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.
