QBert Back to the Old School

Las Vegas—In the midst of a mini-routine that saw D J QBert perform a forearm-tensing scribble scratch like he was dropping a muscle car into a lower gear—Zzzz-whir-rr-rr-rr!—the other D Js in the room began to make eye contact with each other, as if to simply say, “Whoa.”

In a blink, QBert dipped into even slower, more lyrical transformer scratches, then some wildly dexterous crab scratches and a couple of jaw-dropping clover tears. His “R ock the Bells” routine gave way to a “R apper’s D elight” bit, for which he produced the MC’s part of the hip-hop classic on vinyl. T he D Js, stationed just behind QBert’s right shoulder, began to shake their heads.

But these DJs weren’t your run-of-the-mill club trainspotters. No, they were at R ouge in the MGM Grand that September night because they were nalists for America’s Best DJ, the online vote maintained by DJ Times and supported by a 40-city U .S. tour (sponsored by Pioneer Pro DJ). In a matter of minutes, the room’s dignitaries, which included trance king Christopher L awrence (#1 vote getter), rock/rap/house spinner DJ Skribble (#3) and mash-up maven DJ Scotty Boy (#5), were blown away. QBert’s routine was part-classic, part-new, but anyone who was there couldn’t help but be knocked out by it. A s usual, the tricks were the crowd-pleasers, but the D Js knew something else, mostly related to QBert’s innate sense of rhythm. It’s intricate, impeccable, almost other-worldly. You either have it or you don’t, and QBert remains one of the very blessed in that category.

To a degree, QBert’s #2 nish in America’s Best DJ voting may be surprising. But it should also be noted that QBert never went away from us. While the rest of the D J world dove deeply into a sea of tricked-out CD players and vinylemulation systems, QBert kept cutting it up with his Vestax 05 Pro mixer and Technics turntables—old-school style and proud of it.

Now, after years of winning battles, developing mind-blowing scratch techniques and dazzling the DJ world as a member of the legendary Invisbl Skratch Piklz crew, QBert has taken his skills beyond our national boundaries. He plays much more outside the U .S. than ever before and his reputation certainly precedes him whether he’s playing in South A frica or Japan. But, thanks to a steady stream of YouTube appearances and D V D releases through his ThudRumble company (like QBert’s Scratchlopedia Breaktannica: 100 Secret Scratches), his in uence hasn’t waned in his homeland. T he proof was in the response from America’s Best DJ voters.

So as D J QBert (aka 39-year-old R ichard Quitevis) prepared for a slew of interesting projects in 2009, we caught up with the turntable wizard for his third career DJ Times cover story.

DJ Times: It was great to see you in Vegas and the D Js there were thrilled to see your “Rapper’s Delight” routine. For those who weren’t there, could you describe exactly what you were doing?

QBert: Thanks, well, in that particular piece, I was just being an MC on vinyl with scratching. I was mimicking the lyrics to “R apper’s D elight” with scratching techniques. I don’t really have the whole rap memorized. I’m just going by feeling like a jazz musician would do, improvising by playing another song, but in his interpretation with his instrument. Music is a universal language, so I was speaking the rap with my hands, scratching.

DJ Times: You nished second in the America’s Best DJ voting. What did that mean to you? Were you surprised?

QBert: I couldn’t believe I even placed that high, since I’m still using records. A s far as vinyl is concerned, I think I’m “T he L ast Samurai”!

DJ Times: Why?

QBert: I enjoy vinyl so much and so does my audience. When I like a track, I do my best to get it pressed on wax or try and emulate that beat at home, then press that up. DJing with records is an experience and I’ll always love the feel and precision of vinyl. D on’t get me wrong—I experiment at home with a digital setup, too. But when it comes down to the nitty-gritty and scratching, nothing compares to real vinyl.

DJ Times: The audience has different expectations.

QBert: If I was in the audience watching a DJ, I would much rather see him spinning real records. It looks great seeing the sound coming from the source, the ipping of the records, and the skills involved in all aspects of using vinyl. All the nuances can be heard as they are meant to be heard and not a digital translation. I don’t mind if it’s a D J using digital if they are just playing music, but when I want to see some real scratching, then I need to hear it on vinyl. U sually a D J plays with Serato or T raktor, and when they start really scratching, they pull out some vinyl and switch it back to analog—that’s cool, too.

DJ Times: T here’s an audible difference.

QBert: With real LPs, I love the pops, hiss and the stereo analog sound it has on me for some reason. I noticed that the left speaker will have a different static from the right speaker and it sounds out of this world without you knowing it! It’s just my roots. I love that B-Boy funk from the ’60s and ’70s, and I can never get tired of that raw sound from back then. Also, I like to be different. If everyone is going one way, then I’m gonna be that fish that swims the opposite direction. You ever go to the aquarium and look at the sardine tank? There’s always that one sardine, out of the hundreds, going against the ow. I always think, “What the hell is going on in that sh’s mind?” Maybe I’m just crazy, but I like it.

DJ Times: So the digital option doesn’t offend you?

QBert: I think it’s great, but my rst love is vinyl. Just like a classical pianist will use a grand piano, or an acoustic guitarist will use a wooden guitar. Even what I said earlier about the art of the Samurai, there’s really little use for it in war. But out of passion for the art, there are still tons of people studying sword ghting.

DJ Times: D oes digital gear somehow dilute the purity of what you’re doing?

QBert: Well, for me, yes. Mainly, it’s the feel. I haven’t found a digital system that emulates vinyl 100-percent. A nd you can ask any real scratch D J, not the ones that do it just to do it, but the hardcore scratchers, if this is true—and they will say the same. They say you can hear with your ngertips, and this is absolutely true. When you touch vinyl, you can feel and hear the vibrations on the record and you will know where all the sounds are located, as if you were a magician. All you old-school DJs know what I’m talking about. I love taking a record out of its sleeve and looking at the cover, the art, the credits, the concept of the album. Records are a beautiful experience and I know what that is like.

DJ Times: What’s the D J QBert Scratch U niversity?

QBert: It’s an online site where people from all over the world can interact with me by uploading videos back and forth with me and we can learn from each other. It should be up at the beginning of 2009.

DJ Times: Tell me about Turntable T V.

QBert: It’s a scratcher’s video magazine we started in 1997. It was just us at home practicing and stuff. We always thought, “What if our heroes like Joe Cooley had a video of him practicing at home all day? I would love to see that!” A nyway, while recording our vid, things would happen, like someone would ring the doorbell and come in looking for food, or my parents would come in and say stuff like, “Get a job,” and other random stuff that really happened as we were trying to lm. Kinda like a reality TV show, but with DJing, and it turned into an underground cult phenomenon. Recently, I saw some VHS tapes on eBay for $200!

DJ Times: What was the idea behind your new DVD ?

QBert: Yes, Yogafrog and I just came out with Turntable TV DX. It’s jam-packed with all kinds of crazy scratching from top D Js all over the world, as well as behind-the-scenes raw sessions and goo ness us scratch DJs do for fun. There are even classic old-scenes from the old VHS series. Plus, you’ll get a bonus: “The Origin of Scratchy Seal,” Thud Rumble’s mascot.

DJ Times: In your mind, what is the state of scratch DJing and turntablism now?

QBert: Now that YouTube is here, you’ll be amazed at all the crazy scratch music concoctions people do onstage and in their bedroom nowadays. It’s always been underground and it still is underground. But as with any art, it’s always progressing and moving forward in an in nite amount of ways. I now see all ages coming to me and learning about scratching—even guys in their fties! I always tell them to grab our DVD, Do It Yourself Scratching, if they are just starting. But now with this online school we are designing, it will be a lot easier for them to get closer to me.

DJ Times: Are you still coming in contact with young DJs interested in learning the kinds of tricks that you’ve always done?

QBert: A lways, and I’m a student as well. “Every man will know something more than the next.” I just came from a B-Boy battle, “Mighty 4,” and there were a ton of kids cutting it up, battling and jamming together and freestyling. Looks like the art is just growing.

DJ Times: At this point in your D J career, what gives you the biggest thrill? What keeps you going?

QBert: The process of creation and making people happy with what I do. I’ve still got that saying stuck in my head: “The ultimate happiness is in giving, and the ultimate evil is sel shness.” Whenever I give, that loving energy just comes right back to me! The more people I make happy, then the more happiness comes to me. I’m constantly on the lookout for inspiration from all sources, even when I don’t want to go do something. Let’s say someone invites me to go some place I don’t want to go, something in the back of my head says, “You will learn something there,” and I always do. Sometimes I learn to just stay home and practice and not go out with them again.

DJ Times: What is your ideal DJ setup when you play out?

QBert: Simple and plain: two Technics turntables; a Vestax 05 Pro mixer QBert version; Ortofon QBert needles; and Butter R ug slipmats. I like my setup traditional and easy to use. Of course, sometimes I bring out the QFO —it’s a turntable and mixer, all in one piece. A lso, for the setup I require a sturdy table so the needles don’t skip, and a table that’s perfect for my height. I’ve learned that the best height is when you make your arms out at a 45-degree angle, forearms parallel to the ground, then drop your hands, and where your ngers land is where the turntable top should be, just like how a piano player would have it.

DJ Times: Where do you play now? What are the hotbeds of turntablism/scratch DJing?

QBert: I play all over the world, really—North merica, Asia, Australia, Europe, South America, the Middle East, and even Africa. For some reason, scratching is all over the world and you’ll find DJs everywhere. Music is just too universal to be ignored, especially since they will always need someone to play it for them.

DJ Times: Has all the good scratch-DJ gear already been invented? If not, what else would you like to see made?

QBert: There is an in nite variety of ideas yet to come into reality. For example, wouldn’t it be nice to DJ with a complete system in your pocket? And if you wanna get more crazy, what about a device that extracts the sounds you hear in your head? So with that said, we are still in the primitive age of music, but it’s still fun with what we have. I would also like to see more portable mixer/turntable hybrids like the QFO , but from different companies and even smaller, so while we are, let’s say, in a car traveling, or on a plane, we can easily get our cuts on.

DJ Times: What’s the most important skill for a DJ to learn?

QBert: How to entertain the crowd. That includes reading the crowd, staying on beat, cleanliness, originality, professionalism, nesse, and music selection. It’s a broad spectrum of categories. But since I am a scratcher, I look to see the musicianship in a turntablist. I wanna hear phrasing, tone, syncopation, variety of rhythms, control of space and silence, all kinds of scratch techniques, and the message they are trying to convey with their scratching.

DJ Times: Which D Js impress you?

QBert: Vajra, Rafik, Mix Master Mike, Shortkut, Cash Money, Jazzy Jeff, Joe Cooley, Flare, Alladin, X-Ecutioners, Miyajima, Kouji, Ken One, Primo, Toad Style, Z-T rip, D-Styles, Radar, Scratch Perverts, A-T rak, Mr. Mixx, DJ Man, Mike Boogie, Idea, Toomp, Idee, Craze, Fly, Zinc, Netik, and the list goes on...

DJ Times: No kidding. Why do these DJs impress you?

QBert: These guys always have something new up their sleeves, and that is what always intrigues me—I see originality in their art. It’s always refreshing to see something new, of course. It’s what drives me to practice.

DJ Times: When you go out to see a DJ, what do you want to experience?

QBert: A hypnotic experience, or maybe just have some fun. But I really like to learn and I think of going to see these other DJs as a class. I’m that nerdy guy that really wants to stand behind the DJ and jot down all the tracks he’s playing on my notes on my iPhone. I’m not embarrassed because I read that Jimi Hendrix would never be afraid to ask other guitarists, “Hey, how did you do that?” Sometimes I ask myself if I should even be doing that, because it may be rude to ask about their secret beats or techniques, but hey, “If you can’t make a decision, always choose the one that will make the world a better place!” A nd if they refuse, then they are just immature and they usually won’t get that far in life if they keep that attitude.

DJ Times: At this point in your career, you’re very much looked up to as an ambassador of DJing. Is that a responsibility you feel?

QBert: I like the idea of spreading the art and letting others see the beauty in this instrument. I want to make the world a better place, and I only know how with what I know best, so I want to do the best I can, and we all can because we all have different ways of doing it. I want to hear from others what they come up with, so I, too, can learn and progress. Teach a man to fish and he will go get fish for you. The more I mentor, the more we all learn. And that’s what life is all about: Learning and becoming better.

By Jim Tremayne

Photos By Peter Samuels