So we’re almost halfway through December and I’m calling it now: BEST MONTH EVER. I hit up Bermuda the first weekend of this month for a few shows, made my way through the depths of Canada via Thunder Bay, ON and Brandon, MB last weekend, en route to this week’s INCREDIBLE Red Bull ThreeStyle World Finals in Vancouver. I’ll be judging each night & performing on Wednesday, December 14th, with Peanut Butter Wolf.

When I get home, I have the pleasure of rocking the stage with my good homie DJ Starting From Scratch (your favorite entertainer’s favorite DJ) & one of my favorite mixtape makers Mr. DJ Spinbad. Dec 23rd we’ll be gracing one of my favorite rooms in Toronto, Revival (783 College Street). We’ll have 6 turntables setup. I don’t think you’re ready.

Then it’s off to Halifax for the holidays. I’ll be making the rounds in the Maritimes – PEI gets a taste on Dec 28th at Globe, I’ll slip Moncton the tongue under the mistletoe at iRock on Dec 29th, and then THE BIG ONE: New Year’s Eve at the World Trade & Convention Centre in Halifax for Making The Wish 2011. This is my third year in a row and I can honestly say it is THE place to be on the East Coast for New Year’s Eve – packed room of 2000+ all celebrating for the good cause of granting the wish of a child in need to visit Disney World. Great party, great night. DO NOT MISS! I mean, Jonathan Torrens is going:

Check out the flyers below and get your ass to a show! ‘Tis the season.

I’ve started a whenever-I-want-to-post-it series called “someone else’s mixtape“. I’m always checking out mixes and I know a lot of skratchbastid.com visitors come here for mine. So, I’ve decided to pass on mixes that catch my ear. This, as you know, can happen at any time. And so I am going to post them whenever I want. Subscribe to this feed at the bottom, I’ll never over-post, I promise.

I spoke with my man (and this year’s DMC World Champion!) DJ Vajra earlier this week and I asked him about his “I Live For The Funk” live mix that he recorded earlier this year. He said that it was a set he crafted for a show he played with funk outfit The New Matersounds and it was a compilation of a few different funk/soul oriented mixes of his, both new and never released. It came out great – but I’m not sure many people heard it. I think that judging by the soundcloud plays, this is an under-appreciated mix. If you’re a fan of good music and good mixes (and some tasteful scratches), I would suggest you look no further than the ‘play’ button below.

I Live For the Funk: A Live Mix by DJ Vajra

Here’s a youtube clip of him performing part of this mix live:

If you’ve frequented this website, than you’ve probably seen Vajra and I cut it up before. Be expecting some more of that in the future. Here is some footage from our last session:

This weekend I’ll be heading out to Vancouver to take part in the festivities surrounding CANADA’S SUPERBOWL!!!! Okay, okay, maybe it’s not THAT big, but it’s still a yearly event that Canadians look forward to drinking beer whilst watching, typically with friends and food. It’s the Grey Cup, the final game of the Canadian Football League season. This year, the game will be held in Vancouver, and the BC Lions fortunately have home field advantage against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

My part? I will be the in-house DJ at the Molson Canadian House Friday & Saturday, hosting the day’s bands and wrapping up with a 2-hour set each night. Among the bands playing will be canuck rock legend Colin James and, I’m very happy to say, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings! Big fan – I’ve seen them 3 times and they never fail. I’ll have to dig up a heavy set to follow those guys. I put their tune “How Long Do I Have To Wait For Your Love?” (below) as the last song on my “Get Up!” mix, and it was one of my most requested/asked about tunes from that mix. Top notch group.

For a full schedule, head to the Molson Canadian House event page.

What do Z-Trip, Just Blaze, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, The Rub, DJ Nu-Mark, Peanut Butter Wolf, Smalltown DJs, Team Canada, Vinyl Ritchie, The Freshest, Faction Sound Crew, The Goodfellas and Skratch Bastid have in common?

Look up.

We are 3 weeks away from the week-long party that will be the 2nd Annual Red Bull Thre3Style World Championships. DJs from all over the globe will hit Vancouver with their best tunes & slickest routines, no doubt bringing along some top secret, last minute magic in an effort to bring home the gold. The event has grown this year, and the finals have been reorganized to give the people, and the DJs, the best club experience possible.

The competition has now been laid out over 4 ‘elimination’ nights to accommodate the amount of countries now involved (18!) and to give all DJs good prime-time slots to shine. The competitors have been evenly distributed over the 4 nights by continent, along with showcases from some of the biggest names in the biz (did you see that line-up??). The final night will feature a showdown between the winners from each elimination, and sets from seasoned dancefloor slayers DJ Z-Trip & DJ Nu-Mark, along with my brother-in-wax-allegiance Vinyl Ritchie. That means the best of the best will have to rock TWO venues & parties on different nights. Sounds like a suitable challenge for those looking to take home the title of “World’s Best Party Rocker”.

Last year’s world finals in Paris brought the house down at Élysée Montmartre and I can’t tell you how excited I am to see the world finals come to Canada – a country known for it’s enthusiastic crowds and party people. It will be the perfect setting for each country’s champ to show & prove. The event is bigger, the stakes are higher, and I’m ready to see a show! Catch you in Vancouver.

Tickets go on sale Thursday, December 1st in Vancouver at Beatstreet, LiveStock and Dipt. Web link for tickets and more info is over at the official Red Bull Thre3Style website. I will be judging at the elimination events all week, and performing Wednesday, December 14th, along with Vancouver’s The Freshest, and founder of Stones Throw Records, the legendary Peanut Butter Wolf.

Here are a couple videos to get you ready for the big event. First, a little Thre3Style 101 from yours truly for those who don’t know what the competition is all about:

…And here’s some footage from the Canadian Finals:

Hey you lil’ Bastids,

I had a great 2 weeks of traveling and playing shows during a quick trip around the globe that took me to Germany, Austria & Vietnam. It was a lot of miles in a short amount of time, but that didn’t interfere with some great adventures everywhere that I visited. Met some great new friends, played some great gigs & saw some great things. Felt really good to ‘unplug’ the cell/internet for a while… now that I’m back, let me fill you in on what’s been going on in Bastid land.

Read the rest of this page »