Friend a Day – Tony Miller

Photo by Richard Rose

The first thing you notice about Tony is his voice.  It is rich and clear and can cut through just about any other sound.  He makes his living off of his voice and it is easy to see why.

If you spend any time talking to him, you will learn how fiercely intelligent he is.  To write the material he writes, he has to be intelligent but the depth of his knowledge about so many things will surprise you.

I only get to see Tony seven weekends a year because he lives the nomadic lifestyle of a career Renaissance Festival performer.  It is a lifestyle to which his is clearly suited yet it means that there’s never enough time to hang out with him.

He has the most genuinely friendly nature of anyone I know. That may seem odd for someone who makes his living insulting people, but when he walks up, shakes your hand, and tells you he’s happy to see you, you know he’s telling the truth.

We’ve had him on a couple episodes of Geeks Without God and they are two of my favorites simply because of how knowledgeable he is about the topics at hand.  He has read a lot about many things and he has thought a lot about them as well.  He doesn’t arrive at a conclusion lightly and if he has arrived at a conclusion, it would do you well to understand why.

As a performer, he is one of the best.  He knows how to say the most vile things to people and they will be smiling and laughing the entire time.  On the other hand, his complements are amazing.  I’ve hired him to complement my wife simply because I know he’ll be able to do it better than I can.

Tony is one of those people you should find the time to get to know.  He’s never around for long but when he’s around, everything is a little bit more interesting.