Brian Miller Magic - Background Info

"He reminds me of a young David Copperfield."
-Bob Saviola, Buffalo Hypnosis

"One of Buffalo's fastest rising stars."
-Magician's Alliance of Western New York

"Singularly entertaining...Masterfully poised."
-The Freeman's Journal

Who is Brian Miller?

Promotional Biography

Brian first became interested in performance at the age of four, when he
discovered a boxful of his father’s old magician’s material in the basement. Brian
developed a profound love of the art over many years of study. Entertaining for
businesses, restaurants, and private events since the early age of 16, he quickly
gained the respect of seasoned professionals with his philosophical and
psychological approach to performing. Miller believes that, “Magic is a catalyst for
personal connections with strangers.”

A rising star whose show is a wonderful blend of stand-up comedy and magic that
critics have called “mystifying”, “seamless”, and even “masterful”, also stating
that Brian possesses “a certain energy that is so alive, positive, enthusiastic, and
deep”. You can be sure your audience will enjoy every minute of his entrancing
performance.

Training

While Brian began experimenting with magic at an early age, it was in his teens
that he began to focus on classic and contemporary sleight of hand. Joe
Malkiewicz, in the April 2007 issue of Hocus Pocus (the newsletter of the
International Brotherhood of Magicians’ Ring 12), wrote, “Giving in to his
voracious appetite and following his love for magic, [Brian] has consumed a
tremendous body of knowledge.” Under the guidance of esteemed professional
magicians Victor Trabucco, Bill Butski, and Garrett Thomas, Brian has since added
a considerable amount to that body of knowledge. This body of knowledge,
however, does not stop at magic.

What makes Brian’s performance so unique, besides its intricate blend of comedy,
magic, and storytelling, is another passion lurking in the background: philosophy.
Miller is currently making his mark as an up-and-coming philosopher. In 2009, he
joined the ranks of some of the finest undergraduate philosophers in the country
by taking home the President’s Award for Best Presentation for presenting his
original work “The Illusion of Choice” at the 14th Annual SUNY Oneonta
Undergraduate Philosophy Conference, one of the largest and most prestigious
undergraduate philosophy conferences in the country. He works primarily under
the philosophical guidance of Dr. Betty Wambui and Dr. Michael Koch, to whom he
is indebted.

Thus, when you attend one of Brian’s incredible performances, you are witnessing
a deeply original philosophical approach to magic and comedy that is grounded in
many areas of study.

Peer Recognition / Published Works

In addition to the critical praise that has been afforded to Brian’s work, he has an
outstanding reputation within the magic community on an international level. He
gained this reputation first through word of mouth, and later by authoring and
releasing a four part electronic book series titled Cards, Coins, Thoughts &
Theories that is currently sold to magicians all over the world. Each of these e-
books contains three of Brian’s original magical creations with cards and/or coins
as well as a short essay of thoughts and theories regarding some important issue
in magic. Some of the finest and most respected magicians in the world have
enthusiastically contributed to Brian’s work, including: Jay Sankey, David Acer,
Gregory Wilson, and Garrett Thomas, just to name a few.

One particular creation of Brian’s caught the eye of Michael Paul, a well respected
magical creator, NYC underground close-up artist, and founder of the popular
magic download website www.TheInvisibleThread.com. Paul believed that Brian’s
effect had made significant headway in solving the age-old ‘Twisting’ problem in
close-up card magic, calling Brian’s contribution to the problem ‘Brilliant,’ and
stating that he had not believed that a solution was possible until he was
“inspired by [Brian’s] thinking.” Paul built off of Brian’s considerable progress as
a foundation in order to create a new effect “Twist3,” which was an immediate hit
and has since gone on to become one of the best selling new effects of 2009.
“Twist3” explicitly credits Brian’s work as being integral to its success.

Here are just some of the things that fellow magicians have said about Brian’s
original work:

"Very slick and very practical...boost your arsenal of clean, practical magic. All of
the effects are perfect for any situation. Brian teaches everything you need for a
sure-fire set of foolproof magic. [He] covers all the bases."
-Brian Rodgers

"These tricks are worth more than the paper I didn't print them on!"
-David Acer

"Very nice ideas! I usually try to avoid coin hand-washing techniques, but yours
is clean, natural, and usable."
-Victor Trabucco

"Brian Miller is a working pro with a passion for the art of magic. If he is willing to
give then I am willing to receive."
-Bill Butski

"Fantastic, jaw-dropping, all original magic."
-Mark Runge

"Brian's extensive knowledge of magic is a joy."
-Michael Kras

Venues

Since 2006, Brian has headlined in nearly every type of venue, including
restaurants, private business functions, theaters, high schools, colleges, and
comedy clubs.

Since 2007, Brian has served as the May-August weekly regular house magician in
multiple Applebees Restaurant locations throughout Western New York.

In April 2008, Brian was invited to be a featured close-up performer at the
Magician’s Alliance of Western New York (MAWNY) annual convention, a
performance that earned the praise, “One of Buffalo’s fastest rising stars.” It was
so well received that Brian was subsequently invited to be a featured close-up and
stage performer at the Central New York Magicfest in September 2008.

In addition to performing, Brian has dedicated his time over the years to
mentoring a few young students of magic, moderating an Internet forum of
young magicians and for young magicians called The Magicanada Project, and
teaching a summer magic camp for young children.