Archive for February, 2010
There are two types of Mixmaster Mike fans. There are those who love him for his work with The Beastie Boys and there are those who love him for his work with Invisibl Skratch Piklz. Both groups came out to Playhouse Hollywood to catch his special two-hour set at the Red Bull Thre3style event. We spoke with the turntable auteur about life in L.A., sampling and his upcoming album and video game.
You’re originally from San Francisco where you established your career with Invisibl Skratch Piklz. Why did you decide to head south to Los Angeles?
I’ve been here for 10 years and I moved because I met this real cool girl and I ended up marrying her. We’ve been married for the past 12 years and it’s a beautiful thing. I also got family out here. The Beat Junkies, J Rocc, Babu, all those cats, they’re like my brothers. L.A. has embraced me and I embrace it back.
How are the DJ cultures in each city different?
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that San Francisco was the Mecca of the scratch DJs. It was me and Q-Bert and our crew. We started out there and then we came over here. It’s good being out here from a business aspect. There are so many different things out here. The tree here is full of different branches. In San Francisco, you hone your skills, you chill out but out here you get discovered.
You signed on to help with the development of Scratch: The Ultimate DJ video game. How is that coming along?
The game’s gonna be dope. I’m very happy with the direction of it. Bedlam in Toronto is working on it right now. They got their hearts into it. I turned in my original track today. I also have a character in the game. You get to be me when you get to a certain level in the game. It’s awesome.
02.27.10
As promised by new Ghostbar director Mike Diamond back in December, Ghostbar will follow in Rain nightclub’s august footsteps with an apparent entertainment rebirth.
While still relevant, the small-but-venerable club recently has come to function mostly as home to House Society’s monthly Soundbar house night and to occasional special events such as the recent live performance by Flock of Seagulls and last Wednesday’s MAGIC party in celebration of N9NE Group’s own Brooke Mitchell’s Filthy Mouth clothing line.
Ghostbar will quietly launch an as-yet-unnamed Wednesday night party February 24 in hopes of organically establishing a new music-centric event with resident DJ 88 (aka Bree Cohen) at its helm. Cohen says the party will emulate the vibe of some well-known organic meeting spots found in New York and LA, those solely focused on good music, “not Top 40, not bottle service, not anything anyone else is doing.”
02.23.10
02.22.10
Two of hip-hop’s most heralded acts are apparently working on a new album together, according to HipHopDX. KRS-Oneand DJ Premier last collaborated on the “Classic” track for Nike, which also featured Nas, Rakim, and Kanye West, and an updated version of “Criminal Minded” for Smirnoff. But now the rap legends are doing a full-on collaboration record, something that appears to be making a comeback these days. While it remains up in the air how this will turn out, as some will argue these guys are past their “prime,” any hip-hop head knows Premo and KRS have it in them to create damn good music. And their LP, Return of the Boom Bip, reportedly features similar greats like Q-Tip and Grand Puba.
02.22.10
VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE TOP 10 IN AUSTIN!
Nightlifeguru.com is all about hearing your opinions on the ultimate night life experience in Austin. Place your vote for your favorite Dj and best club in Austin. Check back every 30 days to see where your vote counts!
cforms contact form by delicious:days
By registering this vote you agree to receive periodic emails from Nightlifeguru.com about upcoming events and happenings in and around Austin. You must also agree to Nightlifeguru.com’s Privacy Policy and provide a valid email address to register.
02.22.10
Electronic music composer BT—aka Brian Transeau—performs a live “laptop symphony” at Rain Nightclub (February 20, 11 p.m., $0-$40).
I’m actually performing electronic music more live than I do in the studio, taking all these bits and pieces from my records—things that I’m composing live, bits and pieces from other people’s records—and recontextualizing all of these … chunks and making something new in front of everyone.
One of the things that I love doing—and it depends on the night—many, many times I’ve plugged headphones into the mic input of the DJM 800 [mixer] and sung live right into the mixer. The first time somebody saw me do it, they were like, “What the hell are you doing? They’re headphones! You can’t sing into them!”
Mathematics is the language that nature speaks with. That’s what I think is so beautiful about it: There’s these recurring themes in the natural world that spring up all around us. Those are the things that inspire me and that form my work.
I have really smart fans, and they say really, really clever, thoughtful, insightful things. That makes me feel less alone on a ball of dirt spinning in infinite space.
When someone makes something—someone carves a table or they paint a painting or they write a song or they make an album, whatever it is—it has meaning and significance that’s personal for them. I’m deeply, emotionally invested in all of [my] compositions in a variety of ways and some of them in ways that I would never want to talk about, just because I wouldn’t want to take away the experience from someone else who’s going to attach something completely different to it.
02.19.10
