The second installment of the Skratch Bastid Presents monthly night in Toronto (the first being April’s Skratch Of All Trades show) will be with very special guest Mayer Hawthorne, rocking a DJ set after his show earlier that night @ The Hoxton. Joining us on the decks will be DJ Ariel, the selector with arguably the largest collection of female rap records ever amalgamated.
We will be at Revival (783 College St) on May 25th rocking from 10PM – 3AM at what is guaranteed to be a feel-good night filled with the joyous movement known as ‘dancing’. It will be a party atmosphere not dissimilar to his new video for “Henny & Gingerale”.
Or better yet, here’s a live example of Mayer rocking LA’s Do-Over party last year. See you there!
Writer Vish Khanna recently interviewed me for the CBC music website. I spoke about my first hip-hop record, how I got my name, my favorite rapper, and more. Top secret information divulged!
Where did the name that you perform under come from exactly?
“Skratch Bastid” was given to my by a man of many aliases himself, PRSNGRDE, a.k.a. Sixtoo, who was one of my early DJ mentors. At the time that I met him, I didn’t have a solid DJ name (I was recovering from early names “DJ Smurf” and “DJ Stimulus”) and was just a young lad named Paul who was hanging out and learning. He gave me…
Also, Red Bull Canada recently interviewed me in regards to their Red Bull Thre3Style global event, for which I have been a part of for 6 years (!), and am judging in the coming weeks (April 29 in Calgary, May 5th in Montreal, May 26th in Halifax for the Canadian Finals).
People often go to see a DJ perform than rather a band. Do you think the celebrity of what you do is damaging the art, or helping it?
I think it’s great that DJing has reached the level of popularity that it has. I love the art form and I’m happy to see it reach so many people. In anything that skyrockets in popularity, you’re going to have people who are in it for the wrong reasons, but I think it’s our responsibility as DJs to lead by example and continue to promote the true essence of DJing; setting a standard with style, taste and skill.
Find out more about the competition, some advice for competitors, and what gets me fired up over at Red Bull Canada.
This past weekend, I passed the 10,000 fan milestone on my Skratch Bastid Facebook Fan Page. That makes me feel special. If you’re not already down with the program, come on over and ‘like’ me.
I think it’s a good time to ‘let the dogs out’ on my latest Skratch Bastid project: “Skratch Of All Trades“. This is my brand new, all-in-one, dynamic, extraordinary stage show that I have been developing over the last year-and-a-half. Last September, I showed you a sneak preview of some of the video set development I was doing with Fokus Productions, which if you missed, you can check out at the bottom of this post. But more new info first.
At the top of this post, you will see the main logo/theme for Skratch Of All Trades. You will learn more about it’s significance as the show rolls out, but here’s a little something that my press army sent out to all international newswires today:
“There are many different sides to Skratch Bastid. From party rocking and video DJing to scratching and production/remixing, I dabble in many roles as a performer. Instead of doing different shows to focus on specific aspects of what I do, I’ve created an event that will showcase all things “Bastid” in one place, with a show that fuses together everything that I do: Skratch Of All Trades,” explains the Juno-nominated producer.
Presented as four suits of the same deck of cards, Skratch Of All Trades, is a never-before seen showcase that presents the different elements that make Skratch Bastid: pure party-rocking, live VJing, turntablism, and music production. Armed with an arsenal including his usual Technics 1200 turntables and Rane 57 mixer in addition to an extra video mixer, Serato Video SL, an iPad, two video cameras and a large surface projector, the Bastid has all the ammunition he needs to deliver an unforgettable treat for the eyes and ear.
The first three shows I will be performing this show at are in Canada, and are 3 of my favorite cities to play shows in globally:
Friday, April 27th — Toronto, ON – Revival Bar
Friday, May 4th — Vancouver, BC – Fortune Sound Club
Friday, May 11th — Halifax, NS – The Palace
Over the next few weeks, I will be giving you some more insight, clips, and treats to get you involved with the show and give you an idea of what to expect. But you should already know that I am excited for this one! To tide you over, here are some clips to give you an idea of what it will look like on stage. Below is the aforementioned Fokus clip, along with my performance from last year’s Vancouver Nightlife Awards, where I was testing out some early content for the project. Stay tuned….
Subscribe to Skratch Bastid's YouTube Channel!
