Skratch musician opens for Blue Man

Mike Relm is one of the few people who gets to see the Blue Man Group without makeup.

They’re not always blue. Sometimes they’re guys who have barbecues and play poker.

Other times they’re innovative musicians who mix blue paint, latex caps and rock music.

That’s what the audience will see on the “How To Be A Mega Star Tour 2.0” when it comes to the Wachovia Arena at 7:30 tonight. Today’s date is the final of the tour’s 62-date second half.

“It’s been pretty amazing,” Relm said before a show in cold Madison, Wis. He did have some gripes about especially cold weather, but “when you go inside and 10,000 people are waiting to see you …

The Beck song “Where It’s At” personified. The lyrics are, “I got two turntables and a microphone.” Add a Pioneer DVJ – which scratches DVDs like a turntable manipulates records -- and a mixer, and you have Relm. He mixes and layers movies and music, syncing them so the visual goes with the audio. And he can scratch either medium, creating an eye-catching mash-up.

They saw a video of Relm on YouTube.com and contacted him a few days after Christmas.

“They needed an opening act,” Relm said. “It has been a great fit because the audience is ready for something different. They’re ready for something unique. They’re there for the Blue Man Group.”

Relm had to revamp his set to make it family-oriented, splicing out clips from such movies as “Trainspotting” and other flicks that make indie hearts flip. He’s used to a college crowd, not an audience that includes 5-year-olds and their grandparents.

“My friends were like, ‘You’re not gonna do Bjork? Why?’ ” he said. “Because two people out of 12,000 would get the reference. Everyone else would say, ‘Who’s that?’ ” That’s not their fault. I only have a certain amount of time, and I don’t want to lose the audience at any point.”

If you do miss Relm – some people have been known to go to T.G.I. Friday’s instead of catching his set, he said – he’s playing a few festivals, such as Coachella and Rock the Bells, as well as the closing ceremonies at the Pan-Am Games.

Not too bad for the guy who was the International Turntablist Federation’s U.S, competition champion in 1999. He followed that up with a second-place finish in the World Finals that year.

“Before that, I was dabbling in different things a DJ could do, like clubs and radio competitions,” he said. “I didn’t have any kind of goal or vision of what I could be doing with it. It was fun, but it wasn’t something that could be taken on this level that I’m at now.”

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“It has been a great fit because the audience is ready for something different. They’re ready for something unique. They’re there for the Blue Man Group.”

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Skratch musician opens for Blue Man

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