SMASH: Why do you prefer big jumps to small ones?

TJ- Well, I think big jumps are defiantly better for everybody. Its better for the fans and you can do a lot more when you’re doing a big jump. Like, I’m way more confident on a big jump and I think that it might make some of the guys nervous and that’s an advantage for me.

SMASH- Oh yeah? Is there a sketchy aspect to smaller jumps?

TJ- Smaller jumps I can do, but if you try to do some of the tricks on smaller jumps you can’t even get into it. Like, a Superman seat-grab, for instance, you need a bigger jump for that because it takes a lot of time to get off your bike, stretch it out and then get back on the bike.

SMASH- I dig that. Can you do the back flip with the 360 spin?

TJ- No. I don’t have that one wired, but I like that trick a lot so I might give it a shot this year.

SMASH- I’ve heard you can play piano pretty well. Is that true?

TJ- Yeah, I’m into the piano.

SMASH- How and when did you learn?

TJ- Ever since I was a little kid I’ve had keyboards, and I could always just play by ear. I would play anything I heard on the radio. I’m really into like Billy Joel and Elton John and stuff like that.

SMASH- Do you play now?

TJ- Yeah, as soon as I could I bought a baby grand piano. About five years ago.

SMASH- I also heard you were into beat making. How’s your Hip hop career coming along?

TJ- It’s going really good actually. I make a lot of tracks for people. There are a couple rappers that I work with, one of them is Big B, he’s got an album coming out in January on Suburban Noise. I did two tracks on that CD. That’s the latest thing that I did. I work a lot of times with the Kottenmouth Kings, and OPM. Big B is my main guy. There are a lot of new rappers that are coming out that I’ve been working with like E.P. and Seven.

SMASH- What’s your connection with DJ Presto One? Have you done anything with him?

TJ- Oh yeah, Presto One is a really good friend of mine. He’s the DJ for a group called The Chapter, which are actually in my DVD. Their great, I really like those guys a lot. They’re my favorite Hip hop band in Vegas. They’re probably my favorite band in Vegas actually.

SMASH- Do you do any MCing?

TJ- Not too much, just a little bit. I don’t expect to be a rapper or anything like that, but if you need help on a hook or if you want me to ………….. I can do it for ya, but nothing too crazy. It’s pretty fun.

SMASH- What kind of Hip hop were you into when you were younger?

TJ- When I was younger I mainly just listened to the radio, and I really got into Run DMC and LL Cool J. Before that I was a skateboarder and we always used to have a ghetto blaster that we’d bring down to Jakes ditch on industrial. We’d listen to a lot of different music. I grew up on all that for sure.

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