Heckler

I just watched Jamie Kennedy's "Heckler" for the 101st time (okay not nearly that many times, but this is a damn good documentary). Anyone who's been on stage, has been to a show, or has written a blog should watch this. I'll admit, I've been heckled a few times and I've learned some cool tricks to turn things around but stand up comedians have it so much worse than musicians.

The film goes deeper than just drunk people at clubs, he explores the minds and motives of critics and bloggers. I'm sure you'll find a greater appreciation for performers after you watch this.

Lionsgate Official Trailer Mashup

What do you do when you're releasing The Spirit, Punisher, and Transporter 3 in the same month? If you're Lionsgate, you get me to create a mashup of all 3 trailers!

President Barack Obama

Congratulations to Barack Obama and everyone involved in his amazing campaign. I can't wait until January 20th!

In-depth Interview

This is a very intimate look at my life, in an interview by Chris Lindsey at the Treasure Island Music Festival. I was hesitant to post this because it's so revealing, so please try not to judge. I'm just being honest and open.

Mike Relm Interview from tinymixtapes on Vimeo.

My Ballot

I'm trying to figure out how they figured the order for this. Hmmm...not alphabetical...not related to polling numbers...not alphabetical by party...not alphabetical by running mate's name...

Just find it odd that Barack Obama is below Ralph Nader while McCain sits conveniently at the top. Someone please tell me I'm an idiot and I'm missing something because in my honest opinion, the front runners should probably be somewhere at the top, sort of like a poster for a concert. Although, I would certainly hope that one would know exactly who they're voting for for president. I can't help but feel like this ballot was designed with a certain bias. I could be totally wrong and there might be a completely logical explaination for this...maybe that's why I'm not in politics.

MTVU!

This was filmed for MTVU's "Ahead Of The Curve" in a really dope warehouse a couple hours before we hit the stage at the Treasure Island Festival last month. It was The Sideshow's first time on camera.

"Everytime" - The Video

So we shot the video for "Everytime" (which features Del The Funky Homosapien). It went quite well, considering I never met Laura and Steven before. To be honest, I went into it with a backup plan if I wasn't feeling their performances. Acting-wise I knew it was going to be a tough job to pull off since it was all one long take with a lot of choreographed moves between the actors and the camera and various objects, not to mention the story that had to be told.

We did a couple run throughs and after the first one I knew Laura and Steven would pull it off. It was just a matter of getting the right angles and timing things nicely. There was also a certain moment where a certain liquid was to be poured on the floor. We tried leaving towels on the floor throughout the whole shoot, but it showed up when she walked through the hallway. So when you see her pouring the coffee out, imagine a bunch of people diving underneath her laying towels on the surrounding area. Pete Songsiri (cinematographer) did a great job framing the whole thing, and I definitely didn't want to compromise the shots for a bunch of towels.

Lighting was great, the loft had 20 foot windows and we estimated a good 7 hours of good sunlight. At about 2 pm Laura's hair and makeup were done and we had gone through it a couple times when everyone started to feel hunger pains so we ordered pizza and watched tv. When we were nice and full it was time to get to work. It took exactly 3 full takes to get the one that I used to cut the video. Laura really did a great job, I had a few ideas for the look she gives at the coffee spilling moment but the one we ended up going with was all her. If you can read lips backwards you can tell Steven was saying some pretty funny stuff during the argument. It got heated, but it was hilarious.

Overall, I'm super happy with how it came out. It's one of those projects that turned out even better than I saw it in my head. I love that.

Spectacle's first music video is in the can!

Let me know what you think!

Tony Hawk's Boom Boom Huck Jam - San Diego!

Everyone started saying their good byes today, I think everyone knows it's going to be crazy in Irvine tomorrow for the last show. Last shows are always strange, you try to cram as much time as you can with everyone to give hugs, take pictures, and exchange contact info (even though most of our numbers are in the tour books that we've had since day one). Tour's a lot like summer camp but you get to perform for thousands of people and ride on sweet buses.

So anyway, San Diego is Tony Hawk's hometown show so as you can imagine it's a pretty big deal. We set up on the Chargers' practice field so crowd got to sit on the freshly cut grass, it really felt like a festival. I was told that as far as skate events go, San Diego is the toughest audience you can find. Probably has a lot to do with the fact that the best skater of all time pretty much created the industry out of there. Whatever the case, the athletes knew things had to be kicked up a notch today. I've got a great grasp on everyone's musical tastes by now so that's all covered. Tony's been dealing with the shoulder injury he sustained last week and Sergie's knee is the size of a softball. I don't know how he walks up steps, let alone skates a 15 foot ramp. Speaking of injuries, Kevin Robinson was out for about a week and has re-joined the tour for the last few days. Kevin Staab is also back in the game, he's been out since he unfortunately stepped on a nail at the venue in Birmingham. It's great to have both of them back, even though we've only got 2 shows to go. That all said, San Diego turned out to be one of the best shows of the tour. Of course, I'd like to think that everyone just closed their eyes and let the music take over, forgetting about any of the physical pain. But to be fair, these guys are pros and they've rode through worse pain and everyone seems to be in great spirits. Especially Dennis McCoy, but that's pretty much how he always is.

Off the topic, I've been getting messages on my Sidekick from a rapper who is trying to get a hold of his manager. Apparently I've got his manager's old phone number. Being that I've had this phone for over a month, I'd say it's high time for him to find new representation. So dude, if you're reading this, you should probably move on.

One more show to go! Irvine is gonna rock!

Tony Hawk's Boom Boom Huck Jam - Seattle!

Rain, rain, and more rain. That's what I've come to expect from the northwest, and Seattle definitely had some showers going on. Not a problem, we just went with plan B and set up in the amphitheater. Like Boston, the ramp looked pretty fresh under the lights and the major upside is that there was no wind for the athletes to compensate in mid air for. Seattle was one of the best audiences we've had, even before we gave away Sidekicks. Of course, the moto parts of the show were scrapped because of the indoor situation but that meant almost double the amount of skate and bmx!

A lot of the guys on the Huck Jam are also competing in the Dew Tour, and today Jason Ellis took the liberty of calling out Dennis McCoy to do his competition run during his Huck Jam ride. Dennis came through, and showed us some new tricks. I asked him what the setup for the Dew Tour was like and apparently the ramps are completely different, so I guess it doesn't really give him a huge advantage in the contest. Best of luck to Dennis!

Like I said, the crowd in Seattle was great and they got to see some skate and bmx tricks that aren't normally done on the tour. Once again, Tony Hawk does not disappoint!

Mike Relm

Tony Hawk's Boom Boom Huck Jam - DC!

Well, we’re just about at the halfway point and it feels like this tour started just yesterday. We’ve had to deal with a lot of unfortunate injuries in the past few weeks, the latest being John Parker and Kevin Staab. I’m really pulling for those guys to recover as soon as possible, they’re two of the most sincerely good dudes you’ll ever meet. Being the “new guy” on the tour it was great to see them every day with a smile on their face. Thankfully, I’m told that both of them will ride again soon.

Kevin Robinson joined us today and he’s been unleashing a whole lot of amazing tricks. The guy’s won numerous medals at X-Games and is definitely one of the best BMX riders on earth. Last week we watched as he broke the world record by flying 27 feet in the air at the Red Bull Experiment in Central Park, NYC! I don’t know how he does it, my stomach starts to turn just looking at the ramp he dropped in on. He’s one of 3 people I know who have held world records, of course the other two are Tony Hawk and Sergie Ventura.

I’ve been switching up a lot with the songs I’m using for the Huck Jam, seems to be working out. I know everyone appreciates a change of pace, it’s never a good thing to listen to the same songs over and over every day if you don’t have to. You know, I don’t think there have been many parallels drawn between skating and scratching. But something Tony says to the audience at each show is that “skating wasn’t always cool”. Neither was scratching. Now here we are, joining forces!