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Turntable missionaries DJ Q-Bert,
Mix Master Mike, D-Styles,
Yogafrog and Shortkut have taken their brand of turntablism
around the world performing both solo as well as in the
touring unit known as the Invisibl Skratch Piklz. Fans of
the Beastie Boys were perhaps some of the very first people
outside of California's turntable scene to follow the exploits
of Mix Master Mike's crew, although now it would seem that
everyone has jumped on the bandwagon. Whether you were aware
of it or not, ISP (Invisibl Skratch Piklz) was not exactly
the first formation of this famous turntable troupe.
Back in 1990, DJ Q-Bert, Mix Master Mike and DJ Apollo
formed the first all turntable skratch band, Shadow of the
Prophet. The three of them were the DJs for an Oakland/San
Francisco based bay area rap group named F.M.2.0. For awhile
they performed on various radio shows and at a few smaller
venues, but it was evident early on that they had the talent
to take it to the next level. In 1991, Q-Bert captivated
audiences and judges as he won both the 1991 West Coast
Technics' DMC Championship as well as the USA Technics'
DMC Championship. Although Q-Bert was the first, Mix Master
Mike followed right behind him and brought home the 1992
NMS Supermen Battle for World Supremacy Championship. By
now it was clear to the world that both Q-Bert and Mix Master
Mike had proven themselves as innovators and true champions,
but the winning did not stop there.
Fans of the Beastie Boys remember
the impact Check
Your Head had on their lives in 1992. At the same
time, a few hundred miles away from the Los Angeles G-Son
studio home base, the ISP crew were continuing to sharpen
their skills as they prepared for world domination. Part
of this preparation included the introduction of the "Flare"
scratch, thanks to honorary ISP member DJ Flare; shortly
thereafter the world was turned upside down when this technique
was released. A name change also took place in 1992, when
world famous Rocksteady Breakdancing Crew member Crazylegs,
dubbed the trio of Mix Master Mike, Apollo and Q-Bert as
the "Rocksteady DJs." Performing as the Rocksteady
DJs, they continued their winning streak and became the
first team to win both U.S.A. and World titles at the Technics
DMC World DJ Championships in 1992. This memorable appearance
was videotaped and has surfaced on an official DMC video
tape; it also can be found on pirate copies circulating
amongst ISP collectors.
In what would later become viewed as a catalyst in the
formation of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, DJ Apollo chose to leave the ranks
of Q-Bert and Mix Master Mike to become the DJ for jazz
saxaphonist Branford Marsalis (1993). The remaining duo
of Q-Bert and Mix Master Mike did not let Apollo's departure
slow them down any - the two DJ's returned to the 1993-94
DMC competition and regained their world title. However
during the competition a great deal of confusion was created
when the duo was mistakenly introduced by DJ Red Alert as
the "Dream Team." Red Alert made the statement
as a compliment, not as a label - the result of this misnomer
led to the labeling of the competition's performance as
"the Dream Team set" by collectors and tape traders.
By 1994 Mix Master Mike had moved
back to Sacramento and upon his arrival, Q-Bert along with
Shortkut and Disk formed a turntablist group named "Tern
Tabel Dragunz." This name seemed to serve them well
for a limited time as they performed at hip-hop shows around
the California bay area during the summer of 1994 (this
was just as Ill
Communication was tearing up the charts, backed
by that summer's anthem "Sabotage"). ISP finally
came into being in 1995 almost by chance - the story goes
that Mix Master Mike and Disk unknowingly created the name
"Invisibl Skratch Piklz" for the crew one day
while jokingly throwing out hundreds of goofy names.
The name seemed to stick and thus
wanting to claim their spot on the internet, the crew registered
the domain name skratchpiklz.com the following year. It
would not be long until the entire world would come to know
the names of the most talented DJs on the planet. Sadly,
DJ Disk was the first to break the bonds of the tight crew.
He left ISP to pursue a career in more mainstream music,
and went on to DJ for Giant Robot, Primus, MCM and the Monster,
& Stew. His departure sort of set the stage for Mix
Master Mike's collaboration with the Beastie Boys on their
1998 release Hello
Nasty.
During his May 31st, 2002
appearance on KROQ's Kevin and Bean morning show, Mix Master
Mike retold how he went on to become the Beastie Boys DJ:
"I've know them for a while. Ever since 1994 when I
used to leave these crazy messages on their answering machine
and bug them and stuff. They called me back and said 'Yo!
We're working on a new record and we want to fly you out
to New York,' and that is how that whole thing happened."
In part due to the amount of time Mix Master Mike dedicated
to recording and touring with the Beastie Boys, the decision
was made in June of 2001 that the very last Invisibl Skratch
Piklz performance would occur at the July 2000 Skratchcon
conference. In ten years time, the California turntablist
movement went from being a local scene to worldwide phenomenon.
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