Roxspin So Mike, what's up with the suit?
Mike Relm I don't know if this is the exact phrase, but it goes something like "A man never looks better than he does in a suit." So appearance-wise, this is as good as it gets (shrugs).
Roxspin I'm speaking to the International Turntable Federation (ITF) USA Champion right?
Mike Relm Yeah
Roxspin What year was this?
Mike Relm Way back in 99. That's a long time ago. (Laughs) I met you like in 96 right? Those were the days man. It was all about shows and battling for no reason.
Roxspin Yeah, 96 sounds about right. I agree, those were the days. That was a great year for me. Things changed since then?
Mike Relm Oh yeah. I think my goal back then was to win a US title. That's what I wanted to do when I first started. I was like alright, I have to win a US title. Of course you want to the world to right? The goal to me was winning the US because I figure this is my home and I would like to be a champion of my own home at least right? So then I placed like second in the world finals. I was like, "ugh so close".
Roxspin Does it get all political sometimes in the battle scene?
Mike Relm I didn't realize it till I became a judge and saw what goes on behind the scenes seeing the people pulling the strings. It's very heartbreaking especially for the younger cats coming up because I know for months they poured their heart and soul into their sets. Then they show up only to realize that the other guys' crew is judging the battle.
Roxspin Kind of like boxing huh?
Mike Relm Kind of, but I can't imagine myself getting my ass beat by some big ass dude. I acquaint it more to figure skating. It's really up to each judge to say who is better and there's hardly ever an unanimous decision. In boxing it's like "dude you got your ass beat". Sometimes you just blow the competition away. If your stuff is tight, no matter who hates you, you'll win.
Roxspin DJing a sport to you?
Mike Relm It's always been like ice skating to me. Every time I watch the Olympics, I know exactly how they feel except I don't wear tights.
Roxspin Tell me a little about WeDigChicks.com.
Mike Relm That's kind of on hold right now. It's a Relm and Streak thing. I'm moving on and doing my own thing. It was fun though. It was our way of making fun of the whole "Girls Gone Wild" shenanigans that are going on that is like mega popular. You can't turn on a TV and not see a "Girls Gone Wild" commercial. I've seen the DVD's and it's like porn.
Roxspin How do you go about selecting your models?
Mike Relm Kind of like friends who want experience of taking pictures and stuff. I spoke to many models and aspiring actresses and it's pretty tough to get noticed especially if you are from the Bay Area. It became a cool way of meeting people and we had some great parties.
Roxspin What's your favorite Roxspin Girl? I bet it's Mayleen Ramey!
Mike Relm When you read her bio it's like wow she knows a bunch of different languages. I don't know if all that is true but if it is, it makes it all better. I really dig intelligence and a well travelled woman.
Roxspin (Laughs)
Mike Relm What's so funny?
Roxspin Everyone loves Mayleen.
Mike Relm I love her.
Roxspin You love her? Can I put that on the record?
Mike Relm Yeah, OK. I went to her site. I took the liberty of doing some research. She seems like a cool person. I think it's the fact that she's lived in so many different countries.
Roxspin I'm just glad you dig our chicks! Born and raised in San Francisco?
Mike Relm Yeah pretty much. Actually I grew up in Daily City not too far from here. Filipino Capital of the world. It's like my next door neighbors and my family are the only Chinese people within a 10 mile radius.
Roxspin Tell me a little about Supernatural Turntable Artists A.K.A. STA and the reputation they portrayed in the Battle DJ community.
Mike Relm Streak and I started hanging out when it was all about Mobile musicians. Scratching was frowned upon because it just didn't have the outlets that it does today. The only place we could try our new stuff was at parties and school dances and that for sure didn't go well with the crowds who just wanted to hear cool songs. Since no mobile DJ crews wanted us around, we formed our own thing called "The Turntable Terrorists" and all we did was skratch. We stopped using that because MixMasterMike was the "Terrorwrist". I'm happy we changed it because that name really wouldn't have worked today.
Roxspin 911?
Mike Relm Exactly! We started calling ourselves STA because in highschool we would all say, "You are such a STA" (it sounds way cooler when you hear it, not when you read it).
Roxspin Isn't it STA and not S.T.A.?
Mike Relm Yeah, it's kind of our fault. Kind of like TWA or KFC. You can't help but like say it like that.
Roxspin So porno STA, is that suppose to portray a perverted image?
Mike Relm It's like taboo. No one wants to talk about sex especially in Hip-hop. No one would admit that they watch porn or have a huge collection which everyone does and that is why you are laughing.
Roxspin Kind of like breaking ice?
Mike Relm Yes, a total ice breaker.
Roxspin If you got to scratch a score for a porno flick, would you do it?
Mike Relm There's music in porn?
Roxspin You've done some film music right?
Mike Relm Yeah, I skratched on some of the tracks for "Along Came Polly" which is coming out in a couple weeks. It was great because after we recorded, the director John Hamburg had the band "act" in a couple of the club scenes so we were on set for the next week. If you watch the trailer, I'm on the decks with my hair all spiked. I also scored a korean flick which hasn't been released yet. I'm actually not sure if it's ever coming out, haha.
Roxspin Any upcoming projects?
Mike Relm I recently put out "The Mike Relm Holiday Special" which is basically my answer to all the mixtapes out there. (No, it is not a mix of all Christmas songs). Rather than focusing on one specific genre, I went all over the place. I named it my Holiday Special because I just love the Christmas season. Other than that I'm always adding new sounds and video to my site, cuz I really hate it when people don't update their sites. For the next year or so I'll be working on a documentary with Wong Kai Jai, he's a filmmaker from Hong Kong who's recently moved to San Francisco. He's basically following me around gathering footage and documenting my growth as an artist. It's going to be like MTV's Diary, on acid. When I'm done touring, it's time to work on my album.
Roxspin It was nice kicking it. Any shoutouts?
Mike Relm Hmmm...this is always tough. So I'm gonna just say peace and love to everyone, even George Bush.