Mike Relm
Co-headliner Mike Relm provides a counterpoint of sorts, in that he has never been seen in public without his standard suit and skinny black tie. Don't let his formal appearance fool you, though, as Relm is a prankster with a mile-wide mischievous streak.
Raised in the global capital of scratch music, Daly City, CA, Relm won the International Turntablist Federation's USA competition when he was just 21. In the decade since, he has brought his vinyl dexterity into the video realm, and his live shows provide a loony, goofy explosion of images and sound-bursts. He scratches DVDs to blend movie clips, Led Zeppelin performance reels, and his own original creations into a flurry of speedy pop-culture glitch.
Some of his exploits paint him as a gentler, less-politicized cousin to Negativland. One video autotunes President Obama's voice to force him into a bizarre duet with Obama Girl; another has Larry King interviewing Relm about his mailing list. Last year's Clown Alley DVD displays Relm's puckish humor to great effect, and came on the heels of collaborations with Mike Patton and Del the Funkee Homosapien, as well as a tour spent opening for the Blue Man Group. KEVIN SEAL
