I ran into a friend of mine, Jo Jo, last week. I met Jo Jo when she auditioned for Slap Happy at Venture Theater in fall of 07. She got the part because she’s a great person and very funny, it was blast to work with her.

When I saw her she said she loved the new MillerandMike.com but not much is going on lately. You know what, she was right but not anymore. Now there will be more blog posts with more photos and videos. You will be able to find more things on the calendar and some website upgrades are in the works too. So check back soon because more is to come.

Below is a photo from Slap Happy. That’s Mike and I on the right in jail. Sorry I couldn’t find one with you in it Jo Jo. If you have some photos from Slap Happy send them to me and I’ll put them up for everyone to see and that goes for anyone out there.

Miller

left to right Joe Abrahamson, Tony Mayer, Otis Miller, Mike Lorenz

The next ukulele night at the New Moon Cafe in downtown Oshkosh is about to happen. It’s a bunch of crazy ukes with people to match.  The fun is this Friday the 6th and starts around 8pm. If you look at the gigs calendar you can see Mike and I have a show that night so I’ll be a little late, but I’ll be there.

If you want to play a uke for the first time, learn about ukes or just sit back and listen, uke night is for you. Everyone is welcome. I found some photos from the last uke night. Come to next one, take some photos and I’ll put them up here before the next uke night.

Miller

Miller with Aaron Baer (aka Dr. Kickbutt) He's looking at me because I totally messed up the song.

Miller & Mike Wertel (I think he's coming in for a kiss)

The whole gang at Uke Night

Who is Dr. Kickbutt? The simple answer is that he is the brains and the beauty behind Dr. Kickbutt’s Orchestra of Death. But then what in the world is Dr. Kickbutt’s Orchestra of Death? Well, it’s a ukulele junk band that can not only rock your socks off but also any other under garments.  They combine good music with bad jokes, it’s a show like you’ve never seen before. Mike and I didn’t start this one of kind group but we are happy to be a part of it.

Most people are satisfied to only lead a band that is this cool but not the doctor. That’s why he had to make a movie. The premiere of “Kick Savin’ a Beauty” will be this weekend, September 11th and 12th, in downtown Oshkosh at the Time Theater. As if the movie wasn’t enough a concert will follow the screening. You can find full details on the calendar page at www.MillerandMike.com.

Here’s the best part, Mike and I will perform with the band and are also in the movie. I love being a part of this band, it’s nonstop zany fun. Come down and catch the whole gang, Jackie Greasehound, L. Foot, Lady Baltimore, Country Road Freddie, many others  and of course Dr. Kickbutt.

Miller

One of the many reason I love what I do is that I never know what’s going to happen. Mike and I do shoot for consistency but this isn’t TV or the movies, this is live performance and the rules are different. You have to go with what comes no matter what it is. More than once I’ve wanted to wave my arms in the air and say, “Cut! I really messed that up, let’s go back and try it again.” There are no do-overs in a live show.

A few weeks ago we where at the Madison Library and like most of our library shows this year, we started with hat casting. That’s where I throw the hat across the room and Mike catches it on his head. For the big finish I went up in the balcony to throw the hat to Mike. We even practiced the trick before the show but that didn’t matter. The throw was long and heading to our props. Mike was so focused on the hat he didn’t see them and he tripped over them falling off the back of the stage. He’s fine but the bucket of bubbles that I had ready for later in the show spilled all over and soaked my ukulele which I was going to use next. It could have been worse, but I really don’t see how. We made some very fast changes to the show and the audience couldn’t really tell the difference so everything worked out okay. The silver lining is all the kids in the audience thought it was one of the funiest things they ever saw and nobody thought it was funnier than our sound guy. Live performance rules!

Miller

Mike and I have just finished our summer tour of Wisconsin libraries and it was a blast.  We had a great time doing  shows  in Madison, Sun Prairie, Beaver Dam, Juneau, West Bend, Horicon, Jefferson, Fort Atkinson, Taylor, Green Bay and De Pere.  It was a lot to fun to drive all over the state and listen to Mike snore. A big thank you to everyone at all of these libraries. Make sure you tell your librarian how cool we are becasue the 2010 library tour is just around the corner.

Miller

The other night Mike and I were driving home from a show we did in Luxemburg. For those not in the know, which included me until I looked it up on google maps, Luxemburg is north of Green Bay on the peninsula side. We had to take a few country roads to get to the highway when a skunk ran out in the middle to the road for no good reason. I zigged and the skunk zagged. We missed the skunk by no more than two feet and we were all a little startled. If you ever sneak up on me or Mike you’ll notice a shocked expression and maybe a gasp, not so with a skunk. As you can imagine, what followed was one of the worst smells to ever come from an animal and I worked with elephants. Apparently the black and white menace didn’t like almost being hit by my car so he sprayed it. I doubt the car has learned a lesson but you can’t blame the little guy for trying. As for me, I will continue to avoid hitting or even scaring skunks for both our sakes.

Miller

The other day I was watching “A Night at the Opera” by one of my favorite comedy teams, the Marx Brothers. It’s a great film and I’ve seen it more times than I can remember. The jokes come fast and there are lots of them. One joke in particular, no matter how many times I see it, always makes me laugh. Near the end Groucho is making fun of one of the opera singers in his usual style. It’s not hilarious but it never fails to get a rise out of me.

This made me wonder not just what makes people laugh but what makes people laugh again and again. Which leads to the question, are new gags needed for old fans?

Mike and I are always coming up with new gags but our best stuff are the gags that we’ve been doing for years. I know there are some people who never get tired of the juggling gag that Mike and I have been doing for more than 6 years. On a side note the Juggling Gag was actually inspired by a scene in “Duck Soup,” a different Marx Brothers movie.

Are there things that always make you laugh? Let me know what they are, I’d love to hear from you.

Miller

Wow! This is all very exciting. If you are new to the millerandmike.com you probably don’t know what the big deal is but this website has been totally revamped. One of the biggest changes is this new blog. Mike and I will be making blog posts on a regular basis and sharing about gigs we have, places we’ve gone and new gags we’re working on. You can also read about our days on the circus and working on cruise ships in the carribean. In the meantime, take a look at the new website and tell me what you think by E-mailing or posting a comment of your own for everyone to read.

One of the coolest new features on the website is the calendar. People are always asking me where I’m performing and what good shows I have coming up. Now you can always be informed on where Mike and I will be and never miss another gig. There is a short list under “upcoming gigs” on every page or click on calendar to see them all. Click on the one you want for even more details.

I hope you enjoy the new website and always feel free to drop me a line.

Miller