Mike Relm -- Fourth Blue Man?

Maybe he's been watching a few too many reruns of Arrested Development, or maybe he's trying to get in good with the powers-that-be in Vegas so as to land a plum DJ gig at one of the big clubs there. Or maybe it just can't be explained neatly. Whatever the motivation (or delusional manifestation), SF DJ Mike Relm has made the curious decision to join the Blue Man Group on their current tour of arenas across the country.

You may remember Relm's name from his appearance at Noise Pop last year. The 1999 International Turntablist Federation U.S. Champion and Daly City native wowed the crowd at The Independent with a kinetic set comprised of spinning, scratching and mashing up popular party tracks from Michael Jackson to Nirvana to the Beastie Boys while laying down a video accompaniment using an apparatus that allows him to scratch DVDs much like you'd scratch a record. Trust me, it's really a hell of a live show. Since then, Relm has been crisscrossing the country opening for several prominent hip-hop acts, all the while sporting his trademark black glasses, and black suit and tie.

I first noticed the odd pairing with the Blue Man Group yesterday on my weekly search through Pollstar's concert database. You see, BMG and Relm are scheduled to play Oakland Arena on February 10th. A quick Web search returned this music mag, which has more information.

Relm's myspace page reveals that his stint with the face-painters isn't the only strange foray he's undertaken lately. Two days performing at the X-Games in Aspen this weekend will be followed by the arena tour and then another wintersports-related gig opening for Jurassic Five at The Ski & Snowboard Festival in Whistler in April, and finally a trip to Coachella.

He's also been doing the music for a Web-based animated series called Turntable Timmy and providing a couple of remixes for the upcoming Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie. If that wasn't enough, he has been working on an album of original material, the score for the Disney short film Too Many Robots and his recently released live DVD cheekily titled Suit Yourself.

Tobias Funke, eat your heart out.