian who bobs and weaves like an intellectual Mongoose; he knows when to be patient, when to go in for the kill shot, and when to take advantage of the layup. You’ve probably seen him in a handful of popular films or know him from his stint in Silicon Valley as Erlich Bachman, the abrasive antihero that kept things interesting and hilarious.

You might not know his standup comedy, and this, dear reader, you should become acquainted with post haste. He is the kind of comedian that will keep you guessing; the material is sometimes light and easy to digest, and sometimes it sets in like a slow-moving poison; you never know how it will hit you.

The beauty of seeing live comedy, jazz, or D.J. sets is that you are in a moment that is one of a kind, just for you and the audience that night.

T.J. stands 6’3″ or so, he has a significant presence, and the trademark red-tinted glasses immediately tip you off that this guy is somebody. He’s either a Russian gangster, or you already spotted his voice walk in before he did, and you know right away who he is. What you probably didn’t know is that T.J. Miller loves drum and bass, and if you asked him to rave with you, he’d probably roll out.

We caught up with comedian T.J. Miller to throw some softballs and some curve balls at him through various conversations, texts, and emails. Here’s what we came up with at the end of it all.

Note: Periods added to D.J. for T.J.’s pleasure.

Being a standup comedian and a professional D.J. has a lot in common; you often have a demanding audience. Do you have any go-to material that helps liven up a stiff crowd? What happens when that doesn’t work?

T.J. – Oh yeah. Comedians have to bangers to get the crowd going, or sometimes you gotta get them back, or they will come after you viciously. I don’t know if D.J.s feel like they lose an audience. But we lose the crowd, and then you have to pivot to material that is higher energy and is honestly more low-brow. I don’t go blue, really, I’m not really a dirty comic anyway, but I’ll talk about drugs and homeless people and those sorts of things to get them going, and then I’ll veer back into the material that I wanted to do and currently love doing.

There are, of course, times when this just doesn’t work. And this is where I think comedy diverges. I just improvise. So I just talk to the crowd or about the crowd or about my day, and then it is no pressure for me because I’m an improviser. I can always pull myself out of any situation. And I’ve had some crazy ones.

When you read the room, what do you look for in an audience to indicate the vibes?

T.J. – Pretty much all I can rely on is the energy they have before the show. That’s basically it. I’ll know; we all do (all three of the comics on the show) about 2 minutes in. It doesn’t take that long. And then, if they are chatty or drunk, we’ll know that in about 10 minutes. And then the show is either determined by that knowledge (the material that will work on that crowd), or I just fucking wing it because fuck it. Let’s have fun.

You are a secret drum and bass head; do you ever go back to it? What are some of your top albums or tracks? Any favorite D.J.s?

Ah. DnB. How long it’s been. That was EXCLUSIVELY what I listened to in Chicago when I started out in comedy – I was working at a law firm as a legal secretary, and while I was typing up depositions, I would listen to Bassdrive.com. It was hilarious, tho- I could already type very fast- but when I listened to drum and bass, I would fucking kill it. I think they thought I was on amphetamines.

Roni Size, Goldie, I listened to all those guys. D.J. S.S., DJ Hazard’s “Machete” was my jam. “Use Your Cloaking Device” was also in my eardrums quite a bit. Photek had some great stuff, and I liked Andy C. a lot as well. I didn’t love Jungle or dubstep very much. So it was a very weird specific niche that was perfect for me. I will say that I think it has a lot to do with my mania.

I had brain surgery in 2010 for an AVM removal, so I was brain damaged (even before the surgery- since before I was born), and I have this mania because I have less brain matter, so my mind works overtime to catch up, and it’s hard to regulate. I take medication for it, and I see a battery of neuroscience professionals. It’s great for creativity but can create problems in reality world. But drum and bass at the time was assuredly the exact pace my brain was going. I was in my early twenties, performing seven nights a week, taking improv classes, acting classes, voice-over classes, writing and performing sketch comedy, and working day jobs all the while. It was an intense pace, and I think DnB latched into that. It was a happy partnership. : }

You have a new special out called Dear Jonah on YouTube. What can audiences expect – classic T.J., remixed T.J., fresh new T.J. All of the above?

T.J. – Dear Jonah actually is perfect – it’s a perfect representation of me right now. It’s just the craziest fucking thing- I was doing a special of the material I was doing during the pandemic. Then someone in the audience interrupts, I talk to them, and then something that has never happened on a special happens. It’s wild.

The “heckler,” Jonah, is a mentally challenged individual and really the sweetest, most hilarious person I’ve ever had in a crowd. So then I ditched what I was planning and weave him and our friendship into the special I was planning on doing. It’s really out there- lightning in a bottle as far as a special. So it shows three important things about me: I’m a standup comic, that’s where I come from, I’m an improviser, and the show you see will be one of a kind every time, and that I’m kind and the reason I’m doing all of this is that I love the audience and want to lift them up. In this special, that ends up being Jonah.

If you could take a D.J. on tour with you, who would it be and why?

T.J. – Cut Chemist or Wax Tailor. Those are the first that came to mind. They all come from Steinski, who is a friend, and I love that sampling shit. It’s good to work to, good to drink and smoke to, and good to brainstorm within the background. But Chinese Man is in that bracket- and I like Pavlov Stelar if we’re going to be dancing.

The craziest thing to ever happen to you on stage?

T.J. – A guy in Atlanta tried to beat the human shit out of me. I handled it like a man- hid in the green room. But really, he was waiting outside in his truck (with a gun), so it was a ton of fun not leaving the club until the police came.

You tour a lot and probably stay in strange places; what are some stranger towns? Any paranormal experiences or weirdness?

T.J. – GHOST STORY!! So. I did a show during my bachelor party (my now wife k8 had a dueling bachelorette party in NOLA) in New Orleans, Louisiana, and we stayed at a haunted cottage. Which I thought was bullshit. Until the bed dropped 5 feet and both of us woke up at the same time from a dream about ghosts. Same time. Both felt the same thing. Yikes.

Guilty pleasures?

T.J. – Gas station tuna fish sandwiches.

If you could get a custom room built in your house that had anything in it, what would it be? Cost is no issue.

T.J. – The nerdy pussy room. You figure it out.

Other comedians, that crack you up?

T.J. – Of course. Norm Macdonald, Lenny Marcus, Shane Gillis, Nate Bargatzw, Ari Shaffir, Shane Gillis, a lot of people- Nikki Glaser, I think, will be a pivotal woman in American comedy.

You hit the jackpot and win the lottery, 100 million clams; what do you do?

T.J. – Buy Clam-O-Naise!!!! https://www.clams.lol/

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

T.J. – No, they dream of being iPhones.

Favorite Dad joke?

T.J. – I’ve been reading a book about the history of glue. I just can’t seem to put it down.

Now that the special has dropped, are you hitting the road for a tour? Is anything else on the horizon?

T.J. – It’s always time to prepare for the next special.

Tell us about the trademark gold chain.

T.J. – I recently lost it in a lawsuit. ™ issue for sure.

Beastie Boys or Rage Against The Machine? Why?

T.J. – The Beastie Boys are my Beatles. I’m making fucking t-shirts. More impressive than any other band in the world. They could do everything, and so they kind of did.

How in the hell do you explain QAnon?

T.J. – I’d tell you, but I’d have to kill an HBO documentarian.

Any favorite podcasts that you religiously listen to?

T.J. – No. There aren’t any religion I podcastingly listen to. Actually, my podcast Cashing In With T.J. Miller, it’s delightful.

What’s the best thing about doing what you do and what’s the worst?

T.J. – I absolutely love making people laugh and pulling them out of this much that is life. I hate when people say, “I’VE SEEN YOUR DICK IN A MAGAZINE!” Weird.

You are in Vegas. Do you head for the tables, the restaurants, the club, the other kind of club, or do you sit at the shitty casino bar and people-watch for material?

T.J. – Craps. Immediately. Gotta say, it’s the best game in the world- you’re on a team with strangers, and it’s you against the house. It’s unlike any other social experiment ever. It’s worth ALL of the money lost. Believe it.

T.J. Miller has a thing for periods, and his latest comedy special Dear Jonah, is out now on Youtube; check it out below.