KQED’s Arts & Culture desk brings daily, in-depth cultural commentary and coverage of the Bay Area with a mission to enrich lives and inspire participation. Who We Are
Katy Perry’s Own Mom Fell for Her Met Gala AI Photo. Do You Know What to Look for?
Katy Perry, Rihanna and Lady Gaga weren't at the Met Gala despite AI-generated red carpet photos of them circulating online.
A ‘Latina Takeover’ for Bay Area Hip-Hop
Tired stereotypes are no match for the women of Queens of the Underground.
San Francisco’s Unofficial Fashion Week Is About to Hit the Runway
Designers from three San Francisco fashion programs will debut dozens of new collections May 9–16.
Seiji Oda Is Reshaping Bay Area Rap With Lo-Fi, Minimalist Hyphy
Oakland-raised Seiji Oda is going viral with quirky, lovable videos backed by his meditative hyphy tracks.
This Year’s Taiwanese American Culture Fest Will Be Bigger Than Ever
More than a dozen Taiwanese food vendors will set up in Union Square for the day.
SF’s Zach Rodell Is a Go-To Artist for Tripped-Out Concert Visuals
His kaleidoscopic projections have taken him from Bay Area clubs to Coachella.
Wolfe Pack Studios’ Final Show Isn’t Bad News
Artist Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith reflects on 'Unfinished Business' — and looks to the future.
Funding for KQED Arts & Culture is provided by:
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Akonadi Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Yogen and Peggy Dalal, Diane B. Wilsey, the William and Gretchen Kimball Fund, Campaign 21 and the members of KQED.
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Get daily Arts & Culture updates by following us on \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kqedarts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Instagram\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/kqedarts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Facebook\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/KQEDarts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Twitter\u003c/a>, or \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13883176/hey-bay-area-have-a-story-to-share-we-want-to-listen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">contact us\u003c/a>."},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-kqed-section-overview\">\u003c/div>\n","innerContent":["\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-kqed-section-overview\">\u003c/div>\n"]},{"blockName":"kqed/post-list","attrs":{"layout":"cardSeriesShowcase","query":"posts/?tag=thedolist&queryId=271ae836f3","title":"The Do List","sectionUrl":"/thedolist","buttonText":"More from The Do List"},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"","innerContent":[]},{"blockName":"kqed/post-list","attrs":{"layout":"cardSeriesShowcase","query":"posts/bayareabites,arts,food?category=food&queryId=188858f29ad","title":"Food","sectionUrl":"/food","buttonText":"More from Food"},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"","innerContent":[]},{"blockName":"kqed/ad","attrs":{"adType":"inHouse"},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"","innerContent":[]},{"blockName":"kqed/post-list","attrs":{"layout":"cardsRecent","query":"posts/arts?tag=tmw-latest&queryId=c0b2d3f933","title":"That’s My Word","sectionUrl":"/bayareahiphop","buttonText":"More Bay Area Hip Hop"},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"","innerContent":[]},{"blockName":"kqed/section-overview","attrs":{"html":"KQED’s Arts & Culture desk brings daily, in-depth cultural commentary and coverage of the Bay Area with a mission to enrich lives and inspire participation.\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"/arts/staff\">Who We Are\u003c/a>"},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-kqed-section-overview\">\u003c/div>\n","innerContent":["\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-kqed-section-overview\">\u003c/div>\n"]},{"blockName":"kqed/ad","attrs":[],"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"","innerContent":[]},{"blockName":"kqed/post-list","attrs":{"layout":"cardSeriesShowcase","query":"posts?tag=rebelgirls&queryId=118feed0de6","title":"Rebel Girls From Bay Area History","sectionUrl":"/rebelgirls","buttonText":"More about Rebel Girls From Bay Area History"},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"","innerContent":[]},{"blockName":"kqed/post-list","attrs":{"layout":"cardTextHeavyLarge","query":"posts/arts?&queryId=bd8b868cdc","title":"More Arts","seeMore":true},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"","innerContent":[]},{"blockName":"kqed/funding-credits","attrs":{"text":"Funding for KQED Arts & Culture is provided by:\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Akonadi Foundation, the Andrew W. 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Wilsey, the William and Gretchen Kimball Fund, Campaign 21 and the members of KQED."},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"","innerContent":[]}],"status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1711145205,"format":"standard","path":"/arts","redirect":{"type":"internal","url":"/arts"},"audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-kqed-header\">\u003c/div>\n\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-kqed-columns\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-kqed-column\">\u003c/div>\n\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-kqed-column\">\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-kqed-section-overview\">\u003c/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-kqed-section-overview\">\u003c/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"label":"root-site","isLoading":false}},"postsReducer":{"stream_live":{"type":"live","id":"stream_live","audioUrl":"https://streams.kqed.org/kqedradio","title":"Live Stream","excerpt":"Live Stream information currently unavailable.","link":"/radio","featImg":"","label":{"name":"KQED Live","link":"/"}},"stream_kqedNewscast":{"type":"posts","id":"stream_kqedNewscast","audioUrl":"https://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/RDnews/newscast.mp3?_=1","title":"KQED Newscast","featImg":"","label":{"name":"88.5 FM","link":"/"}},"arts_13957350":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13957350","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13957350","score":null,"sort":[1715101966000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"san-francisco-art-school-fashion-shows-cca-sfsu-academy-of-art","title":"San Francisco’s Unofficial Fashion Week Is About to Hit the Runway","publishDate":1715101966,"format":"standard","headTitle":"San Francisco’s Unofficial Fashion Week Is About to Hit the Runway | KQED","labelTerm":{"term":140,"site":"arts"},"content":"\u003cp>In mid-April, young designers at three San Francisco schools were busy ripping out seams, running their purring sewing machines and organizing their models. They were in the final weeks before the city’s unofficial fashion week (May 9–16), and it was crunch time at San Francisco State University, California College of the Arts and Academy of Art University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Andre Aberin, 23, was hunched over a pair of two-toned workwear pants in a room lined with half-clothed mannequins at SFSU on a Wednesday night. “My collection is based upon my love for video games and everything science fiction and also utilitarian wear,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elsewhere in San Francisco, Pamela Alcala, 22, was sorting through a rack of colorful crocheted wool garments at CCA. “My collection is a menswear take on my grandmother,” she said. “It’s about the appreciation for hand-crafting and playfulness and oversized garments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Academy of Art, Haydee Quesedo was fitting her model into a flamenco-inspired ruffled denim skirt as other designers and instructors bustled around the studio with sewing needles between their lips. While most of her fellow designers have five or six looks, Quesedo is aiming for 12.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I work here in the studio from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., eat, sleep and come back,” she laughed. Quesado’s flamenco denim is just one of the looks that will debut on three different runways from fashion students at CCA, SFSU and Academy of Art University, which have a mixture of undergraduate and graduate design programs showcasing their work. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Designers like Academy of Art student Jagmehak have been at their studios all day, every day for weeks now. On a recent Thursday afternoon, Jagmehak was sorting through folds of deep fuchsia silk that she’d sourced from India and custom dyed to her desired hue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The runway shows mark the culmination of the designers’ studies and offer audiences (and fashion lovers) a glimpse at what the next generation has in store for our closets. Based on their mood boards and mannequins, we can expect playful color combos, deconstructed menswear and immaculate craftsmanship.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The San Francisco State University fashion show, PULSE Runway 2024, takes place May 9, 6–8:30 p.m. at 1 N State Dr., San Francisco. Find tickets to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pulse-runway-2024-tickets-859110732327\">SFSU event here\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The California College of the Arts fashion show takes place May 10, 2024, 5–8 p.m. at 1111 8th St., San Francisco. Find tickets to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/spring-2024-architecture-and-design-end-of-year-thesis-show-tickets-873511114257?aff=oddtdtcreator\">CCA event here\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The Academy of Art University fashion show takes place May 16, 2025 at 3 p.m. at 1849 Washington St., San Francisco. Find tickets to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.academyart.edu/2024-graduation-fashion-show-event/\">Academy of Art event here\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Stay tuned for reviews of the three runway shows as a part of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/fit-check\">Fit Check\u003c/a>, a series about style and personal expression in the Bay Area.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Designers from three San Francisco fashion programs will debut dozens of new collections May 9–16.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1715108350,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":13,"wordCount":491},"headData":{"title":"An Unofficial Fashion Week Hits the Runway at SF Colleges | KQED","description":"Designers from three San Francisco fashion programs will debut dozens of new collections May 9–16.","ogTitle":"San Francisco’s Unofficial Fashion Week Is About to Hit the Runway","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"San Francisco’s Unofficial Fashion Week Is About to Hit the Runway","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","socialTitle":"An Unofficial Fashion Week Hits the Runway at SF Colleges %%page%% %%sep%% KQED","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"San Francisco’s Unofficial Fashion Week Is About to Hit the Runway","datePublished":"2024-05-07T17:12:46.000Z","dateModified":"2024-05-07T18:59:10.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"sticky":false,"nprStoryId":"kqed-13957350","templateType":"standard","featuredImageType":"standard","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13957350/san-francisco-art-school-fashion-shows-cca-sfsu-academy-of-art","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In mid-April, young designers at three San Francisco schools were busy ripping out seams, running their purring sewing machines and organizing their models. They were in the final weeks before the city’s unofficial fashion week (May 9–16), and it was crunch time at San Francisco State University, California College of the Arts and Academy of Art University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Andre Aberin, 23, was hunched over a pair of two-toned workwear pants in a room lined with half-clothed mannequins at SFSU on a Wednesday night. “My collection is based upon my love for video games and everything science fiction and also utilitarian wear,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elsewhere in San Francisco, Pamela Alcala, 22, was sorting through a rack of colorful crocheted wool garments at CCA. “My collection is a menswear take on my grandmother,” she said. “It’s about the appreciation for hand-crafting and playfulness and oversized garments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Academy of Art, Haydee Quesedo was fitting her model into a flamenco-inspired ruffled denim skirt as other designers and instructors bustled around the studio with sewing needles between their lips. While most of her fellow designers have five or six looks, Quesedo is aiming for 12.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I work here in the studio from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., eat, sleep and come back,” she laughed. Quesado’s flamenco denim is just one of the looks that will debut on three different runways from fashion students at CCA, SFSU and Academy of Art University, which have a mixture of undergraduate and graduate design programs showcasing their work. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Designers like Academy of Art student Jagmehak have been at their studios all day, every day for weeks now. On a recent Thursday afternoon, Jagmehak was sorting through folds of deep fuchsia silk that she’d sourced from India and custom dyed to her desired hue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The runway shows mark the culmination of the designers’ studies and offer audiences (and fashion lovers) a glimpse at what the next generation has in store for our closets. Based on their mood boards and mannequins, we can expect playful color combos, deconstructed menswear and immaculate craftsmanship.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The San Francisco State University fashion show, PULSE Runway 2024, takes place May 9, 6–8:30 p.m. at 1 N State Dr., San Francisco. Find tickets to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pulse-runway-2024-tickets-859110732327\">SFSU event here\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The California College of the Arts fashion show takes place May 10, 2024, 5–8 p.m. at 1111 8th St., San Francisco. Find tickets to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/spring-2024-architecture-and-design-end-of-year-thesis-show-tickets-873511114257?aff=oddtdtcreator\">CCA event here\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The Academy of Art University fashion show takes place May 16, 2025 at 3 p.m. at 1849 Washington St., San Francisco. Find tickets to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.academyart.edu/2024-graduation-fashion-show-event/\">Academy of Art event here\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Stay tuned for reviews of the three runway shows as a part of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/fit-check\">Fit Check\u003c/a>, a series about style and personal expression in the Bay Area.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13957350/san-francisco-art-school-fashion-shows-cca-sfsu-academy-of-art","authors":["11872"],"programs":["arts_140"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_76"],"tags":["arts_1696","arts_10278","arts_21953","arts_585"],"featImg":"arts_13957356","label":"arts_140"},"arts_13957370":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13957370","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13957370","score":null,"sort":[1715107270000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"katy-perry-met-gala-2024-ai-photo-viral-fake-fashion","title":"Katy Perry’s Own Mom Fell for Her Met Gala AI Photo. Do You Know What to Look for?","publishDate":1715107270,"format":"standard","headTitle":"Katy Perry’s Own Mom Fell for Her Met Gala AI Photo. Do You Know What to Look for? | KQED","labelTerm":{"term":137,"site":"arts"},"content":"\u003cp>Some of the biggest names in music, entertainment and fashion assembled in New York City for Monday’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13957112/where-to-watch-met-gala-2024-zendaya-best-red-carpet-looks\">“Garden of Time”-themed Met Gala\u003c/a>, decked out in flowers, sparkles and extravagant timepieces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contrary to the images circulating on social media, Katy Perry was not one of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Couldn’t make it to the MET, had to work,” the singer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C6pivKUNWxQ/?img_index=5\">posted on Instagram\u003c/a>, alongside a video of herself singing in the studio — as well as two photos seemingly showing her at the gala.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They were actually made with AI.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/jxries/status/1787603212075233371\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the first, Perry appears to be standing on a hedge-lined red carpet at the Met, wearing an elaborate ball gown covered in flowers and butterflies, with her dark hair styled in long waves. In the second, a close-up shot, Perry is wearing a metallic corset top with a large key handle down the middle and a short skirt of flowers and leaves, her hair straight and tousled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The photos — whose exact origin is unclear — made a splash on X (formerly known as Twitter) earlier in the night, as viewers at home refreshed their feeds and weighed in on their favorite celebrity fits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/jxries/status/1787603212075233371\">X post\u003c/a> of the ball gown photo had over 300,000 likes and nearly 70,000 reposts as of Tuesday morning — and a note at the bottom clarifying that it was created with AI. Another post, \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/wanthatoo/status/1787604418956754956\">of the corset outfit\u003c/a>, garnered over 100,000 likes and was eventually labeled “digitally created.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/wanthatoo/status/1787604418956754956\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perry is a regular Met Gala attendee (and famous for dressing on-theme, including as a \u003ca href=\"https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/katy-perry-best-met-gala-looks\">chandelier and hamburger\u003c/a> in recent years), so internet observers would be forgiven for assuming she was there on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even Perry’s mom, Mary Hudson, thought so. One of the posts in the singer’s Instagram carousel was a screenshot of a text conversation between the two.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13957112']“Didn’t know you went to the Met,” her mom wrote. “What a gorgeous gown, you look like the Rose Parade, you are your own float lol.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perry was quick to clear things up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Lol mom the AI got you too,” she replied. “BEWARE!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AI-generated images are increasingly easy to make, and celebrity deep fakes are increasingly prevalent — from sexually explicit \u003ca href=\"https://natlawreview.com/article/why-taylor-swift-ai-scandal-pushing-lawmakers-address-pornographic-deepfakes\">deep fakes of Taylor Swift\u003c/a> circulating earlier this year to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/01/22/1226129926/nh-primary-biden-ai-robocall\">robocalls imitating President Biden\u003c/a> ahead of the New Hampshire primary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, Perry wasn’t the only star to be basically photoshopped onto the Met Gala red carpet: A viral X post claimed to show an elaborately dressed Rihanna in attendance, when she was actually home \u003ca href=\"https://www.eonline.com/news/1400722/why-rihanna-skipped-met-gala-2024-at-the-last-minute\">sick with the flu\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/tereluprados/status/1787618574564999346\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another purported to show Lady Gaga, who hasn’t been there \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13856751/camp-lgbtq-celebs-shut-down-the-2019-met-gala\">since 2019\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/he_so_candid/status/1787608442116472883\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And before the gala, \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/duasmoker/status/1787606705380917712\">photos circulated of Dua Lipa\u003c/a> wearing bangs and a corset, only for her to show up on the carpet with crimson hair and an all-black ensemble — and for an X user to point out the early photos were from a \u003ca href=\"https://www.vogue.com/article/dua-lipa-demeanor-video-marie-antoinette\">2021 \u003cem>Vogue\u003c/em> shoot\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While some social media users dismissed the Met Gala fakes as part of the fun, others see them as a worrisome sign of what could lie ahead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts warn AI-generated deep fakes pose a threat to everything from \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/02/16/1232001889/ai-deepfakes-election-tech-accord\">election security\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/03/22/1165448073/voice-clones-ai-scams-ftc\">everyday scams\u003c/a>. And just last month, more than 200 artists — including Perry herself — \u003ca href=\"https://artistrightsnow.medium.com/200-artists-urge-tech-platforms-stop-devaluing-music-559fb109bbac\">signed a letter\u003c/a> urging tech platforms and digital music services to stop using AI to “infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>How to tell if an image is fake (or at least suspicious)\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>So what clues should Mary Hudson — and other discerning viewers — be looking for to spot potential fakes?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13952796']Sam Gregory of the nonprofit Witness, which helps people use video and technology to protect human rights, encourages viewers to rely on context and intuition in situations like this one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My starting point with all images like [Perry’s] is to not trust the online detectors as there are too many variables around whether they give an accurate result,” he explained over email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said when he ran both Perry images through a widely-used detector, the flower dress came back as “likely human” and the corset as “likely AI generated.” He also discourages people from looking for visual clues in these kinds of images, saying that can “lead down a rabbit hole of unproductive forensic skepticism.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With a high-profile event like the Met Gala, Gregory says, it’s best to use “classic media literacy and verification approaches.” In this case, that could mean looking for more proof of Perry’s attendance, from a variety of sources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Although some media literacy strategies like checking the source might lead us astray — perhaps we do trust Katy Perry to share real images of herself — if we use another strategy and look for other images from the same event from reliable sources, we’d quickly see this isn’t real,” he explained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He adds that it reminds him of the AI-created images of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/05/22/1177590231/fake-viral-images-of-an-explosion-at-the-pentagon-were-probably-created-by-ai\">fire at the Pentagon\u003c/a> that went viral last year. In both cases, he says, the first question people should ask themselves is not whether they can spot the AI glitches in the photo, but “Why aren’t there other photos and videos of this event in a highly populated area?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13932477']But the bigger question, as Gregory sees it, is whether the public should be expected to do this at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why wouldn’t Katy Perry be at the Met Gala and why would we second-guess that, particularly if she’s part of the deception?” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More help may be coming from social media platforms, amid growing concerns about the potential for AI to mislead users. Meta said earlier this year that it would start \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/02/06/1229317971/meta-labeling-ai-generated-images-instagram-facebook-artificial-intelligence\">labeling AI-generated images\u003c/a> on Facebook, Instagram and Threads, \u003ca href=\"https://about.fb.com/news/2024/04/metas-approach-to-labeling-ai-generated-content-and-manipulated-media/\">beginning in May\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for now — and as always — keeping your guard up is key. If you need some more pointers, check out these expert tips on how to spot \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/06/07/1180768459/how-to-identify-ai-generated-deepfake-images\">AI-generated images\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/04/01/1241657867/april-fools-day-online-misinformation\">avoid getting tricked online\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Katy Perry, Rihanna and Lady Gaga weren't at the Met Gala despite AI-generated red carpet photos of them circulating online.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1715107270,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":31,"wordCount":1093},"headData":{"title":"How to Spot Fake Images of Real Celebrities, Concocted By AI | KQED","description":"Katy Perry, Rihanna and Lady Gaga weren't at the Met Gala despite AI-generated red carpet photos of them circulating online.","ogTitle":"Katy Perry’s Own Mom Fell for Her Met Gala AI Photo. Do You Know What to Look for?","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"Katy Perry’s Own Mom Fell for Her Met Gala AI Photo. Do You Know What to Look for?","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","socialTitle":"How to Spot Fake Images of Real Celebrities, Concocted By AI %%page%% %%sep%% KQED","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"Katy Perry’s Own Mom Fell for Her Met Gala AI Photo. Do You Know What to Look for?","datePublished":"2024-05-07T18:41:10.000Z","dateModified":"2024-05-07T18:41:10.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"sticky":false,"nprByline":"Rachel Treisman, NPR","nprStoryId":"1249570785","nprHtmlLink":"https://www.npr.org/2024/05/07/1249570785/katy-perry-met-gala-deepfake","nprRetrievedStory":"1","nprPubDate":"2024-05-07T10:33:30-04:00","nprStoryDate":"2024-05-07T10:33:30-04:00","nprLastModifiedDate":"2024-05-07T11:59:56-04:00","templateType":"standard","featuredImageType":"standard","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","showOnAuthorArchivePages":"No","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13957370/katy-perry-met-gala-2024-ai-photo-viral-fake-fashion","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Some of the biggest names in music, entertainment and fashion assembled in New York City for Monday’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13957112/where-to-watch-met-gala-2024-zendaya-best-red-carpet-looks\">“Garden of Time”-themed Met Gala\u003c/a>, decked out in flowers, sparkles and extravagant timepieces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Contrary to the images circulating on social media, Katy Perry was not one of them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Couldn’t make it to the MET, had to work,” the singer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C6pivKUNWxQ/?img_index=5\">posted on Instagram\u003c/a>, alongside a video of herself singing in the studio — as well as two photos seemingly showing her at the gala.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They were actually made with AI.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"singleTwitterStatus","attributes":{"named":{"id":"1787603212075233371"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the first, Perry appears to be standing on a hedge-lined red carpet at the Met, wearing an elaborate ball gown covered in flowers and butterflies, with her dark hair styled in long waves. In the second, a close-up shot, Perry is wearing a metallic corset top with a large key handle down the middle and a short skirt of flowers and leaves, her hair straight and tousled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The photos — whose exact origin is unclear — made a splash on X (formerly known as Twitter) earlier in the night, as viewers at home refreshed their feeds and weighed in on their favorite celebrity fits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/jxries/status/1787603212075233371\">X post\u003c/a> of the ball gown photo had over 300,000 likes and nearly 70,000 reposts as of Tuesday morning — and a note at the bottom clarifying that it was created with AI. Another post, \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/wanthatoo/status/1787604418956754956\">of the corset outfit\u003c/a>, garnered over 100,000 likes and was eventually labeled “digitally created.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"singleTwitterStatus","attributes":{"named":{"id":"1787604418956754956"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Perry is a regular Met Gala attendee (and famous for dressing on-theme, including as a \u003ca href=\"https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/katy-perry-best-met-gala-looks\">chandelier and hamburger\u003c/a> in recent years), so internet observers would be forgiven for assuming she was there on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even Perry’s mom, Mary Hudson, thought so. One of the posts in the singer’s Instagram carousel was a screenshot of a text conversation between the two.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13957112","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Didn’t know you went to the Met,” her mom wrote. “What a gorgeous gown, you look like the Rose Parade, you are your own float lol.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perry was quick to clear things up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Lol mom the AI got you too,” she replied. “BEWARE!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AI-generated images are increasingly easy to make, and celebrity deep fakes are increasingly prevalent — from sexually explicit \u003ca href=\"https://natlawreview.com/article/why-taylor-swift-ai-scandal-pushing-lawmakers-address-pornographic-deepfakes\">deep fakes of Taylor Swift\u003c/a> circulating earlier this year to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/01/22/1226129926/nh-primary-biden-ai-robocall\">robocalls imitating President Biden\u003c/a> ahead of the New Hampshire primary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, Perry wasn’t the only star to be basically photoshopped onto the Met Gala red carpet: A viral X post claimed to show an elaborately dressed Rihanna in attendance, when she was actually home \u003ca href=\"https://www.eonline.com/news/1400722/why-rihanna-skipped-met-gala-2024-at-the-last-minute\">sick with the flu\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"singleTwitterStatus","attributes":{"named":{"id":"1787618574564999346"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Another purported to show Lady Gaga, who hasn’t been there \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13856751/camp-lgbtq-celebs-shut-down-the-2019-met-gala\">since 2019\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"singleTwitterStatus","attributes":{"named":{"id":"1787608442116472883"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>And before the gala, \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/duasmoker/status/1787606705380917712\">photos circulated of Dua Lipa\u003c/a> wearing bangs and a corset, only for her to show up on the carpet with crimson hair and an all-black ensemble — and for an X user to point out the early photos were from a \u003ca href=\"https://www.vogue.com/article/dua-lipa-demeanor-video-marie-antoinette\">2021 \u003cem>Vogue\u003c/em> shoot\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While some social media users dismissed the Met Gala fakes as part of the fun, others see them as a worrisome sign of what could lie ahead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts warn AI-generated deep fakes pose a threat to everything from \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/02/16/1232001889/ai-deepfakes-election-tech-accord\">election security\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/03/22/1165448073/voice-clones-ai-scams-ftc\">everyday scams\u003c/a>. And just last month, more than 200 artists — including Perry herself — \u003ca href=\"https://artistrightsnow.medium.com/200-artists-urge-tech-platforms-stop-devaluing-music-559fb109bbac\">signed a letter\u003c/a> urging tech platforms and digital music services to stop using AI to “infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>How to tell if an image is fake (or at least suspicious)\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>So what clues should Mary Hudson — and other discerning viewers — be looking for to spot potential fakes?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13952796","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Sam Gregory of the nonprofit Witness, which helps people use video and technology to protect human rights, encourages viewers to rely on context and intuition in situations like this one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My starting point with all images like [Perry’s] is to not trust the online detectors as there are too many variables around whether they give an accurate result,” he explained over email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said when he ran both Perry images through a widely-used detector, the flower dress came back as “likely human” and the corset as “likely AI generated.” He also discourages people from looking for visual clues in these kinds of images, saying that can “lead down a rabbit hole of unproductive forensic skepticism.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With a high-profile event like the Met Gala, Gregory says, it’s best to use “classic media literacy and verification approaches.” In this case, that could mean looking for more proof of Perry’s attendance, from a variety of sources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Although some media literacy strategies like checking the source might lead us astray — perhaps we do trust Katy Perry to share real images of herself — if we use another strategy and look for other images from the same event from reliable sources, we’d quickly see this isn’t real,” he explained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He adds that it reminds him of the AI-created images of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/05/22/1177590231/fake-viral-images-of-an-explosion-at-the-pentagon-were-probably-created-by-ai\">fire at the Pentagon\u003c/a> that went viral last year. In both cases, he says, the first question people should ask themselves is not whether they can spot the AI glitches in the photo, but “Why aren’t there other photos and videos of this event in a highly populated area?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13932477","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But the bigger question, as Gregory sees it, is whether the public should be expected to do this at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why wouldn’t Katy Perry be at the Met Gala and why would we second-guess that, particularly if she’s part of the deception?” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More help may be coming from social media platforms, amid growing concerns about the potential for AI to mislead users. Meta said earlier this year that it would start \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/02/06/1229317971/meta-labeling-ai-generated-images-instagram-facebook-artificial-intelligence\">labeling AI-generated images\u003c/a> on Facebook, Instagram and Threads, \u003ca href=\"https://about.fb.com/news/2024/04/metas-approach-to-labeling-ai-generated-content-and-manipulated-media/\">beginning in May\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for now — and as always — keeping your guard up is key. If you need some more pointers, check out these expert tips on how to spot \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/06/07/1180768459/how-to-identify-ai-generated-deepfake-images\">AI-generated images\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2024/04/01/1241657867/april-fools-day-online-misinformation\">avoid getting tricked online\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13957370/katy-perry-met-gala-2024-ai-photo-viral-fake-fashion","authors":["byline_arts_13957370"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_76","arts_69","arts_75"],"tags":["arts_22039","arts_11323","arts_22131","arts_1935"],"affiliates":["arts_137"],"featImg":"arts_13957371","label":"arts_137"},"arts_13957335":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13957335","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13957335","score":null,"sort":[1715104559000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"queens-of-the-underground-latina-takeover-hip-hop","title":"A ‘Latina Takeover’ for Bay Area Hip-Hop","publishDate":1715104559,"format":"standard","headTitle":"A ‘Latina Takeover’ for Bay Area Hip-Hop | KQED","labelTerm":{"term":140,"site":"arts"},"content":"\u003cp>The prominence of women in hip-hop in 2024 can’t go unnoticed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From Megan Thee Stallion, Sexy Redd, Latto and Ice Spice to Rapsody, Doechii, Tierra Whack and Flo Milli, more talented women than ever are carrying the torch. Even so, the playing field is still stacked against MCs, DJs and dancers who are women, says the Bay Area’s Megan Correa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Correa, a hip-hop event organizer and artist who goes by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lilmc.music/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lil MC\u003c/a>, says that despite the accomplishments of women at the forefront of the culture, she and others in the industry still have to work twice as hard as their male counterparts to gain the same amount of respect. That’s in addition to being confined to historic archetypes and dealing with the ever-present issue of sexism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957343\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13957343\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-2-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Women on a smokey stage with purple lighting holding their fist up. \" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-2-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-2.jpg 1279w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Femme Deadly Venoms performs at a recent Queens of The Underground showcase. \u003ccite>(Sarah Arnold)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In response, Lil MC and her partner \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kailalove.ai/?img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kaila Love\u003c/a> founded \u003ca href=\"https://www.queensoftheunderground.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Queens of The Underground\u003c/a>, an organization that hosts monthly parties highlighting women in hip-hop. And behind the scenes, Queens of The Underground functions as an artist development group, coaching MCs through the process of building websites, learning about \u003ca href=\"https://www.iconcollective.edu/songwriter-split-sheet\">royalty split sheets\u003c/a> and navigating the industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Formed in 2020, the organization also holds quarterly showcases with stacked lineups of women from the Bay Area paired with national headliners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Friday, May 10, one such quarterly showcase rolls into \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/neckofthewoodssf/?img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Neck of The Woods\u003c/a> in San Francisco for a special “Latina Takeover,” with a full lineup of Latina MCs, dancers and DJs to turn the party out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well-known Los Angeles MC \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reverielove/?img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Reverie\u003c/a> headlines, with Bay Area openers \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tatyana_tysf/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TYSF\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/_friscobaby/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Frisco Baby,\u003c/a> Lil MC, and a performance by burlesque artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/quindelanoche/?img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Qu’in De La Noche\u003c/a>. The event, hosted by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/snowygee_/?img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Snowy Gee\u003c/a>, will also feature the Bay Area’s legendary aerosol artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dj_agana/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DJ Agana\u003c/a> on the turntables all night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957344\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13957344\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-1-800x509.jpg\" alt=\"Four women on stage dancing. \" width=\"800\" height=\"509\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-1-800x509.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-1-1020x649.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-1-160x102.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-1-768x488.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-1.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Daylite, Nini Heart & Dance Crew showing their moves at a Queens of The Underground event. \u003ccite>(Sarah Arnold)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Raised all over the Bay and currently residing in San Francisco, Lil MC started rapping when she was in high school, and got into battle rap in her early twenties. That’s when she noticed the discrepancy in representation. “I was the only woman I’d see in these rap battles,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lil MC adds that nowadays, “You go out to any hip-hop space — Bay Area, L.A., Atlanta — there’s at least one or two women on the bill.” But even with the change in optics, “there’s a lot of exploitation as a female artist.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lil MC says her ultimate goal is to combat the idea that women in hip-hop have to fit into one of two stereotypes: either hyper-sexualized, or super-woke and super-conscious. “I feel like there isn’t really a big lane for women to just be a rapper — just rap,” says Lil MC. “I really want to shift that, especially for Bay Area artists.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Queens of The Underground ‘Latina Takeover’ edition takes the stage on Friday, May 10, at Neck of the Woods in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.queensoftheunderground.com/\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Tired stereotypes are no match for the women of Queens of the Underground.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1715117668,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":13,"wordCount":550},"headData":{"title":"A ‘Latina Takeover’ for Bay Area Hip-Hop | KQED","description":"Tired stereotypes are no match for the women of Queens of the Underground.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"A ‘Latina Takeover’ for Bay Area Hip-Hop","datePublished":"2024-05-07T17:55:59.000Z","dateModified":"2024-05-07T21:34:28.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"sticky":false,"nprStoryId":"kqed-13957335","templateType":"standard","featuredImageType":"standard","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13957335/queens-of-the-underground-latina-takeover-hip-hop","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The prominence of women in hip-hop in 2024 can’t go unnoticed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From Megan Thee Stallion, Sexy Redd, Latto and Ice Spice to Rapsody, Doechii, Tierra Whack and Flo Milli, more talented women than ever are carrying the torch. Even so, the playing field is still stacked against MCs, DJs and dancers who are women, says the Bay Area’s Megan Correa.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Correa, a hip-hop event organizer and artist who goes by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lilmc.music/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lil MC\u003c/a>, says that despite the accomplishments of women at the forefront of the culture, she and others in the industry still have to work twice as hard as their male counterparts to gain the same amount of respect. That’s in addition to being confined to historic archetypes and dealing with the ever-present issue of sexism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957343\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13957343\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-2-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"Women on a smokey stage with purple lighting holding their fist up. \" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-2-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-2.jpg 1279w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Femme Deadly Venoms performs at a recent Queens of The Underground showcase. \u003ccite>(Sarah Arnold)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In response, Lil MC and her partner \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kailalove.ai/?img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kaila Love\u003c/a> founded \u003ca href=\"https://www.queensoftheunderground.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Queens of The Underground\u003c/a>, an organization that hosts monthly parties highlighting women in hip-hop. And behind the scenes, Queens of The Underground functions as an artist development group, coaching MCs through the process of building websites, learning about \u003ca href=\"https://www.iconcollective.edu/songwriter-split-sheet\">royalty split sheets\u003c/a> and navigating the industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Formed in 2020, the organization also holds quarterly showcases with stacked lineups of women from the Bay Area paired with national headliners.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Friday, May 10, one such quarterly showcase rolls into \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/neckofthewoodssf/?img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Neck of The Woods\u003c/a> in San Francisco for a special “Latina Takeover,” with a full lineup of Latina MCs, dancers and DJs to turn the party out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well-known Los Angeles MC \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reverielove/?img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Reverie\u003c/a> headlines, with Bay Area openers \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tatyana_tysf/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TYSF\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/_friscobaby/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Frisco Baby,\u003c/a> Lil MC, and a performance by burlesque artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/quindelanoche/?img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Qu’in De La Noche\u003c/a>. The event, hosted by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/snowygee_/?img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Snowy Gee\u003c/a>, will also feature the Bay Area’s legendary aerosol artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dj_agana/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DJ Agana\u003c/a> on the turntables all night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957344\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13957344\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-1-800x509.jpg\" alt=\"Four women on stage dancing. \" width=\"800\" height=\"509\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-1-800x509.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-1-1020x649.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-1-160x102.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-1-768x488.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/unnamed-1.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Daylite, Nini Heart & Dance Crew showing their moves at a Queens of The Underground event. \u003ccite>(Sarah Arnold)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Raised all over the Bay and currently residing in San Francisco, Lil MC started rapping when she was in high school, and got into battle rap in her early twenties. That’s when she noticed the discrepancy in representation. “I was the only woman I’d see in these rap battles,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lil MC adds that nowadays, “You go out to any hip-hop space — Bay Area, L.A., Atlanta — there’s at least one or two women on the bill.” But even with the change in optics, “there’s a lot of exploitation as a female artist.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lil MC says her ultimate goal is to combat the idea that women in hip-hop have to fit into one of two stereotypes: either hyper-sexualized, or super-woke and super-conscious. “I feel like there isn’t really a big lane for women to just be a rapper — just rap,” says Lil MC. “I really want to shift that, especially for Bay Area artists.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Queens of The Underground ‘Latina Takeover’ edition takes the stage on Friday, May 10, at Neck of the Woods in San Francisco. \u003ca href=\"https://www.queensoftheunderground.com/\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13957335/queens-of-the-underground-latina-takeover-hip-hop","authors":["11491"],"programs":["arts_140"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_69"],"tags":["arts_831","arts_1256","arts_585","arts_20141"],"featImg":"arts_13957337","label":"arts_140"},"arts_13957194":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13957194","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13957194","score":null,"sort":[1715095813000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"seiji-oda-bay-area-rap-lo-fi-minimalist-hyphy","title":"Seiji Oda Is Reshaping Bay Area Rap With Lo-Fi, Minimalist Hyphy","publishDate":1715095813,"format":"standard","headTitle":"Seiji Oda Is Reshaping Bay Area Rap With Lo-Fi, Minimalist Hyphy | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"arts"},"content":"\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/seijioda/?hl=en\">Seiji Oda\u003c/a> is adept at remixing the energy around him. Over the past few years, the Oakland-raised artist — who is of Japanese, Irish and Panamanian heritage — has been at the forefront of pushing a new kind of Bay Area sound, a saucy combination of Northern California rap, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13924014/seiji-odas-anri-city-pop-003-celebrates-lunar-new-year-with-a-ride-through-japantown\">Japanese City Pop\u003c/a> and free-flowing jazz. He’s dubbed it “lofi // HYPHY.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On social media, he’s gone viral for \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C0-E7hTSazq/?hl=en\">popping his collar while sitting on a tree branch\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C6b8tBJPs0c/?hl=en\">dancing in a Japanese garden\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C6NoYJLL2uE/?hl=en\">going stupid beneath a waterfall\u003c/a> — all while his raps casually slap in the background. In each clip, he summons the holy spirit of a mid-aughts hyphy ghost while somehow remaining as chill as \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f932UdEg4p8\">Lofi Girl studying at a desk\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13955802']His music is a bottled-up version of big Bay Area energy, taking the form of a peaceful bonsai tree. There isn’t really a category to describe Seiji Oda’s vibe, either. Hyphy heart whispering? Gentle gigging? Serene smeezing? Acoustic turfing? Going dumb in acapella? Therapeutic thizzing?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Growing up, I was listening to Bay music,” he says. “Mac Dre, that type of shit. But when I got into making music, it was the more melodic stuff like jazz. That kind of sparked my interest in melding that with Bay music.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seiji Oda’s latest track, “a gentle gigg,” delivers exactly that: a cool minimalism and tranquility distilled into lo-fi hyphy. The Jake Chapman-produced single — which has already accumulated thousands of views, and been shared by SZA, G-Eazy and SiR — evokes E-40’s “Tell Me When To Go” while floating over a soundscape of gentle bells and flutes, stripped-down drums and a hint of mobb music bass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwFJ4cH51-s\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like much of Seiji Oda’s output, the track blends the Bay’s famously uptempo street ethos alongside elements of nature and gratitude. His lyrics underscore the Bay’s contrasting discrepancies, too: “I got friends who went to Berklee School of Music / I got friends who let that glock spill on you for talking stupid / I got homies that’s hella hyphy born after the hyphy movement / I got OGs who teach peace and started revolutions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s audio proof that Seiji Oda has been quietly nurturing his aura, and he supplies it in abundance — a playerish kind of positivity inspired by anime, international travel, vintage clothing, retro Japanese vocals, Oakland sideshows and much more. Now, others seem to be catching on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13953009']“I feel like the reason I make art is to give people an oasis in the world,” he says. “I really want to create a soundscape; that’s the goal. I’m always positive, and very simply myself. I’m not trying to be anything other than that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The industry tries to lump Asian artists into one vague genre, [but] we’re not all gonna fit on the Jasmine or Tapioca playlist,” he continues. “I wanna show the young life we can do anything, not just what people expect of us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s certainly on his way to doing that, and is currently establishing himself as one of the region’s most promising, original talents. As he sagely reminds us on his latest track: “We all got game, so each one teach one / we all different.”\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Oakland-raised Seiji Oda is going viral with quirky, lovable videos backed by his meditative hyphy tracks.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1715094724,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":true,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":12,"wordCount":605},"headData":{"title":"Seiji Oda Is Reshaping Bay Area Rap With Lo-Fi, Minimalist Hyphy | KQED","description":"Oakland-raised Seiji Oda is going viral with quirky, lovable videos backed by his meditative hyphy tracks.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"Seiji Oda Is Reshaping Bay Area Rap With Lo-Fi, Minimalist Hyphy","datePublished":"2024-05-07T15:30:13.000Z","dateModified":"2024-05-07T15:12:04.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"sticky":false,"templateType":"standard","featuredImageType":"standard","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13957194/seiji-oda-bay-area-rap-lo-fi-minimalist-hyphy","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/seijioda/?hl=en\">Seiji Oda\u003c/a> is adept at remixing the energy around him. Over the past few years, the Oakland-raised artist — who is of Japanese, Irish and Panamanian heritage — has been at the forefront of pushing a new kind of Bay Area sound, a saucy combination of Northern California rap, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13924014/seiji-odas-anri-city-pop-003-celebrates-lunar-new-year-with-a-ride-through-japantown\">Japanese City Pop\u003c/a> and free-flowing jazz. He’s dubbed it “lofi // HYPHY.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On social media, he’s gone viral for \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C0-E7hTSazq/?hl=en\">popping his collar while sitting on a tree branch\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C6b8tBJPs0c/?hl=en\">dancing in a Japanese garden\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C6NoYJLL2uE/?hl=en\">going stupid beneath a waterfall\u003c/a> — all while his raps casually slap in the background. In each clip, he summons the holy spirit of a mid-aughts hyphy ghost while somehow remaining as chill as \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f932UdEg4p8\">Lofi Girl studying at a desk\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13955802","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>His music is a bottled-up version of big Bay Area energy, taking the form of a peaceful bonsai tree. There isn’t really a category to describe Seiji Oda’s vibe, either. Hyphy heart whispering? Gentle gigging? Serene smeezing? Acoustic turfing? Going dumb in acapella? Therapeutic thizzing?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Growing up, I was listening to Bay music,” he says. “Mac Dre, that type of shit. But when I got into making music, it was the more melodic stuff like jazz. That kind of sparked my interest in melding that with Bay music.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seiji Oda’s latest track, “a gentle gigg,” delivers exactly that: a cool minimalism and tranquility distilled into lo-fi hyphy. The Jake Chapman-produced single — which has already accumulated thousands of views, and been shared by SZA, G-Eazy and SiR — evokes E-40’s “Tell Me When To Go” while floating over a soundscape of gentle bells and flutes, stripped-down drums and a hint of mobb music bass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/KwFJ4cH51-s'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/KwFJ4cH51-s'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Like much of Seiji Oda’s output, the track blends the Bay’s famously uptempo street ethos alongside elements of nature and gratitude. His lyrics underscore the Bay’s contrasting discrepancies, too: “I got friends who went to Berklee School of Music / I got friends who let that glock spill on you for talking stupid / I got homies that’s hella hyphy born after the hyphy movement / I got OGs who teach peace and started revolutions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s audio proof that Seiji Oda has been quietly nurturing his aura, and he supplies it in abundance — a playerish kind of positivity inspired by anime, international travel, vintage clothing, retro Japanese vocals, Oakland sideshows and much more. Now, others seem to be catching on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13953009","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I feel like the reason I make art is to give people an oasis in the world,” he says. “I really want to create a soundscape; that’s the goal. I’m always positive, and very simply myself. I’m not trying to be anything other than that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The industry tries to lump Asian artists into one vague genre, [but] we’re not all gonna fit on the Jasmine or Tapioca playlist,” he continues. “I wanna show the young life we can do anything, not just what people expect of us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s certainly on his way to doing that, and is currently establishing himself as one of the region’s most promising, original talents. As he sagely reminds us on his latest track: “We all got game, so each one teach one / we all different.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13957194/seiji-oda-bay-area-rap-lo-fi-minimalist-hyphy","authors":["11748"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_69"],"tags":["arts_22013","arts_4672","arts_8505","arts_6975","arts_21673","arts_17464","arts_1143","arts_974"],"featImg":"arts_13957246","label":"arts"},"arts_13957305":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13957305","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13957305","score":null,"sort":[1715037453000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"taiwanese-food-taiwanese-american-cultural-festival-san-francisco-union-square-2024","title":"This Year’s Taiwanese American Culture Fest Will Be Bigger Than Ever","publishDate":1715037453,"format":"standard","headTitle":"This Year’s Taiwanese American Culture Fest Will Be Bigger Than Ever | KQED","labelTerm":{},"content":"\u003cp>Once a year, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13929007/taiwanese-american-culture-festival-union-square-sf\">West Coast’s biggest Taiwanese American cultural celebration\u003c/a> takes over Union Square for a day of lion dance performances, acrobatics, live music, local art and, of course, a whole lot of delicious food. We’re talking beef noodle soup with hand-pulled noodles. Silky, sweet tofu pudding. Night market–style candied fruit skewers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With all the discourse around \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13939383/downtown-san-francisco-doom-spiral-sucka-flea-market-holiday-spirit\">downtown San Francisco’s restaurant and retail apocalypse\u003c/a>, maybe \u003ci>this \u003c/i>is precisely what Union Square needs to bring some life to the neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least, that’s what Alan Ma, a co-director of this year’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.tap-sf.org/tacf\">Taiwanese American Cultural Festival\u003c/a>, is hoping. Organized by the Bay Area chapter of the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://tacl.org/tap1/\">Taiwanese American Professionals\u003c/a> (TAP), the festival kicks off its 31st annual edition — minus a couple years’ hiatus during the height of the pandemic — on Saturday, May 11.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike some previous incarnations of the festival, this year’s version won’t have a specific theme. Instead, Ma explains, the focus will just be on “revitalizing traffic or noise in San Francisco, given a lot of news of people leaving.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just want to bring back what is still here, what is still alive in San Francisco,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957310\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957310\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/yoyo_PeterChuTACF23_39.jpg\" alt=\"Women in nostalgic period costumes perform a choreographed Chinese yo-yo dance.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/yoyo_PeterChuTACF23_39.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/yoyo_PeterChuTACF23_39-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/yoyo_PeterChuTACF23_39-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/yoyo_PeterChuTACF23_39-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/yoyo_PeterChuTACF23_39-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/yoyo_PeterChuTACF23_39-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A choreographed Chinese yo-yo performance at last year’s festival. \u003ccite>(Peter Chu, courtesy of Taiwanese American Cultural Festival)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Part of how Ma and his fellow organizers hope to generate that sense of excitement is by offering the widest variety of Taiwanese foods and beverages in the festival’s history. In recent years, the only hot food options came from the tent operated by \u003ca href=\"https://www.liangsvillage.com/\">Liang’s Village\u003c/a>, a longtime \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897684/pandemic-taiwanese-food-liangs-village\">South Bay mainstay\u003c/a>. But as tasty as Liang’s is — and the restaurant will once again be on hand this year to sling hand-pulled beef noodle soup, lu rou fan and other classic Taiwanese dishes — there’s no way for a single vendor to capture all of the depth, breadth and overall vibrancy of the cuisine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So this year Ma is pulling in a number of other big names from the local Taiwanese food scene, including the soy milk shop \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/US.Soypresso\">US Soypresso\u003c/a>, shaved snow specialist \u003ca href=\"https://www.powdershavedsnow.com/about-us\">Powder\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.duanchunzhen-us.com/ca/?\">Duan Chun Zhen\u003c/a> (another beef noodle soup specialist, though it’ll be serving pork belly noodle soup and a selection of lu wei, or braised items, at the festival).\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957311\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957311\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/duan-chun-zhen_fried-rice.jpg\" alt=\"A bowl of egg fried rice topped with fried chop.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/duan-chun-zhen_fried-rice.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/duan-chun-zhen_fried-rice-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/duan-chun-zhen_fried-rice-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/duan-chun-zhen_fried-rice-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/duan-chun-zhen_fried-rice-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/duan-chun-zhen_fried-rice-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Duan Chun Zhen will have a booth at this year’s festival. Pictured here is the Cupertino restaurant’s fried rice with pork chop. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Even more striking, though, is the number of smaller Taiwanese pop-ups and homegrown food businesses — which are the backbone of the Bay Area’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">recent Taiwanese food renaissance\u003c/a> — that will be joining the festival this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few of the notable participants: \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/oramasamadumplings/?hl=en\">Oramasama Dumpling\u003c/a> will be selling the Taiwanese-style steamed rice cakes known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C3Ere34rC5t/\">kueh\u003c/a>. Cinnamon roll pop-up sensation \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/astrandabakery/?hl=en\">Astranda Bakery\u003c/a> will offer sweet potato rolls and laminated milk bread. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jessicalittlefu/?hl=en\">Jessica Little Fu\u003c/a> will peddle the aforementioned tofu pudding. And \u003ca href=\"https://mitkcatering.com/\">Maxine’s Kitchen\u003c/a>, the Hayward-based cult favorite bento caterer, will be slinging some of the most nostalgic food items: the so-called “rice burritos” known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897868/taiwanese-breakfast-bay-area\">fan tuan\u003c/a>, and “\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_sausage_in_large_sausage\">little sausage wrapped inside a big sausage\u003c/a>,” a staple of every Taiwanese night market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957319\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957319\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/maxines-kitchen-bento_facebook.jpg\" alt=\"A red pork chop bento wit corn and egg.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/maxines-kitchen-bento_facebook.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/maxines-kitchen-bento_facebook-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/maxines-kitchen-bento_facebook-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/maxines-kitchen-bento_facebook-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/maxines-kitchen-bento_facebook-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/maxines-kitchen-bento_facebook-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One of the Taiwanese-style bentos from Maxine’s Kitchen \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Maxine's Kitchen / Facebook)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13897936,arts_13956218,arts_13897868']According to Ma, most — but not all — of the vendors are Taiwanese Americans themselves. And in some cases, like the craft chocolate company \u003ca href=\"https://www.formosachocolates.com/\">Formosa Chocolates\u003c/a>, the Taiwanese American makers might not specialize in overtly Taiwanese foods. Taken all together, though, the festival should capture a fairly broad snapshot of the Bay Area’s current Taiwanese food scene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hope, Ma says, is that by having so many more food vendors, it’ll help mitigate some of the long lines that visitors may have experienced at last year’s festival. Even more important, though, is the way it will help promote a broader appreciation for Taiwanese food culture in the heart of downtown San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are definitely more and more of these lesser-known and more hole-in-the-wall places that we want to showcase and give them a spotlight to the greater community of San Francisco,” Ma says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957321\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957321\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Yun-Hai_JuliaYu_TACF2023-27.jpg\" alt=\"Bags of Taiwanese dried fruit snacks for sale.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Yun-Hai_JuliaYu_TACF2023-27.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Yun-Hai_JuliaYu_TACF2023-27-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Yun-Hai_JuliaYu_TACF2023-27-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Yun-Hai_JuliaYu_TACF2023-27-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Yun-Hai_JuliaYu_TACF2023-27-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Yun-Hai_JuliaYu_TACF2023-27-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A booth selling Taiwanese-style dried fruit snacks at last year’s festival. \u003ccite>(Julia Yu, courtesy of Taiwanese American Cultural Festival)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tap-sf.org/tacf\">\u003ci>Taiwanese American Cultural Festival\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> will take place on Saturday, May 11, from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. at Union Square in San Francisco. Admission is free.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"More than a dozen Taiwanese food vendors will set up in Union Square for the day.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1715038154,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":15,"wordCount":805},"headData":{"title":"This Year’s Taiwanese American Culture Fest Will Be Bigger Than Ever | KQED","description":"More than a dozen Taiwanese food vendors will set up in Union Square for the day.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"This Year’s Taiwanese American Culture Fest Will Be Bigger Than Ever","datePublished":"2024-05-06T23:17:33.000Z","dateModified":"2024-05-06T23:29:14.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"source":"Food","sourceUrl":"https://www.kqed.org/food","sticky":false,"nprStoryId":"kqed-13957305","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13957305/taiwanese-food-taiwanese-american-cultural-festival-san-francisco-union-square-2024","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Once a year, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13929007/taiwanese-american-culture-festival-union-square-sf\">West Coast’s biggest Taiwanese American cultural celebration\u003c/a> takes over Union Square for a day of lion dance performances, acrobatics, live music, local art and, of course, a whole lot of delicious food. We’re talking beef noodle soup with hand-pulled noodles. Silky, sweet tofu pudding. Night market–style candied fruit skewers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With all the discourse around \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13939383/downtown-san-francisco-doom-spiral-sucka-flea-market-holiday-spirit\">downtown San Francisco’s restaurant and retail apocalypse\u003c/a>, maybe \u003ci>this \u003c/i>is precisely what Union Square needs to bring some life to the neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least, that’s what Alan Ma, a co-director of this year’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.tap-sf.org/tacf\">Taiwanese American Cultural Festival\u003c/a>, is hoping. Organized by the Bay Area chapter of the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://tacl.org/tap1/\">Taiwanese American Professionals\u003c/a> (TAP), the festival kicks off its 31st annual edition — minus a couple years’ hiatus during the height of the pandemic — on Saturday, May 11.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike some previous incarnations of the festival, this year’s version won’t have a specific theme. Instead, Ma explains, the focus will just be on “revitalizing traffic or noise in San Francisco, given a lot of news of people leaving.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just want to bring back what is still here, what is still alive in San Francisco,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957310\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957310\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/yoyo_PeterChuTACF23_39.jpg\" alt=\"Women in nostalgic period costumes perform a choreographed Chinese yo-yo dance.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/yoyo_PeterChuTACF23_39.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/yoyo_PeterChuTACF23_39-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/yoyo_PeterChuTACF23_39-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/yoyo_PeterChuTACF23_39-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/yoyo_PeterChuTACF23_39-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/yoyo_PeterChuTACF23_39-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A choreographed Chinese yo-yo performance at last year’s festival. \u003ccite>(Peter Chu, courtesy of Taiwanese American Cultural Festival)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Part of how Ma and his fellow organizers hope to generate that sense of excitement is by offering the widest variety of Taiwanese foods and beverages in the festival’s history. In recent years, the only hot food options came from the tent operated by \u003ca href=\"https://www.liangsvillage.com/\">Liang’s Village\u003c/a>, a longtime \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897684/pandemic-taiwanese-food-liangs-village\">South Bay mainstay\u003c/a>. But as tasty as Liang’s is — and the restaurant will once again be on hand this year to sling hand-pulled beef noodle soup, lu rou fan and other classic Taiwanese dishes — there’s no way for a single vendor to capture all of the depth, breadth and overall vibrancy of the cuisine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So this year Ma is pulling in a number of other big names from the local Taiwanese food scene, including the soy milk shop \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/US.Soypresso\">US Soypresso\u003c/a>, shaved snow specialist \u003ca href=\"https://www.powdershavedsnow.com/about-us\">Powder\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.duanchunzhen-us.com/ca/?\">Duan Chun Zhen\u003c/a> (another beef noodle soup specialist, though it’ll be serving pork belly noodle soup and a selection of lu wei, or braised items, at the festival).\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957311\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957311\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/duan-chun-zhen_fried-rice.jpg\" alt=\"A bowl of egg fried rice topped with fried chop.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/duan-chun-zhen_fried-rice.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/duan-chun-zhen_fried-rice-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/duan-chun-zhen_fried-rice-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/duan-chun-zhen_fried-rice-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/duan-chun-zhen_fried-rice-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/duan-chun-zhen_fried-rice-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Duan Chun Zhen will have a booth at this year’s festival. Pictured here is the Cupertino restaurant’s fried rice with pork chop. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Even more striking, though, is the number of smaller Taiwanese pop-ups and homegrown food businesses — which are the backbone of the Bay Area’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">recent Taiwanese food renaissance\u003c/a> — that will be joining the festival this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few of the notable participants: \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/oramasamadumplings/?hl=en\">Oramasama Dumpling\u003c/a> will be selling the Taiwanese-style steamed rice cakes known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C3Ere34rC5t/\">kueh\u003c/a>. Cinnamon roll pop-up sensation \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/astrandabakery/?hl=en\">Astranda Bakery\u003c/a> will offer sweet potato rolls and laminated milk bread. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jessicalittlefu/?hl=en\">Jessica Little Fu\u003c/a> will peddle the aforementioned tofu pudding. And \u003ca href=\"https://mitkcatering.com/\">Maxine’s Kitchen\u003c/a>, the Hayward-based cult favorite bento caterer, will be slinging some of the most nostalgic food items: the so-called “rice burritos” known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897868/taiwanese-breakfast-bay-area\">fan tuan\u003c/a>, and “\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_sausage_in_large_sausage\">little sausage wrapped inside a big sausage\u003c/a>,” a staple of every Taiwanese night market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957319\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957319\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/maxines-kitchen-bento_facebook.jpg\" alt=\"A red pork chop bento wit corn and egg.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/maxines-kitchen-bento_facebook.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/maxines-kitchen-bento_facebook-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/maxines-kitchen-bento_facebook-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/maxines-kitchen-bento_facebook-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/maxines-kitchen-bento_facebook-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/maxines-kitchen-bento_facebook-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One of the Taiwanese-style bentos from Maxine’s Kitchen \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Maxine's Kitchen / Facebook)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13897936,arts_13956218,arts_13897868","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>According to Ma, most — but not all — of the vendors are Taiwanese Americans themselves. And in some cases, like the craft chocolate company \u003ca href=\"https://www.formosachocolates.com/\">Formosa Chocolates\u003c/a>, the Taiwanese American makers might not specialize in overtly Taiwanese foods. Taken all together, though, the festival should capture a fairly broad snapshot of the Bay Area’s current Taiwanese food scene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hope, Ma says, is that by having so many more food vendors, it’ll help mitigate some of the long lines that visitors may have experienced at last year’s festival. Even more important, though, is the way it will help promote a broader appreciation for Taiwanese food culture in the heart of downtown San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are definitely more and more of these lesser-known and more hole-in-the-wall places that we want to showcase and give them a spotlight to the greater community of San Francisco,” Ma says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957321\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957321\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Yun-Hai_JuliaYu_TACF2023-27.jpg\" alt=\"Bags of Taiwanese dried fruit snacks for sale.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Yun-Hai_JuliaYu_TACF2023-27.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Yun-Hai_JuliaYu_TACF2023-27-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Yun-Hai_JuliaYu_TACF2023-27-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Yun-Hai_JuliaYu_TACF2023-27-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Yun-Hai_JuliaYu_TACF2023-27-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Yun-Hai_JuliaYu_TACF2023-27-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A booth selling Taiwanese-style dried fruit snacks at last year’s festival. \u003ccite>(Julia Yu, courtesy of Taiwanese American Cultural Festival)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tap-sf.org/tacf\">\u003ci>Taiwanese American Cultural Festival\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> will take place on Saturday, May 11, from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. at Union Square in San Francisco. Admission is free.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13957305/taiwanese-food-taiwanese-american-cultural-festival-san-francisco-union-square-2024","authors":["11743"],"programs":["arts_140"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_12276"],"tags":["arts_14125","arts_1297","arts_14398","arts_1146","arts_15151","arts_585"],"featImg":"arts_13957309","label":"source_arts_13957305"},"arts_13957282":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13957282","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13957282","score":null,"sort":[1715029250000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"zach-rodell-concert-visual-projection-artist-sf","title":"SF’s Zach Rodell Is a Go-To Artist for Tripped-Out Concert Visuals","publishDate":1715029250,"format":"standard","headTitle":"SF’s Zach Rodell Is a Go-To Artist for Tripped-Out Concert Visuals | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"arts"},"content":"\u003cp>Moments before Panchiko takes the stage at their sold-out UC Theatre show in April, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/zackr_thx_1138/?hl=en\">Zach Rodell\u003c/a> is plotting a visual projection display he’s never done before. He’s just gotten back from doing visuals at Coachella with LA psych rockers Jjuujjuu. And while Panchiko’s Berkeley tour stop might be Rodell’s first time working with the British indie band, he’s doing anything but playing it safe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You always want to envelop the audience so there’s visuals in your peripheral,” Rodell says as he juggles software platforms on his computer, which is connected to different MIDI controllers and analog hardware. “Lose your senses. Get lost in a show. … So I’m gonna try something really risky.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The show is about to start, yet Rodell — who lives in San Francisco’s Sunset district — is still downloading new digital art code packets from his command center next to the sound booth. He wants to project a deep-cut Sega Saturn warning graphic to make it look like the band is playing inside of an old video game — a fitting decision given that Panchiko’s young, internet-obsessed fanbase \u003ca href=\"https://www.34st.com/article/2024/04/resurrection-of-panchiko-lost-wave-band-comeback\">unearthed their music online\u003c/a> almost 20 years after it was first released.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957285\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2300px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957285\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/chokecherryat-The-Chapel_photo-by-Greg-Chow-_-visuals-by-Zach-Rodell.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2300\" height=\"1533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/chokecherryat-The-Chapel_photo-by-Greg-Chow-_-visuals-by-Zach-Rodell.jpg 2300w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/chokecherryat-The-Chapel_photo-by-Greg-Chow-_-visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/chokecherryat-The-Chapel_photo-by-Greg-Chow-_-visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/chokecherryat-The-Chapel_photo-by-Greg-Chow-_-visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/chokecherryat-The-Chapel_photo-by-Greg-Chow-_-visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/chokecherryat-The-Chapel_photo-by-Greg-Chow-_-visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/chokecherryat-The-Chapel_photo-by-Greg-Chow-_-visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/chokecherryat-The-Chapel_photo-by-Greg-Chow-_-visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2300px) 100vw, 2300px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chokecherry performs at the Chapel in San Francisco on April 12, surrounded by Zach Rodell’s visuals. \u003ccite>(Greg Chow)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rodell typically begins his process by recording a band on stage, then projecting that footage live onto a venue’s walls while layering it with fuzzed-out graphics and trippy, distorted colors. It creates a kind of living, breathing visual companion to the music, whose metamorphosis unfolds before the audience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Panchiko’s performance feels like a full-on audiovisual ecosystem. The band plays in front of a live superimposition of themselves soaked in Rodell’s digital watercolors, layered atop anime and gaming graphics. At the end of the night, Rodell is pleased with himself, even though he says wi-fi issues prevented him from executing all the “risks” he wanted to take, including a live AI art projection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless, the band is stoked, and Rodell gets confirmed to work with Panchiko for their next seven tour dates. Not to mention, he still has the second weekend of Coachella to head down to.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Elevating the concert experience\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Coupled with his regular lighting and visual technician gigs at San Francisco rooms like Rickshaw Stop, Great American Music Hall and The Chapel, Rodell’s work is in demand. He was in talks to do visuals for André 3000’s Big Sur show this past April at Henry Miller Library, before road closures on Highway 1 forced a postponement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Oakland band \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13928718/fake-fruit-is-the-best-emerging-band-in-the-bay-is-the-universe-conspiring-against-them\">Fake Fruit\u003c/a> headlined a bill at Rickshaw Stop earlier this year, Rodell wrapped a canvas around the entire room to create 360-degree projections. At one point, it felt like the band and audience were inside a psychedelic aquarium. It was sick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every show that Zach works, he elevates,” says Rickshaw Stop Head of Operations Dan Strachota.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/ui5I-YwbaKs?si=VuF6UBb71BqsTMnr&t=155\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodell’s rise comes at a fortuitous time in the live music industry, where promoters and consumers are swarming over the idea of concerts that are visually enhanced. Look no further than the Sphere in Las Vegas for the alpha example of this: It’s an immersive, 18,600-person concert hall where attendees are inside of a live music snow globe of sorts, featuring a 360-degree 16K LED visual display, spatial audio and 4D effects. U2 and Phish played widely publicized residencies since it opened last September, and Dead & Company have a 24-show run starting this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Continuing a psychedelic SF legacy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When it comes to Dead & Co especially, it’s hard to not think about how this represents an evolution of the ’60s Grateful Dead shows in SF venues like the Avalon and Carousel Ballroom. Visual artists like Bill Ham and Glenn McKay created psychedelic, oil-spinning light shows, making venues feel like the inside of a lava lamp — a perfect place to indulge in hallucinogens. Rodell is friends with the 92-year old Ham, and his work builds upon that ’60s San Francisco tradition. Even if it happened by accident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodell grew up in the Inland Empire city of Rancho Cucamonga. “I love that it’s my hometown. Frank Zappa got arrested here,” he says with a smile. [aside postid='arts_13956541']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He went to school for airplane mechanics and made a move to East Palo Alto in 2012 to live with a girl he met on a Coachella message board. (“I ran into Mark Zuckerberg once, and he wouldn’t let me pet his dog,” he quips.) He was working at a startup that made oil-less generators, and immersed himself in live music and festival culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While volunteering at Sonoma County’s psych-rock staple, Huichica Festival, in 2015, Rodell found himself backstage talking to — of all people — Dead Kennedys frontman and SF political jester Jello Biafra.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were talking about how Bernie [Sanders] just lost the primary, and Jello was like, ‘I can’t talk about this stuff ’cause the Green Party will be all up on me,’” Rodell recalls. “So he changes the subject and was like, ‘Look at all this lighting stuff!’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Biafra was referencing the spinning platters adorned with oils, dyes and inks that Mad Alchemy Light Show’s Lance Gordon began making in the ’70s and revived in the late aughts after a decades-long hiatus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gordon was inspired by the likes of Ham, McKay and Brotherhood of Light, artists who helped cement the live legacies of the Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company and The Allman Brothers Band. These acts were seen as truly psychedelic performers. Today, Mad Alchemy is, by all accounts, the modern day benchmark for psychedelic light shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957284\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2300px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957284\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/JJuujjuu_CHapel_Photo-by-greg-CHow_Visuals-by-Zach-Rodell.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2300\" height=\"1533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/JJuujjuu_CHapel_Photo-by-greg-CHow_Visuals-by-Zach-Rodell.jpg 2300w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/JJuujjuu_CHapel_Photo-by-greg-CHow_Visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/JJuujjuu_CHapel_Photo-by-greg-CHow_Visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/JJuujjuu_CHapel_Photo-by-greg-CHow_Visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/JJuujjuu_CHapel_Photo-by-greg-CHow_Visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/JJuujjuu_CHapel_Photo-by-greg-CHow_Visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/JJuujjuu_CHapel_Photo-by-greg-CHow_Visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/JJuujjuu_CHapel_Photo-by-greg-CHow_Visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2300px) 100vw, 2300px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">JJuujjuu performs at the Chapel in San Francisco, surrounded by Zach Rodell’s visuals. \u003ccite>(Greg Chow)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Intrigued, Rodell got Gordon’s card, followed up and was soon working with him as an assistant. He broke up with the girl and dove deeper into his work with Mad Alchemy, including a yearly stint at Desert Daze festival in Joshua Tree, which has grown into the nation’s premier psych music fest. (He’s worked Desert Daze seven times, creating visuals for over 100 artists in the process.) Rodell gleaned much from Gordon, but the pair had a falling out in 2018. They briefly came back together during the pandemic in 2020, and Rodell set off on his own for good in 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Mad Alchemy is only liquids — it’s beautiful — but I want to do all types of visuals. I’m not trying to copy his stuff,” Rodell says. “I like cam footage and repurposing the footage of the band into art, and it’s mostly improv. The more I have to put thought into something or worry about it, I find myself not having as much fun.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He learns new techniques online, watching YouTube videos, staying active on forums, always looking for new modes to add to his arsenal. Over the years, he’s worked with bands from all over the world, in all edges of psychedelia, pushing the envelope of the complete experience. Australia’s Surprise Chef, Afro-soul collective Budos Band, New Zealand psych-folk singer Aldous Harding, LA dreamy indie outfit The Marías, Bronx funk legends ESG, Zamrock pioneers W.I.T.C.H., local luminary \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13956541/shannon-shaw-the-clams-the-moon-is-in-the-wrong-place\">Shannon Shaw\u003c/a>, Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier and so forth.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Trippy visuals for a new generation\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Fast forward to a recent Friday night at The Chapel in San Francisco’s Mission District, and Rodell is erecting scaffolding to mount his enormous, 65-pound projector to do visuals for SF shoegaze band LSD and the Search For God, along with Jjuujjuu and Chokecherry. Jjuujjuu is bringing Rodell to Coachella with them later that weekend. Bandleader Phil Pirrone — who also happens to have founded the Desert Daze festival — knows exactly why Rodell is the artist he wants to accompany the band on music’s biggest stage at Coachella.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our show is less about us and more about you,” Pirrone says. “He helps facilitate that. For our kind of band, and for Zach as the kind of projection artist he is, it always feels like it completes the intention of it to be an out-of-body experience.” [aside postid='arts_13957227']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With Rodell’s help, a band can have this living organism behind them, almost like a kinetic, phonetic embodiment of the music. Just as Bill Ham and Glenn McKay intended in the ’60s, the visuals help audiences let go of their inhibitions and feel more alive. For Rodell — who enjoys his morning coffee while looking out at Ocean Beach, and drives his gear solo to gigs, even Coachella — his art is an extension of a deeply personal connection to live music. One that he hopes to pass on to others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m just hoping down the line I’m gonna meet some kid who was like, ‘I tripped balls to your shows in high school!’” he exclaims. “I wanna hear that, that someone had an amazing time at a show, and the visuals helped it out and made the band look cool.”\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"His kaleidoscopic projections have taken him from Bay Area clubs to Coachella. ","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1715036254,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":26,"wordCount":1638},"headData":{"title":"SF’s Zach Rodell Is a Go-To Artist for Tripped-Out Concert Visuals | KQED","description":"His kaleidoscopic projections have taken him from Bay Area clubs to Coachella. ","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"SF’s Zach Rodell Is a Go-To Artist for Tripped-Out Concert Visuals","datePublished":"2024-05-06T21:00:50.000Z","dateModified":"2024-05-06T22:57:34.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"sticky":false,"nprByline":"Adrian Spinelli ","nprStoryId":"kqed-13957282","templateType":"standard","featuredImageType":"standard","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","showOnAuthorArchivePages":"No","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13957282/zach-rodell-concert-visual-projection-artist-sf","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Moments before Panchiko takes the stage at their sold-out UC Theatre show in April, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/zackr_thx_1138/?hl=en\">Zach Rodell\u003c/a> is plotting a visual projection display he’s never done before. He’s just gotten back from doing visuals at Coachella with LA psych rockers Jjuujjuu. And while Panchiko’s Berkeley tour stop might be Rodell’s first time working with the British indie band, he’s doing anything but playing it safe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You always want to envelop the audience so there’s visuals in your peripheral,” Rodell says as he juggles software platforms on his computer, which is connected to different MIDI controllers and analog hardware. “Lose your senses. Get lost in a show. … So I’m gonna try something really risky.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The show is about to start, yet Rodell — who lives in San Francisco’s Sunset district — is still downloading new digital art code packets from his command center next to the sound booth. He wants to project a deep-cut Sega Saturn warning graphic to make it look like the band is playing inside of an old video game — a fitting decision given that Panchiko’s young, internet-obsessed fanbase \u003ca href=\"https://www.34st.com/article/2024/04/resurrection-of-panchiko-lost-wave-band-comeback\">unearthed their music online\u003c/a> almost 20 years after it was first released.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957285\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2300px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957285\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/chokecherryat-The-Chapel_photo-by-Greg-Chow-_-visuals-by-Zach-Rodell.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2300\" height=\"1533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/chokecherryat-The-Chapel_photo-by-Greg-Chow-_-visuals-by-Zach-Rodell.jpg 2300w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/chokecherryat-The-Chapel_photo-by-Greg-Chow-_-visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/chokecherryat-The-Chapel_photo-by-Greg-Chow-_-visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/chokecherryat-The-Chapel_photo-by-Greg-Chow-_-visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/chokecherryat-The-Chapel_photo-by-Greg-Chow-_-visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/chokecherryat-The-Chapel_photo-by-Greg-Chow-_-visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/chokecherryat-The-Chapel_photo-by-Greg-Chow-_-visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/chokecherryat-The-Chapel_photo-by-Greg-Chow-_-visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2300px) 100vw, 2300px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chokecherry performs at the Chapel in San Francisco on April 12, surrounded by Zach Rodell’s visuals. \u003ccite>(Greg Chow)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rodell typically begins his process by recording a band on stage, then projecting that footage live onto a venue’s walls while layering it with fuzzed-out graphics and trippy, distorted colors. It creates a kind of living, breathing visual companion to the music, whose metamorphosis unfolds before the audience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Panchiko’s performance feels like a full-on audiovisual ecosystem. The band plays in front of a live superimposition of themselves soaked in Rodell’s digital watercolors, layered atop anime and gaming graphics. At the end of the night, Rodell is pleased with himself, even though he says wi-fi issues prevented him from executing all the “risks” he wanted to take, including a live AI art projection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless, the band is stoked, and Rodell gets confirmed to work with Panchiko for their next seven tour dates. Not to mention, he still has the second weekend of Coachella to head down to.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Elevating the concert experience\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Coupled with his regular lighting and visual technician gigs at San Francisco rooms like Rickshaw Stop, Great American Music Hall and The Chapel, Rodell’s work is in demand. He was in talks to do visuals for André 3000’s Big Sur show this past April at Henry Miller Library, before road closures on Highway 1 forced a postponement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Oakland band \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13928718/fake-fruit-is-the-best-emerging-band-in-the-bay-is-the-universe-conspiring-against-them\">Fake Fruit\u003c/a> headlined a bill at Rickshaw Stop earlier this year, Rodell wrapped a canvas around the entire room to create 360-degree projections. At one point, it felt like the band and audience were inside a psychedelic aquarium. It was sick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every show that Zach works, he elevates,” says Rickshaw Stop Head of Operations Dan Strachota.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/ui5I-YwbaKs'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/ui5I-YwbaKs'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Rodell’s rise comes at a fortuitous time in the live music industry, where promoters and consumers are swarming over the idea of concerts that are visually enhanced. Look no further than the Sphere in Las Vegas for the alpha example of this: It’s an immersive, 18,600-person concert hall where attendees are inside of a live music snow globe of sorts, featuring a 360-degree 16K LED visual display, spatial audio and 4D effects. U2 and Phish played widely publicized residencies since it opened last September, and Dead & Company have a 24-show run starting this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Continuing a psychedelic SF legacy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When it comes to Dead & Co especially, it’s hard to not think about how this represents an evolution of the ’60s Grateful Dead shows in SF venues like the Avalon and Carousel Ballroom. Visual artists like Bill Ham and Glenn McKay created psychedelic, oil-spinning light shows, making venues feel like the inside of a lava lamp — a perfect place to indulge in hallucinogens. Rodell is friends with the 92-year old Ham, and his work builds upon that ’60s San Francisco tradition. Even if it happened by accident.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodell grew up in the Inland Empire city of Rancho Cucamonga. “I love that it’s my hometown. Frank Zappa got arrested here,” he says with a smile. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13956541","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He went to school for airplane mechanics and made a move to East Palo Alto in 2012 to live with a girl he met on a Coachella message board. (“I ran into Mark Zuckerberg once, and he wouldn’t let me pet his dog,” he quips.) He was working at a startup that made oil-less generators, and immersed himself in live music and festival culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While volunteering at Sonoma County’s psych-rock staple, Huichica Festival, in 2015, Rodell found himself backstage talking to — of all people — Dead Kennedys frontman and SF political jester Jello Biafra.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were talking about how Bernie [Sanders] just lost the primary, and Jello was like, ‘I can’t talk about this stuff ’cause the Green Party will be all up on me,’” Rodell recalls. “So he changes the subject and was like, ‘Look at all this lighting stuff!’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Biafra was referencing the spinning platters adorned with oils, dyes and inks that Mad Alchemy Light Show’s Lance Gordon began making in the ’70s and revived in the late aughts after a decades-long hiatus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gordon was inspired by the likes of Ham, McKay and Brotherhood of Light, artists who helped cement the live legacies of the Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company and The Allman Brothers Band. These acts were seen as truly psychedelic performers. Today, Mad Alchemy is, by all accounts, the modern day benchmark for psychedelic light shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957284\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2300px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957284\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/JJuujjuu_CHapel_Photo-by-greg-CHow_Visuals-by-Zach-Rodell.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2300\" height=\"1533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/JJuujjuu_CHapel_Photo-by-greg-CHow_Visuals-by-Zach-Rodell.jpg 2300w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/JJuujjuu_CHapel_Photo-by-greg-CHow_Visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/JJuujjuu_CHapel_Photo-by-greg-CHow_Visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/JJuujjuu_CHapel_Photo-by-greg-CHow_Visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/JJuujjuu_CHapel_Photo-by-greg-CHow_Visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/JJuujjuu_CHapel_Photo-by-greg-CHow_Visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/JJuujjuu_CHapel_Photo-by-greg-CHow_Visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/JJuujjuu_CHapel_Photo-by-greg-CHow_Visuals-by-Zach-Rodell-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2300px) 100vw, 2300px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">JJuujjuu performs at the Chapel in San Francisco, surrounded by Zach Rodell’s visuals. \u003ccite>(Greg Chow)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Intrigued, Rodell got Gordon’s card, followed up and was soon working with him as an assistant. He broke up with the girl and dove deeper into his work with Mad Alchemy, including a yearly stint at Desert Daze festival in Joshua Tree, which has grown into the nation’s premier psych music fest. (He’s worked Desert Daze seven times, creating visuals for over 100 artists in the process.) Rodell gleaned much from Gordon, but the pair had a falling out in 2018. They briefly came back together during the pandemic in 2020, and Rodell set off on his own for good in 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Mad Alchemy is only liquids — it’s beautiful — but I want to do all types of visuals. I’m not trying to copy his stuff,” Rodell says. “I like cam footage and repurposing the footage of the band into art, and it’s mostly improv. The more I have to put thought into something or worry about it, I find myself not having as much fun.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He learns new techniques online, watching YouTube videos, staying active on forums, always looking for new modes to add to his arsenal. Over the years, he’s worked with bands from all over the world, in all edges of psychedelia, pushing the envelope of the complete experience. Australia’s Surprise Chef, Afro-soul collective Budos Band, New Zealand psych-folk singer Aldous Harding, LA dreamy indie outfit The Marías, Bronx funk legends ESG, Zamrock pioneers W.I.T.C.H., local luminary \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13956541/shannon-shaw-the-clams-the-moon-is-in-the-wrong-place\">Shannon Shaw\u003c/a>, Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier and so forth.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Trippy visuals for a new generation\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Fast forward to a recent Friday night at The Chapel in San Francisco’s Mission District, and Rodell is erecting scaffolding to mount his enormous, 65-pound projector to do visuals for SF shoegaze band LSD and the Search For God, along with Jjuujjuu and Chokecherry. Jjuujjuu is bringing Rodell to Coachella with them later that weekend. Bandleader Phil Pirrone — who also happens to have founded the Desert Daze festival — knows exactly why Rodell is the artist he wants to accompany the band on music’s biggest stage at Coachella.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our show is less about us and more about you,” Pirrone says. “He helps facilitate that. For our kind of band, and for Zach as the kind of projection artist he is, it always feels like it completes the intention of it to be an out-of-body experience.” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13957227","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With Rodell’s help, a band can have this living organism behind them, almost like a kinetic, phonetic embodiment of the music. Just as Bill Ham and Glenn McKay intended in the ’60s, the visuals help audiences let go of their inhibitions and feel more alive. For Rodell — who enjoys his morning coffee while looking out at Ocean Beach, and drives his gear solo to gigs, even Coachella — his art is an extension of a deeply personal connection to live music. One that he hopes to pass on to others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m just hoping down the line I’m gonna meet some kid who was like, ‘I tripped balls to your shows in high school!’” he exclaims. “I wanna hear that, that someone had an amazing time at a show, and the visuals helped it out and made the band look cool.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13957282/zach-rodell-concert-visual-projection-artist-sf","authors":["byline_arts_13957282"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_69","arts_70"],"tags":["arts_10278","arts_681","arts_1146"],"featImg":"arts_13957283","label":"arts"},"arts_13956839":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13956839","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13956839","score":null,"sort":[1714644031000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"dj-d-sharp","title":"D Sharp: The DJ with Four NBA Championship Rings","publishDate":1714644031,"format":"audio","headTitle":"D Sharp: The DJ with Four NBA Championship Rings | KQED","labelTerm":{"term":8720,"site":"arts"},"content":"\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Golden State Warriors had a rough 2023-2024 campaign, but at least the music was slappin’.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During timeouts, breaks between quarters and sometimes even when the ball was in play, the Chase Center’s speakers would vibrate with the sounds of legendary Bay Area hip-hop artists. The person often on the turntables making it happen: \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/djdsharp/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DJ D Sharp\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956841\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13956841\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DJDSharp-by-Squint-2-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Man with headphones on looks into the camera with an upbeat expression. \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DJDSharp-by-Squint-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DJDSharp-by-Squint-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DJDSharp-by-Squint-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DJDSharp-by-Squint-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DJDSharp-by-Squint-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DJDSharp-by-Squint-2-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DJDSharp-by-Squint-2-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ D Sharp on the ones and twos at Chase Center. \u003ccite>(Squint)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He’s been the Warriors in-house DJ for a decade, providing the soundtrack for Steph, Klay, Draymond and company during their legendary run of four NBA championships. DJ D Sharp, clearly an essential part of the team, even has four NBA championship rings of his own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside of the arena, DJ D Sharp is a radio show host for 106.1 KMEL and producer for Bay Area hip-hop artists. Over the past year, he’s produced projects for North Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/stspittin/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ST Spittin\u003c/a>, the East Bay collective \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/macarthurmaze/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MacArthur Maze\u003c/a> and a soon-to-be released project with East Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/firstnameian/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ian Kelly\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Raised in East Oakland himself, DJ D Sharp has been a producer and DJ since his teens. Given all his accomplishments, from working with the likes of Lauryn Hill and Kelly Rowland to making an appearance at the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, DJ D Sharp has a lot to be proud of. This week, we talk about providing a soundtrack for the Warriors’ dynasty while building a lasting legacy for his family and community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC7887334509\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[Music playing]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, Host:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> What’s up Rightnowish listeners, it’s your guy, Pendarvis Harshaw. Tapping in with my Warriors fans out there. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Sigh]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> What a season, talk about some highs and some lows, maybe the end of a dynasty. Who knows? Look, I’m not trying to wallow in the sad news– cause there’s always next year, right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At least there’s one thing we know for sure: in 2025 the NBA-All Stars game is coming to the Bay, so you know it’s gonna be lit with events in the Town and in Frisco and one person who is sure to be in the mix: DJ D Sharp.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He’s the Warriors in-house DJ, which means during a game, when there’s a break in the action or even sometimes while the ball is in play, you can hear him on the 1s and 2s. And every once in a while you can even look up and see him stunting on the jumbotron. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On top of being the Warriors DJ, he’s a hip-hop producer. Recently he’s done projects with North Oakland’s ST Spittin and the group, MacArthur Maze. He’s been producing for just about as long as he’s been a DJ– dating back to his teens. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As a guy who was raised in East Oakland, DJ D Sharp says it’s been a dream being a part of the Warriors franchise.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I don’t take none of it for granted. Like, it’s an amazing experience to deejay in front of 20,000 people every night and to get the love from the people too. It’s just amazing, bro. Like, I’m blessed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So for this episode, we chop it up about his journey to the Warriors, providing the soundtrack for a basketball dynasty and what legacy he’s building for the Town and his family, coming up after this. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bringing you into the discussion today, excited to talk to you because you are at the helm of something very important: you provide the soundtrack to one of my favorite sports teams. And you’ve produced some really tight projects over the last couple of years out of, out of the East Bay. Let’s start at the start. What came first: deejaying or producing?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Deejaying most definitely came first. I was collecting records and like, the \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yo! MTV Rap\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> era, like, it was just like, I loved it and I couldn’t, you know, step away from the TV. I was always tuned in, dialed in. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What was the first piece of equipment you had?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The first piece of equipment I had was my mom’s turn table. It was some off-brand name. I was on that thing learning. And then I was like, oh, I need a mixer and then I got a mixer from the homie down the street.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But my pops is uh, he’s a musician and he played the keyboards and he had bands and all that kind of stuff. So he’d buy the latest drum machine, and then I’d just be playing on it, and then next thing you know, he’d forget about it and he giving it to me.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music playing]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I caught on a real fast to the point where I think that’s why people started giving me equipment, giving me records and giving me stuff because they were seeing it. They was like, yo, he got it. Like, take this and go play. Go, go, go, go, experiment with this and then come back to me. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What age are we talking about here?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 12. 13. 14.\u003c/span>\u003cb> I \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">had homies in Richmond, who I would go spend a weekend, every other weekend with them. My boy Aaron ,we were the same age, so we would we would hang out and his brothers was deejays. So I go to they house and just get equipment. Like, I come home with records.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was a community effort.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was a community effort for sure.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So a lot of these factors pouring into you, a lot of Bay area energy. You said either in the town or in Richmond. You did mention that \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yo! MTV Raps\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> having that influence on you as well.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I’m wondering like, does this whole trope about, you know, all Bay area music all sounds the same and how like there’s an east coast sound and a west coast sound, did that ever play a part in you developing your style?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When people heard me out deejaying and it’d be like the first question they asked me all the time was, was I from the east coast, “because you don’t you don’t deejay like these other cats. Like you, where are you from?” I’m like ‘I’m from East Oakland.’ Like, you know what I’m saying? They’d be like, “What?” I’d be like, ‘Yeah.’\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know, being from the Town, you know, it’s all about the knock. It’s all about the slump. It’s all about, you know,415’s. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music playing]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So I came from that but also came from the choppin’ samples and that side of hip hop is the drum breaks and stuff like that. So like I’m taking the drum breaking and adding 808 to it, you get what I’m saying, like, you know,Too $hort, like, “In The Trunk” Like you listen to “In The Trunk” that’s what that is. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can hear it in my sound in a production, like, for me, I grew up loving Gang Starr as much as I love Ant Banks and Spice 1. I love Too $hort just as much as I loved Big Daddy Kane.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was just immersed in hip hop.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Those early days of getting into the game and you start working with some, some pretty heavyweight names in the industry.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For a time period, you were tour deejay for Lauryn Hill?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yes! ‘Cause Kev Choice had tapped me to be the tour DJ for Lauryn because she tapped him to be the music director. Me and Kev go way back to Brookfield Elementary. You know, anytime he thinks of a DJ, anytime I think of, some, a multi instrumentalist, I think, of Kev. So we collab and we always look out for each other.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, yeah, Lauryn Hill was craz and it was a dope run, and I learned a lot from her. We all did.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I became a tour deejay all the way up until 2010, so you talking ten years.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We toured heavy with will.i.am. And I saw will.i.am at a Warriors game. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music playing]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And he was like, “You the Warriors Dj?” He was like “Oh okay, that’s whats up,” you know what I mean. So it all be a full circle moment.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Clip of promotional video] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“One more time, give it up for DJ D Sharp, come on!”\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> [basketball arena crowd cheers] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You’ve mentioned The Warriors, you’ve been there over a dozen years now. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yes. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bring me back to the start. How do you land that gig?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">God bless the dead DJ Solomon. He was the first deejay for the Warriors and I argue that he might have been the first deejay in the NBA. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He taught me a lot. He was a peer but he was also a mentor and I met him at a Blackalicious show. He he approached me and he said, “Bro, like your scratching, bro, it’s so crazy. Like, I DJ for the Warriors and you know, we’d love to have you come and just do a 2 x 4 set with me.” I was like ‘Yeah it’s all good,’ we exchanged numbers.” We killed it. We had a good time. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And then he was like, “Let’s do it again.”\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And then he would do it with other deejays as well in the community. But then, he got busy, like, he was a part of the whole Serato situation. For those who don’t know, Serrato was the software used by DJs, just like, the number one software. But like, if you look back at the promo, bro is on the promo with like Z trip, DJ Jazzy Jeff, like Qbert, like with all the these heavy hitter deejays. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He got busy. So he couldn’t do a lot of games. So he would, like, send out these emails to a bunch of DJs and, and, you know, for some reason, it felt like I was always the one who answered the emails.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is when the Warriors sucked too, right. This is like pre, “we believe.” And then when “we believe” came like I was still filling in for him. But he did like all that playoff run and all that kind of stuff. And then up until 2012, he… man, yeah, he passed away, man, and then the Warriors offered me the gig.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before the Dynasty and Steph, Klay and Dre like in the early days like what does it mean to be a part of the entertainment of a team that’s not performing too well?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That was what it was all about. It was about the entertainment, right? because the team wasn’t good. So if you, if you, remember we had Thunder.\u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music playing, crowd cheering]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thunder was the mascot for the Warriors. Thunder was the highlight, you know, dunking and doing his thing and going all around the arena ya know what I mean? Thunder was the man.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shout out Brett Yamaguchi, who was the head of all the entertainment. He made it where the entertainment was top notch. Like the t-shirt toss and like, the Warriors dance team and like all of that stuff, like, you know those timeouts, those breaks, those contests, like, all of that stuff was more exciting than the game itself \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> You get what I’m saying?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Warriors chant]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I do remember the arena always being filled. Like, people will always show up for the warriors, like, regardless of the losing seasons and all of that kinda stuff. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m rolling. I’m sorry. Yeah. You’re like “it was always packed,” like, yeah, because people got free tickets from the library, from Lucky’s, Round Table. But yeah, those were good times. You know, there was no winning in sight. I couldn’t foresee a Steph, Klay, Dray, like, dynasty like we have now.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">No one could bro. And that’s the, that’s the magic and the beauty of it all, right?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah. Do you have a certain song that you go to for a certain situation? like say, I don’t know, it’s 24 seconds left on the clock and the Warriors got the ball, they down, you know, a point and you want the crowd to get amped during that half, during that timeout right before the ball comes into play. Do you have a song that will play for folks?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The only song that really that I go like, is a go to song when it’s cracking and is going stupid in there,I did like a house remix for the E-40 remix. So I do that a lot because it’s a lot of energy. “Everybody say Warriors, Warriors” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music playing]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I play that in moments like that. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You deejay for the Warriors during this, like historical run, right, for this past decade. And when they play these clips as these players Steph, Klay, Dre go into the Hall of Fame, they’ll have those songs in the background as the clips play. Like, does that ever like, occur to you that you’re kind of laying the soundtrack for history?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, I think about it, you know ? Because it’s like, you know, I mean, I’ve had Steph, I’ve had Coach Kerr, I’ve had Loon, even GP too like, like I’ve had these brothers come up to me telling me, I make an impact. So it’s dope to hear that. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With that said, you’re a valued member of the team. You’ve got championship rings, multiple.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: yeah, \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">No. It’s crazy. There’s one for each member of my family. Me, my wife and my two sons. We got four.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For you personally this year,while, the team has had its ups and downs, and a lot of down, you personally have had some some pretty big highlights, All Sar, All Star 2024?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yes, I was tapped to go and do All Star 2024. I did the celebrity game and that was fun. You know, that experience is amazing and is coming to the Bay area.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You think that this means a lot to the entire Bay area, I’m assuming?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oh for sure, for sure, man.I think the Bay is getting a bad rap right now from the homelessness to everything that’s going on with the crime and bippin’ and all that kind of stuff.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But when you talk to people and you talk to family in other cities and other locations, like, this is going on across the country, across the world, like bippin’ is happening, like it’s worse in Atlanta as far as I know. But it don’t get amplified like it does here in the Bay for some reason.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oakland gets a bad rap, especially like, we been lost all of our teams. It’s like they trying to like, cleanse us of Oakland. It’s like, what are we doing? Like, no, Oakland is beautiful and it needs to be put on a pedestal.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music playing]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s heartbreaking to see. But at the same time, I think Oakland gonna eventually end up being on top like we always are.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah, as you talk about it, it’s kind of wild to me that you see it on both sides like the professional, the sports team, you were there for the Warriors move away from the town and through the music. The music is always an underdog to the bigger cities. And so playing that role, you’re carrying a lot of weight there!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Again, I see us, like, rising from the ashes like we here, Like, this is what we do. So, yeah, we’ll be aight.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music playing]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So beyond basketball, you’re also part owner of the Oakland Roots soccer team. Like, how did how did that come to be?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That sound crazy, don’t it, right? Shout out my sister, she hit me up. She was like, you know, “There’s rare opportunity to be a part of this, the growth of what’s going on with the Oakland Roots, Oakland Soul.” And she sent me the information and it was kind of like, a no brainer. And it’s going back to like, my kids, like, I’m looking at that. Like, I’m trying to set up something for them.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And on top of that, you look at Oakland Soul and you look at Oakland Roots, right. They are here. They are Oakland. You get what I’m saying? And I don’t, I don’t never see them, you know, packing up and going out. I only see them growing. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My sons are humongous soccer fans, so they know all the players. They know everything about it. So, it was just a wonderful opportunity that I had to kind of just, I had to do it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So you, where you are in your career again, both in the the DJ realm, the production realm, you also have these two little ones that you mentioned before, your children, and also your wife, I’m like, your family, what does it mean to them to see you in the position that you’re in?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I tell you this about my boys, man, and one of the things I love the most, because they love music and they love basketball. I’m able to provide them resources that I didn’t have coming up, which is a blessing. I mean, these boys are playing AAU basketball, you know, karate, soccer league, they doing all the sports. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They have a story within themselves, like, they were able to be in a parade twice. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music playing]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>DJ D Sharp:\u003c/strong> So my whole family, we had our own car in a parade, and they waving to people and doing all this stuff, so it’s like, especially my 11 year old, to see his confidence. And, you know, I love it. Like, he’s a confident kid. He’s like, real headstrong. He knows what he wants and he he goes for it. That’s all I can ask, man.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sounds like you’re passing on more than a championship ring.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s the whole thing about fatherhood, you just want, you want to give them what you didn’t have, but you also want to teach them things, valuable lessons you’ve learned and pass them on, so yeah.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Congrats to that!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thank you:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, host: \u003c/b>One more time for DJ D Sharp. Thank you for your time, your story and your work!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All the info on his latest music projects can be found on his Instagram at DJD Sharp, all one word. Or check out his music on any streaming platform, under DJ D Sharp.\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This episode was hosted by me, Pendarvis Harshaw. Marisol Medina-Cadena produced this episode. Chris Egusa and Chris Hambrick both held it down for edits. We call that the Chris cross connection. Christopher Beale engineered this joint. The music you heard was courtesy of D Sharp. The Rightnowish team is also supported by Jen Chien, Ugur Dursun, Holly Kernan, Cesar Saldaña, and Katie Sprenger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you like what you hear and have the means to do so, we ask that you consider supporting dope local programming like this show. Visit KQED dot org slash donate. We appreciate ya.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rightnowish is a KQED production. Until next time, peace\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Thunder was the mascot for the Warriors. You probably know this story, Pen, the story about how they went to China and he never came back. Like, he got married and settled and had a family over there.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I did not hear this story at all.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I don’t know if it was PR or it was a fan. It’s crazy, look it up.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pen Harshaw, host\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">: We did look it up. And buried on the Warriors official Youtube page, we found this: a 10 year old video explaining why the Dubs’ beloved mascot Thunder is no longer with the team.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Clip from “Thunder: Found in China”:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I came to China with the Warriors for the NBA China Games in 2008, and I started dancing with Chinese fans like I had never danced before. I also met the love of my life here in China and never looked back and I’m not coming back.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Life, love, dunking and dancing, China has it all for me. At first there were struggles fitting in, but I found an inner peace. And I want you to know. While I miss you dearly, Warriors fans, you taught me what it was to be thunder. But now my home is China. Sincerely, Léijong \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"DJ D Sharp talks about spinning for Golden State Warriors games while building a legacy for his family.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1714676977,"stats":{"hasAudio":true,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":85,"wordCount":3938},"headData":{"title":"D Sharp: The DJ with Four NBA Championship Rings | KQED","description":"The Golden State Warriors had a rough 2023-2024 campaign, but at least the music was slappin'. During timeouts, breaks between quarters and sometimes even when the ball was in play, the Chase Center's speakers would vibrate with the sounds of legendary Bay Area hip-hop artists. The person often on the turntables making it happen: DJ D Sharp.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","socialDescription":"The Golden State Warriors had a rough 2023-2024 campaign, but at least the music was slappin'. During timeouts, breaks between quarters and sometimes even when the ball was in play, the Chase Center's speakers would vibrate with the sounds of legendary Bay Area hip-hop artists. The person often on the turntables making it happen: DJ D Sharp.","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"D Sharp: The DJ with Four NBA Championship Rings","datePublished":"2024-05-02T10:00:31.000Z","dateModified":"2024-05-02T19:09:37.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"audioUrl":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/chrt.fm/track/G6C7C3/traffic.megaphone.fm/KQINC7887334509.mp3?updated=1714612024","sticky":false,"templateType":"standard","featuredImageType":"standard","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13956839/dj-d-sharp","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Golden State Warriors had a rough 2023-2024 campaign, but at least the music was slappin’.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During timeouts, breaks between quarters and sometimes even when the ball was in play, the Chase Center’s speakers would vibrate with the sounds of legendary Bay Area hip-hop artists. The person often on the turntables making it happen: \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/djdsharp/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DJ D Sharp\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956841\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13956841\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DJDSharp-by-Squint-2-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Man with headphones on looks into the camera with an upbeat expression. \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DJDSharp-by-Squint-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DJDSharp-by-Squint-2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DJDSharp-by-Squint-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DJDSharp-by-Squint-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DJDSharp-by-Squint-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DJDSharp-by-Squint-2-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DJDSharp-by-Squint-2-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ D Sharp on the ones and twos at Chase Center. \u003ccite>(Squint)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He’s been the Warriors in-house DJ for a decade, providing the soundtrack for Steph, Klay, Draymond and company during their legendary run of four NBA championships. DJ D Sharp, clearly an essential part of the team, even has four NBA championship rings of his own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outside of the arena, DJ D Sharp is a radio show host for 106.1 KMEL and producer for Bay Area hip-hop artists. Over the past year, he’s produced projects for North Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/stspittin/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ST Spittin\u003c/a>, the East Bay collective \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/macarthurmaze/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MacArthur Maze\u003c/a> and a soon-to-be released project with East Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/firstnameian/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ian Kelly\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Raised in East Oakland himself, DJ D Sharp has been a producer and DJ since his teens. Given all his accomplishments, from working with the likes of Lauryn Hill and Kelly Rowland to making an appearance at the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, DJ D Sharp has a lot to be proud of. This week, we talk about providing a soundtrack for the Warriors’ dynasty while building a lasting legacy for his family and community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC7887334509\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[Music playing]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, Host:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> What’s up Rightnowish listeners, it’s your guy, Pendarvis Harshaw. Tapping in with my Warriors fans out there. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Sigh]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> What a season, talk about some highs and some lows, maybe the end of a dynasty. Who knows? Look, I’m not trying to wallow in the sad news– cause there’s always next year, right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At least there’s one thing we know for sure: in 2025 the NBA-All Stars game is coming to the Bay, so you know it’s gonna be lit with events in the Town and in Frisco and one person who is sure to be in the mix: DJ D Sharp.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He’s the Warriors in-house DJ, which means during a game, when there’s a break in the action or even sometimes while the ball is in play, you can hear him on the 1s and 2s. And every once in a while you can even look up and see him stunting on the jumbotron. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On top of being the Warriors DJ, he’s a hip-hop producer. Recently he’s done projects with North Oakland’s ST Spittin and the group, MacArthur Maze. He’s been producing for just about as long as he’s been a DJ– dating back to his teens. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As a guy who was raised in East Oakland, DJ D Sharp says it’s been a dream being a part of the Warriors franchise.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I don’t take none of it for granted. Like, it’s an amazing experience to deejay in front of 20,000 people every night and to get the love from the people too. It’s just amazing, bro. Like, I’m blessed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So for this episode, we chop it up about his journey to the Warriors, providing the soundtrack for a basketball dynasty and what legacy he’s building for the Town and his family, coming up after this. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bringing you into the discussion today, excited to talk to you because you are at the helm of something very important: you provide the soundtrack to one of my favorite sports teams. And you’ve produced some really tight projects over the last couple of years out of, out of the East Bay. Let’s start at the start. What came first: deejaying or producing?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Deejaying most definitely came first. I was collecting records and like, the \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yo! MTV Rap\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> era, like, it was just like, I loved it and I couldn’t, you know, step away from the TV. I was always tuned in, dialed in. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What was the first piece of equipment you had?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The first piece of equipment I had was my mom’s turn table. It was some off-brand name. I was on that thing learning. And then I was like, oh, I need a mixer and then I got a mixer from the homie down the street.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But my pops is uh, he’s a musician and he played the keyboards and he had bands and all that kind of stuff. So he’d buy the latest drum machine, and then I’d just be playing on it, and then next thing you know, he’d forget about it and he giving it to me.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music playing]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I caught on a real fast to the point where I think that’s why people started giving me equipment, giving me records and giving me stuff because they were seeing it. They was like, yo, he got it. Like, take this and go play. Go, go, go, go, experiment with this and then come back to me. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What age are we talking about here?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 12. 13. 14.\u003c/span>\u003cb> I \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">had homies in Richmond, who I would go spend a weekend, every other weekend with them. My boy Aaron ,we were the same age, so we would we would hang out and his brothers was deejays. So I go to they house and just get equipment. Like, I come home with records.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was a community effort.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was a community effort for sure.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So a lot of these factors pouring into you, a lot of Bay area energy. You said either in the town or in Richmond. You did mention that \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yo! MTV Raps\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> having that influence on you as well.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I’m wondering like, does this whole trope about, you know, all Bay area music all sounds the same and how like there’s an east coast sound and a west coast sound, did that ever play a part in you developing your style?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When people heard me out deejaying and it’d be like the first question they asked me all the time was, was I from the east coast, “because you don’t you don’t deejay like these other cats. Like you, where are you from?” I’m like ‘I’m from East Oakland.’ Like, you know what I’m saying? They’d be like, “What?” I’d be like, ‘Yeah.’\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know, being from the Town, you know, it’s all about the knock. It’s all about the slump. It’s all about, you know,415’s. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music playing]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So I came from that but also came from the choppin’ samples and that side of hip hop is the drum breaks and stuff like that. So like I’m taking the drum breaking and adding 808 to it, you get what I’m saying, like, you know,Too $hort, like, “In The Trunk” Like you listen to “In The Trunk” that’s what that is. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can hear it in my sound in a production, like, for me, I grew up loving Gang Starr as much as I love Ant Banks and Spice 1. I love Too $hort just as much as I loved Big Daddy Kane.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was just immersed in hip hop.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Those early days of getting into the game and you start working with some, some pretty heavyweight names in the industry.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For a time period, you were tour deejay for Lauryn Hill?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yes! ‘Cause Kev Choice had tapped me to be the tour DJ for Lauryn because she tapped him to be the music director. Me and Kev go way back to Brookfield Elementary. You know, anytime he thinks of a DJ, anytime I think of, some, a multi instrumentalist, I think, of Kev. So we collab and we always look out for each other.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, yeah, Lauryn Hill was craz and it was a dope run, and I learned a lot from her. We all did.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I became a tour deejay all the way up until 2010, so you talking ten years.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We toured heavy with will.i.am. And I saw will.i.am at a Warriors game. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music playing]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And he was like, “You the Warriors Dj?” He was like “Oh okay, that’s whats up,” you know what I mean. So it all be a full circle moment.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Clip of promotional video] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“One more time, give it up for DJ D Sharp, come on!”\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> [basketball arena crowd cheers] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You’ve mentioned The Warriors, you’ve been there over a dozen years now. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yes. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bring me back to the start. How do you land that gig?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">God bless the dead DJ Solomon. He was the first deejay for the Warriors and I argue that he might have been the first deejay in the NBA. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He taught me a lot. He was a peer but he was also a mentor and I met him at a Blackalicious show. He he approached me and he said, “Bro, like your scratching, bro, it’s so crazy. Like, I DJ for the Warriors and you know, we’d love to have you come and just do a 2 x 4 set with me.” I was like ‘Yeah it’s all good,’ we exchanged numbers.” We killed it. We had a good time. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And then he was like, “Let’s do it again.”\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And then he would do it with other deejays as well in the community. But then, he got busy, like, he was a part of the whole Serato situation. For those who don’t know, Serrato was the software used by DJs, just like, the number one software. But like, if you look back at the promo, bro is on the promo with like Z trip, DJ Jazzy Jeff, like Qbert, like with all the these heavy hitter deejays. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He got busy. So he couldn’t do a lot of games. So he would, like, send out these emails to a bunch of DJs and, and, you know, for some reason, it felt like I was always the one who answered the emails.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is when the Warriors sucked too, right. This is like pre, “we believe.” And then when “we believe” came like I was still filling in for him. But he did like all that playoff run and all that kind of stuff. And then up until 2012, he… man, yeah, he passed away, man, and then the Warriors offered me the gig.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before the Dynasty and Steph, Klay and Dre like in the early days like what does it mean to be a part of the entertainment of a team that’s not performing too well?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That was what it was all about. It was about the entertainment, right? because the team wasn’t good. So if you, if you, remember we had Thunder.\u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music playing, crowd cheering]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thunder was the mascot for the Warriors. Thunder was the highlight, you know, dunking and doing his thing and going all around the arena ya know what I mean? Thunder was the man.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shout out Brett Yamaguchi, who was the head of all the entertainment. He made it where the entertainment was top notch. Like the t-shirt toss and like, the Warriors dance team and like all of that stuff, like, you know those timeouts, those breaks, those contests, like, all of that stuff was more exciting than the game itself \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> You get what I’m saying?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Warriors chant]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I do remember the arena always being filled. Like, people will always show up for the warriors, like, regardless of the losing seasons and all of that kinda stuff. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m rolling. I’m sorry. Yeah. You’re like “it was always packed,” like, yeah, because people got free tickets from the library, from Lucky’s, Round Table. But yeah, those were good times. You know, there was no winning in sight. I couldn’t foresee a Steph, Klay, Dray, like, dynasty like we have now.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">No one could bro. And that’s the, that’s the magic and the beauty of it all, right?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah. Do you have a certain song that you go to for a certain situation? like say, I don’t know, it’s 24 seconds left on the clock and the Warriors got the ball, they down, you know, a point and you want the crowd to get amped during that half, during that timeout right before the ball comes into play. Do you have a song that will play for folks?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The only song that really that I go like, is a go to song when it’s cracking and is going stupid in there,I did like a house remix for the E-40 remix. So I do that a lot because it’s a lot of energy. “Everybody say Warriors, Warriors” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music playing]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I play that in moments like that. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You deejay for the Warriors during this, like historical run, right, for this past decade. And when they play these clips as these players Steph, Klay, Dre go into the Hall of Fame, they’ll have those songs in the background as the clips play. Like, does that ever like, occur to you that you’re kind of laying the soundtrack for history?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, I think about it, you know ? Because it’s like, you know, I mean, I’ve had Steph, I’ve had Coach Kerr, I’ve had Loon, even GP too like, like I’ve had these brothers come up to me telling me, I make an impact. So it’s dope to hear that. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With that said, you’re a valued member of the team. You’ve got championship rings, multiple.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: yeah, \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">No. It’s crazy. There’s one for each member of my family. Me, my wife and my two sons. We got four.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For you personally this year,while, the team has had its ups and downs, and a lot of down, you personally have had some some pretty big highlights, All Sar, All Star 2024?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yes, I was tapped to go and do All Star 2024. I did the celebrity game and that was fun. You know, that experience is amazing and is coming to the Bay area.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You think that this means a lot to the entire Bay area, I’m assuming?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oh for sure, for sure, man.I think the Bay is getting a bad rap right now from the homelessness to everything that’s going on with the crime and bippin’ and all that kind of stuff.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But when you talk to people and you talk to family in other cities and other locations, like, this is going on across the country, across the world, like bippin’ is happening, like it’s worse in Atlanta as far as I know. But it don’t get amplified like it does here in the Bay for some reason.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oakland gets a bad rap, especially like, we been lost all of our teams. It’s like they trying to like, cleanse us of Oakland. It’s like, what are we doing? Like, no, Oakland is beautiful and it needs to be put on a pedestal.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music playing]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s heartbreaking to see. But at the same time, I think Oakland gonna eventually end up being on top like we always are.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah, as you talk about it, it’s kind of wild to me that you see it on both sides like the professional, the sports team, you were there for the Warriors move away from the town and through the music. The music is always an underdog to the bigger cities. And so playing that role, you’re carrying a lot of weight there!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Again, I see us, like, rising from the ashes like we here, Like, this is what we do. So, yeah, we’ll be aight.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music playing]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So beyond basketball, you’re also part owner of the Oakland Roots soccer team. Like, how did how did that come to be?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That sound crazy, don’t it, right? Shout out my sister, she hit me up. She was like, you know, “There’s rare opportunity to be a part of this, the growth of what’s going on with the Oakland Roots, Oakland Soul.” And she sent me the information and it was kind of like, a no brainer. And it’s going back to like, my kids, like, I’m looking at that. Like, I’m trying to set up something for them.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And on top of that, you look at Oakland Soul and you look at Oakland Roots, right. They are here. They are Oakland. You get what I’m saying? And I don’t, I don’t never see them, you know, packing up and going out. I only see them growing. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My sons are humongous soccer fans, so they know all the players. They know everything about it. So, it was just a wonderful opportunity that I had to kind of just, I had to do it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So you, where you are in your career again, both in the the DJ realm, the production realm, you also have these two little ones that you mentioned before, your children, and also your wife, I’m like, your family, what does it mean to them to see you in the position that you’re in?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I tell you this about my boys, man, and one of the things I love the most, because they love music and they love basketball. I’m able to provide them resources that I didn’t have coming up, which is a blessing. I mean, these boys are playing AAU basketball, you know, karate, soccer league, they doing all the sports. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They have a story within themselves, like, they were able to be in a parade twice. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music playing]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>DJ D Sharp:\u003c/strong> So my whole family, we had our own car in a parade, and they waving to people and doing all this stuff, so it’s like, especially my 11 year old, to see his confidence. And, you know, I love it. Like, he’s a confident kid. He’s like, real headstrong. He knows what he wants and he he goes for it. That’s all I can ask, man.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sounds like you’re passing on more than a championship ring.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s the whole thing about fatherhood, you just want, you want to give them what you didn’t have, but you also want to teach them things, valuable lessons you’ve learned and pass them on, so yeah.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Congrats to that!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thank you:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, host: \u003c/b>One more time for DJ D Sharp. Thank you for your time, your story and your work!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All the info on his latest music projects can be found on his Instagram at DJD Sharp, all one word. Or check out his music on any streaming platform, under DJ D Sharp.\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This episode was hosted by me, Pendarvis Harshaw. Marisol Medina-Cadena produced this episode. Chris Egusa and Chris Hambrick both held it down for edits. We call that the Chris cross connection. Christopher Beale engineered this joint. The music you heard was courtesy of D Sharp. The Rightnowish team is also supported by Jen Chien, Ugur Dursun, Holly Kernan, Cesar Saldaña, and Katie Sprenger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you like what you hear and have the means to do so, we ask that you consider supporting dope local programming like this show. Visit KQED dot org slash donate. We appreciate ya.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rightnowish is a KQED production. Until next time, peace\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Thunder was the mascot for the Warriors. You probably know this story, Pen, the story about how they went to China and he never came back. Like, he got married and settled and had a family over there.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I did not hear this story at all.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>DJ D Sharp: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I don’t know if it was PR or it was a fan. It’s crazy, look it up.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pen Harshaw, host\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">: We did look it up. And buried on the Warriors official Youtube page, we found this: a 10 year old video explaining why the Dubs’ beloved mascot Thunder is no longer with the team.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Clip from “Thunder: Found in China”:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I came to China with the Warriors for the NBA China Games in 2008, and I started dancing with Chinese fans like I had never danced before. I also met the love of my life here in China and never looked back and I’m not coming back.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Life, love, dunking and dancing, China has it all for me. At first there were struggles fitting in, but I found an inner peace. And I want you to know. While I miss you dearly, Warriors fans, you taught me what it was to be thunder. But now my home is China. Sincerely, Léijong \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13956839/dj-d-sharp","authors":["11491","11528"],"programs":["arts_8720"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_69","arts_13238"],"tags":["arts_5786","arts_1331","arts_2852","arts_831","arts_1143","arts_3298"],"featImg":"arts_13956840","label":"arts_8720"},"arts_13956388":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13956388","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13956388","score":null,"sort":[1714039226000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"nic-feliciano-is-blessed-with-the-curse-of-an-overactive-creative-mind","title":"nic feliciano Is Blessed With The ‘Curse of an Overactive Creative Mind’","publishDate":1714039226,"format":"audio","headTitle":"nic feliciano Is Blessed With The ‘Curse of an Overactive Creative Mind’ | KQED","labelTerm":{"term":8720,"site":"arts"},"content":"\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>nic feliciano will find a way to creatively express herself, no matter what.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>feliciano (who also goes by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cocomachetz/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Coco Machete\u003c/a>) contains multitudes. She’s a fashionista who currently resides in Berkeley, but was born in the Philippines and spent her teenage years in Southern California. After moving to the East Bay for school two decades ago, she’s grown into a playwright, chef, thespian and — as she says — “a master of fun.” She’s also a former MC and member of the Bay Area-based hip-hop group \u003ca href=\"https://hottuboakland.bandcamp.com/album/3-the-hard-way\">HOTTUB\u003c/a>, which made Miami Bass–inspired rap songs from roughly 2006 to 2013.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to her work, there are two important things to understand: first, she incorporates her Filipina identity into everything she creates. Second, her “work” isn’t really work at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956529\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13956529 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/coco-machete-2-800x1207.jpg\" alt=\"A woman poses in a squat stance with her left hand holding her chin. She wears neon green clogs, black tights and a zebra print skirt. In the background are shelves holding recycled water jugs and plastic pots.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1207\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/coco-machete-2-800x1207.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/coco-machete-2-1020x1538.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/coco-machete-2-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/coco-machete-2-768x1158.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/coco-machete-2-1018x1536.jpg 1018w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/coco-machete-2-1358x2048.jpg 1358w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/coco-machete-2-1920x2896.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/coco-machete-2-scaled.jpg 1697w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">nic feliciano is a writer, performer and cook based in Berkeley by way of the Philippines. \u003ccite>(Kate Buenconsejo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>feliciano proudly maintains flexible daytime employment to pay her bills, while letting her creative juices flow during the evening hours. This separation allows her to stay inspired, penning funny sketches that she performs as a part of her \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/grannycartgangstas?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==\">Grannycart Gangstas\u003c/a> act at \u003ca href=\"https://www.bindlestiffstudio.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Blindlestiff Studio\u003c/a> in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>feliciano’s creations go beyond the stage. She’s currently writing a comic book in which she gives a modern spin on the mythological creature from Filipino folklore, the Manananggal. The storyline sheds light on the exploitation that workers in the Philippines face working as contractors for Big Tech.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week, we talk about how the Bay Area has assisted feliciano’s artistic endeavors, from rapping over bass-heavy hip-hop beats in the early 2000s to forging a “creative family of misfit Filipino kids who didn’t follow the path.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC8148943076\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, Host:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Hey what’s up Rightnowish listeners. I’m your host, Pendarvis Harshaw. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For this episode, we hear from cook, slash writer, slash actor, slash musician and all around funny person, nic feliciano, who goes by the moniker Coco Machete. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At age 10, nic, along with her mother and sister, left the Philippines and settled in Orange County. Itching to find like-minded folks, nic eventually left SoCal and moved to Berkeley for community college… and she’s been here ever since. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As y’all may know, juggling day jobs and side gigs to pay the bills comes with the territory of being an artist in the Bay. But for nic, she’s not pressed to let how she pays the rent define her.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano, Guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The true art and what I do is just kind of like surviving. Like my mom to me is an artist because of- she’s never picked up a paintbrush in her life. But like, the way she moves through life and the way she like, makes shit happen and the way she like, figures this out over that or whatever. Like, damn, that’s like such art to me!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rightnowish producer Marisol Medina-Cadena and I dive into the splendor that is nic’s mind, and discuss how she honors Filipino brilliance in all that she does. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That and more right after this. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Ad break]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When we spoke on the phone a while ago, you said something that just really crystallized your creative practice for me. You said you were in your “expansive era.” I feel like that expression really speaks volumes about where you’re at with your relationship to artmaking. So what does your expansive area look like? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s more of just a consciousness whenever I can… if I try- if I have a moment to like meditate on something, it’s just asking for guidance in terms of like how I- how this experience can make me a little bit more expansive and a little bit more able to hold more empathy, more love. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If I forget to remind myself that I’m in that space right now, it’s very easy for everything to knock it down, and feel tired and unaligned. And so I’m kind of using that as a way to stay the course and create some stamina… trying to come from as much love as I can in these crazy times because it’s harder and harder. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I know that you have a day job outside of your creative practice. And maybe there’s overlap but they’re not really contingent on each other. How do you structure your life in a way that you have the passion and the desire to still make art outside of, like what pays your bills? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I always like, kind of gave myself a hard time about that and been like, what’s wrong with you? Like, why wouldn’t you want to go all in on your art and like, really be about it, live it or whatnot? And I think that for me, not depending on it financially has always sustained it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think I just am one of those people who were blessed or cursed with an overactive creative mind that is constantly feeling the need to like express and release or whatever. But I realized that every time it got to a point where it was time to take it serious, or even like the idea of living off of my art, or like any of that, I feel like — personally, like it kind of kills it a little bit and it doesn’t feel super aligned. I’m not super inspired by it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So it’s just about like finding work that’s not going to keep me there, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> like beyond the hours that I need to be. And my brain doesn’t get going until the nighttime anyway. So like, I take advantage of like whatever time, you know, I have outside of that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so, I’m grateful, I feel grateful that my day jobs haven’t completely, like, overshadowed my my creative work. You know, how I pay my bills is kind of like the smallest part of my identity. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s just… no to careers and no to making art a career either, I don’t know. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Balance. It sounds like balance. And also making sure that you work within what’s best for you. You said your night hours, you know, being at home. You know yourself. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m trying you know, it’s the journey. It’s part of the ride! \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Diving into your artistic endeavors. You’re on the cusp of finishing your first comic book, so I hear. And it’s a sci-fi thriller based on Filipino folklore?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, gosh!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Please tell me about the inspiration for this. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This has been in the works for quite a while. Inspired by a PBS documentary called The Cleaners, which was about a third party company in the Philippines that was being hired by, like, the Googles, the Facebooks, all that kind of stuff. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Basically, when something gets flagged on any of these platforms, they’re going to these workers — oftentimes, you know, in the Global South: Philippines, India, and a human is processing these images and they’re deciding whether to delete or to keep. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They’re getting PTSD. They’re like processing 8,000 images a day, you know, just like constant, just the worst images you can imagine!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of my favorite folkloric creatures in Filipino folklore is this creature called the manananggal. And it’s oftentimes a femme creature. They stay in the trees, they’re kind of vampiric or what have you. And their top half comes off, and that’s what goes flying around at night looking for food, primarily victims or whatnot. They’re known to suck the life through belly buttons.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Typically, it’s represented as a scary thing that, you know, growing up, if you didn’t, like, go to sleep right away, they’d be like, “oh, the Manananggal is going to come get you.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As I’ve like, gotten older and whatnot, I’m just like, well, like, what if it actually was like a creature that, like, went out and did stuff for justice, you know what I mean? I just, like, made up all this stuff in my head. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So anyway, I wrote this short one act play that was from the perspective of this Manananggalgal who didn’t realize they were a Manananggal until they were exploited super hard at work. They snap. And they go and kill, like, all the CEOs. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thank god Bindlestiff Studios, shout out to Bindlestiff Studios over there in the SOMA, 6th and Howard. The only place for Filipino and Filippinx performing arts, like, they put this play up. It’s pretty ridiculous, but I’m obsessed with this world, like… it’s kind of like the prequel to this piece that I wrote. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so I feel like — comic book, that’s a good way to kind of… not so much lighten it, but like not make it so realistic. The fact that it’s not the real thing, I think feels sort of liberating to tell the story in the way that it is in my head, without it being too, like, real. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I’m really excited about it, and it’s taken a while, but I’m glad we’ve taken our time because I’ve been collaborating with this incredible illustrator Corpser. Shout out Corpser from Bulacan, in the Philippines. He and I have been going back and forth and he’s illustrated the whole thing and he snapped on the illustration. Neither of us had done this before, but oh man, like, with his vision and my crazy, gross world building. It’s nasty and I can’t wait to share it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You’ve spoken a lot about Bindlestiff, can you tell us what drew you to that space? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So it’s just my mom, my sister and I here in the U.S., everybody else is back in Manila.\u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Sound design: birds chirping]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I have like 25 cousins back home that I when I’m there, like everyone’s around and just kind of really missing like that sense of home, or what have you.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so this thing happens to me every time I go back and forth where my reality gets really shook up. Like, I can’t tell what’s real. I feel a lot of guilt of living here and not being a part of what my family back home has to go through to survive, you know what I mean? It’s very- our lives are very different, and jumping back and forth is kind of a challenging thing for me. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so I remember being on the bus on my way home from work, and I saw that Bindlestiff- I was in their mailing list somehow, and I saw that they were auditioning for Tagalog speaking actors.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I was like, “Oh, maybe… that’s scary, I don’t know.” And then a month later, I see it again. And so I was like, “Okay, they’re still looking. Obviously it’s been a month. Like, maybe this is a sign I should just go and just do it.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">By the grace of God, I somehow still remember, like the Tagalog Pledge of Allegiance from school! \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Giggles]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I pulled up and I did the best pledge of allegiance with feelings that I could like a fool, and sang my little song, and I guess they were down because they called me back! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">From that point on, I’ve never said no to anything Bindlestiff-related again. It’s just 30 years, volunteer-run. Beyond just the theater space, the amount of work that they do in the SOMA neighborhood, like over the pandemic, their artistic director, Irene, ran a program where a bunch of, like, actors were volunteering- everyone, like, delivering groceries to the elders around there.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s put so much purpose to my art. I’ve had to reverse engineer my, even my own knowledge of, like, Philippine history and pre-colonial history. Like, I wouldn’t have probably learned that there, but coming here and being around other people in diaspora and learning about how other cultures have looked inward to be able to, like, get through our experiences out here — I feel like, in some sense, we owe it to really center like those who are still living in the land and the and the realities that they face every day and support their art. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I feel like Bindlestiff does a really good job doing that. Like, they’re in direct communication with the community here and always trying to, like, bridge that- that ocean, you know, those thousands and thousands of miles ya know? So it feels good. I’m so grateful to have found them and create a- like a creative family of misfit Filipino kids who didn’t follow the path. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You’re a part of a crew called Granny Cart Gangstas. What does that entail?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, Granny Cart Gangstas is an open-door \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> comedy troupe — mostly Asian American, femme, multi-gender folks — who have been around for ten years, thank you very much. We just celebrated our ten-year anniversary last year. Basically, yeah, we- we’re a sketch comedy troupe. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Our two founders, Aureen and Ava, came up with the name because they’re always riding around with their granny cart, getting on the bus with it, you know, like as you see all around town. People move when it’s time to roll the granny cart full of laundry or groceries or whatever. It’s like, okay! So that’s kind of what inspired the name. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We do 2 to 3 week shows once a year at Bindlestiff. We all write all our own material. And we- when it’s time to put it up. Oh, man. It’s a hoot. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Video Clip, Granny Cart Gangstas: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Good evening. I am Lauren Goodman, and welcome to \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quarantine Now\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Our top story is about the “Adobo Hoes,” a retired roller derby squad. They are leading the way in roller skating security escort tactics. Now being adopted around the San Francisco Bay Area to protect Asian American seniors. The community at large is now reporting feeling more confident and more secure with the hoes working the streets.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before you got into theater, you were part of a group called HOTTUB…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oh my gosh.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, we’re going there. You were involved in Oakland’s underground music scene — a lot of warehouse parties. Tell me about that music and how that era really shaped your perspective on life today? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Exhales breath]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> That era was wild, number one. Proved to be unsustainable. It started mid-2000s, like 2006 and we’re pretty active all the way to 2013. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There was so much reaction to, kind of like now, like to what was going on there. That was, like, the tail end of the, kind of like, Bush era. Oh my gosh, Occupy- like the Occupy Movement. So there was a lot of just like tension, especially in the East Bay, where the, the, the trickle of like what was going on in San Francisco hadn’t quite made it over there, but you could still start to feel it. And there was just a real sort of tension there. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I think out of that came just a very confrontational time, I would say. There wasn’t a lot of, like, femme acts at the time when we were, when, when we were performing. And so it’s three girls to the front, you know, it was, like, rough! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In that vein of like being you said confrontational, loud, using your voice to claim space on stage. Sonically, what did your set sound like? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My gosh, a battle. Like our producers Jaysonic, Funky Finger Mark. We would bring out an MPC drum machine and a ASR ten sampler keyboard. Those were like our two things. They didn’t have, like, didn’t use laptops, nothing. And these are, like, really textured, heavy sounds that are going straight into sound systems. And then three girl MC chanting banshees like wild women. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music: “Shoot the Lights Out” by HOTTUB]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Looking at my Casio it’s about that time\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m ’bout to pick it up stat on my hustle and grind\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I got nothin in my pocket but motha-fuckin’ fuck it\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I can get a fat loan if you can co-sign it\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But who cares!\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I ain’t tripin’ I ain’t tryin to trick for the man\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Just to get a couple grand in my hand…\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The original concept of HOTTUB was, was going to be like Tagalog-Miami bass-type stuff. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was always represent- you know, representing my, my shit. And so when I would write raps in Tagalog, lucky for us, we’re here in the Bay area with hella Filipinos. So every so often, like someone would be like “Yo!!!!” you know, and really like kind of recognizing. And that’s always, like, such a gift. But even though it feels like screaming in the void, like I- it just, feels great! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shoot the lights out shoot the lights out!\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shoot the lights out shoot the lights out, oh!!\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shoot the lights out shoot the lights out!\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shoot the lights out shoot the lights out, whoa!!\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>I’m so glad that I was able to come up creatively during that time because it never felt like there was so much to lose, because it was already coming from nothing. It was like so beyond DIY, you know, like… There was no fear in what we wanted to say. And we could just confront, like, every issue- You know, creating like this, like safe space for like, femme energy to kind of aggressively take over! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music: “M.A.N.B.I.T.C.H” by HOTTUB]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Don’t disrespect\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You gotta come correct\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m tired of your nasty-ass…\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>It really was so empowering to- to be doing this with two of my best friends, you know, Jen and Amber shout out. Just making the most noise and just trying to, like, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Yells]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> get it out! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Definitely formative. And it, it it it gave me the guts to do things that are creative and to actually allow yourself to express, like, some of the stuff that’s going on in, in our minds takes so much guts. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m so grateful for that time in my life. And I’m also so grateful that I’ve recovered. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Laughs] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s out. It’s done. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">M. A. N. B. I. T. C. H.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We know what it is,\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s written all over your face!\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Just hearing you talk, there’s like this throughline between the comic book, the band HOTTUB, the work you do with Bindlestiff, of like centering Filipino culture. Is there like a thesis or like mission statement behind that, or is that just who you are? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I think about this all the time. I think it’s just who I’ve always been. The very first day of school, of American school, ten years old, Orange County of all places. It was just so clear that I was not… of here. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s so many times that my creative mind and like this idea of trying to reconcile, you know, my- my existence here to home. Like I still think Philippines is home. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was five years old when the Philippine Revolution happened. So in 1986, the Filipino people banded together, got the support of the military, and ousted Ferdinand Marcos, who was dictator for like, the last 26 years or whatever. And so I kind of feel like I’m a kid of revolution. Like, I understand that there is… that people can really get together and like, do something great, like, I believe in it, I seen it happen with my own eyes. And I feel like coming here, there’s always just been this sense of, like, refusing to be erased. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The last question that we have for you is: being in your expansive era now, and all the personal values you have for yourself. What do you need from, like, the art scene or your peers or art spaces to do the kind of work you want to do? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Watching how — especially here in the Bay Area — watching how artists come together to like, really fight for what they believe in, and really, like, put their necks on the line and really support certain movements, like it’s fired up right now. And I think that, you know, what we can all do for each other is provide ways that we can build our stamina, because I really think that’s what we’re gonna need. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And the more of that we use our art as leverage and as power, and the more that we understand how powerful we are together… I think that’s probably my greatest ask for myself and our community. It’s like, figure out ways to build stamina because we’re really gonna need it for the long haul.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Credits music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Big thank you nic feliciano for dropping by the KQED stu’ to talk about the important things and for making us laugh through it all. You can find her on instagram @cocomachetez. That’s spelled c-o-c-o-m-a-c-h-e-t-e-z. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">From May 16th through June 1st, nic will be taking part in an original production at Bindlestiff Studios called Dark Heart. Be sure to check that out. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This episode was hosted by me, Pendarvis Harshaw. Marisol Medina-Cadena produced this episode. Chris Hambrick held it down for edits on this one. Christopher Beale engineered this joint. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The music you heard was courtesy of HOTTUB and Audio Network.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Rightnowish team is also supported by Jen Chien, Ugur Dursun, Holly Kernan, Cesar Saldaña and Katie Sprenger. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thank you all for listening! For longtime fans of the show, y’all know how we roll. But if you’re new here, welcome! We’re glad to have you, it’s our honor to introduce you to Bay Area culture keepers and change makers you may not have the privilege of knowing… yet. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, if you enjoy what we’re doing at Rightnowish, please share the podcast with a friend or a coworker. Subscribe and rate the podcast on whatever platform you choose. Every little action goes a long way. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ok, y’all be easy! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rightnowish is a KQED production.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Peace.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"The fashionista, playwright, chef, thespian and 'master of fun' discusses her many artistic endeavors.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1714070065,"stats":{"hasAudio":true,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":118,"wordCount":4185},"headData":{"title":"nic feliciano Is Blessed With The ‘Curse of an Overactive Creative Mind’ | KQED","description":"nic feliciano (who also goes by Coco Machete) contains multitudes. She's a fashionista who currently resides in the East Bay, but was born in the Philippines and raised in Southern California. After moving to Berkeley for school two decades ago, she's grown into a playwright, comedian, chef and thespian. She's also a former MC and member of the Bay Area-based hip-hop group, HOTTUB, which made Miami-boom bass inspired rap songs from about 2006 to 2013.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","socialDescription":"nic feliciano (who also goes by Coco Machete) contains multitudes. She's a fashionista who currently resides in the East Bay, but was born in the Philippines and raised in Southern California. After moving to Berkeley for school two decades ago, she's grown into a playwright, comedian, chef and thespian. She's also a former MC and member of the Bay Area-based hip-hop group, HOTTUB, which made Miami-boom bass inspired rap songs from about 2006 to 2013.","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"nic feliciano Is Blessed With The ‘Curse of an Overactive Creative Mind’","datePublished":"2024-04-25T10:00:26.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-25T18:34:25.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"audioUrl":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/chrt.fm/track/G6C7C3/traffic.megaphone.fm/KQINC8148943076.mp3?updated=1714006490","sticky":false,"nprStoryId":"kqed-13956388","templateType":"standard","featuredImageType":"standard","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13956388/nic-feliciano-is-blessed-with-the-curse-of-an-overactive-creative-mind","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>nic feliciano will find a way to creatively express herself, no matter what.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>feliciano (who also goes by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cocomachetz/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Coco Machete\u003c/a>) contains multitudes. She’s a fashionista who currently resides in Berkeley, but was born in the Philippines and spent her teenage years in Southern California. After moving to the East Bay for school two decades ago, she’s grown into a playwright, chef, thespian and — as she says — “a master of fun.” She’s also a former MC and member of the Bay Area-based hip-hop group \u003ca href=\"https://hottuboakland.bandcamp.com/album/3-the-hard-way\">HOTTUB\u003c/a>, which made Miami Bass–inspired rap songs from roughly 2006 to 2013.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to her work, there are two important things to understand: first, she incorporates her Filipina identity into everything she creates. Second, her “work” isn’t really work at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956529\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13956529 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/coco-machete-2-800x1207.jpg\" alt=\"A woman poses in a squat stance with her left hand holding her chin. She wears neon green clogs, black tights and a zebra print skirt. In the background are shelves holding recycled water jugs and plastic pots.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1207\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/coco-machete-2-800x1207.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/coco-machete-2-1020x1538.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/coco-machete-2-160x241.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/coco-machete-2-768x1158.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/coco-machete-2-1018x1536.jpg 1018w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/coco-machete-2-1358x2048.jpg 1358w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/coco-machete-2-1920x2896.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/coco-machete-2-scaled.jpg 1697w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">nic feliciano is a writer, performer and cook based in Berkeley by way of the Philippines. \u003ccite>(Kate Buenconsejo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>feliciano proudly maintains flexible daytime employment to pay her bills, while letting her creative juices flow during the evening hours. This separation allows her to stay inspired, penning funny sketches that she performs as a part of her \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/grannycartgangstas?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==\">Grannycart Gangstas\u003c/a> act at \u003ca href=\"https://www.bindlestiffstudio.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Blindlestiff Studio\u003c/a> in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>feliciano’s creations go beyond the stage. She’s currently writing a comic book in which she gives a modern spin on the mythological creature from Filipino folklore, the Manananggal. The storyline sheds light on the exploitation that workers in the Philippines face working as contractors for Big Tech.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week, we talk about how the Bay Area has assisted feliciano’s artistic endeavors, from rapping over bass-heavy hip-hop beats in the early 2000s to forging a “creative family of misfit Filipino kids who didn’t follow the path.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC8148943076\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, Host:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Hey what’s up Rightnowish listeners. I’m your host, Pendarvis Harshaw. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For this episode, we hear from cook, slash writer, slash actor, slash musician and all around funny person, nic feliciano, who goes by the moniker Coco Machete. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At age 10, nic, along with her mother and sister, left the Philippines and settled in Orange County. Itching to find like-minded folks, nic eventually left SoCal and moved to Berkeley for community college… and she’s been here ever since. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As y’all may know, juggling day jobs and side gigs to pay the bills comes with the territory of being an artist in the Bay. But for nic, she’s not pressed to let how she pays the rent define her.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano, Guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The true art and what I do is just kind of like surviving. Like my mom to me is an artist because of- she’s never picked up a paintbrush in her life. But like, the way she moves through life and the way she like, makes shit happen and the way she like, figures this out over that or whatever. Like, damn, that’s like such art to me!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rightnowish producer Marisol Medina-Cadena and I dive into the splendor that is nic’s mind, and discuss how she honors Filipino brilliance in all that she does. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That and more right after this. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Ad break]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When we spoke on the phone a while ago, you said something that just really crystallized your creative practice for me. You said you were in your “expansive era.” I feel like that expression really speaks volumes about where you’re at with your relationship to artmaking. So what does your expansive area look like? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s more of just a consciousness whenever I can… if I try- if I have a moment to like meditate on something, it’s just asking for guidance in terms of like how I- how this experience can make me a little bit more expansive and a little bit more able to hold more empathy, more love. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If I forget to remind myself that I’m in that space right now, it’s very easy for everything to knock it down, and feel tired and unaligned. And so I’m kind of using that as a way to stay the course and create some stamina… trying to come from as much love as I can in these crazy times because it’s harder and harder. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I know that you have a day job outside of your creative practice. And maybe there’s overlap but they’re not really contingent on each other. How do you structure your life in a way that you have the passion and the desire to still make art outside of, like what pays your bills? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I always like, kind of gave myself a hard time about that and been like, what’s wrong with you? Like, why wouldn’t you want to go all in on your art and like, really be about it, live it or whatnot? And I think that for me, not depending on it financially has always sustained it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think I just am one of those people who were blessed or cursed with an overactive creative mind that is constantly feeling the need to like express and release or whatever. But I realized that every time it got to a point where it was time to take it serious, or even like the idea of living off of my art, or like any of that, I feel like — personally, like it kind of kills it a little bit and it doesn’t feel super aligned. I’m not super inspired by it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So it’s just about like finding work that’s not going to keep me there, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> like beyond the hours that I need to be. And my brain doesn’t get going until the nighttime anyway. So like, I take advantage of like whatever time, you know, I have outside of that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so, I’m grateful, I feel grateful that my day jobs haven’t completely, like, overshadowed my my creative work. You know, how I pay my bills is kind of like the smallest part of my identity. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s just… no to careers and no to making art a career either, I don’t know. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Balance. It sounds like balance. And also making sure that you work within what’s best for you. You said your night hours, you know, being at home. You know yourself. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m trying you know, it’s the journey. It’s part of the ride! \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Diving into your artistic endeavors. You’re on the cusp of finishing your first comic book, so I hear. And it’s a sci-fi thriller based on Filipino folklore?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, gosh!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Please tell me about the inspiration for this. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This has been in the works for quite a while. Inspired by a PBS documentary called The Cleaners, which was about a third party company in the Philippines that was being hired by, like, the Googles, the Facebooks, all that kind of stuff. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Basically, when something gets flagged on any of these platforms, they’re going to these workers — oftentimes, you know, in the Global South: Philippines, India, and a human is processing these images and they’re deciding whether to delete or to keep. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They’re getting PTSD. They’re like processing 8,000 images a day, you know, just like constant, just the worst images you can imagine!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of my favorite folkloric creatures in Filipino folklore is this creature called the manananggal. And it’s oftentimes a femme creature. They stay in the trees, they’re kind of vampiric or what have you. And their top half comes off, and that’s what goes flying around at night looking for food, primarily victims or whatnot. They’re known to suck the life through belly buttons.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Typically, it’s represented as a scary thing that, you know, growing up, if you didn’t, like, go to sleep right away, they’d be like, “oh, the Manananggal is going to come get you.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As I’ve like, gotten older and whatnot, I’m just like, well, like, what if it actually was like a creature that, like, went out and did stuff for justice, you know what I mean? I just, like, made up all this stuff in my head. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So anyway, I wrote this short one act play that was from the perspective of this Manananggalgal who didn’t realize they were a Manananggal until they were exploited super hard at work. They snap. And they go and kill, like, all the CEOs. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thank god Bindlestiff Studios, shout out to Bindlestiff Studios over there in the SOMA, 6th and Howard. The only place for Filipino and Filippinx performing arts, like, they put this play up. It’s pretty ridiculous, but I’m obsessed with this world, like… it’s kind of like the prequel to this piece that I wrote. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so I feel like — comic book, that’s a good way to kind of… not so much lighten it, but like not make it so realistic. The fact that it’s not the real thing, I think feels sort of liberating to tell the story in the way that it is in my head, without it being too, like, real. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I’m really excited about it, and it’s taken a while, but I’m glad we’ve taken our time because I’ve been collaborating with this incredible illustrator Corpser. Shout out Corpser from Bulacan, in the Philippines. He and I have been going back and forth and he’s illustrated the whole thing and he snapped on the illustration. Neither of us had done this before, but oh man, like, with his vision and my crazy, gross world building. It’s nasty and I can’t wait to share it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You’ve spoken a lot about Bindlestiff, can you tell us what drew you to that space? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So it’s just my mom, my sister and I here in the U.S., everybody else is back in Manila.\u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Sound design: birds chirping]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I have like 25 cousins back home that I when I’m there, like everyone’s around and just kind of really missing like that sense of home, or what have you.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so this thing happens to me every time I go back and forth where my reality gets really shook up. Like, I can’t tell what’s real. I feel a lot of guilt of living here and not being a part of what my family back home has to go through to survive, you know what I mean? It’s very- our lives are very different, and jumping back and forth is kind of a challenging thing for me. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so I remember being on the bus on my way home from work, and I saw that Bindlestiff- I was in their mailing list somehow, and I saw that they were auditioning for Tagalog speaking actors.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I was like, “Oh, maybe… that’s scary, I don’t know.” And then a month later, I see it again. And so I was like, “Okay, they’re still looking. Obviously it’s been a month. Like, maybe this is a sign I should just go and just do it.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">By the grace of God, I somehow still remember, like the Tagalog Pledge of Allegiance from school! \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Giggles]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I pulled up and I did the best pledge of allegiance with feelings that I could like a fool, and sang my little song, and I guess they were down because they called me back! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">From that point on, I’ve never said no to anything Bindlestiff-related again. It’s just 30 years, volunteer-run. Beyond just the theater space, the amount of work that they do in the SOMA neighborhood, like over the pandemic, their artistic director, Irene, ran a program where a bunch of, like, actors were volunteering- everyone, like, delivering groceries to the elders around there.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s put so much purpose to my art. I’ve had to reverse engineer my, even my own knowledge of, like, Philippine history and pre-colonial history. Like, I wouldn’t have probably learned that there, but coming here and being around other people in diaspora and learning about how other cultures have looked inward to be able to, like, get through our experiences out here — I feel like, in some sense, we owe it to really center like those who are still living in the land and the and the realities that they face every day and support their art. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I feel like Bindlestiff does a really good job doing that. Like, they’re in direct communication with the community here and always trying to, like, bridge that- that ocean, you know, those thousands and thousands of miles ya know? So it feels good. I’m so grateful to have found them and create a- like a creative family of misfit Filipino kids who didn’t follow the path. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You’re a part of a crew called Granny Cart Gangstas. What does that entail?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, Granny Cart Gangstas is an open-door \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> comedy troupe — mostly Asian American, femme, multi-gender folks — who have been around for ten years, thank you very much. We just celebrated our ten-year anniversary last year. Basically, yeah, we- we’re a sketch comedy troupe. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Our two founders, Aureen and Ava, came up with the name because they’re always riding around with their granny cart, getting on the bus with it, you know, like as you see all around town. People move when it’s time to roll the granny cart full of laundry or groceries or whatever. It’s like, okay! So that’s kind of what inspired the name. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We do 2 to 3 week shows once a year at Bindlestiff. We all write all our own material. And we- when it’s time to put it up. Oh, man. It’s a hoot. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Video Clip, Granny Cart Gangstas: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Good evening. I am Lauren Goodman, and welcome to \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quarantine Now\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Our top story is about the “Adobo Hoes,” a retired roller derby squad. They are leading the way in roller skating security escort tactics. Now being adopted around the San Francisco Bay Area to protect Asian American seniors. The community at large is now reporting feeling more confident and more secure with the hoes working the streets.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before you got into theater, you were part of a group called HOTTUB…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oh my gosh.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, we’re going there. You were involved in Oakland’s underground music scene — a lot of warehouse parties. Tell me about that music and how that era really shaped your perspective on life today? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Exhales breath]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> That era was wild, number one. Proved to be unsustainable. It started mid-2000s, like 2006 and we’re pretty active all the way to 2013. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There was so much reaction to, kind of like now, like to what was going on there. That was, like, the tail end of the, kind of like, Bush era. Oh my gosh, Occupy- like the Occupy Movement. So there was a lot of just like tension, especially in the East Bay, where the, the, the trickle of like what was going on in San Francisco hadn’t quite made it over there, but you could still start to feel it. And there was just a real sort of tension there. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I think out of that came just a very confrontational time, I would say. There wasn’t a lot of, like, femme acts at the time when we were, when, when we were performing. And so it’s three girls to the front, you know, it was, like, rough! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In that vein of like being you said confrontational, loud, using your voice to claim space on stage. Sonically, what did your set sound like? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My gosh, a battle. Like our producers Jaysonic, Funky Finger Mark. We would bring out an MPC drum machine and a ASR ten sampler keyboard. Those were like our two things. They didn’t have, like, didn’t use laptops, nothing. And these are, like, really textured, heavy sounds that are going straight into sound systems. And then three girl MC chanting banshees like wild women. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music: “Shoot the Lights Out” by HOTTUB]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Looking at my Casio it’s about that time\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m ’bout to pick it up stat on my hustle and grind\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I got nothin in my pocket but motha-fuckin’ fuck it\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I can get a fat loan if you can co-sign it\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But who cares!\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I ain’t tripin’ I ain’t tryin to trick for the man\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Just to get a couple grand in my hand…\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The original concept of HOTTUB was, was going to be like Tagalog-Miami bass-type stuff. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was always represent- you know, representing my, my shit. And so when I would write raps in Tagalog, lucky for us, we’re here in the Bay area with hella Filipinos. So every so often, like someone would be like “Yo!!!!” you know, and really like kind of recognizing. And that’s always, like, such a gift. But even though it feels like screaming in the void, like I- it just, feels great! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shoot the lights out shoot the lights out!\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shoot the lights out shoot the lights out, oh!!\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shoot the lights out shoot the lights out!\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shoot the lights out shoot the lights out, whoa!!\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>I’m so glad that I was able to come up creatively during that time because it never felt like there was so much to lose, because it was already coming from nothing. It was like so beyond DIY, you know, like… There was no fear in what we wanted to say. And we could just confront, like, every issue- You know, creating like this, like safe space for like, femme energy to kind of aggressively take over! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music: “M.A.N.B.I.T.C.H” by HOTTUB]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Don’t disrespect\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You gotta come correct\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m tired of your nasty-ass…\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>It really was so empowering to- to be doing this with two of my best friends, you know, Jen and Amber shout out. Just making the most noise and just trying to, like, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Yells]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> get it out! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Definitely formative. And it, it it it gave me the guts to do things that are creative and to actually allow yourself to express, like, some of the stuff that’s going on in, in our minds takes so much guts. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m so grateful for that time in my life. And I’m also so grateful that I’ve recovered. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Laughs] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s out. It’s done. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">M. A. N. B. I. T. C. H.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We know what it is,\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s written all over your face!\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Just hearing you talk, there’s like this throughline between the comic book, the band HOTTUB, the work you do with Bindlestiff, of like centering Filipino culture. Is there like a thesis or like mission statement behind that, or is that just who you are? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I think about this all the time. I think it’s just who I’ve always been. The very first day of school, of American school, ten years old, Orange County of all places. It was just so clear that I was not… of here. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s so many times that my creative mind and like this idea of trying to reconcile, you know, my- my existence here to home. Like I still think Philippines is home. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was five years old when the Philippine Revolution happened. So in 1986, the Filipino people banded together, got the support of the military, and ousted Ferdinand Marcos, who was dictator for like, the last 26 years or whatever. And so I kind of feel like I’m a kid of revolution. Like, I understand that there is… that people can really get together and like, do something great, like, I believe in it, I seen it happen with my own eyes. And I feel like coming here, there’s always just been this sense of, like, refusing to be erased. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The last question that we have for you is: being in your expansive era now, and all the personal values you have for yourself. What do you need from, like, the art scene or your peers or art spaces to do the kind of work you want to do? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>nic feliciano: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Watching how — especially here in the Bay Area — watching how artists come together to like, really fight for what they believe in, and really, like, put their necks on the line and really support certain movements, like it’s fired up right now. And I think that, you know, what we can all do for each other is provide ways that we can build our stamina, because I really think that’s what we’re gonna need. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And the more of that we use our art as leverage and as power, and the more that we understand how powerful we are together… I think that’s probably my greatest ask for myself and our community. It’s like, figure out ways to build stamina because we’re really gonna need it for the long haul.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Credits music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Big thank you nic feliciano for dropping by the KQED stu’ to talk about the important things and for making us laugh through it all. You can find her on instagram @cocomachetez. That’s spelled c-o-c-o-m-a-c-h-e-t-e-z. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">From May 16th through June 1st, nic will be taking part in an original production at Bindlestiff Studios called Dark Heart. Be sure to check that out. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This episode was hosted by me, Pendarvis Harshaw. Marisol Medina-Cadena produced this episode. Chris Hambrick held it down for edits on this one. Christopher Beale engineered this joint. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The music you heard was courtesy of HOTTUB and Audio Network.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Rightnowish team is also supported by Jen Chien, Ugur Dursun, Holly Kernan, Cesar Saldaña and Katie Sprenger. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thank you all for listening! For longtime fans of the show, y’all know how we roll. But if you’re new here, welcome! We’re glad to have you, it’s our honor to introduce you to Bay Area culture keepers and change makers you may not have the privilege of knowing… yet. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, if you enjoy what we’re doing at Rightnowish, please share the podcast with a friend or a coworker. Subscribe and rate the podcast on whatever platform you choose. Every little action goes a long way. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ok, y’all be easy! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rightnowish is a KQED production.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Peace.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13956388/nic-feliciano-is-blessed-with-the-curse-of-an-overactive-creative-mind","authors":["11491","11528"],"programs":["arts_8720"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_73","arts_968","arts_835","arts_69","arts_1003"],"tags":["arts_820","arts_549","arts_7584","arts_1942","arts_10278","arts_2855","arts_831","arts_1072"],"featImg":"arts_13956394","label":"arts_8720"},"arts_13956528":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13956528","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13956528","score":null,"sort":[1713996484000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"rightnowish-youth-takeover-post","title":"High Schoolers Give TLDR Versions of Rightnowish Episodes","publishDate":1713996484,"format":"aside","headTitle":"High Schoolers Give TLDR Versions of Rightnowish Episodes | KQED","labelTerm":{"term":8720,"site":"arts"},"content":"\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rightnowish celebrates our fourth anniversary on the air this year – it also marks our first collaboration with the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/education/youth-advisory-board\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">KQED Youth Advisory Board\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. As part of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/youthtakeover\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">KQED Youth Takeover\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Rightnowish producers served as mentors for four Bay Area high school students who crafted social media content together and brought us behind the scenes of their creative process. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Rightnowish team strongly believes in the intergenerational sharing of knowledge, so when asked to join this project, we were immediately interested. Through nurturing future mediamakers, we can prepare them for their prospective careers in journalism and follow through on our mission to inform, inspire, and innovate. For the last few months, we’ve worked with YAB members Jeanette, Lyric, Maceo, and Vanessa and met with them to bring their ideas to life. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956530\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13956530 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/First-Mtg-1.9-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/First-Mtg-1.9-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/First-Mtg-1.9-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/First-Mtg-1.9-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/First-Mtg-1.9-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/First-Mtg-1.9-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/First-Mtg-1.9-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/First-Mtg-1.9-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Youth Advisory Board members Vanessa, Jeanette and Maceo have a meet and greet with Rightnowish editor Chris Hambrick. \u003ccite>(KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Our meetings began with getting to know these young journalists and their unique interests and finding ways to translate these into our work. Pulling from their passion and experiences in filmmaking and video production, we focused on creating promotional content for Rightnowish episodes in their own voice with the goal of drawing in a youth audience. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">YAB members were in control of the pieces they made, choosing their own structure and style and highlighting the episodes’ topics they were most interested in. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Check out KQED Youth Advisory Board members’ videos on\u003c/span>\u003c/i> \u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kqedarts/?hl=en\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">KQED Arts Instagram page\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> throughout Youth Takeover – April 22 to 26, 2024 – and hear about their experience directly from them below.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quick Q&A with Rightnowish YAB Members: \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>What was your creative process in drafting these social videos?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lyric: My creative process is usually watching other videos with the same themes to gain inspiration. I also like to do deep dives on my subject to get a sense of their personalities and aesthetics. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vanessa: \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My team partner and I first took time to brainstorm what we wanted to say and what kind of feel we wanted our video to have. After that, we would write up a few versions of a script\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jeanette: An A/V script was always beneficial to have as a roadmap. Here, I was able to outline what I was going to say based on the Rightnowish podcast episode I was focusing on and what visuals were going to be on screen.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maceo: \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Overall, what ultimately enabled us to come up with the creative content in our vertical videos was the collaboration of our ideas and the combined effort we put into our video planning.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/-Ow6OgCtmoE\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>What did you learn about feedback from this experience?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maceo: I learned a lot about feedback towards media creation and editing, the processes that content goes through before being posted, and the collaboration of collective feedback in improvising and completing a video project. Receiving comments on our scripts gave me insight of how I can give feedback towards others and how I can take feedback to better my own work.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vanessa: I learned that there are many different rounds of feedback needed for even a one minute video. These elevated our video to a higher level each time.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jeanette: I learned to always pay attention to major and minor details, even if that’s just checking the weather. I also learned that adding aspects like captions can elevate your video and make it visually cool. It’s all about managing your time and making a social video that’s entertaining, and to do that, I learned to consider new factors that I never had before.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lyric: \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I learned that not all feedback should be taken offensively and that being open to different perspectives can push you towards your better self.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8A4qm1KNjA\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>What have you gained from this experience?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lyric: \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I have learned to work with a team and to commit not just to myself, but to others. It has also helped me with my editing skills. Being able to experience being a part of Rightnowish, I have felt more confident in myself and my abilities. I no longer doubt myself or my work because I know it is appreciated and respected.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maceo: I have gained a lot of experience in creating media that appeals to a general social media audience. We crafted every aspect of our videos to grab the viewer’s attention and provide them with informative content that encompasses the subject of the video.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jeanette: I was able to improve my communication and editing skills as well as my knowledge regarding Bay Area culture because of Rightnowish. Faces that I didn’t know before, I know now. Being able to hear these new stories about people living in the Bay is super cool and interesting.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vanessa: I have gained valuable experience productively collaborating with others to create content I’m proud of.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOvhQ5j2FTQ\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>How might this apply to your future career interests?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lyric: \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I will be able to use my portfolio from Rightnowish on my resume. It will showcase that I have been interested and involved with mediamaking from a young age.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maceo: This gave me extremely valuable experience and exposure in the career of media creation. I learned how to create media with a team and help each other improve our own work in the process. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jeanette: This definitely introduced me to the basics of media creation and what is expected of me. I’m thinking about being a movie editor, so this exposed me to what it would be like. I truly appreciate this opportunity for allowing me to understand what it’s like to create content, especially when it comes to the editing process. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vanessa: This experience gave me an insight into what it would be like to work for a big media company like KQED. I hope to one day be a feature film director and screenwriter, so I will be working in the entertainment industry in the future. I will take the knowledge I learned as a KQED Youth Advisory Board member with me as I look for jobs in media in the future.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956535\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13956535 size-large\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/last-mtg-4.2-1020x1360.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"853\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/last-mtg-4.2-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/last-mtg-4.2-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/last-mtg-4.2-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/last-mtg-4.2-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/last-mtg-4.2-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/last-mtg-4.2-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/last-mtg-4.2-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Youth Advisory Board members, Vanessa, Maceo and Lyric working with Rightnowish editor Chris Hambrick at the last in-person meeting. \u003ccite>(KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]=\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":null,"status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1714001464,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":true,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":29,"wordCount":1123},"headData":{"title":"High Schoolers Give TLDR Versions of Rightnowish Episodes | KQED","description":"Rightnowish celebrates our fourth anniversary on the air this year – it also marks our first collaboration with the KQED Youth Advisory Board. As part of KQED Youth Takeover, Rightnowish producers served as mentors for four Bay Area high school students who crafted social media content together and brought us behind the scenes of their creative process. The Rightnowish team strongly believes in the intergenerational sharing of knowledge, so when asked to join this project, we were immediately interested. Through nurturing future mediamakers, we can prepare them for their prospective careers in journalism and follow through on our mission to","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"High Schoolers Give TLDR Versions of Rightnowish Episodes","datePublished":"2024-04-24T22:08:04.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-24T23:31:04.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"sticky":false,"nprStoryId":"kqed-13956528","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13956528/rightnowish-youth-takeover-post","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rightnowish celebrates our fourth anniversary on the air this year – it also marks our first collaboration with the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/education/youth-advisory-board\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">KQED Youth Advisory Board\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. As part of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/youthtakeover\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">KQED Youth Takeover\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Rightnowish producers served as mentors for four Bay Area high school students who crafted social media content together and brought us behind the scenes of their creative process. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Rightnowish team strongly believes in the intergenerational sharing of knowledge, so when asked to join this project, we were immediately interested. Through nurturing future mediamakers, we can prepare them for their prospective careers in journalism and follow through on our mission to inform, inspire, and innovate. For the last few months, we’ve worked with YAB members Jeanette, Lyric, Maceo, and Vanessa and met with them to bring their ideas to life. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956530\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13956530 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/First-Mtg-1.9-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/First-Mtg-1.9-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/First-Mtg-1.9-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/First-Mtg-1.9-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/First-Mtg-1.9-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/First-Mtg-1.9-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/First-Mtg-1.9-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/First-Mtg-1.9-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Youth Advisory Board members Vanessa, Jeanette and Maceo have a meet and greet with Rightnowish editor Chris Hambrick. \u003ccite>(KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Our meetings began with getting to know these young journalists and their unique interests and finding ways to translate these into our work. Pulling from their passion and experiences in filmmaking and video production, we focused on creating promotional content for Rightnowish episodes in their own voice with the goal of drawing in a youth audience. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">YAB members were in control of the pieces they made, choosing their own structure and style and highlighting the episodes’ topics they were most interested in. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Check out KQED Youth Advisory Board members’ videos on\u003c/span>\u003c/i> \u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kqedarts/?hl=en\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">KQED Arts Instagram page\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> throughout Youth Takeover – April 22 to 26, 2024 – and hear about their experience directly from them below.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quick Q&A with Rightnowish YAB Members: \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>What was your creative process in drafting these social videos?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lyric: My creative process is usually watching other videos with the same themes to gain inspiration. I also like to do deep dives on my subject to get a sense of their personalities and aesthetics. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vanessa: \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My team partner and I first took time to brainstorm what we wanted to say and what kind of feel we wanted our video to have. After that, we would write up a few versions of a script\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jeanette: An A/V script was always beneficial to have as a roadmap. Here, I was able to outline what I was going to say based on the Rightnowish podcast episode I was focusing on and what visuals were going to be on screen.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maceo: \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Overall, what ultimately enabled us to come up with the creative content in our vertical videos was the collaboration of our ideas and the combined effort we put into our video planning.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/-Ow6OgCtmoE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/-Ow6OgCtmoE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cb>What did you learn about feedback from this experience?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maceo: I learned a lot about feedback towards media creation and editing, the processes that content goes through before being posted, and the collaboration of collective feedback in improvising and completing a video project. Receiving comments on our scripts gave me insight of how I can give feedback towards others and how I can take feedback to better my own work.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vanessa: I learned that there are many different rounds of feedback needed for even a one minute video. These elevated our video to a higher level each time.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jeanette: I learned to always pay attention to major and minor details, even if that’s just checking the weather. I also learned that adding aspects like captions can elevate your video and make it visually cool. It’s all about managing your time and making a social video that’s entertaining, and to do that, I learned to consider new factors that I never had before.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lyric: \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I learned that not all feedback should be taken offensively and that being open to different perspectives can push you towards your better self.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/G8A4qm1KNjA'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/G8A4qm1KNjA'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cb>What have you gained from this experience?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lyric: \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I have learned to work with a team and to commit not just to myself, but to others. It has also helped me with my editing skills. Being able to experience being a part of Rightnowish, I have felt more confident in myself and my abilities. I no longer doubt myself or my work because I know it is appreciated and respected.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maceo: I have gained a lot of experience in creating media that appeals to a general social media audience. We crafted every aspect of our videos to grab the viewer’s attention and provide them with informative content that encompasses the subject of the video.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jeanette: I was able to improve my communication and editing skills as well as my knowledge regarding Bay Area culture because of Rightnowish. Faces that I didn’t know before, I know now. Being able to hear these new stories about people living in the Bay is super cool and interesting.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vanessa: I have gained valuable experience productively collaborating with others to create content I’m proud of.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/ZOvhQ5j2FTQ'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/ZOvhQ5j2FTQ'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cb>How might this apply to your future career interests?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lyric: \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I will be able to use my portfolio from Rightnowish on my resume. It will showcase that I have been interested and involved with mediamaking from a young age.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maceo: This gave me extremely valuable experience and exposure in the career of media creation. I learned how to create media with a team and help each other improve our own work in the process. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jeanette: This definitely introduced me to the basics of media creation and what is expected of me. I’m thinking about being a movie editor, so this exposed me to what it would be like. I truly appreciate this opportunity for allowing me to understand what it’s like to create content, especially when it comes to the editing process. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vanessa: This experience gave me an insight into what it would be like to work for a big media company like KQED. I hope to one day be a feature film director and screenwriter, so I will be working in the entertainment industry in the future. I will take the knowledge I learned as a KQED Youth Advisory Board member with me as I look for jobs in media in the future.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956535\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13956535 size-large\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/last-mtg-4.2-1020x1360.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"853\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/last-mtg-4.2-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/last-mtg-4.2-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/last-mtg-4.2-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/last-mtg-4.2-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/last-mtg-4.2-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/last-mtg-4.2-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/last-mtg-4.2-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Youth Advisory Board members, Vanessa, Maceo and Lyric working with Rightnowish editor Chris Hambrick at the last in-person meeting. \u003ccite>(KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>=\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13956528/rightnowish-youth-takeover-post","authors":["11832"],"programs":["arts_8720"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_835"],"tags":["arts_4533"],"collections":["arts_22112"],"featImg":"arts_13956630","label":"arts_8720"},"arts_13957096":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13957096","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13957096","score":null,"sort":[1714679172000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"challengers-throuple-zendaya-polyamorous-couple","title":"‘Challengers’ Has Ignited ‘Throuple’ Discourse — One Polyamorous Couple Weighs In","publishDate":1714679172,"format":"standard","headTitle":"‘Challengers’ Has Ignited ‘Throuple’ Discourse — One Polyamorous Couple Weighs In | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"arts"},"content":"\u003cp>Sweat in slow-mo, relentless EDM and staggering chemistry are just a few highlights of \u003cem>Challengers\u003c/em>, the Zendaya-starring film about a trio of tennis players that’s lit up group chats nationwide. All over the internet, fans are posting photos of their favorite love triangles — Roy, Keeley and Jamie from \u003cem>Ted Lasso\u003c/em>; Nora, Hae Sung and Arthur from \u003cem>Past Lives\u003c/em> — with the caption, “Three tickets to \u003cem>Challengers\u003c/em> please.” It’s the film that’s launched a thousand Twitter threads about throuples. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I sat down with Izzy and Mary, polyamorous partners in the Bay Area, to get their thoughts on \u003cem>Challengers\u003c/em>. Below, they chat about their favorite scenes, phallic churros, yonic tennis rackets and the dynamics that took them back to being young and intimate with more than one partner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This interview has been edited for length and clarity. \u003cstrong>Note:\u003c/strong> Spoilers and swearing ahead.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Cruz Mayeda: What were your first impressions of \u003cem>Challengers\u003c/em>?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary:\u003c/strong> It’s not a rule book for how to date, but it’s a very good fantasy. I love that it was a movie that purported to be about a relationship, but really was about winning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Izzy:\u003c/strong> I was so entertained throughout. Even when it was slower-paced, it was so rich with these tense scenes. And even though it was super sexual, I didn’t feel like it was over the top. It was really contained and just purposeful. It wasn’t like everything would be solved if Patrick and Art fucked or something. It was way more layered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957101\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtPatrick_2000.jpg\" alt=\"Two young men in profile talking in front of window\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957101\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtPatrick_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtPatrick_2000-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtPatrick_2000-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtPatrick_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtPatrick_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtPatrick_2000-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtPatrick_2000-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Faist as Art and Josh O’Connor as Patrick in ‘Challengers.’ \u003ccite>(Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I was surprised by how layered the characters were. What felt nuanced about their relationship dynamics to y’all?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13956512']\u003cstrong>Izzy:\u003c/strong> The way in which flirting and jealousy is explored — Patrick doesn’t demonize Art for being jealous, even when he’s low-key sabotaging Patrick’s relationship. He’s turned on by it. He’s like, ‘You little snake, I see what you’re doing.’ They both fulfill each character’s competitive spirit and drive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary:\u003c/strong> That’s what makes the movie hot. It’s kinky. There’s a certain amount of ambiguity around consent because, of course, cheating and infidelity is bad. But then there’s this question: Is anything fair game if it’s in the service of tennis? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Izzy:\u003c/strong> Even at the end, where Art and Patrick have this secret language that Tashi is not in on, she’s like, ‘Fuck yeah, come on!’ And she gets what she wants out of it, which is to watch some really good fucking tennis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Internet discourse about \u003cem>Challengers\u003c/em> has really honed in on throuples. Would you say Tashi, Art and Patrick are a throuple?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary:\u003c/strong> It sells itself as being a film about a throuple. But this is not how throuples work in ethical ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957102\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtTashi_2000.jpg\" alt=\"Man and woman in close-up looking at each other\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957102\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtTashi_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtTashi_2000-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtTashi_2000-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtTashi_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtTashi_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtTashi_2000-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtTashi_2000-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Faist as Art and Zendaya as Tashi in ‘Challengers.’ \u003ccite>(Niko Tavernise/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So … are they an unethical throuple?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary:\u003c/strong> Oh, yes! I mean, there’s no communication. So from that perspective, I would want to draw that line. But I think it’s a fantasy, and it’s a really effective fantasy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Izzy:\u003c/strong> I feel like the movie is not about a throuple. It’s about three people’s different intersections of relating with one another. Even in that scene where [Tashi] makes all of them kiss, she steps away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Speaking of that first intimate scene between all three characters, what stood out to you?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Izzy:\u003c/strong> It is a very realistic threesome that happens between 18-year-olds or young adults, who don’t know those forms of communication. You’ve got two horny guys who are totally simping for her and also for each other. And they have some beer and they’re in the afterglow of flirting. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary:\u003c/strong> When I’ve experienced a situation with more than one person, there are all of these side conversations to check around consent, and what is and isn’t okay. I think that kind of awkward conversation, and allowing for the stumbling and the awkwardness, and not being sure what is going to happen or if everyone is attracted to everyone else — I thought that was really sweet. I felt like I was promised ‘the boys being gay,’ and it was actually just so tender. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957103\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_PatrickTashi_2000.jpg\" alt=\"Back of man as he faces woman in red-lit dark scene\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957103\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_PatrickTashi_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_PatrickTashi_2000-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_PatrickTashi_2000-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_PatrickTashi_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_PatrickTashi_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_PatrickTashi_2000-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_PatrickTashi_2000-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Josh O’Connor as Patrick and Zendaya as Tashi in ‘Challengers.’ \u003ccite>(Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Izzy:\u003c/strong> There’s that scene where Patrick pulls Art’s stool closer to him with his foot. There’s just little things that feel quite tender.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary:\u003c/strong> Yeah, where it’s not coded as ‘gay intimacy,’ but just coded as intimacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>You also mentioned before that \u003cem>Challengers\u003c/em> is a fantasy. What feels different about the reality of three people being interested in each other? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary:\u003c/strong> So last summer, there was a situation where the two of us and a friend of ours were talking late at night, and there was this desire. And of course, we’re partnered — and not just doubles partners. There’s this question of, ‘Will anything happen?’ And then it was, like, oh … we actually all just want to go to sleep, which is maybe the being-in-your-30s version.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A lot of time, there’s a possibility of a ‘no.’ But that doesn’t make for good cinema.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Izzy:\u003c/strong> This movie just reminds me of also being young and inexperienced. I’ve experienced that kind of threesome dynamic, where all of a sudden you find yourself in it, and you’re like, ‘I’ve never done this before, I’m young, I’m on the ride.’ And then in retrospect, you realize how much care is involved in sexual intimacy, especially when there’s multiple parties involved. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So, all in all?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Izzy:\u003c/strong> Great movie. Ten out of ten.\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Bay Area experts discuss the drama of unethical non-monogamy and the surprising tenderness of ‘Challengers.’","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1714688085,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":28,"wordCount":1058},"headData":{"title":"A Polyamorous Couple Reviews ‘Challengers’: ‘Very Good Fantasy’ | KQED","description":"Bay Area experts discuss the drama of unethical non-monogamy and the surprising tenderness of ‘Challengers.’","ogTitle":"‘Challengers’ Has Ignited ‘Throuple’ Discourse — One Polyamorous Couple Weighs In","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"‘Challengers’ Has Ignited ‘Throuple’ Discourse — One Polyamorous Couple Weighs In","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","socialTitle":"A Polyamorous Couple Reviews ‘Challengers’: ‘Very Good Fantasy’ %%page%% %%sep%% KQED","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"‘Challengers’ Has Ignited ‘Throuple’ Discourse — One Polyamorous Couple Weighs In","datePublished":"2024-05-02T19:46:12.000Z","dateModified":"2024-05-02T22:14:45.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"sticky":false,"nprStoryId":"kqed-13957096","templateType":"standard","featuredImageType":"standard","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13957096/challengers-throuple-zendaya-polyamorous-couple","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Sweat in slow-mo, relentless EDM and staggering chemistry are just a few highlights of \u003cem>Challengers\u003c/em>, the Zendaya-starring film about a trio of tennis players that’s lit up group chats nationwide. All over the internet, fans are posting photos of their favorite love triangles — Roy, Keeley and Jamie from \u003cem>Ted Lasso\u003c/em>; Nora, Hae Sung and Arthur from \u003cem>Past Lives\u003c/em> — with the caption, “Three tickets to \u003cem>Challengers\u003c/em> please.” It’s the film that’s launched a thousand Twitter threads about throuples. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I sat down with Izzy and Mary, polyamorous partners in the Bay Area, to get their thoughts on \u003cem>Challengers\u003c/em>. Below, they chat about their favorite scenes, phallic churros, yonic tennis rackets and the dynamics that took them back to being young and intimate with more than one partner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This interview has been edited for length and clarity. \u003cstrong>Note:\u003c/strong> Spoilers and swearing ahead.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Cruz Mayeda: What were your first impressions of \u003cem>Challengers\u003c/em>?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary:\u003c/strong> It’s not a rule book for how to date, but it’s a very good fantasy. I love that it was a movie that purported to be about a relationship, but really was about winning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Izzy:\u003c/strong> I was so entertained throughout. Even when it was slower-paced, it was so rich with these tense scenes. And even though it was super sexual, I didn’t feel like it was over the top. It was really contained and just purposeful. It wasn’t like everything would be solved if Patrick and Art fucked or something. It was way more layered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957101\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtPatrick_2000.jpg\" alt=\"Two young men in profile talking in front of window\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957101\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtPatrick_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtPatrick_2000-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtPatrick_2000-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtPatrick_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtPatrick_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtPatrick_2000-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtPatrick_2000-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Faist as Art and Josh O’Connor as Patrick in ‘Challengers.’ \u003ccite>(Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>I was surprised by how layered the characters were. What felt nuanced about their relationship dynamics to y’all?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13956512","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Izzy:\u003c/strong> The way in which flirting and jealousy is explored — Patrick doesn’t demonize Art for being jealous, even when he’s low-key sabotaging Patrick’s relationship. He’s turned on by it. He’s like, ‘You little snake, I see what you’re doing.’ They both fulfill each character’s competitive spirit and drive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary:\u003c/strong> That’s what makes the movie hot. It’s kinky. There’s a certain amount of ambiguity around consent because, of course, cheating and infidelity is bad. But then there’s this question: Is anything fair game if it’s in the service of tennis? \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Izzy:\u003c/strong> Even at the end, where Art and Patrick have this secret language that Tashi is not in on, she’s like, ‘Fuck yeah, come on!’ And she gets what she wants out of it, which is to watch some really good fucking tennis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Internet discourse about \u003cem>Challengers\u003c/em> has really honed in on throuples. Would you say Tashi, Art and Patrick are a throuple?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary:\u003c/strong> It sells itself as being a film about a throuple. But this is not how throuples work in ethical ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957102\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtTashi_2000.jpg\" alt=\"Man and woman in close-up looking at each other\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957102\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtTashi_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtTashi_2000-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtTashi_2000-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtTashi_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtTashi_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtTashi_2000-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_ArtTashi_2000-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Faist as Art and Zendaya as Tashi in ‘Challengers.’ \u003ccite>(Niko Tavernise/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So … are they an unethical throuple?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary:\u003c/strong> Oh, yes! I mean, there’s no communication. So from that perspective, I would want to draw that line. But I think it’s a fantasy, and it’s a really effective fantasy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Izzy:\u003c/strong> I feel like the movie is not about a throuple. It’s about three people’s different intersections of relating with one another. Even in that scene where [Tashi] makes all of them kiss, she steps away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Speaking of that first intimate scene between all three characters, what stood out to you?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Izzy:\u003c/strong> It is a very realistic threesome that happens between 18-year-olds or young adults, who don’t know those forms of communication. You’ve got two horny guys who are totally simping for her and also for each other. And they have some beer and they’re in the afterglow of flirting. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary:\u003c/strong> When I’ve experienced a situation with more than one person, there are all of these side conversations to check around consent, and what is and isn’t okay. I think that kind of awkward conversation, and allowing for the stumbling and the awkwardness, and not being sure what is going to happen or if everyone is attracted to everyone else — I thought that was really sweet. I felt like I was promised ‘the boys being gay,’ and it was actually just so tender. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957103\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_PatrickTashi_2000.jpg\" alt=\"Back of man as he faces woman in red-lit dark scene\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957103\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_PatrickTashi_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_PatrickTashi_2000-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_PatrickTashi_2000-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_PatrickTashi_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_PatrickTashi_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_PatrickTashi_2000-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Challengers_PatrickTashi_2000-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Josh O’Connor as Patrick and Zendaya as Tashi in ‘Challengers.’ \u003ccite>(Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Izzy:\u003c/strong> There’s that scene where Patrick pulls Art’s stool closer to him with his foot. There’s just little things that feel quite tender.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary:\u003c/strong> Yeah, where it’s not coded as ‘gay intimacy,’ but just coded as intimacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>You also mentioned before that \u003cem>Challengers\u003c/em> is a fantasy. What feels different about the reality of three people being interested in each other? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mary:\u003c/strong> So last summer, there was a situation where the two of us and a friend of ours were talking late at night, and there was this desire. And of course, we’re partnered — and not just doubles partners. There’s this question of, ‘Will anything happen?’ And then it was, like, oh … we actually all just want to go to sleep, which is maybe the being-in-your-30s version.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A lot of time, there’s a possibility of a ‘no.’ But that doesn’t make for good cinema.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Izzy:\u003c/strong> This movie just reminds me of also being young and inexperienced. I’ve experienced that kind of threesome dynamic, where all of a sudden you find yourself in it, and you’re like, ‘I’ve never done this before, I’m young, I’m on the ride.’ And then in retrospect, you realize how much care is involved in sexual intimacy, especially when there’s multiple parties involved. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So, all in all?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Izzy:\u003c/strong> Great movie. Ten out of ten.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13957096/challengers-throuple-zendaya-polyamorous-couple","authors":["11872"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_74"],"tags":["arts_10342","arts_10278","arts_977","arts_21968"],"featImg":"arts_13957100","label":"arts"},"arts_13956541":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13956541","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13956541","score":null,"sort":[1714514805000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"shannon-shaw-the-clams-the-moon-is-in-the-wrong-place","title":"Shannon Shaw’s New Album Channels a Magical Love and a Life-Changing Loss","publishDate":1714514805,"format":"standard","headTitle":"Shannon Shaw’s New Album Channels a Magical Love and a Life-Changing Loss | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"arts"},"content":"\u003cp>[dropcap]O[/dropcap]f all the topics covered in our hour-long Zoom call, one of the few that doesn’t make Shannon Shaw cry a little is pro wrestling great Mick “Mankind” Foley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was in Detroit at the airport really early in the morning. I was like ‘Oh my God, is that Mankind? Holy shit!’” she says. “I was like, ‘You know what? He is the kind of celeb that I’m going to approach, and hopefully he’s as nice as he seems.’ He was so nice! He asked me if I wanted a photo.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few years later, she reposted the photo to her Instagram. A subsequent chain of online events led to her and her band, the Clams, going out to lunch with him in Nashville, where they were recording a new album.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that’s how a WWE Hall of Famer ended up contributing hand claps to her new album \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://easyeyesound.com/collections/shannon-the-clams\">The Moon Is In The Wrong Place\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A devastating loss\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In some ways it’s a fitting coda to the past few years of Shaw’s life, which have been filled with one-in-a-million occurrences that brought her a staggering range of experiences, including a friendship with a pro wrestling legend, a dog she loves and the darkest days of her life. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’ve been a local rock ‘n’ roll fan in the last 15 years, you have almost definitely heard Shaw’s voice. It may have been in Oakland retro-tinged punk legends Hunx and his Punx, or in her own band, Shannon and the Clams. The distinctive rasp in her singing voice and her striking personal style made her stand out in a crowded field of local indie acts in the 2010s, leading to a solo record on Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound and large-print appearances with Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13951325/mosswood-meltdown-lineup-b-52s-big-freedia\">Mosswood Meltdown festival\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956547\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/feeBQECu.jpeg\" alt=\"Album cover with floating heads of band members in a starry night design\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956547\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/feeBQECu.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/feeBQECu-160x160.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/feeBQECu-768x768.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The new album from Shannon and the Clams, ‘The Moon Is In The Wrong Place,’ comes out May 10 on Easy Eye Sound. \u003ccite>(Easy Eye Sound)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And if you’re plugged into that scene, you likely also know the personal devastation that brought us this new record. In 2022, her fiancé Joe Haener — also a Bay Area rock icon, an in-demand drummer who played with bands like The Dodos, Rock N Roll Adventure Kids and his own band Gris Gris — died in a car crash outside his family farm in rural Oregon. The accident happened in front of a bean field that Shaw says “he was probably planning to harvest like within the next week or something.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haener’s passing stunned the local music community, and fans and friends of the couple paid tribute for weeks after: tribute concerts were arranged in his honor, and artists dedicated albums to him. Acclaimed Oakland taqueria Tacos Oscar put his recipe for beans on the menu. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I really do feel like we have such incredible fans that they’re here for it, you know?” Shaw says of the outpouring of love she received and the anticipation for the new record. “They want to experience the music [on this record] knowing exactly what it’s about. And I just appreciate that so much.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A love story\n\u003c/h2>\u003cp>Shaw is generally cynical about whether the universe has grand plans for us all — these things tend to come up when you lose someone — but she believes in one notable exception: Joe Haener, and that his existence overlapped with hers at all. “I’m always [doubting myself] like, ‘Yeah you’re probably just looking really hard and making something out of nothing.’ But no,” she says. “There’s too many things.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their story starts serendipitously at a strip mall in Tualatin, Oregon. In town for a friend’s wedding, she was looking for a dress at a Lane Bryant a few doors down from a Starbucks. It started pouring, so she ducked into the coffee shop to wait out the rain. Haener’s family farm didn’t yet have internet access, so there he was using the wifi to download some shows to take back with him. “Probably the Garry Shandling show. He loved that shit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956731\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/2024_04_SHANNON_SHAW_00073-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Woman kisses small dog while holding bass guitar\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956731\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/2024_04_SHANNON_SHAW_00073-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/2024_04_SHANNON_SHAW_00073-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/2024_04_SHANNON_SHAW_00073-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/2024_04_SHANNON_SHAW_00073-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/2024_04_SHANNON_SHAW_00073-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/2024_04_SHANNON_SHAW_00073-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/2024_04_SHANNON_SHAW_00073-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shannon Shaw and Spanky-Joe in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Jules Hotz for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She’d known Haener previously through the indie music world — and she had a huge, immediate crush on him. “I saw pictures of him and I’m like, ‘Oh my fucking lord. This is like the hunkiest man ever,’” she says, chuckling slightly. “I’m not normally like that, like a —” she makes an “awooga” sound, “but absolutely, Joe Haener, I totally was. Total wolf-[with]-steam-out-of-the-ears.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After he shyly said hello in that Starbucks and asked if she remembered him, she invited him to be her date to the wedding. He had to be at the farm early the next morning, so he declined. They kept in touch, and in 2017 she met up with him after his birthday party – at 2 a.m., the only time they had to meet up while in the same city. Another suspiciously lucky turn of events unfolded: inclement weather canceled his early-morning flight. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s [how] we became madly in love, [because] a lightning storm trapped him at my house,” Shaw remembers. “And we just played games and got to know each other and were both trying to pretend to not already be in love.” He proposed in 2020, and she moved to Portland to join him near the farm.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Between sorrow and exuberance\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Shaw is calling from Los Angeles, where she moved to be close to friends and her support network. Spanky-Joe the dog is nestled sweetly in her lap. “I feel like he saved my life,” she says of Spanky, her voice breaking just a little. “And I just feel like even though Joe never got to meet him, somehow Joe and him crossed paths on the astral plane. And Joe was like, ‘I’m sending you to go take care of Shannon.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s still hard for her to talk about Haener, and yet, as she’s said on \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C2OGLvjPYt_/?hl=en&img_index=1\">Instagram\u003c/a> and says on this call, “All I want to do is talk about Joe.” She spent last year doing just that, transferring her grief and confusion over to \u003cem>The Moon Is In The Wrong Place\u003c/em>, which she started writing almost immediately. “I had so much music in my head from the day he died,” she says. “Songs were coming to me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956548\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/XbK8BYQh.png\" alt=\"Five-person group photo, all in black clothes against maroon background\" width=\"1024\" height=\"680\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956548\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/XbK8BYQh.png 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/XbK8BYQh-800x531.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/XbK8BYQh-1020x677.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/XbK8BYQh-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/XbK8BYQh-768x510.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The members of Shannon and the Clams are vocalist and bass player Shannon Shaw, guitarist Cody Blanchard, keyboard player Will Sprott and drummer Nate Mahan. The whole band had crown close to Haener before his death. \u003ccite>(Easy Eye Sound)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The result revels in the dichotomy of loss. \u003cem>The Moon Is In The Wrong Place\u003c/em> stings like a freshly skinned knee, honest in its depiction of grief to the point of being jarring. But it’s also brimming with a naked joy. It’s a celebration of Haener and the lives he touched during his time here. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Opener “The Vow” bludgeons you with that bittersweetness — it’s the song Shaw wrote as a surprise for their wedding. The rest of the Shaw-scribed songs continue in that tone, swinging wildly between sorrow and exuberance. “I’m someone who I think generally can run positive … I just can’t help but see all the extreme, vibrant, beautiful things right next to the really awful realities, you know?” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That describes the time she spent in the bean fields, which became a haven for her and the Haener family in the weeks after the accident. “It was such a gnarly scene, you know? There was, like …” she hesitates a moment and her voice quiets. “Burnt flesh and clothing, and all of his personal stuff from his car … but then being surrounded by blossoms … that was like the first time I had been like ‘OK this is a true juxtaposition,’” she says. “This is like life and death, and they’re … operating in the same exact space.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That heady swell of emotions changes day by day, and she’s learned to lean into the positive feelings. “This is the deepest sadness I’ve ever felt in my life,” Shaw says, “and I know that will be there forever, but the little bits of joy that I have gotten to experience also feel so fucking good.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvo2yOFb7k0\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a culture, we expect art borne of tragedy to pin the creator in place, for them to define themselves by the death of their loved one. We expect them to continuously perform their grief so the rest of us can get a lurid preview of an anguish we can’t know until it happens to us. It’s the joy that Shaw exudes on the album that makes it so novel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stalling out in grief isn’t something Haener would want for her, anyway. Staying in one place just wasn’t in his nature. “He’s like the least lazy person on earth,” she says. (She still, occasionally, slips into the present tense when talking about him.) “And that was so inspiring to me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So Shaw, as she says on the record, “keep[s] on chooglin’,” meeting a future without Joe Haener in it: “I would love to be able to help anyone see that there’s more to life, and your person would not want you to stop.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>‘The Moon is in the Wrong Place’ is out May 10, 2024 on Easy Eye Sound. \u003ca href=\"https://easyeyesound.com/collections/shannon-the-clams\">Find more information about the album here\u003c/a>.\u003c/i> \u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"‘The Moon Is In The Wrong Place’ arrives two years after the death of Shaw’s fiancé, the musician Joe Haener.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1714688037,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":true,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":26,"wordCount":1746},"headData":{"title":"Shannon Shaw’s New Album Channels Great Love and Great Loss | KQED","description":"‘The Moon Is In The Wrong Place’ arrives two years after the death of Shaw’s fiancé, the musician Joe Haener.","ogTitle":"Shannon Shaw’s New Album Channels a Magical Love and a Life-Changing Loss","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"Shannon Shaw’s New Album Channels a Magical Love and a Life-Changing Loss","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","socialTitle":"Shannon Shaw’s New Album Channels Great Love and Great Loss %%page%% %%sep%% KQED","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"Shannon Shaw’s New Album Channels a Magical Love and a Life-Changing Loss","datePublished":"2024-04-30T22:06:45.000Z","dateModified":"2024-05-02T22:13:57.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"sticky":false,"nprByline":"Jody Amable","nprStoryId":"kqed-13956541","templateType":"standard","featuredImageType":"standard","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","showOnAuthorArchivePages":"No","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13956541/shannon-shaw-the-clams-the-moon-is-in-the-wrong-place","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">O\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>f all the topics covered in our hour-long Zoom call, one of the few that doesn’t make Shannon Shaw cry a little is pro wrestling great Mick “Mankind” Foley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was in Detroit at the airport really early in the morning. I was like ‘Oh my God, is that Mankind? Holy shit!’” she says. “I was like, ‘You know what? He is the kind of celeb that I’m going to approach, and hopefully he’s as nice as he seems.’ He was so nice! He asked me if I wanted a photo.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few years later, she reposted the photo to her Instagram. A subsequent chain of online events led to her and her band, the Clams, going out to lunch with him in Nashville, where they were recording a new album.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that’s how a WWE Hall of Famer ended up contributing hand claps to her new album \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://easyeyesound.com/collections/shannon-the-clams\">The Moon Is In The Wrong Place\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A devastating loss\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In some ways it’s a fitting coda to the past few years of Shaw’s life, which have been filled with one-in-a-million occurrences that brought her a staggering range of experiences, including a friendship with a pro wrestling legend, a dog she loves and the darkest days of her life. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’ve been a local rock ‘n’ roll fan in the last 15 years, you have almost definitely heard Shaw’s voice. It may have been in Oakland retro-tinged punk legends Hunx and his Punx, or in her own band, Shannon and the Clams. The distinctive rasp in her singing voice and her striking personal style made her stand out in a crowded field of local indie acts in the 2010s, leading to a solo record on Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound and large-print appearances with Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13951325/mosswood-meltdown-lineup-b-52s-big-freedia\">Mosswood Meltdown festival\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956547\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/feeBQECu.jpeg\" alt=\"Album cover with floating heads of band members in a starry night design\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956547\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/feeBQECu.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/feeBQECu-160x160.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/feeBQECu-768x768.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The new album from Shannon and the Clams, ‘The Moon Is In The Wrong Place,’ comes out May 10 on Easy Eye Sound. \u003ccite>(Easy Eye Sound)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And if you’re plugged into that scene, you likely also know the personal devastation that brought us this new record. In 2022, her fiancé Joe Haener — also a Bay Area rock icon, an in-demand drummer who played with bands like The Dodos, Rock N Roll Adventure Kids and his own band Gris Gris — died in a car crash outside his family farm in rural Oregon. The accident happened in front of a bean field that Shaw says “he was probably planning to harvest like within the next week or something.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haener’s passing stunned the local music community, and fans and friends of the couple paid tribute for weeks after: tribute concerts were arranged in his honor, and artists dedicated albums to him. Acclaimed Oakland taqueria Tacos Oscar put his recipe for beans on the menu. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I really do feel like we have such incredible fans that they’re here for it, you know?” Shaw says of the outpouring of love she received and the anticipation for the new record. “They want to experience the music [on this record] knowing exactly what it’s about. And I just appreciate that so much.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A love story\n\u003c/h2>\u003cp>Shaw is generally cynical about whether the universe has grand plans for us all — these things tend to come up when you lose someone — but she believes in one notable exception: Joe Haener, and that his existence overlapped with hers at all. “I’m always [doubting myself] like, ‘Yeah you’re probably just looking really hard and making something out of nothing.’ But no,” she says. “There’s too many things.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their story starts serendipitously at a strip mall in Tualatin, Oregon. In town for a friend’s wedding, she was looking for a dress at a Lane Bryant a few doors down from a Starbucks. It started pouring, so she ducked into the coffee shop to wait out the rain. Haener’s family farm didn’t yet have internet access, so there he was using the wifi to download some shows to take back with him. “Probably the Garry Shandling show. He loved that shit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956731\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/2024_04_SHANNON_SHAW_00073-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Woman kisses small dog while holding bass guitar\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956731\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/2024_04_SHANNON_SHAW_00073-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/2024_04_SHANNON_SHAW_00073-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/2024_04_SHANNON_SHAW_00073-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/2024_04_SHANNON_SHAW_00073-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/2024_04_SHANNON_SHAW_00073-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/2024_04_SHANNON_SHAW_00073-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/2024_04_SHANNON_SHAW_00073-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shannon Shaw and Spanky-Joe in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Jules Hotz for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She’d known Haener previously through the indie music world — and she had a huge, immediate crush on him. “I saw pictures of him and I’m like, ‘Oh my fucking lord. This is like the hunkiest man ever,’” she says, chuckling slightly. “I’m not normally like that, like a —” she makes an “awooga” sound, “but absolutely, Joe Haener, I totally was. Total wolf-[with]-steam-out-of-the-ears.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After he shyly said hello in that Starbucks and asked if she remembered him, she invited him to be her date to the wedding. He had to be at the farm early the next morning, so he declined. They kept in touch, and in 2017 she met up with him after his birthday party – at 2 a.m., the only time they had to meet up while in the same city. Another suspiciously lucky turn of events unfolded: inclement weather canceled his early-morning flight. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s [how] we became madly in love, [because] a lightning storm trapped him at my house,” Shaw remembers. “And we just played games and got to know each other and were both trying to pretend to not already be in love.” He proposed in 2020, and she moved to Portland to join him near the farm.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Between sorrow and exuberance\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Shaw is calling from Los Angeles, where she moved to be close to friends and her support network. Spanky-Joe the dog is nestled sweetly in her lap. “I feel like he saved my life,” she says of Spanky, her voice breaking just a little. “And I just feel like even though Joe never got to meet him, somehow Joe and him crossed paths on the astral plane. And Joe was like, ‘I’m sending you to go take care of Shannon.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s still hard for her to talk about Haener, and yet, as she’s said on \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C2OGLvjPYt_/?hl=en&img_index=1\">Instagram\u003c/a> and says on this call, “All I want to do is talk about Joe.” She spent last year doing just that, transferring her grief and confusion over to \u003cem>The Moon Is In The Wrong Place\u003c/em>, which she started writing almost immediately. “I had so much music in my head from the day he died,” she says. “Songs were coming to me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956548\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/XbK8BYQh.png\" alt=\"Five-person group photo, all in black clothes against maroon background\" width=\"1024\" height=\"680\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956548\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/XbK8BYQh.png 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/XbK8BYQh-800x531.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/XbK8BYQh-1020x677.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/XbK8BYQh-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/XbK8BYQh-768x510.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The members of Shannon and the Clams are vocalist and bass player Shannon Shaw, guitarist Cody Blanchard, keyboard player Will Sprott and drummer Nate Mahan. The whole band had crown close to Haener before his death. \u003ccite>(Easy Eye Sound)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The result revels in the dichotomy of loss. \u003cem>The Moon Is In The Wrong Place\u003c/em> stings like a freshly skinned knee, honest in its depiction of grief to the point of being jarring. But it’s also brimming with a naked joy. It’s a celebration of Haener and the lives he touched during his time here. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Opener “The Vow” bludgeons you with that bittersweetness — it’s the song Shaw wrote as a surprise for their wedding. The rest of the Shaw-scribed songs continue in that tone, swinging wildly between sorrow and exuberance. “I’m someone who I think generally can run positive … I just can’t help but see all the extreme, vibrant, beautiful things right next to the really awful realities, you know?” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That describes the time she spent in the bean fields, which became a haven for her and the Haener family in the weeks after the accident. “It was such a gnarly scene, you know? There was, like …” she hesitates a moment and her voice quiets. “Burnt flesh and clothing, and all of his personal stuff from his car … but then being surrounded by blossoms … that was like the first time I had been like ‘OK this is a true juxtaposition,’” she says. “This is like life and death, and they’re … operating in the same exact space.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That heady swell of emotions changes day by day, and she’s learned to lean into the positive feelings. “This is the deepest sadness I’ve ever felt in my life,” Shaw says, “and I know that will be there forever, but the little bits of joy that I have gotten to experience also feel so fucking good.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/dvo2yOFb7k0'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/dvo2yOFb7k0'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>As a culture, we expect art borne of tragedy to pin the creator in place, for them to define themselves by the death of their loved one. We expect them to continuously perform their grief so the rest of us can get a lurid preview of an anguish we can’t know until it happens to us. It’s the joy that Shaw exudes on the album that makes it so novel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stalling out in grief isn’t something Haener would want for her, anyway. Staying in one place just wasn’t in his nature. “He’s like the least lazy person on earth,” she says. (She still, occasionally, slips into the present tense when talking about him.) “And that was so inspiring to me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So Shaw, as she says on the record, “keep[s] on chooglin’,” meeting a future without Joe Haener in it: “I would love to be able to help anyone see that there’s more to life, and your person would not want you to stop.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>‘The Moon is in the Wrong Place’ is out May 10, 2024 on Easy Eye Sound. \u003ca href=\"https://easyeyesound.com/collections/shannon-the-clams\">Find more information about the album here\u003c/a>.\u003c/i> \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13956541/shannon-shaw-the-clams-the-moon-is-in-the-wrong-place","authors":["byline_arts_13956541"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_69"],"tags":["arts_10342","arts_10278","arts_2838","arts_3823"],"featImg":"arts_13956732","label":"arts"},"arts_13956554":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13956554","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13956554","score":null,"sort":[1713993863000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"loco-bloco-mission-district-carnaval-jediah-pratt","title":"The Drumbeat of Home: How Loco Bloco Keeps One Family Tethered to the Mission","publishDate":1713993863,"format":"standard","headTitle":"The Drumbeat of Home: How Loco Bloco Keeps One Family Tethered to the Mission | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"arts"},"content":"\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note\u003c/strong>: This story is part of KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/youthtakeover\">Youth Takeover\u003c/a>. Throughout the week of April 22-26, we’re publishing content by high school students from all over the Bay Area.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The booming sounds can be heard in the Mission District all the way down the block. From inside a brightly painted building on 24th Street, upstairs at the Brava Theater Center, 20 drummers pound out a rhythm for nearly three dozen dancers, shaking the floor as they move. \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Binnie.headshot-160x190.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"190\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13956328\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Binnie.headshot-160x190.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Binnie.headshot.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is a typical weeknight rehearsal for \u003ca href=\"https://www.locoblocosf.org/\">Loco Bloco\u003c/a>, whose performers are currently working for hours on end to master intricate choreography and complex drum patterns for their performance at San Francisco’s massive \u003ca href=\"https://carnavalsanfrancisco.org/\">Carnaval celebration\u003c/a> in May. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A donations-based organization offering free dance and music classes to young people, Loco Bloco primarily serves the Latin and Afro-Latino communities in the Bay Area. Since its founding in 1994, Loco Bloco has influenced countless young participants, giving them a sense of community, stability and core values.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956568\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-44-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956568\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-44-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-44-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-44-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-44-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-44-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-44-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-44-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Antonio ‘Tico’ Dos Santos leads a Loco Bloco drum lesson at Brava Theater in San Francisco on April 22, 2024, to prepare for their performance in Carnaval. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A prime example of this is 15-year-old dancer Jediah Pratt, who began dancing with Loco Bloco when she was just 6 years old. When asked about the benefits of the program, she emphasizes the group’s tight-knit bond, and how much it means to her and her family since moving out of San Francisco with its rising costs. Now living an hour away, she says the program has kept her connected to the city where her family lived for generations. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956565\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-31-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956565\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-31-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-31-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-31-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-31-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-31-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-31-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-31-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jediah Pratt (center right), 15, practices with a Loco Bloco dance group lead by artistic director Mayela Carrasco at Brava Theater in San Francisco on April 22, 2024, to prepare for their performance in Carnaval. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Jediah’s family has a long history with Loco Bloco. Her mother Ramona was introduced to the program by one of its founders, Jose Carrasco, when she was 11, and would watch rehearsals from the sidelines after school before joining in herself as a drummer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many years later, when Jediah was just 5, she saw the group perform — feathers, floats, colors and all — and begged her mom to join. In first grade, her wish came true, and she dutifully showed up to rehearsals, rain or shine. (Once, when a family member died, she remembers wanting to go to Loco Bloco rehearsal instead of their funeral.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956564\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-16-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956564\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-16-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-16-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-16-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-16-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-16-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-16-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-16-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jediah Pratt, 15, stands outside Brava Theater in San Francisco on April 22, 2024, before dance practice with the group Loco Bloco to prepare for Carnaval. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“She’s grown up with Loco Bloco, which I think is a beautiful thing,” says Ramona of her daughter. “I’ve asked over and over again, ‘Is this what you really want to do? Because you’re really good at it.’” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three years ago, the closeness and familial bond of the program gave Jediah and her family a sense of stability after moving to Concord due to high costs and inflation. It was a difficult time, and her new home and school were vastly different from San Francisco. Yet Jediah and her three siblings still attended Loco Bloco every Monday and Wednesday. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956569\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-48-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956569\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-48-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-48-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-48-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-48-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-48-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-48-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-48-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Loco Bloco managing director Jose Carrasco leads a drum group during practice at Brava Theater in San Francisco on April 22, 2024, to prepare for their performance in Carnaval. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Jediah is really the best,” said Jose Carrasco, now Loco Bloco’s managing director. “She has really developed into a beautiful artist, and through the years I’ve watched her blossom.” Jediah helps out with the younger kids and their stilts lessons, Carrasco is quick to point out, while Ramona spends her time drumming and volunteering for the program. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, Jediah’s family moved to Fairfield, an hour away from San Francisco without traffic, where her routine and environment changed once again. She began high school in Fairfield this year, which she described as rough. She didn’t know anybody at first, and went to a school with thousands of kids and “fights every day on the schoolyard.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956567\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-35-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956567\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-35-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-35-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-35-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-35-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-35-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-35-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-35-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jediah Pratt, 15, talks with friends during Loco Bloco dance practice at Brava Theater in San Francisco on April 22, 2024, to prepare for their performance in Carnaval. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Still, every Monday and Wednesday at 5 p.m., Ramona drives the family down I-80 and through the city’s traffic to Loco Bloco, where Jediah and her siblings dance and drum for hours. They don’t get back home until 11 p.m. While it may sound strenuous, when asked about it, Jediah says, “I feel like everybody is kind of like family. Everyone knows everyone, and we’re always there for each other, looking out for each other.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For this year’s Carnaval, Jediah is one of just two teens dancing with the adults. Though the rehearsals and dances are difficult, the hardest part of preparing for Carnaval is the costumes, she says. Each year the dancers are given costumes to decorate with rhinestones or other accouterments and make their own. Jediah recalls staying up until one a.m. the night before last year’s Carnaval, trying to finish her outfit and falling asleep with the hot glue gun in hand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956563\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-09-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956563\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-09-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-09-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-09-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-09-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-09-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-09-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-09-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jediah Pratt, 15, helps stilt walkers for the group Loco Bloco practice outside Brava Theater in San Francisco on April 22, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As Jediah continues to navigate the challenges of adjusting to a new environment and the demands of high school life, her dedication to Loco Bloco remains a testament to the power of community and art. Through Loco Bloco, she not only hones her skills as an artist but also cultivates resilience, perseverance, and a sense of belonging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the upcoming Carnaval performance, there’ll be drums, dancing and colorful costumes — and for Jediah, there’ll also be the enduring impact of cultural expression and the bonds forged through shared experiences.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Loco Bloco performs as part of this year’s San Francisco’s Carnaval, running May 25–26 in the Mission District. \u003ca href=\"https://carnavalsanfrancisco.org/\">Details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Binnie Kenvin is a Junior at University High School. She is passionate about screenwriting, dancing and playing bass, and loves to hang out with her three dogs. In the future she hopes to be a screenwriter. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"As rehearsals heat up for this year's Carnaval, one 15-year-old dancer calls Loco Bloco 'like family.' ","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1714494942,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":19,"wordCount":1122},"headData":{"title":"The Drumbeat of Home: How Loco Bloco Keeps One Family Tethered to the Mission | KQED","description":"As rehearsals heat up for this year's Carnaval, one 15-year-old dancer calls Loco Bloco 'like family.' ","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"The Drumbeat of Home: How Loco Bloco Keeps One Family Tethered to the Mission","datePublished":"2024-04-24T21:24:23.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-30T16:35:42.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"sticky":false,"WpOldSlug":"the-drumbeat-of-home-how-loco-bloco-keeps-one-family-tethered-to-the-mission","nprByline":"Binnie Kenvin","nprStoryId":"kqed-13956554","templateType":"standard","featuredImageType":"standard","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","showOnAuthorArchivePages":"No","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13956554/loco-bloco-mission-district-carnaval-jediah-pratt","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note\u003c/strong>: This story is part of KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/youthtakeover\">Youth Takeover\u003c/a>. Throughout the week of April 22-26, we’re publishing content by high school students from all over the Bay Area.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The booming sounds can be heard in the Mission District all the way down the block. From inside a brightly painted building on 24th Street, upstairs at the Brava Theater Center, 20 drummers pound out a rhythm for nearly three dozen dancers, shaking the floor as they move. \u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Binnie.headshot-160x190.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"190\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13956328\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Binnie.headshot-160x190.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Binnie.headshot.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is a typical weeknight rehearsal for \u003ca href=\"https://www.locoblocosf.org/\">Loco Bloco\u003c/a>, whose performers are currently working for hours on end to master intricate choreography and complex drum patterns for their performance at San Francisco’s massive \u003ca href=\"https://carnavalsanfrancisco.org/\">Carnaval celebration\u003c/a> in May. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A donations-based organization offering free dance and music classes to young people, Loco Bloco primarily serves the Latin and Afro-Latino communities in the Bay Area. Since its founding in 1994, Loco Bloco has influenced countless young participants, giving them a sense of community, stability and core values.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956568\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-44-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956568\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-44-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-44-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-44-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-44-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-44-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-44-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-44-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Antonio ‘Tico’ Dos Santos leads a Loco Bloco drum lesson at Brava Theater in San Francisco on April 22, 2024, to prepare for their performance in Carnaval. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A prime example of this is 15-year-old dancer Jediah Pratt, who began dancing with Loco Bloco when she was just 6 years old. When asked about the benefits of the program, she emphasizes the group’s tight-knit bond, and how much it means to her and her family since moving out of San Francisco with its rising costs. Now living an hour away, she says the program has kept her connected to the city where her family lived for generations. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956565\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-31-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956565\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-31-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-31-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-31-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-31-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-31-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-31-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-31-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jediah Pratt (center right), 15, practices with a Loco Bloco dance group lead by artistic director Mayela Carrasco at Brava Theater in San Francisco on April 22, 2024, to prepare for their performance in Carnaval. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Jediah’s family has a long history with Loco Bloco. Her mother Ramona was introduced to the program by one of its founders, Jose Carrasco, when she was 11, and would watch rehearsals from the sidelines after school before joining in herself as a drummer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many years later, when Jediah was just 5, she saw the group perform — feathers, floats, colors and all — and begged her mom to join. In first grade, her wish came true, and she dutifully showed up to rehearsals, rain or shine. (Once, when a family member died, she remembers wanting to go to Loco Bloco rehearsal instead of their funeral.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956564\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-16-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956564\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-16-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-16-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-16-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-16-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-16-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-16-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-16-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jediah Pratt, 15, stands outside Brava Theater in San Francisco on April 22, 2024, before dance practice with the group Loco Bloco to prepare for Carnaval. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“She’s grown up with Loco Bloco, which I think is a beautiful thing,” says Ramona of her daughter. “I’ve asked over and over again, ‘Is this what you really want to do? Because you’re really good at it.’” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three years ago, the closeness and familial bond of the program gave Jediah and her family a sense of stability after moving to Concord due to high costs and inflation. It was a difficult time, and her new home and school were vastly different from San Francisco. Yet Jediah and her three siblings still attended Loco Bloco every Monday and Wednesday. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956569\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-48-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956569\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-48-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-48-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-48-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-48-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-48-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-48-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-48-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Loco Bloco managing director Jose Carrasco leads a drum group during practice at Brava Theater in San Francisco on April 22, 2024, to prepare for their performance in Carnaval. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Jediah is really the best,” said Jose Carrasco, now Loco Bloco’s managing director. “She has really developed into a beautiful artist, and through the years I’ve watched her blossom.” Jediah helps out with the younger kids and their stilts lessons, Carrasco is quick to point out, while Ramona spends her time drumming and volunteering for the program. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, Jediah’s family moved to Fairfield, an hour away from San Francisco without traffic, where her routine and environment changed once again. She began high school in Fairfield this year, which she described as rough. She didn’t know anybody at first, and went to a school with thousands of kids and “fights every day on the schoolyard.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956567\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-35-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956567\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-35-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-35-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-35-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-35-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-35-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-35-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-35-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jediah Pratt, 15, talks with friends during Loco Bloco dance practice at Brava Theater in San Francisco on April 22, 2024, to prepare for their performance in Carnaval. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Still, every Monday and Wednesday at 5 p.m., Ramona drives the family down I-80 and through the city’s traffic to Loco Bloco, where Jediah and her siblings dance and drum for hours. They don’t get back home until 11 p.m. While it may sound strenuous, when asked about it, Jediah says, “I feel like everybody is kind of like family. Everyone knows everyone, and we’re always there for each other, looking out for each other.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For this year’s Carnaval, Jediah is one of just two teens dancing with the adults. Though the rehearsals and dances are difficult, the hardest part of preparing for Carnaval is the costumes, she says. Each year the dancers are given costumes to decorate with rhinestones or other accouterments and make their own. Jediah recalls staying up until one a.m. the night before last year’s Carnaval, trying to finish her outfit and falling asleep with the hot glue gun in hand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956563\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-09-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956563\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-09-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-09-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-09-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-09-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-09-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-09-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/240422-LOCOBLOCO-09-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jediah Pratt, 15, helps stilt walkers for the group Loco Bloco practice outside Brava Theater in San Francisco on April 22, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As Jediah continues to navigate the challenges of adjusting to a new environment and the demands of high school life, her dedication to Loco Bloco remains a testament to the power of community and art. Through Loco Bloco, she not only hones her skills as an artist but also cultivates resilience, perseverance, and a sense of belonging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the upcoming Carnaval performance, there’ll be drums, dancing and colorful costumes — and for Jediah, there’ll also be the enduring impact of cultural expression and the bonds forged through shared experiences.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Loco Bloco performs as part of this year’s San Francisco’s Carnaval, running May 25–26 in the Mission District. \u003ca href=\"https://carnavalsanfrancisco.org/\">Details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Binnie Kenvin is a Junior at University High School. She is passionate about screenwriting, dancing and playing bass, and loves to hang out with her three dogs. In the future she hopes to be a screenwriter. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13956554/loco-bloco-mission-district-carnaval-jediah-pratt","authors":["byline_arts_13956554"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_835","arts_966","arts_76","arts_11615","arts_69","arts_235"],"tags":["arts_10342","arts_10278","arts_1257","arts_1146","arts_4533"],"featImg":"arts_13956570","label":"arts"},"arts_13957143":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13957143","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13957143","score":null,"sort":[1714688541000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"late-night-japanese-whisky-highball-karaage-sunnyvale-nokori","title":"Sunnyvale’s Secret Japanese Whisky Bar Serves Killer Late-Night Karaage","publishDate":1714688541,"format":"aside","headTitle":"Sunnyvale’s Secret Japanese Whisky Bar Serves Killer Late-Night Karaage | KQED","labelTerm":{},"content":"\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957148\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957148\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-1.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: a man shovels scallops into his mouth while sitting at an elegant bar. On the counter are tidy lobster sandwiches and fizzy cocktails in highball glasses.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-1-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-1-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nokori is a Japanese whisky highball bar hidden inside Sunnyvale’s TETRA Hotel. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003ci>The Midnight Diners\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003ci>Thien Pham\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>. Follow them each week as they explore the hot pot restaurants, taco carts and 24-hour casino buffets that make up the Bay Area’s after-hours dining scene.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here in the Bay Area, the search for late-night food is mostly a matter of excavating the unexpected gems that are hiding in plain sight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To wit: In order to get to \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/nokori-sunnyvale\">Nokori\u003c/a>, an elegant Japanese whisky bar in Sunnyvale that most Sunnyvaleans haven’t even heard of, you first have to navigate the city’s maze of identical high-tech office parks. Sandwiched between a couple of these anonymous tech campuses sits a \u003ca href=\"https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/sjcva-tetra-hotel-autograph-collection/overview/\">stylish boutique hotel\u003c/a>. And inside that hotel, after you walk through the cool, minimalistic lobby, past the shiny gold leaves dangling from the ceiling, you’ll spot this very chic, very Japanese little cocktail bar — with room for no more than seven or eight people at the counter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When we sidled up to that counter at around 10 o’clock on a recent Friday, there was only one other gentleman there, nursing a cocktail and watching the Japanese F1 race on the TV with the volume turned off. So it really felt like we had stumbled on a secret spot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, we had come because we’d heard Nokori was open until midnight every night, and that it served a concise, appealing menu of fancy izakaya-style small plates until the kitchen did its last call at 11. And also because the bar specializes in the Japanese whisky highball, which happens to be my favorite drink.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A basic highball is just Japanese whisky, soda water and ice, but Nokori is one of a handful of bars around the Bay Area that has installed a \u003ca href=\"https://punchdrink.com/articles/toki-japanese-whisky-highball-machine-has-been-hacked/\">special soda dispenser\u003c/a> from Japan that makes the soda water extra-extra fizzy — so much so that the bubbles look visibly angry. The bar serves a whopping nine different highballs, and it uses the expensive kind of ice that’s just one long, perfectly clear cuboid in your glass. All of which to say: My yuzu highball was fantastic. Cold and refreshing as could be. Subtly citrusy. Sneakily strong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957149\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957149\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-2.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: An elegant hotel lobby with modern, minimalist couches and an elegant bar at one end of the room, with sparkly gold leaves dangling from the ceiling.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-2-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-2-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-2-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-2-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-2-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">For late-night diners looking for a more quiet and chill experience. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It was the food, however, that will bring me back. We ordered torched Hokkaido scallops that were served in a style you might expect to find at one of the Bay Area’s buzzier, Asian-inflected fine dining restaurants. The mostly raw scallops had a zippy leche de tigre dressing and were artfully garnished with algae, rice puffs and briny sea grapes that burst in your mouth — a fun pop-and-crunch effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003cb>\u003cstrong>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13956683,arts_13955884,arts_13954112']\u003c/span>\u003c/strong>\u003c/b>\u003c/span>I also had one of the tastiest versions of Japanese karaage-style fried chicken that I’ve eaten in months — just impeccably crispy, well-seasoned and juicy thighs, no bells and whistles other than the little bowl of watery onion salsa that you could spoon over the chicken for a bit of brightness. And, perhaps most decadently, there were furikake-topped lobster grilled cheese sandwiches, served on bouncy Japanese milk bread. (Could I \u003ci>really\u003c/i> taste that it was lobster, instead of some less rarefied protein, under all that cheese? Maybe not. But I did want to dunk everything on the table into the savory miso aioli that came with the sandwich.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No surprise, all those small plates can add up to a bit of a hefty bill if you’re eating \u003ci>dinner\u003c/i> dinner. But for a fancy late-night snack at the bar? Considering that we were the only people ordering food at that hour, everything was so much more ambitious and better-tasting than it really needed to be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So many of the Bay Area’s other after-hours spots are notable because of how crowded and bustling they are even late into the night, but Nokori’s virtues run in the opposite direction, appealing to anyone looking for a more chill and quiet late-night experience. This is the kind of elegant hotel bar where you might imagine yourself striking up a conversation with a beautiful stranger, or maybe your side-piece — or, if luck isn’t on your side, a couple of unkempt food writer types.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tetrahotelsv.com/dining/nokori/\">\u003ci>Nokori\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is open daily from 3 p.m. to midnight inside TETRA Hotel (400 W. Java Dr., Sunnyvale); the kitchen is open 4–11 p.m. If you park in the hotel parking garage, Nokori will validate your parking.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Nokori's highballs and Japanese small plates are some of the South Bay’s best-kept secrets.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1714691484,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":13,"wordCount":803},"headData":{"title":"Sunnyvale’s Secret Japanese Whisky Bar Serves Killer Late-Night Karaage | KQED","description":"Nokori's highballs and Japanese small plates are some of the South Bay’s best-kept secrets.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"Sunnyvale’s Secret Japanese Whisky Bar Serves Killer Late-Night Karaage","datePublished":"2024-05-02T22:22:21.000Z","dateModified":"2024-05-02T23:11:24.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"source":"The Midnight Diners","sourceUrl":"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners","sticky":false,"nprStoryId":"kqed-13957143","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13957143/late-night-japanese-whisky-highball-karaage-sunnyvale-nokori","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957148\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957148\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-1.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: a man shovels scallops into his mouth while sitting at an elegant bar. On the counter are tidy lobster sandwiches and fizzy cocktails in highball glasses.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-1-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-1-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nokori is a Japanese whisky highball bar hidden inside Sunnyvale’s TETRA Hotel. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003ci>The Midnight Diners\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and graphic novelist \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thiendog/?hl=en\">\u003ci>Thien Pham\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>. Follow them each week as they explore the hot pot restaurants, taco carts and 24-hour casino buffets that make up the Bay Area’s after-hours dining scene.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here in the Bay Area, the search for late-night food is mostly a matter of excavating the unexpected gems that are hiding in plain sight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To wit: In order to get to \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/nokori-sunnyvale\">Nokori\u003c/a>, an elegant Japanese whisky bar in Sunnyvale that most Sunnyvaleans haven’t even heard of, you first have to navigate the city’s maze of identical high-tech office parks. Sandwiched between a couple of these anonymous tech campuses sits a \u003ca href=\"https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/sjcva-tetra-hotel-autograph-collection/overview/\">stylish boutique hotel\u003c/a>. And inside that hotel, after you walk through the cool, minimalistic lobby, past the shiny gold leaves dangling from the ceiling, you’ll spot this very chic, very Japanese little cocktail bar — with room for no more than seven or eight people at the counter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When we sidled up to that counter at around 10 o’clock on a recent Friday, there was only one other gentleman there, nursing a cocktail and watching the Japanese F1 race on the TV with the volume turned off. So it really felt like we had stumbled on a secret spot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, we had come because we’d heard Nokori was open until midnight every night, and that it served a concise, appealing menu of fancy izakaya-style small plates until the kitchen did its last call at 11. And also because the bar specializes in the Japanese whisky highball, which happens to be my favorite drink.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A basic highball is just Japanese whisky, soda water and ice, but Nokori is one of a handful of bars around the Bay Area that has installed a \u003ca href=\"https://punchdrink.com/articles/toki-japanese-whisky-highball-machine-has-been-hacked/\">special soda dispenser\u003c/a> from Japan that makes the soda water extra-extra fizzy — so much so that the bubbles look visibly angry. The bar serves a whopping nine different highballs, and it uses the expensive kind of ice that’s just one long, perfectly clear cuboid in your glass. All of which to say: My yuzu highball was fantastic. Cold and refreshing as could be. Subtly citrusy. Sneakily strong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957149\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957149\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-2.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration: An elegant hotel lobby with modern, minimalist couches and an elegant bar at one end of the room, with sparkly gold leaves dangling from the ceiling.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-2-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-2-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-2-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-2-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Nokori-2-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">For late-night diners looking for a more quiet and chill experience. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It was the food, however, that will bring me back. We ordered torched Hokkaido scallops that were served in a style you might expect to find at one of the Bay Area’s buzzier, Asian-inflected fine dining restaurants. The mostly raw scallops had a zippy leche de tigre dressing and were artfully garnished with algae, rice puffs and briny sea grapes that burst in your mouth — a fun pop-and-crunch effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003cb>\u003cstrong>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13956683,arts_13955884,arts_13954112","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/strong>\u003c/b>\u003c/span>I also had one of the tastiest versions of Japanese karaage-style fried chicken that I’ve eaten in months — just impeccably crispy, well-seasoned and juicy thighs, no bells and whistles other than the little bowl of watery onion salsa that you could spoon over the chicken for a bit of brightness. And, perhaps most decadently, there were furikake-topped lobster grilled cheese sandwiches, served on bouncy Japanese milk bread. (Could I \u003ci>really\u003c/i> taste that it was lobster, instead of some less rarefied protein, under all that cheese? Maybe not. But I did want to dunk everything on the table into the savory miso aioli that came with the sandwich.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No surprise, all those small plates can add up to a bit of a hefty bill if you’re eating \u003ci>dinner\u003c/i> dinner. But for a fancy late-night snack at the bar? Considering that we were the only people ordering food at that hour, everything was so much more ambitious and better-tasting than it really needed to be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So many of the Bay Area’s other after-hours spots are notable because of how crowded and bustling they are even late into the night, but Nokori’s virtues run in the opposite direction, appealing to anyone looking for a more chill and quiet late-night experience. This is the kind of elegant hotel bar where you might imagine yourself striking up a conversation with a beautiful stranger, or maybe your side-piece — or, if luck isn’t on your side, a couple of unkempt food writer types.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tetrahotelsv.com/dining/nokori/\">\u003ci>Nokori\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is open daily from 3 p.m. to midnight inside TETRA Hotel (400 W. Java Dr., Sunnyvale); the kitchen is open 4–11 p.m. If you park in the hotel parking garage, Nokori will validate your parking.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13957143/late-night-japanese-whisky-highball-karaage-sunnyvale-nokori","authors":["11743","11753"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_12276","arts_235"],"tags":["arts_22055","arts_10278","arts_10422","arts_1297","arts_21732","arts_8805","arts_3001","arts_2475","arts_14954","arts_21928"],"featImg":"arts_13957147","label":"source_arts_13957143"},"arts_13956809":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13956809","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13956809","score":null,"sort":[1714588045000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"chocolate-sourdough-backhaus-san-mateo-burlingame","title":"Is Chocolate Sourdough the Bay Area’s Most Delicious Secret?","publishDate":1714588045,"format":"standard","headTitle":"Is Chocolate Sourdough the Bay Area’s Most Delicious Secret? | KQED","labelTerm":{},"content":"\u003cp>Before moving to California from Leipzig, Germany, Anne Moser had never considered making sourdough bread. She didn’t know much about it and had no plans to become a professional baker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, after immigrating to Monterey Bay in 2009 to pursue her Master’s in International Studies, Moser became a part-time translator for half a decade before she ended up in Daly City with her husband, Robert, who grew up in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So it’s especially noteworthy that Moser has established herself as one of the Bay Area’s brightest sourdough luminaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956816\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1708px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956816\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate_sourdough_baker-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1708\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate_sourdough_baker-scaled.jpg 1708w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate_sourdough_baker-800x1199.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate_sourdough_baker-1020x1529.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate_sourdough_baker-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate_sourdough_baker-768x1151.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate_sourdough_baker-1025x1536.jpg 1025w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate_sourdough_baker-1366x2048.jpg 1366w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1708px) 100vw, 1708px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Anne Moser first learned how to bake sourdough when she reached the Bay Area in 2013. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Anne Moser)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I never baked sourdough before,” says Moser. “I started when I was here. I missed having bakeries I could walk to. I randomly ordered Chad Robertson’s book, \u003ci>Tartine Bread\u003c/i>, and gave it a try in 2013. I was just baking for my family, and it became too much bread, so we started giving it to neighbors and friends.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moser went on to become the masterful head baker and founder of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/backhausbread/?hl=en\">Backhaus\u003c/a>, which began to sell loaves at local markets in 2016, eventually opening their first brick-and-mortar in downtown San Mateo. Now one of the Peninsula’s buzziest bread suppliers, the German-inspired “bakehouse” continues to rise like a loaf of naturally leavened dough. Last November, the couple opened their second location in Burlingame to much fanfare (and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/burlingame-bakery-backhaus-bakehouse-17902769.php\">a dash of name confusion\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps most impressive, though? Backhaus serves what might be the best sourdough bread I’ve ever eaten. And it’s not the kind of white-bread sourdough you may be envisioning. Actually, this sourdough is far from the run-of-the-mill loaf you can pick up at any bakery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What Moser — who now refers to herself as \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/abagofflour?lang=en\">a “benevolent ruler over billions of wild yeast minions” on X\u003c/a> — has perfected is a true rarity of carb-laden, soul-mending, San Franciscan wonder: the chocolate sourdough mini-loaf.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We decided on the small format because some people might eat it by themselves, but you don’t necessarily want a full size of that. If your loaf for the whole week is just chocolate, it can be limiting for the sandwiches you make,” Moser laughs. “But it’s good with cream cheese or your favorite preserve, almond butter or peanut butter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Admittedly, due to its small size, I was left desiring more. I would happily eat a larger portion — any day of the week. Moser tells me that (surprisingly) no one has ever asked her to bake a full-size loaf of the chocolate specialty bread, which is only available on weekends. But that’s the first thing that crossed my mind while eating it. (The second was to fantasize about turning it into chocolate sourdough French toast).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With an empyrean, almost-marshmallow-like fluff, the slightly-melted chocolate bits dissolve on your tongue while the chewy country sourdough loaf provides a fibrous counterbalance. The bread has the iconic acidity of supreme-tier sourdough — yet, inside and out, the small loaves are a dark brown shade that would make any Hershey’s bar blush.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956870\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956870\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate-sourdough-interior.jpg\" alt=\"a loaf of sliced open chocolate sourdough is displayed on a wooden table outdoors\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate-sourdough-interior.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate-sourdough-interior-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate-sourdough-interior-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate-sourdough-interior-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate-sourdough-interior-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate-sourdough-interior-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate-sourdough-interior-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The chocolate slightly melts into the sourdough. \u003ccite>(Alan Chazaro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In addition to sprinkling semisweet chips from Burlingame-based Guittard into the dough, Moser’s recipe adds cocoa powder and honey, giving the bread its lightly candied — but not overly sugary — piquancy. It’s both savory and filling. And though it’s certainly not the first time anyone has made chocolate sourdough, it’s the only Bay Area bakery (in my personal findings) that seems to be supplying the near-perfect combination on a regular basis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13953330,arts_13900855,arts_13879390']Of course, sourdough bread has long been one of the Bay Area’s most iconic foods. Since 1849, its distinctive tang has sustained gold rushers, trappers, thieves, railroad workers, immigrants, politicians, brothel-goers and, of course, modern day hipsters and food influencers. In recent years, sourdough has had a veritable renaissance, appearing in \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/sourdough-doughnuts-bay-area-18588129.php\">doughnuts\u003c/a>, pizza, croissants, pretzels and just about anything else that local foodies can mold into an edible form (and yes, that includes \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodeggs.com/jackandremi/sourdough-toast-and-jam-ice-cream/6508a22d22152700116a3865\">scoops of ice cream\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Moser and her sourdough contemporaries — whether it be the old-school outposts like Boudin, the new-school leaders in Tartine and Arizmendi, or the cultishly experimentalist deviations of Rize Up — are \u003ci>still \u003c/i>finding ways to improve the unmistakably yeasty recipe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maybe that’s part of the mystic allure of sourdough — its undying, amoebic permutations across time, space and bakery continuums. As someone who has jumped through many sourdough portals that the Bay Area has presented in my lifetime, I had never encountered a chocolate-ized one. Until now.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Backhaus’ bakeries in San Mateo (32 E. 3rd Ave.) and Burlingame (261 California Dr.) are open every day except Monday, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Chocolate sourdough mini-loaves are only available on Saturday and Sunday, in limited quantities on a first-come, first-served basis.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"A Peninsula baker has perfected the combination of tangy sourdough and semi-sweet chocolate.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1714603352,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":17,"wordCount":884},"headData":{"title":"The Bay Area's Best Chocolate Sourdough Is Served on Weekends Only | KQED","description":"A Peninsula baker has perfected the combination of tangy sourdough and semi-sweet chocolate.","ogTitle":"Is Chocolate Sourdough the Bay Area’s Most Delicious Secret?","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"Is Chocolate Sourdough the Bay Area’s Most Delicious Secret?","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","socialTitle":"The Bay Area's Best Chocolate Sourdough Is Served on Weekends Only %%page%% %%sep%% KQED","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"Is Chocolate Sourdough the Bay Area’s Most Delicious Secret?","datePublished":"2024-05-01T18:27:25.000Z","dateModified":"2024-05-01T22:42:32.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"source":"Food","sourceUrl":"https://www.kqed.org/food","sticky":false,"nprStoryId":"kqed-13956809","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13956809/chocolate-sourdough-backhaus-san-mateo-burlingame","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Before moving to California from Leipzig, Germany, Anne Moser had never considered making sourdough bread. She didn’t know much about it and had no plans to become a professional baker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, after immigrating to Monterey Bay in 2009 to pursue her Master’s in International Studies, Moser became a part-time translator for half a decade before she ended up in Daly City with her husband, Robert, who grew up in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So it’s especially noteworthy that Moser has established herself as one of the Bay Area’s brightest sourdough luminaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956816\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1708px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956816\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate_sourdough_baker-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1708\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate_sourdough_baker-scaled.jpg 1708w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate_sourdough_baker-800x1199.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate_sourdough_baker-1020x1529.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate_sourdough_baker-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate_sourdough_baker-768x1151.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate_sourdough_baker-1025x1536.jpg 1025w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate_sourdough_baker-1366x2048.jpg 1366w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1708px) 100vw, 1708px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Anne Moser first learned how to bake sourdough when she reached the Bay Area in 2013. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Anne Moser)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I never baked sourdough before,” says Moser. “I started when I was here. I missed having bakeries I could walk to. I randomly ordered Chad Robertson’s book, \u003ci>Tartine Bread\u003c/i>, and gave it a try in 2013. I was just baking for my family, and it became too much bread, so we started giving it to neighbors and friends.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moser went on to become the masterful head baker and founder of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/backhausbread/?hl=en\">Backhaus\u003c/a>, which began to sell loaves at local markets in 2016, eventually opening their first brick-and-mortar in downtown San Mateo. Now one of the Peninsula’s buzziest bread suppliers, the German-inspired “bakehouse” continues to rise like a loaf of naturally leavened dough. Last November, the couple opened their second location in Burlingame to much fanfare (and \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/burlingame-bakery-backhaus-bakehouse-17902769.php\">a dash of name confusion\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps most impressive, though? Backhaus serves what might be the best sourdough bread I’ve ever eaten. And it’s not the kind of white-bread sourdough you may be envisioning. Actually, this sourdough is far from the run-of-the-mill loaf you can pick up at any bakery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What Moser — who now refers to herself as \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/abagofflour?lang=en\">a “benevolent ruler over billions of wild yeast minions” on X\u003c/a> — has perfected is a true rarity of carb-laden, soul-mending, San Franciscan wonder: the chocolate sourdough mini-loaf.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We decided on the small format because some people might eat it by themselves, but you don’t necessarily want a full size of that. If your loaf for the whole week is just chocolate, it can be limiting for the sandwiches you make,” Moser laughs. “But it’s good with cream cheese or your favorite preserve, almond butter or peanut butter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Admittedly, due to its small size, I was left desiring more. I would happily eat a larger portion — any day of the week. Moser tells me that (surprisingly) no one has ever asked her to bake a full-size loaf of the chocolate specialty bread, which is only available on weekends. But that’s the first thing that crossed my mind while eating it. (The second was to fantasize about turning it into chocolate sourdough French toast).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With an empyrean, almost-marshmallow-like fluff, the slightly-melted chocolate bits dissolve on your tongue while the chewy country sourdough loaf provides a fibrous counterbalance. The bread has the iconic acidity of supreme-tier sourdough — yet, inside and out, the small loaves are a dark brown shade that would make any Hershey’s bar blush.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956870\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956870\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate-sourdough-interior.jpg\" alt=\"a loaf of sliced open chocolate sourdough is displayed on a wooden table outdoors\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate-sourdough-interior.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate-sourdough-interior-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate-sourdough-interior-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate-sourdough-interior-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate-sourdough-interior-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate-sourdough-interior-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/chocolate-sourdough-interior-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The chocolate slightly melts into the sourdough. \u003ccite>(Alan Chazaro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In addition to sprinkling semisweet chips from Burlingame-based Guittard into the dough, Moser’s recipe adds cocoa powder and honey, giving the bread its lightly candied — but not overly sugary — piquancy. It’s both savory and filling. And though it’s certainly not the first time anyone has made chocolate sourdough, it’s the only Bay Area bakery (in my personal findings) that seems to be supplying the near-perfect combination on a regular basis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13953330,arts_13900855,arts_13879390","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Of course, sourdough bread has long been one of the Bay Area’s most iconic foods. Since 1849, its distinctive tang has sustained gold rushers, trappers, thieves, railroad workers, immigrants, politicians, brothel-goers and, of course, modern day hipsters and food influencers. In recent years, sourdough has had a veritable renaissance, appearing in \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/sourdough-doughnuts-bay-area-18588129.php\">doughnuts\u003c/a>, pizza, croissants, pretzels and just about anything else that local foodies can mold into an edible form (and yes, that includes \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodeggs.com/jackandremi/sourdough-toast-and-jam-ice-cream/6508a22d22152700116a3865\">scoops of ice cream\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Moser and her sourdough contemporaries — whether it be the old-school outposts like Boudin, the new-school leaders in Tartine and Arizmendi, or the cultishly experimentalist deviations of Rize Up — are \u003ci>still \u003c/i>finding ways to improve the unmistakably yeasty recipe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maybe that’s part of the mystic allure of sourdough — its undying, amoebic permutations across time, space and bakery continuums. As someone who has jumped through many sourdough portals that the Bay Area has presented in my lifetime, I had never encountered a chocolate-ized one. Until now.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Backhaus’ bakeries in San Mateo (32 E. 3rd Ave.) and Burlingame (261 California Dr.) are open every day except Monday, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Chocolate sourdough mini-loaves are only available on Saturday and Sunday, in limited quantities on a first-come, first-served basis.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13956809/chocolate-sourdough-backhaus-san-mateo-burlingame","authors":["11748"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_12276"],"tags":["arts_5400","arts_10278","arts_1297","arts_21881"],"featImg":"arts_13956818","label":"source_arts_13956809"},"arts_13955802":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13955802","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13955802","score":null,"sort":[1713390752000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"bay-area-rappers-food-lyrics-illustrations-e-40-larry-june","title":"Here’s What Bay Area Rappers Are Eating (According to Their Lyrics)","publishDate":1713390752,"format":"standard","headTitle":"Here’s What Bay Area Rappers Are Eating (According to Their Lyrics) | KQED","labelTerm":{},"content":"\u003cp>[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen conveying what it means to really be from the Bay Area, I often return to this simple yet revelatory \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mac-dre\">Mac Dre\u003c/a> lyric: “In the Bay Area, we dance a little different.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether it’s in our music, political activism or technological contributions, there’s a certain out-of-box forwardness that tends to manifest from Bay Area minds — and a pride in how we approach everything with a savvy sprinkling of game, hustlership and top-tier ideation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same can be said for the Bay Area’s food scene, which ranks among the nation’s best and most imaginative. From sourdough bread to the eternal Mission-style burrito, the Bay’s foodmakers have often been ahead of the curve, helping to revolutionize menus nationwide with their fresh farm-to-table approach. To borrow from the great Mac, one could say that in the Bay Area, we \u003ci>eat\u003c/i> a little different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13907726,arts_13934248']\u003c/span>It’s no surprise, then, that in the history of local rap, food has always been a strong reference point — a metaphorical kitchen for creative exchange. An endless platter of well-seasoned slang. For decades, our rappers have delivered punchlines involving sauce, lasagna and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMah0rX6pGU\">lumpia\u003c/a>; dropped verses that generously reference \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkBJR5L2nas\">desserts and bakeries\u003c/a>; and supplied entire songs about stacking bread, cheese and lettuce as lucrative sandwiches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/bay-area-rap-shrimp-crab-17915372.php\">Food-loving Bay Area rappers\u003c/a> have always been bold when it comes to transmorphing culinary items and kitchen utensils into slang that others then appropriate and even misuse (see: “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13908052/food-doesnt-slap\">food doesn’t slap\u003c/a>”). Shock G once talked about getting busy in a Burger King bathroom and declared, “I like my oatmeal lumpy.” On “Dreganomics,” Mac Dre himself asked, “What’s spaghetti without the sauce?” We’ve got Suga T (sweet) and Spice 1 (hot). Berner founded \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cookiessf/?hl=en\">Cookies\u003c/a>. And just a few weeks ago, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13900085/stunnaman02-and-the-big-steppin-energy-in-the-room\">Stunnaman02\u003c/a> dropped a whole series of viral videos centered on his latest single. His focus? \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@jayworrld/video/7340701934355254574\">Eating a salad\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a unifying ethos in Bay Area food and rap: \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6GU3PmttyI\">Everybody eats\u003c/a>. So here’s a brief ode to some of our region’s most skilled vocabulary chefs and the tasteful ways they’ve reimagined the ingredients of language that are possible in a kitchen — and the recording studio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956090\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956090\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/E40-Color-1.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration of the rapper E-40 in sunglasses and a beige apron, holding a glass of red wine. In front of him are a burrito and a grilled cheese sandwich.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/E40-Color-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/E40-Color-1-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/E40-Color-1-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/E40-Color-1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/E40-Color-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/E40-Color-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/E40-Color-1-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">E-40 might be the most prolific inventor of food-related slang words in the English language. He’s a head chef in the Bay Area’s rap kingdom. \u003ccite>(Torre / @torre.pentel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>E-40: Green eggs, hams, candy yams, Spam, cheese, peanut butter and jam on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etIBcRriUJY\">The Slap\u003c/a>”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Digital scale, green eggs and hams / Yams, candy yams, Spam, damn! / Loaded, my cheese, peanut butter and jam / Sammich, mannish, me and my Hispanics / Vanish, talkin’ in codes like we from different planets.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though it may sound like gibberish to the uninitiated, rest assured that \u003ca href=\"https://firstwefeast.com/eat/2013/12/food-rap-decoded-with-e-40-video\">99.99% of anything 40 Water vocalizes has a cleverly associative meaning\u003c/a>. For anyone who has listened to one of the more than 25 studio albums from Vallejo’s kingpin, you’ve surely heard him mention food — perhaps in a variety of languages (some real, some ingeniously invented). In addition to the smorgasbord he notes above in “The Slap,” he has pioneered rhymes across generations that give new meanings to Gouda, feta, mozzarella, lettuce, bread, sausage, salami, paninis, spaghetti, tacos and enchiladas — ad infinitum. Unsurprisingly, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13907726/e-40-goon-with-the-spoon-bay-area-rappers-food-entrepreneurs-hustle\">Mr. Fonzarelli is an actual purveyor of foods and beverages\u003c/a>, with a line of products that includes malt liquor, ice cream and burritos; he even co-owns \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thelumpiacompany/\">The Lumpia Company\u003c/a>. There’s no one with a bigger million-dollar mouthpiece who can distribute as much word candy (“S-L-A-N-G”) quite as flavorfully as the Goon With The Spoon himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Andre Nickatina: TOGO’s #41 sandwich with the hot peppers on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FU1XdPE6lM\">Fa Show\u003c/a>”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Baby don’t act dumb, I’m number 41, high stepper / TOGO’s sandwich with the hot peppers / At 90 degrees I might freeze, so when it’s hot I sport leather.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fillmore’s finest, and among \u003ca href=\"https://www.passionweiss.com/2016/11/17/andre-nickatina/\">the most criminally underrated San Francisco rappers in history\u003c/a>, Andre Nickatina has always had a penchant for the spicy, the flavorful, the extemporaneously saucy. From rapping about eating Cap’n Crunch around drug dealers to sarcastically handing out Baskin Robbins dollars to his enemies, Nicky Nicotine (formerly known as Dre Dog) raps about food as casually as any rapper would ever dare. Unlike many of today’s international rap personalities, who seem to only eat at \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/6frbt9/why_are_rappers_obsessed_with_nobu_sushi/\">high-priced sushi conglomerates\u003c/a>, Nickatina is a Bay Area real one, electing to stay fed at a regional sandwich chain from San Jose. The enigmatic “number 41” on the \u003ca href=\"https://www.togos.com/menu/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwoPOwBhAeEiwAJuXRh69gJ2fS8J9qmnAKJEnCmI5720psTxEmhEmkgFAemWoe3auyNuuxExoCTm0QAvD_BwE\">Togo’s menu\u003c/a> has since been discontinued, but a spokesperson for the restaurant IDed it as a sirloin steak and mushroom sandwich that was introduced as a seasonal special back in 2002 — the same year “Fa Show” was released. There is no doubt it must’ve been fire, given its endorsement by a legend who knows how to professionally “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8TXpoi-goE\">Break Bread\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956088\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956088\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/KAMAIYAH-Color-1.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration of the rapper Kamaiyah eating from a plate of chicken alfredo tucked under her arm. Next to her is a bottle of champagne.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/KAMAIYAH-Color-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/KAMAIYAH-Color-1-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/KAMAIYAH-Color-1-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/KAMAIYAH-Color-1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/KAMAIYAH-Color-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/KAMAIYAH-Color-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/KAMAIYAH-Color-1-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kamaiyah’s album covers often feature food, Hennessey and champagne — a reflection of the rapper’s saucy, bossy lifestyle. \u003ccite>(Torre / @torre.pentel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Kamaiyah: Champagne and chicken on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yls2dMJ63tM\">Whatever Whenever\u003c/a>”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Just drink champagne with all my chicken meals.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s fitting that East Oakland’s Kamaiyah — who cooked up the searingly hot single “How Does It Feel” on her transcendent debut, \u003ci>A Good Night in the Ghetto\u003c/i> — continued to double down on aspirational living and good eating with her sophomore release, \u003ci>Got It Made\u003c/i>. As always, the bodacious trapper rhymes over a synth-laced, floaty-spaceship soundscape while bragging about her California riches — and cuisine. The music video for “Whatever Whenever” features Kamaiyah roaming the untainted grounds of a Napa Valley-esque chateau. Her album covers over the years have also featured bags of potato chips, Hennessy and double-fisted bottles of champagne. It’s always bottoms up when Kamaiyah is on the track.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Too $hort: Macaroni, steak and collard greens on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru5B8cFskaw\">All My B*tches Are Gone\u003c/a>”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Eat some shit up / macaroni, steak, collard greens, or whatever the fuck.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With over 35 years of classic albums like \u003ci>Cocktails\u003c/i> and \u003ci>Gettin’ It\u003c/i>, there’s no doubt that Short Dogg knows how to feed his multi-generational fanbase. He doesn’t shy away from straightforward lyrics — or having a large appetite for nefarious activities — and he has continued to make seasoned slaps for precisely 225,000 hours and counting (“get a calculator, do the math”). This OG’s plate of choice includes classic soul food staples served with a slab of steak. As the veteran unmistakably outlines on “This How We Eat”: “We make money, we eat, we feed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956087\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956087\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/LARRY-JUNE-Color-1.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration of the rapper Larry June in an SF Giants cap, holding a crab cracker in one hand and a fork in the other. In front of him is a whole lobster on a plate.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/LARRY-JUNE-Color-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/LARRY-JUNE-Color-1-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/LARRY-JUNE-Color-1-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/LARRY-JUNE-Color-1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/LARRY-JUNE-Color-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/LARRY-JUNE-Color-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/LARRY-JUNE-Color-1-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Besides establishing himself as the healthiest rapper in Bay Area lore, Larry June is also known for sporting vintage muscle cars and cracking lobsters in Sausalito as part of his luxurious lifestyle. \u003ccite>(Torre / @torre.pentel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Larry June: Crab legs on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luIhlZBrJos\">Lifetime Income\u003c/a>”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“This not my girlfriend, we just eatin’ crab legs.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you know Larry June, then you know he’s all about smoothies, green teas, organic juices and oranges (yee hee!). But just as buttery are his numerously silky references to luxury meals and late-night outings with a seemingly endless rotation of women friends. Without question, the Hunters Point rapper has one of the healthiest appetites of anyone around a microphone, regularly dropping rhymes about his organic sustenance. Since Uncle Larry makes a living off his out-of-pocket food references, he merits an honorable mention for dropping other absolute bangers like “I might write a motherfuckin’ smoothie book or somethin’ … Sell this shit for thirty dollars” and “Watermelon juice riding bikes with my latest chick / I don’t do the clubs that often, I got a check to get.” It’s fitting that \u003ca href=\"https://uproxx.com/music/larry-june-interview-san-francisco/\">he also co-owns Honeybear Boba in the Dogpatch\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Iamsu!: Chicken strips and Moscato on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQcxMU3uvLg\">Don’t Stop\u003c/a>”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Keep it real I don’t brag though… / Chicken strips, no escargot / [sippin’] on the Moscato.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To be fair, this lyric is from a young, mixtape-era Iamsu! and might not reflect the current palate of the multi-platinum rapper and producer from Richmond. (In fact, that’s probably true of every rapper on this list, so take these lyrics with a grain of salt.) But when I first heard this song in my 20s, it’s a line that did — and still does — resonate for its unglamorized celebration of living on a low-budget microwaveable diet while maintaining a glimmer of high-life ambition. Personally, I’d take chicken strips over escargot nine out of ten times. And, from the sound of it, so would Suzy 6 Speed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956086\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956086\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/PLO-Color-1.jpg\" alt=\"The rapper P-Lo wiggles his fingers in delight over a plate of chicken wings sitting on a bed of dollar bills.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/PLO-Color-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/PLO-Color-1-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/PLO-Color-1-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/PLO-Color-1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/PLO-Color-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/PLO-Color-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/PLO-Color-1-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">P-Lo often raps about his love of chicken (chicken adobo, fried chicken, chicken wings), and his favorite food-related slang word is also “chicken” (as a stand in for “money”). \u003ccite>(Torre / @torre.pentel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>P-Lo: Chicken wings in the strip club on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-ajtPhAQ1U\">Going To Work\u003c/a>”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“In the strip club eating chicken wings.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13938479']\u003c/span>There may not be another rapper on this list with as much love for chicken wings as Pinole’s P-Lo. For starters, the lyricist and producer launched a transnational food tour, teaming up with Filipino restaurants around the U.S. and Canada to deliver collaborative one-off dishes, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13935891/p-lo-senor-sisig-filipino-food-tour-oakland\">his own spicy sinigang wings at Señor Sisig in Oakland\u003c/a>. If that’s not enough, he has popped up on popular social media channels like \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/bayareafoodz/?hl=en\">Bay Area Foodz\u003c/a> as \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJYkVcpM6E0\">he searches for the best wings around the Yay\u003c/a>. His songs are even featured on \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwyzdhfrNCE/\">national commercials for Wingstop\u003c/a>. For P-Lo, it’s always time to bring back the bass — and taste.\u003cb>\u003ci>\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Guap (formerly Guapdad 4000): Chicken adobo on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DaovaJgytE\">Chicken Adobo\u003c/a>”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“How I fell in love with you it was beautiful / Like chicken adobo how you fill me up.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the Black Filipino American rapper from West Oakland, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13905208/a-new-generation-of-filipino-hip-hop-builds-on-a-deep-bay-area-legacy\">food has always played a central role in his upbringing\u003c/a>. The anime-loving, Marvel comics fan grew up in a Filipino household eating champorado, and his songs have never shied away from references to his dual cultures. In what might be his most well-known song, Guap equates romantic satiation to filling up on a bowl of chicken adobo. His love of food goes beyond the booth — he recently spoke out on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13950363/keith-lee-tiktok-oakland-sf-bay-area-struggles\">the recent Keith Lee fiasco\u003c/a>, and he also put together\u003ca href=\"https://trippin.world/guide/oaklands-top-food-joints-with-rapper-guapdad-4000\"> a map of his favorite places to eat around The Town\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Cellski: Canadian bacon, hash browns and cheddar cheese on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6wFRZOd7n8\">Chedda\u003c/a>”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Gotta get the cheddar, fuck the [federals].”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As most food mentions in Bay Area rap goes, Cellski’s mention of this quintessentially North American breakfast combo isn’t exactly a homage to the real ingredients, as much as it is a reference to his hustling. His 1998 \u003ca href=\"https://www.discogs.com/release/841568-Cellski-Canadian-Bacon-Hash-Browns/image/SW1hZ2U6NDg3ODMxNzk=\">album cover\u003c/a> for \u003ci>Canadian Bacon & Hash Browns \u003c/i>features a cartoon depiction of the rapper getting pulled over and arrested by a Canadian mountie, with an open trunk revealing pounds of medicinal herbs. Nonetheless, there’s a good chance that the veteran San Francisco spitter actually does like to carry Canadian bacon, hash browns and cheddar around — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13922141/cellskis-big-mafi-burgers-come-with-a-side-of-sf-rap-history\">he’s a part-time foodie who runs his own burger pop-up, after all\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956089\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956089\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DRU-DOWN-Color-1.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration of the rapper Dru Down in gold sunglasses and a black trench coat, holding an ice cream cone in one hand and an ice cream sundae on the table in front of him.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DRU-DOWN-Color-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DRU-DOWN-Color-1-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DRU-DOWN-Color-1-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DRU-DOWN-Color-1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DRU-DOWN-Color-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DRU-DOWN-Color-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DRU-DOWN-Color-1-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In a famous 1996 beef, Dru Down and the Luniz accused New Orleans rapper Master P (who started his musical career in the Bay Area) for stealing their concept of the “Ice Cream Man” — slang for a narcotics dealer. \u003ccite>(Torre / @torre.pentel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Dru Down: Ice cream on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uNv2qAje-Q\">Ice Cream Man\u003c/a>” (with the Luniz)\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Get your ice cream, ice cream / Not Ice-T, not Ice Cube, ice cream.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not intended for children, the classic 1993 anthem off Dru Down’s \u003ci>Fools From The Street \u003c/i>paints a startling picture of addiction and illicit drug distribution around Oakland in the wake of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan’s War on Drugs. Despite its unapologetic content, “Ice Cream Man” went on to establish an indisputably popular food motif in national rap music: ice cream as a stand-in for drug dealing. Since the production includes an audio sampling of an ice cream truck’s inimitable tune, listening to it evokes a sense of nostalgia for the frozen treat — and for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">golden-era Bay Area hip-hop\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"A brief look at some of the Bay Area’s most notoriously hungry rappers — and the foods they’ve lyricized about.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1713412777,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":28,"wordCount":2211},"headData":{"title":"Bay Area Rappers and Food Lyrics | KQED","description":"A brief look at some of the Bay Area’s most notoriously hungry rappers — and the foods they’ve lyricized about.","ogTitle":"Here’s What Bay Area Rappers Are Eating (According to Their Lyrics)","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"Here’s What Bay Area Rappers Are Eating (According to Their Lyrics)","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","socialTitle":"Bay Area Rappers and Food Lyrics %%page%% %%sep%% KQED","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"Here’s What Bay Area Rappers Are Eating (According to Their Lyrics)","datePublished":"2024-04-17T21:52:32.000Z","dateModified":"2024-04-18T03:59:37.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"source":"Food","sourceUrl":"https://www.kqed.org/food","sticky":false,"excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13955802/bay-area-rappers-food-lyrics-illustrations-e-40-larry-june","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">W\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>hen conveying what it means to really be from the Bay Area, I often return to this simple yet revelatory \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mac-dre\">Mac Dre\u003c/a> lyric: “In the Bay Area, we dance a little different.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether it’s in our music, political activism or technological contributions, there’s a certain out-of-box forwardness that tends to manifest from Bay Area minds — and a pride in how we approach everything with a savvy sprinkling of game, hustlership and top-tier ideation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same can be said for the Bay Area’s food scene, which ranks among the nation’s best and most imaginative. From sourdough bread to the eternal Mission-style burrito, the Bay’s foodmakers have often been ahead of the curve, helping to revolutionize menus nationwide with their fresh farm-to-table approach. To borrow from the great Mac, one could say that in the Bay Area, we \u003ci>eat\u003c/i> a little different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13907726,arts_13934248","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>It’s no surprise, then, that in the history of local rap, food has always been a strong reference point — a metaphorical kitchen for creative exchange. An endless platter of well-seasoned slang. For decades, our rappers have delivered punchlines involving sauce, lasagna and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMah0rX6pGU\">lumpia\u003c/a>; dropped verses that generously reference \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkBJR5L2nas\">desserts and bakeries\u003c/a>; and supplied entire songs about stacking bread, cheese and lettuce as lucrative sandwiches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/bay-area-rap-shrimp-crab-17915372.php\">Food-loving Bay Area rappers\u003c/a> have always been bold when it comes to transmorphing culinary items and kitchen utensils into slang that others then appropriate and even misuse (see: “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13908052/food-doesnt-slap\">food doesn’t slap\u003c/a>”). Shock G once talked about getting busy in a Burger King bathroom and declared, “I like my oatmeal lumpy.” On “Dreganomics,” Mac Dre himself asked, “What’s spaghetti without the sauce?” We’ve got Suga T (sweet) and Spice 1 (hot). Berner founded \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cookiessf/?hl=en\">Cookies\u003c/a>. And just a few weeks ago, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13900085/stunnaman02-and-the-big-steppin-energy-in-the-room\">Stunnaman02\u003c/a> dropped a whole series of viral videos centered on his latest single. His focus? \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@jayworrld/video/7340701934355254574\">Eating a salad\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a unifying ethos in Bay Area food and rap: \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6GU3PmttyI\">Everybody eats\u003c/a>. So here’s a brief ode to some of our region’s most skilled vocabulary chefs and the tasteful ways they’ve reimagined the ingredients of language that are possible in a kitchen — and the recording studio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956090\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956090\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/E40-Color-1.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration of the rapper E-40 in sunglasses and a beige apron, holding a glass of red wine. In front of him are a burrito and a grilled cheese sandwich.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/E40-Color-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/E40-Color-1-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/E40-Color-1-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/E40-Color-1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/E40-Color-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/E40-Color-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/E40-Color-1-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">E-40 might be the most prolific inventor of food-related slang words in the English language. He’s a head chef in the Bay Area’s rap kingdom. \u003ccite>(Torre / @torre.pentel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>E-40: Green eggs, hams, candy yams, Spam, cheese, peanut butter and jam on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etIBcRriUJY\">The Slap\u003c/a>”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Digital scale, green eggs and hams / Yams, candy yams, Spam, damn! / Loaded, my cheese, peanut butter and jam / Sammich, mannish, me and my Hispanics / Vanish, talkin’ in codes like we from different planets.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though it may sound like gibberish to the uninitiated, rest assured that \u003ca href=\"https://firstwefeast.com/eat/2013/12/food-rap-decoded-with-e-40-video\">99.99% of anything 40 Water vocalizes has a cleverly associative meaning\u003c/a>. For anyone who has listened to one of the more than 25 studio albums from Vallejo’s kingpin, you’ve surely heard him mention food — perhaps in a variety of languages (some real, some ingeniously invented). In addition to the smorgasbord he notes above in “The Slap,” he has pioneered rhymes across generations that give new meanings to Gouda, feta, mozzarella, lettuce, bread, sausage, salami, paninis, spaghetti, tacos and enchiladas — ad infinitum. Unsurprisingly, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13907726/e-40-goon-with-the-spoon-bay-area-rappers-food-entrepreneurs-hustle\">Mr. Fonzarelli is an actual purveyor of foods and beverages\u003c/a>, with a line of products that includes malt liquor, ice cream and burritos; he even co-owns \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thelumpiacompany/\">The Lumpia Company\u003c/a>. There’s no one with a bigger million-dollar mouthpiece who can distribute as much word candy (“S-L-A-N-G”) quite as flavorfully as the Goon With The Spoon himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Andre Nickatina: TOGO’s #41 sandwich with the hot peppers on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FU1XdPE6lM\">Fa Show\u003c/a>”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Baby don’t act dumb, I’m number 41, high stepper / TOGO’s sandwich with the hot peppers / At 90 degrees I might freeze, so when it’s hot I sport leather.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fillmore’s finest, and among \u003ca href=\"https://www.passionweiss.com/2016/11/17/andre-nickatina/\">the most criminally underrated San Francisco rappers in history\u003c/a>, Andre Nickatina has always had a penchant for the spicy, the flavorful, the extemporaneously saucy. From rapping about eating Cap’n Crunch around drug dealers to sarcastically handing out Baskin Robbins dollars to his enemies, Nicky Nicotine (formerly known as Dre Dog) raps about food as casually as any rapper would ever dare. Unlike many of today’s international rap personalities, who seem to only eat at \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/6frbt9/why_are_rappers_obsessed_with_nobu_sushi/\">high-priced sushi conglomerates\u003c/a>, Nickatina is a Bay Area real one, electing to stay fed at a regional sandwich chain from San Jose. The enigmatic “number 41” on the \u003ca href=\"https://www.togos.com/menu/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwoPOwBhAeEiwAJuXRh69gJ2fS8J9qmnAKJEnCmI5720psTxEmhEmkgFAemWoe3auyNuuxExoCTm0QAvD_BwE\">Togo’s menu\u003c/a> has since been discontinued, but a spokesperson for the restaurant IDed it as a sirloin steak and mushroom sandwich that was introduced as a seasonal special back in 2002 — the same year “Fa Show” was released. There is no doubt it must’ve been fire, given its endorsement by a legend who knows how to professionally “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8TXpoi-goE\">Break Bread\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956088\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956088\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/KAMAIYAH-Color-1.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration of the rapper Kamaiyah eating from a plate of chicken alfredo tucked under her arm. Next to her is a bottle of champagne.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/KAMAIYAH-Color-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/KAMAIYAH-Color-1-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/KAMAIYAH-Color-1-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/KAMAIYAH-Color-1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/KAMAIYAH-Color-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/KAMAIYAH-Color-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/KAMAIYAH-Color-1-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kamaiyah’s album covers often feature food, Hennessey and champagne — a reflection of the rapper’s saucy, bossy lifestyle. \u003ccite>(Torre / @torre.pentel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Kamaiyah: Champagne and chicken on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yls2dMJ63tM\">Whatever Whenever\u003c/a>”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Just drink champagne with all my chicken meals.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s fitting that East Oakland’s Kamaiyah — who cooked up the searingly hot single “How Does It Feel” on her transcendent debut, \u003ci>A Good Night in the Ghetto\u003c/i> — continued to double down on aspirational living and good eating with her sophomore release, \u003ci>Got It Made\u003c/i>. As always, the bodacious trapper rhymes over a synth-laced, floaty-spaceship soundscape while bragging about her California riches — and cuisine. The music video for “Whatever Whenever” features Kamaiyah roaming the untainted grounds of a Napa Valley-esque chateau. Her album covers over the years have also featured bags of potato chips, Hennessy and double-fisted bottles of champagne. It’s always bottoms up when Kamaiyah is on the track.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Too $hort: Macaroni, steak and collard greens on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru5B8cFskaw\">All My B*tches Are Gone\u003c/a>”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Eat some shit up / macaroni, steak, collard greens, or whatever the fuck.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With over 35 years of classic albums like \u003ci>Cocktails\u003c/i> and \u003ci>Gettin’ It\u003c/i>, there’s no doubt that Short Dogg knows how to feed his multi-generational fanbase. He doesn’t shy away from straightforward lyrics — or having a large appetite for nefarious activities — and he has continued to make seasoned slaps for precisely 225,000 hours and counting (“get a calculator, do the math”). This OG’s plate of choice includes classic soul food staples served with a slab of steak. As the veteran unmistakably outlines on “This How We Eat”: “We make money, we eat, we feed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956087\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956087\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/LARRY-JUNE-Color-1.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration of the rapper Larry June in an SF Giants cap, holding a crab cracker in one hand and a fork in the other. In front of him is a whole lobster on a plate.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/LARRY-JUNE-Color-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/LARRY-JUNE-Color-1-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/LARRY-JUNE-Color-1-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/LARRY-JUNE-Color-1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/LARRY-JUNE-Color-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/LARRY-JUNE-Color-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/LARRY-JUNE-Color-1-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Besides establishing himself as the healthiest rapper in Bay Area lore, Larry June is also known for sporting vintage muscle cars and cracking lobsters in Sausalito as part of his luxurious lifestyle. \u003ccite>(Torre / @torre.pentel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Larry June: Crab legs on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luIhlZBrJos\">Lifetime Income\u003c/a>”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“This not my girlfriend, we just eatin’ crab legs.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you know Larry June, then you know he’s all about smoothies, green teas, organic juices and oranges (yee hee!). But just as buttery are his numerously silky references to luxury meals and late-night outings with a seemingly endless rotation of women friends. Without question, the Hunters Point rapper has one of the healthiest appetites of anyone around a microphone, regularly dropping rhymes about his organic sustenance. Since Uncle Larry makes a living off his out-of-pocket food references, he merits an honorable mention for dropping other absolute bangers like “I might write a motherfuckin’ smoothie book or somethin’ … Sell this shit for thirty dollars” and “Watermelon juice riding bikes with my latest chick / I don’t do the clubs that often, I got a check to get.” It’s fitting that \u003ca href=\"https://uproxx.com/music/larry-june-interview-san-francisco/\">he also co-owns Honeybear Boba in the Dogpatch\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Iamsu!: Chicken strips and Moscato on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQcxMU3uvLg\">Don’t Stop\u003c/a>”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Keep it real I don’t brag though… / Chicken strips, no escargot / [sippin’] on the Moscato.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To be fair, this lyric is from a young, mixtape-era Iamsu! and might not reflect the current palate of the multi-platinum rapper and producer from Richmond. (In fact, that’s probably true of every rapper on this list, so take these lyrics with a grain of salt.) But when I first heard this song in my 20s, it’s a line that did — and still does — resonate for its unglamorized celebration of living on a low-budget microwaveable diet while maintaining a glimmer of high-life ambition. Personally, I’d take chicken strips over escargot nine out of ten times. And, from the sound of it, so would Suzy 6 Speed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956086\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956086\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/PLO-Color-1.jpg\" alt=\"The rapper P-Lo wiggles his fingers in delight over a plate of chicken wings sitting on a bed of dollar bills.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/PLO-Color-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/PLO-Color-1-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/PLO-Color-1-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/PLO-Color-1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/PLO-Color-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/PLO-Color-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/PLO-Color-1-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">P-Lo often raps about his love of chicken (chicken adobo, fried chicken, chicken wings), and his favorite food-related slang word is also “chicken” (as a stand in for “money”). \u003ccite>(Torre / @torre.pentel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>P-Lo: Chicken wings in the strip club on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-ajtPhAQ1U\">Going To Work\u003c/a>”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“In the strip club eating chicken wings.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13938479","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>There may not be another rapper on this list with as much love for chicken wings as Pinole’s P-Lo. For starters, the lyricist and producer launched a transnational food tour, teaming up with Filipino restaurants around the U.S. and Canada to deliver collaborative one-off dishes, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13935891/p-lo-senor-sisig-filipino-food-tour-oakland\">his own spicy sinigang wings at Señor Sisig in Oakland\u003c/a>. If that’s not enough, he has popped up on popular social media channels like \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/bayareafoodz/?hl=en\">Bay Area Foodz\u003c/a> as \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJYkVcpM6E0\">he searches for the best wings around the Yay\u003c/a>. His songs are even featured on \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwyzdhfrNCE/\">national commercials for Wingstop\u003c/a>. For P-Lo, it’s always time to bring back the bass — and taste.\u003cb>\u003ci>\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Guap (formerly Guapdad 4000): Chicken adobo on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DaovaJgytE\">Chicken Adobo\u003c/a>”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“How I fell in love with you it was beautiful / Like chicken adobo how you fill me up.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the Black Filipino American rapper from West Oakland, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13905208/a-new-generation-of-filipino-hip-hop-builds-on-a-deep-bay-area-legacy\">food has always played a central role in his upbringing\u003c/a>. The anime-loving, Marvel comics fan grew up in a Filipino household eating champorado, and his songs have never shied away from references to his dual cultures. In what might be his most well-known song, Guap equates romantic satiation to filling up on a bowl of chicken adobo. His love of food goes beyond the booth — he recently spoke out on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13950363/keith-lee-tiktok-oakland-sf-bay-area-struggles\">the recent Keith Lee fiasco\u003c/a>, and he also put together\u003ca href=\"https://trippin.world/guide/oaklands-top-food-joints-with-rapper-guapdad-4000\"> a map of his favorite places to eat around The Town\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Cellski: Canadian bacon, hash browns and cheddar cheese on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6wFRZOd7n8\">Chedda\u003c/a>”\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Gotta get the cheddar, fuck the [federals].”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As most food mentions in Bay Area rap goes, Cellski’s mention of this quintessentially North American breakfast combo isn’t exactly a homage to the real ingredients, as much as it is a reference to his hustling. His 1998 \u003ca href=\"https://www.discogs.com/release/841568-Cellski-Canadian-Bacon-Hash-Browns/image/SW1hZ2U6NDg3ODMxNzk=\">album cover\u003c/a> for \u003ci>Canadian Bacon & Hash Browns \u003c/i>features a cartoon depiction of the rapper getting pulled over and arrested by a Canadian mountie, with an open trunk revealing pounds of medicinal herbs. Nonetheless, there’s a good chance that the veteran San Francisco spitter actually does like to carry Canadian bacon, hash browns and cheddar around — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13922141/cellskis-big-mafi-burgers-come-with-a-side-of-sf-rap-history\">he’s a part-time foodie who runs his own burger pop-up, after all\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956089\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956089\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DRU-DOWN-Color-1.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration of the rapper Dru Down in gold sunglasses and a black trench coat, holding an ice cream cone in one hand and an ice cream sundae on the table in front of him.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DRU-DOWN-Color-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DRU-DOWN-Color-1-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DRU-DOWN-Color-1-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DRU-DOWN-Color-1-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DRU-DOWN-Color-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DRU-DOWN-Color-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/DRU-DOWN-Color-1-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In a famous 1996 beef, Dru Down and the Luniz accused New Orleans rapper Master P (who started his musical career in the Bay Area) for stealing their concept of the “Ice Cream Man” — slang for a narcotics dealer. \u003ccite>(Torre / @torre.pentel)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Dru Down: Ice cream on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uNv2qAje-Q\">Ice Cream Man\u003c/a>” (with the Luniz)\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Get your ice cream, ice cream / Not Ice-T, not Ice Cube, ice cream.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not intended for children, the classic 1993 anthem off Dru Down’s \u003ci>Fools From The Street \u003c/i>paints a startling picture of addiction and illicit drug distribution around Oakland in the wake of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan’s War on Drugs. Despite its unapologetic content, “Ice Cream Man” went on to establish an indisputably popular food motif in national rap music: ice cream as a stand-in for drug dealing. Since the production includes an audio sampling of an ice cream truck’s inimitable tune, listening to it evokes a sense of nostalgia for the frozen treat — and for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">golden-era Bay Area hip-hop\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13955802/bay-area-rappers-food-lyrics-illustrations-e-40-larry-june","authors":["11748"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_12276","arts_69"],"tags":["arts_21883","arts_5397","arts_1601","arts_10278","arts_1297","arts_3771","arts_831","arts_21738","arts_1558","arts_9337","arts_1143","arts_1803","arts_1146","arts_19942","arts_19347","arts_3478","arts_3800"],"featImg":"arts_13956152","label":"source_arts_13955802"},"arts_13952260":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13952260","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13952260","score":null,"sort":[1707929631000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"turntablism-invisibl-skratch-piklz-legacy-impact","title":"Turntablism’s Mightiest Heroes: The Legacy, Impact and Aesthetics of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz","publishDate":1707929631,"format":"aside","headTitle":"Turntablism’s Mightiest Heroes: The Legacy, Impact and Aesthetics of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz | KQED","labelTerm":{},"content":"\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952272\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1080px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952272\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-backstage-in-SF-2017.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-backstage-in-SF-2017.jpg 1080w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-backstage-in-SF-2017-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-backstage-in-SF-2017-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-backstage-in-SF-2017-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-backstage-in-SF-2017-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Invisibl Skratch Piklz’ cultural impact over the past 40 years has been felt around the globe. The crew is pictured here backstage in San Francisco in 2017. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note\u003c/strong>: This story is part of \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/\">That’s My Word\u003c/a>\u003cem>, KQED’s story series on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/\">Bay Area hip-hop\u003c/a> history.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On an overcast November day in Oakland, DJ Shortkut – a member of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz DJ crew – was the featured performer on a boat cruise, as part of the DMC World DJ Finals festivities. The weather didn’t get too rough during the two-hour tour, which meandered out to the Bay Bridge and back to port at Jack London Square. The worst was some mildly choppy squalls into fierce headwinds. Because this wasn’t your average boat cruise – its attendees mainly consisted of DJs from all over the world in town for the DMC battle – the ship’s crew circled around Treasure Island for a bit, instead of heading further out into the open sea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The calmer waters allowed Shortkut, who had been playing a vibrant set of mostly classic midtempo hip-hop, to show off his mixing and scratching skills a bit. As the boat headed back toward its East Bay dock, Shortkut unleashed an impressive display of scratching skills that lasted for a good five minutes. As the boat neared its mooring, the DJ called his peers to the turntables. What followed was an unforgettable, and super-fun, display of global turntablism at its best, as each DJ in succession laid down a wicked scratch segment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937761\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937761\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-22-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A person with a shaved head stands at a table as a screen behind them shows the images of several people.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-22-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-22-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-22-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-22-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-22-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-22-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-22-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shortkut performs with Invisibl Skratch Piklz during the DMC World DJ Finals at The Midway in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It seemed appropriate for Shortkut to be leading the activities. Once a battle entrant in the DMCs himself and understudy to fellow Piklz Qbert, Apollo, and Mix Master Mike, Shortkut has become an accomplished master in his own right – most recently playing an opening set on LL Cool J’s star-studded Hip Hop 50 tour. The message to the younger DJs on the boat was clear: keep developing your skills and be a balanced DJ who can rise to any occasion – scratching and beat-juggling skills are nice, but rocking a party with impeccable selection while displaying your skills is even better.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Perfecting – and Teaching – the Art\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Piklz first rose to prominence during the ’90s, winning multiple world DJ battle titles as a crew and individually while displaying innovative new techniques that elevated turntablism to unprecedented heights. After revolutionizing the artform and birthing scratch music as a genre, by the decade’s end, they had left an indelible mark on DJ culture and furthered its global reach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952265\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1759px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952265\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.decks_.93.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1759\" height=\"1196\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.decks_.93.jpg 1759w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.decks_.93-800x544.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.decks_.93-1020x694.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.decks_.93-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.decks_.93-768x522.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.decks_.93-1536x1044.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1759px) 100vw, 1759px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Invisibl Skratch Piklz in Japan in 1993. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Christie Zee, the organizer for 2023’s DMC World Battle, held in San Francisco, has worked off and on for the London-based organization since 1998. She first became aware of the Piklz from an old boyfriend’s copy of DJ Qbert’s \u003cem>Demolition Pumpkin Squeeze Musik\u003c/em> mixtape – “It just had so much scratching and it was so fun,” she says. She recalls meeting the crew for the first time in 1999, at the DMC World Finals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m really delicate, really careful about (saying) \u003cem>pioneer\u003c/em> versus \u003cem>legend\u003c/em>, but I do think they were pioneering, because of things they’ve innovated and presented and invented,” she says. “They didn’t invent the scratch, but they just progressed the hell out of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Obviously they have titles under their belts,” says Rob Swift, a founding member of the X-Men/X-Ecutioners, the New York turntablists who famously battled the Piklz in 1996. “But for me, I would say their most pivotal contribution to DJing is teaching the art. Before the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, nobody was teaching. DJing was a secret art.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952266\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1759px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952266\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan2_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1759\" height=\"1192\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan2_.jpg 1759w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan2_-800x542.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan2_-1020x691.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan2_-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan2_-768x520.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan2_-1536x1041.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1759px) 100vw, 1759px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invisibl Skratch Piklz with Japanese fans, 1993. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Swift – who’s been teaching a DJ course at the New School for Liberal Arts in New York since 2014 – speaks from experience. Within months of Qbert developing the crab scratch, Swift was using the technique in battles. He cites the instructional \u003cem>Turntable TV\u003c/em> series of video tutorials as not only an inspiration for the X-Men, but also for other DJs and even corporate entities. As a result, more people started DJing and the culture grew.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Before the Piklz, all of us had our own personal terminology for DJing. But the Piklz started (creating) terms that globally started to become accepted and become the consensus terms… Q started giving individual techniques specific names. In doing so, it made the art teachable, because you can’t teach someone by saying, yo, make it go \u003cem>wigga wigga wigga wigga\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now these guys are selling videos to kids in Japan, kids in Canada, kids across the country, kids in Europe that had no clue how to do this shit… Myself, (Roc) Raida, Mista Sinista, (Total) Eclipse, we were inspired by Q, and we started teaching how to juggle, and we made videotapes just like them.” Without the Picklz, he says, there wouldn’t be “the ripple effects of what we see now, of all these DJ schools, all of these people teaching on YouTube, all these online tutorials, all these companies designing gear with all these effects.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952270\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1759px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952270\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Japan_.vestax.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1759\" height=\"1156\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Japan_.vestax.jpg 1759w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Japan_.vestax-800x526.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Japan_.vestax-1020x670.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Japan_.vestax-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Japan_.vestax-768x505.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Japan_.vestax-1536x1009.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1759px) 100vw, 1759px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invisibl Skratch Piklz at Vestax headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, to preview their signature mixer. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Signature Models and Scratch Technique\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Piklz also served as consultants to audio companies like Vestax and Ortofon to develop ISP-branded mixers and needles; more recently, Shortkut served as a brand ambassador for Serato’s vinyl emulation software. In a 2022 video tutorial for \u003cem>Wired\u003c/em>, the master turntablist demonstrates 15 levels of scratching, from the basic “baby scratch” to complex combos, rhythm and drum scratches, and the beat-juggle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Shortkut, beat-juggling is “live manual remixing, basically, with two turntables and a mixer” utilizing two copies of the same record, or two different records. When done properly, the technique creates an entirely new beat using existing sounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mix Master Mike estimates that he and Qbert have named hundreds of specific scratches. Among his original contributions is the “Tweaker,” which was developed accidentally, due to a power outage. “When you cut a turntable off, the sound still comes out of it” when the needle is left on the record. “You got to manually move the belt with your hand, which (makes) a totally way-out, dragging sound from the record.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952268\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1759px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.3fromsideshortkut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1759\" height=\"1186\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952268\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.3fromsideshortkut.jpg 1759w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.3fromsideshortkut-800x539.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.3fromsideshortkut-1020x688.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.3fromsideshortkut-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.3fromsideshortkut-768x518.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.3fromsideshortkut-1536x1036.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1759px) 100vw, 1759px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invisibl Skratch Piklz, mid-routine in Seattle, 1994. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In live shows, Mike deploys an arsenal of sound banks with trees of various audio samples for different instruments. He often improvises his sets – rarely playing the same scratch solo twice. With all the scratches he’s invented, “If I’m performing live, it’s all about if I can remember it on the spot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Qbert’s most ubiquitous scratch may be the crab, which uses the crossfader to chop the audio signal, similar to the transformer scratch. Unlike the transformer – performed with just thumb and forefinger – the crab utilizes a rapid tapping motion with the other three fingers, resulting in finer chops, like a triplet of 1/16th notes instead of quarter-notes. The crab can then be combined with other techniques like the stab, the tear, or the orbit to create an infinite number of scratch patterns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Q says the crab has nothing to do with crustaceans, actually. It was originally called the crepe, based off a food order he’d made in Lebanon. Except no one could pronounce the rolled r’s of a Lebanese accent correctly. Among the other scratches he’s named personally, “there’s like the hydro, the laser, the phaser, the swipe, oh man, let’s see, there’s the clover tear, the prism scratch. … there’s so many.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952274\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 749px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952274\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/1996-Vestax-ISP-ad.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"749\" height=\"960\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/1996-Vestax-ISP-ad.jpg 749w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/1996-Vestax-ISP-ad-160x205.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 749px) 100vw, 749px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Vestax advertisement for the Invisibl Skratch Piklz’ signature mixer. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>100mph Backsliding Turkey Kuts\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Piklz began developing tools for DJs with the original \u003cem>Battle Breaks\u003c/em> vinyl record, which resampled various sound effects and verbal phrases, making them more scratch-friendly and accessible. Their imprint Dirt Style has released dozens of such records over the decades with names like \u003cem>Bionic Booger Breaks\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Buttcrack Breaks\u003c/em>, or \u003cem>Scratch Fetishes of the Third Kind\u003c/em>. These records are sometimes credited to DJ Qbert, DJ Flare or Mix Master Mike, and sometimes credited to aliases like the Psychedelic Scratch Bastards, The Wax Fondler and Darth Fader.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Battle Breaks\u003c/em> led to another innovation: the \u003cem>Scratchy Seal\u003c/em> series of skipless records. As Qbert explains, there’s a science behind this. “If you look at the turntable, it spins at 33 ⅓ — 33.33333 (revolutions) per minute. If you just make the BPM of the sound effect 33-point-dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee, the magic number, it’s all going to be repetitive. No matter where the needle jumps, it’s going to land on the same sound again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952264\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952264\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_MMM_best_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2000.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_MMM_best_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2000.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_MMM_best_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2000-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_MMM_best_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2000-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_MMM_best_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_MMM_best_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_MMM_best_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2000-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Qbert and Mix Master Mike backstage at the 2023 DMC championships in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Jeff Straw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>How\u003c/em> the Piklz scratched also made a difference. According to crew member D-Styles, prior to the Piklz, “a lot of the scratch styles were straight ahead. It was very on the beat. ” He likens the Piklz’ approach to Bird and Dizzy’s excursions in the bebop era – “being ahead of the beat, or behind the beat, being more free with it, not so (much) in the line.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While there were other DJ crews before the Piklz, Swift says, the idea of a turntable orchestra was uncharted territory. “One guy would take a horn hit, another guy would take drums, the other guy would take vocals. Nobody was doing that before the Piklz.” This became a common practice, and led to the introduction of team routines in major battles. Qbert remarks that he and the other Piklz have been doing synchronized routines for so long, the communication between them has become telepathic. “It’s just kind of like walking in step.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952269\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1759px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.buckethead.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1759\" height=\"1173\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952269\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.buckethead.jpg 1759w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.buckethead-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.buckethead-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.buckethead-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.buckethead-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.buckethead-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1759px) 100vw, 1759px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Qbert onstage with guitarist Buckethead at the Jazznojazz Festival in Zurich, 1995. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Another advancement was the first all-scratching record, i.e. a musical composition consisting entirely of scratched sounds. The scratch music trend resulted in a slew of solo releases — many of them on the now-defunct Bomb Hip Hop label – as well as group albums from the X-Ecutioners, The Allies, and Birdy Nam Nam, and one-offs like El Stew, an alternative supergroup featuring guitarist Buckethead, ISP alumni DJ Disk and producer Eddie Def. After turntablism’s initial wave died down in the early 2000s, the Piklz continued to develop the genre, which Shortkut says has become its own culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a niche market,” Qbert says. “But I’m totally immersed in it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952275\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952275\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/IMG_2459.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/IMG_2459.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/IMG_2459-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/IMG_2459-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/IMG_2459-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/IMG_2459-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/IMG_2459-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invisibl Skratch Piklz at a Red Bull event. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘It’s Just Some Human Shit, and It’s a Beautiful Thing’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On his solo albums, Qbert has frequently explored sci-fi themes, beginning with 1998’s \u003cem>Wave Twisters\u003c/em>, and continuing with 2014’s \u003cem>Extraterrestria\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Galaxxxian\u003c/em>, 2020’s \u003cem>Origins (Wave Twisters 0)\u003c/em>, and 2022’s \u003cem>Next Cosmos\u003c/em>. He’s imagined what scratch music from across the galaxy might sound like, evoking starships navigating irradiated asteroid belts, alien creatures scurrying across cratered landscapes, and underwater temples emanating immemorial chants over percussive beats, while turning Rakim and Too Short phrases into Zen mantras. He’s done all this by embracing the musical possibilities of the turntable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“On what other equipment could you make the sounds go backwards and forwards and just do all these weird things with it? You know, with your hands,” he says. Unlike pressing buttons on a computer, “this is like fucking connected to your soul. It’s not like AI can do it. It’s just some human shit, and it’s a beautiful thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mix Master Mike served as the official DJ for the Beastie Boys from 1998 up until 2012, later joined Cypress Hill, and has toured with arena rock giants Metallica, Guns ‘N’ Roses, and Godsmack, playing to crowds of up to 50,000. His solo catalog has expanded the turntablism field into new arenas – literally. “I’ve always targeted the rock audience,” Mike says. “I’m not just hip-hop. I’m everything around it. The greatness is having to conquer uncharted territories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I like to remain mysterious in that sense as far as being a mysterious artist and being unpredictable. I’m the risk taker, right? It’s therapeutic for me at this point, but it’s like I’m just taking it as a mission because nobody’s doing this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952267\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1759px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952267\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMMonthedecks.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1759\" height=\"1196\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMMonthedecks.jpg 1759w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMMonthedecks-800x544.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMMonthedecks-1020x694.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMMonthedecks-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMMonthedecks-768x522.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMMonthedecks-1536x1044.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1759px) 100vw, 1759px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mix Master Mike. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This philosophy extends from live shows to recordings. “Growing up, I was always listening to soundtrack music. Lalo Schifrin, Quincy Jones, Ennio Morricone.” His goal in making records is to capture a cinematic sense, to make “a soundtrack that can live forever.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His newest release, 2023’s \u003cem>Opus X Magnum\u003c/em>, is a headphone album with arena sensibilities. Or vice-versa. There’s lots of subtle instrumental and sound effect-y passages, along with chest-pumping drums and serpentine basslines. The quieter moments are few, but precious. MMM’s Pikl heritage is evident in the way horns, keyboards and vocal phrases are scratched vicariously, resulting in twisty turns that keep your ears guessing what’s next. To the artist’s credit, \u003cem>Opus\u003c/em> does sound epically cinematic throughout, its constantly changing moods and textures suggesting perpetual motion and a full dose of adrenaline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>D-Styles’ two solo albums, released 17 years apart, illustrate his artistic growth. 2002’s \u003cem>Phantazmagorea\u003c/em> delves into dark themes, with vocal phrases seemingly selected for shock value, along with recognizable scratched snippets from KRS-One and Stetsasonic. 2019’s \u003cem>Noises In the Right Order\u003c/em> – inspired by a residency at Low End Theory, a club night frequented by lo-fi producers – recalls DJ Shadow’s \u003cem>Endtroducing\u003c/em> and the trip-hop era, while still using found vocals as documentary. D-Styles says \u003cem>Noises\u003c/em> was about being “more musical and less technical.” There’s plenty of scratching, but the emphasis is on overall composition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952271\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 597px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952271\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-at-HEIRO-DAY-2016.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"597\" height=\"506\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-at-HEIRO-DAY-2016.jpg 597w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-at-HEIRO-DAY-2016-160x136.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 597px) 100vw, 597px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invisibl Skratch Piklz at Hiero Day 2016 in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Being a turntable composer, D-Styles maintains, means using scratching’s vocabulary as a musical language. “You look at it like an alphabet. You got chirps, you got flares, you got crabs, you got autobahns, you got Stewie’s, and all of that stuff. You can add swing to it, you could be ahead of the beat. Behind the beat. You can accent. There’s so much that goes into putting these combinations together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Many Styles\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Apollo and Shortkut, meanwhile, joined forces with former ITF World Champion Vin Roc in 1999 to form Triple Threat, a DJ crew whose mission was to integrate turntablism into party-rocking live sets. “Just coming up as turntablists, we kind of like, created little monsters everywhere,” Apollo says. “All they would do is scratch in their bedrooms.” There’s more to DJing, he says, than just doing tricks and scratching and juggling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Triple Threat released a well-received 2003 album, \u003cem>Many Styles\u003c/em>, which blended turntablist-oriented tracks with emcee features from Planet Asia, Black Thought, Souls of Mischief and Zion-I. The trio toured the United States and Asia regularly, and remained active up until the late 2010s. Apollo – who judged the DMC World Finals last year – still identifies as a Pikl, and says his focus nowadays is on upgrading his studio and reestablishing himself as a producer; he hopes to contribute some tracks to future ISP albums.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952276\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1440px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/LLCoolJ.Ztrip_.shortkut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1440\" height=\"1920\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952276\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/LLCoolJ.Ztrip_.shortkut.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/LLCoolJ.Ztrip_.shortkut-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/LLCoolJ.Ztrip_.shortkut-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/LLCoolJ.Ztrip_.shortkut-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/LLCoolJ.Ztrip_.shortkut-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/LLCoolJ.Ztrip_.shortkut-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shortkut, at right, on the F.O.R.C.E. Tour with (L–R) DJ Z-Trip, LL Cool J and DJ Jazzy Jeff. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Shortkut’s recorded output mainly consists of DJ mixtapes covering a wide variety of genres, but he did produce 2012’s “Twelve,” a funky, fun track with “Sesame Street”-esque vocal samples, for the Beat Junkies 45 Series, as well as 2017’s “Mini-Wheels,” a 7-inch single for Thud Rumble, and “Short Rugs,” a limited-edition slipmat designed for 45 rpm records and a 7-inch record with three skipless vinyl scratch tracks. He’s been an occasional headliner at DJ Platurn’s 45 Sessions party; playing all-vinyl sets, he says, helps him maintain his sanity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After a lengthy break following 2000’s “final” performance, Qbert, Shortkut and D-Styles officially reformed as ISP for 2015’s \u003cem>The 13th Floor\u003c/em>, their first full-length release. “This was the first time as a scratch artist that I’ve felt able to do shows with the Piklz where people know the songs,” Shortkut says. The album’s moods range from dark to soulful to jazzy, and were intended to be templates for live performances that typically involve improvised scratch soloing over a structured song with defined instrumental parts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952273\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952273\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-making-of-The-13th-Floor-album-Japan-2015.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-making-of-The-13th-Floor-album-Japan-2015.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-making-of-The-13th-Floor-album-Japan-2015-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-making-of-The-13th-Floor-album-Japan-2015-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-making-of-The-13th-Floor-album-Japan-2015-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-making-of-The-13th-Floor-album-Japan-2015-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Invisibl Skratch Piklz in Japan, making their ’13th Floor’ album in 2015. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Many of \u003cem>The 13th Floor\u003c/em>’s compositional elements were developed by D-Styles, who went on to become an online instructor at the Beat Junkies Institute of Sound in 2019. He notes the Piklz are more than halfway through their next, as-yet-untitled album — several tracks from which they previewed live during their recent DMC showcase in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My strength is, I’m always in the studio,” says D-Styles. “I always have these ideas, these sketches that I’ll try at home by myself. But I always have parts in mind, so if i have drums, I’ll be like, this is perfect for Shortkut. And then I have these keyboards, you know, these notes. So I’ll carry that side. And then I’ll give Q this (vocal) phrase. And I know he’ll know what to do with it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Aesthetics That ‘Vibrate a Certain Way’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Qbert maintains he’s still a student, trying to learn new things after all these years. He keeps pushing himself to new levels because he doesn’t want to repeat what he’s already done. “You got to come unique and original, or else it’s like, fucking wack. Or it’s, \u003cem>ah… he did the same shit last time\u003c/em>, you know? I don’t want to hear that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952294\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1811px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.LPs_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1811\" height=\"600\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952294\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.LPs_.jpg 1811w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.LPs_-800x265.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.LPs_-1020x338.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.LPs_-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.LPs_-768x254.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.LPs_-1536x509.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1811px) 100vw, 1811px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sample of Qbert’s visual aesthetic from three full-length albums: ‘Extraterrestria,’ ‘Origins Wave Twisters 0,’ and ‘Next Cosmos in 5D.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The most sublime aspect of the Piklz legacy may be their aesthetic, best described as part kung-fu, part sci-fi, part zany humor, yet firmly grounded in DJ culture and hip-hop expression. This is reflected in Mike and Q’s outsize personalities. “Those two in particular are very much outside of this Earth,” says Christie Z, noting that Mike’s custom Serato vinyl is covered in Zectarian language. (In 2017, Qbert joined Mike for a duo performance of MMM’s alienesque single “Channel Zecktar” live at the NAMM showcase.) Artists are sometimes kooky, she says, but she’s used to it by now. “That’s what they do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Mike sees himself as a glowing, ultramagnetic, cosmic antenna. “I would say, you know, my brain is like a super cerebral satellite dish that I’m just logging into the channels in my mind, and I call it the access to the interstellar network, my own interstellar network that’s going on in my head.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for Qbert, “nowadays I work off of karma,” he says. Though he’s consulted for audio companies before, when he’s asked for input, he doesn’t insist on contractual agreements. “I’ll give you the honest truth.” If a mixer could be sleeker and more ergonomic, he’ll say so. He feels equipment makers could be more visionary and futuristic with their products. “They could put chromatherapy in these things, you know, they vibrate a certain way to make it heal you as a human.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For all of Qbert’s zany sense of humor and embracing of otherworldliness, he’s remarkably down to earth at times. That is to say, his ideology isn’t illogical at all – just advanced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With any art, if you’re deep into it, you’re already touching infinity,” he says. “So you could do so many things in it that you haven’t done. And there’s freakin’ a bag of infinity left — that is never-ending.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11687704\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"60\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-400x30.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-768x58.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"The Skratch Piklz' innovations in scratch technique, education and battle tools have impacted the globe. ","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1708071864,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":46,"wordCount":3685},"headData":{"title":"Turntablism’s Mightiest Heroes: The Legacy, Impact and Aesthetics of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz | KQED","description":"The Skratch Piklz' innovations in scratch technique, education and battle tools have impacted the globe. ","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"Turntablism’s Mightiest Heroes: The Legacy, Impact and Aesthetics of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz","datePublished":"2024-02-14T16:53:51.000Z","dateModified":"2024-02-16T08:24:24.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"source":"That's My Word","sourceUrl":"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop","sticky":false,"templateType":"standard","featuredImageType":"standard","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13952260/turntablism-invisibl-skratch-piklz-legacy-impact","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952272\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1080px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952272\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-backstage-in-SF-2017.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-backstage-in-SF-2017.jpg 1080w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-backstage-in-SF-2017-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-backstage-in-SF-2017-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-backstage-in-SF-2017-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-backstage-in-SF-2017-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Invisibl Skratch Piklz’ cultural impact over the past 40 years has been felt around the globe. The crew is pictured here backstage in San Francisco in 2017. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note\u003c/strong>: This story is part of \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/\">That’s My Word\u003c/a>\u003cem>, KQED’s story series on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/\">Bay Area hip-hop\u003c/a> history.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On an overcast November day in Oakland, DJ Shortkut – a member of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz DJ crew – was the featured performer on a boat cruise, as part of the DMC World DJ Finals festivities. The weather didn’t get too rough during the two-hour tour, which meandered out to the Bay Bridge and back to port at Jack London Square. The worst was some mildly choppy squalls into fierce headwinds. Because this wasn’t your average boat cruise – its attendees mainly consisted of DJs from all over the world in town for the DMC battle – the ship’s crew circled around Treasure Island for a bit, instead of heading further out into the open sea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The calmer waters allowed Shortkut, who had been playing a vibrant set of mostly classic midtempo hip-hop, to show off his mixing and scratching skills a bit. As the boat headed back toward its East Bay dock, Shortkut unleashed an impressive display of scratching skills that lasted for a good five minutes. As the boat neared its mooring, the DJ called his peers to the turntables. What followed was an unforgettable, and super-fun, display of global turntablism at its best, as each DJ in succession laid down a wicked scratch segment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937761\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937761\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-22-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A person with a shaved head stands at a table as a screen behind them shows the images of several people.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-22-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-22-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-22-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-22-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-22-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-22-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-22-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shortkut performs with Invisibl Skratch Piklz during the DMC World DJ Finals at The Midway in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It seemed appropriate for Shortkut to be leading the activities. Once a battle entrant in the DMCs himself and understudy to fellow Piklz Qbert, Apollo, and Mix Master Mike, Shortkut has become an accomplished master in his own right – most recently playing an opening set on LL Cool J’s star-studded Hip Hop 50 tour. The message to the younger DJs on the boat was clear: keep developing your skills and be a balanced DJ who can rise to any occasion – scratching and beat-juggling skills are nice, but rocking a party with impeccable selection while displaying your skills is even better.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Perfecting – and Teaching – the Art\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Piklz first rose to prominence during the ’90s, winning multiple world DJ battle titles as a crew and individually while displaying innovative new techniques that elevated turntablism to unprecedented heights. After revolutionizing the artform and birthing scratch music as a genre, by the decade’s end, they had left an indelible mark on DJ culture and furthered its global reach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952265\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1759px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952265\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.decks_.93.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1759\" height=\"1196\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.decks_.93.jpg 1759w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.decks_.93-800x544.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.decks_.93-1020x694.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.decks_.93-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.decks_.93-768x522.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.decks_.93-1536x1044.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1759px) 100vw, 1759px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Invisibl Skratch Piklz in Japan in 1993. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Christie Zee, the organizer for 2023’s DMC World Battle, held in San Francisco, has worked off and on for the London-based organization since 1998. She first became aware of the Piklz from an old boyfriend’s copy of DJ Qbert’s \u003cem>Demolition Pumpkin Squeeze Musik\u003c/em> mixtape – “It just had so much scratching and it was so fun,” she says. She recalls meeting the crew for the first time in 1999, at the DMC World Finals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m really delicate, really careful about (saying) \u003cem>pioneer\u003c/em> versus \u003cem>legend\u003c/em>, but I do think they were pioneering, because of things they’ve innovated and presented and invented,” she says. “They didn’t invent the scratch, but they just progressed the hell out of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Obviously they have titles under their belts,” says Rob Swift, a founding member of the X-Men/X-Ecutioners, the New York turntablists who famously battled the Piklz in 1996. “But for me, I would say their most pivotal contribution to DJing is teaching the art. Before the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, nobody was teaching. DJing was a secret art.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952266\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1759px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952266\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan2_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1759\" height=\"1192\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan2_.jpg 1759w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan2_-800x542.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan2_-1020x691.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan2_-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan2_-768x520.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan2_-1536x1041.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1759px) 100vw, 1759px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invisibl Skratch Piklz with Japanese fans, 1993. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Swift – who’s been teaching a DJ course at the New School for Liberal Arts in New York since 2014 – speaks from experience. Within months of Qbert developing the crab scratch, Swift was using the technique in battles. He cites the instructional \u003cem>Turntable TV\u003c/em> series of video tutorials as not only an inspiration for the X-Men, but also for other DJs and even corporate entities. As a result, more people started DJing and the culture grew.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Before the Piklz, all of us had our own personal terminology for DJing. But the Piklz started (creating) terms that globally started to become accepted and become the consensus terms… Q started giving individual techniques specific names. In doing so, it made the art teachable, because you can’t teach someone by saying, yo, make it go \u003cem>wigga wigga wigga wigga\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now these guys are selling videos to kids in Japan, kids in Canada, kids across the country, kids in Europe that had no clue how to do this shit… Myself, (Roc) Raida, Mista Sinista, (Total) Eclipse, we were inspired by Q, and we started teaching how to juggle, and we made videotapes just like them.” Without the Picklz, he says, there wouldn’t be “the ripple effects of what we see now, of all these DJ schools, all of these people teaching on YouTube, all these online tutorials, all these companies designing gear with all these effects.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952270\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1759px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952270\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Japan_.vestax.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1759\" height=\"1156\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Japan_.vestax.jpg 1759w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Japan_.vestax-800x526.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Japan_.vestax-1020x670.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Japan_.vestax-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Japan_.vestax-768x505.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Japan_.vestax-1536x1009.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1759px) 100vw, 1759px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invisibl Skratch Piklz at Vestax headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, to preview their signature mixer. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Signature Models and Scratch Technique\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Piklz also served as consultants to audio companies like Vestax and Ortofon to develop ISP-branded mixers and needles; more recently, Shortkut served as a brand ambassador for Serato’s vinyl emulation software. In a 2022 video tutorial for \u003cem>Wired\u003c/em>, the master turntablist demonstrates 15 levels of scratching, from the basic “baby scratch” to complex combos, rhythm and drum scratches, and the beat-juggle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Shortkut, beat-juggling is “live manual remixing, basically, with two turntables and a mixer” utilizing two copies of the same record, or two different records. When done properly, the technique creates an entirely new beat using existing sounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mix Master Mike estimates that he and Qbert have named hundreds of specific scratches. Among his original contributions is the “Tweaker,” which was developed accidentally, due to a power outage. “When you cut a turntable off, the sound still comes out of it” when the needle is left on the record. “You got to manually move the belt with your hand, which (makes) a totally way-out, dragging sound from the record.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952268\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1759px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.3fromsideshortkut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1759\" height=\"1186\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952268\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.3fromsideshortkut.jpg 1759w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.3fromsideshortkut-800x539.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.3fromsideshortkut-1020x688.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.3fromsideshortkut-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.3fromsideshortkut-768x518.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.3fromsideshortkut-1536x1036.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1759px) 100vw, 1759px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invisibl Skratch Piklz, mid-routine in Seattle, 1994. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In live shows, Mike deploys an arsenal of sound banks with trees of various audio samples for different instruments. He often improvises his sets – rarely playing the same scratch solo twice. With all the scratches he’s invented, “If I’m performing live, it’s all about if I can remember it on the spot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Qbert’s most ubiquitous scratch may be the crab, which uses the crossfader to chop the audio signal, similar to the transformer scratch. Unlike the transformer – performed with just thumb and forefinger – the crab utilizes a rapid tapping motion with the other three fingers, resulting in finer chops, like a triplet of 1/16th notes instead of quarter-notes. The crab can then be combined with other techniques like the stab, the tear, or the orbit to create an infinite number of scratch patterns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Q says the crab has nothing to do with crustaceans, actually. It was originally called the crepe, based off a food order he’d made in Lebanon. Except no one could pronounce the rolled r’s of a Lebanese accent correctly. Among the other scratches he’s named personally, “there’s like the hydro, the laser, the phaser, the swipe, oh man, let’s see, there’s the clover tear, the prism scratch. … there’s so many.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952274\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 749px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952274\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/1996-Vestax-ISP-ad.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"749\" height=\"960\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/1996-Vestax-ISP-ad.jpg 749w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/1996-Vestax-ISP-ad-160x205.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 749px) 100vw, 749px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Vestax advertisement for the Invisibl Skratch Piklz’ signature mixer. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>100mph Backsliding Turkey Kuts\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Piklz began developing tools for DJs with the original \u003cem>Battle Breaks\u003c/em> vinyl record, which resampled various sound effects and verbal phrases, making them more scratch-friendly and accessible. Their imprint Dirt Style has released dozens of such records over the decades with names like \u003cem>Bionic Booger Breaks\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Buttcrack Breaks\u003c/em>, or \u003cem>Scratch Fetishes of the Third Kind\u003c/em>. These records are sometimes credited to DJ Qbert, DJ Flare or Mix Master Mike, and sometimes credited to aliases like the Psychedelic Scratch Bastards, The Wax Fondler and Darth Fader.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Battle Breaks\u003c/em> led to another innovation: the \u003cem>Scratchy Seal\u003c/em> series of skipless records. As Qbert explains, there’s a science behind this. “If you look at the turntable, it spins at 33 ⅓ — 33.33333 (revolutions) per minute. If you just make the BPM of the sound effect 33-point-dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee, the magic number, it’s all going to be repetitive. No matter where the needle jumps, it’s going to land on the same sound again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952264\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952264\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_MMM_best_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2000.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_MMM_best_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2000.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_MMM_best_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2000-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_MMM_best_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2000-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_MMM_best_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_MMM_best_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_MMM_best_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2000-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Qbert and Mix Master Mike backstage at the 2023 DMC championships in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Jeff Straw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>How\u003c/em> the Piklz scratched also made a difference. According to crew member D-Styles, prior to the Piklz, “a lot of the scratch styles were straight ahead. It was very on the beat. ” He likens the Piklz’ approach to Bird and Dizzy’s excursions in the bebop era – “being ahead of the beat, or behind the beat, being more free with it, not so (much) in the line.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While there were other DJ crews before the Piklz, Swift says, the idea of a turntable orchestra was uncharted territory. “One guy would take a horn hit, another guy would take drums, the other guy would take vocals. Nobody was doing that before the Piklz.” This became a common practice, and led to the introduction of team routines in major battles. Qbert remarks that he and the other Piklz have been doing synchronized routines for so long, the communication between them has become telepathic. “It’s just kind of like walking in step.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952269\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1759px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.buckethead.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1759\" height=\"1173\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952269\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.buckethead.jpg 1759w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.buckethead-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.buckethead-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.buckethead-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.buckethead-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.buckethead-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1759px) 100vw, 1759px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Qbert onstage with guitarist Buckethead at the Jazznojazz Festival in Zurich, 1995. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Another advancement was the first all-scratching record, i.e. a musical composition consisting entirely of scratched sounds. The scratch music trend resulted in a slew of solo releases — many of them on the now-defunct Bomb Hip Hop label – as well as group albums from the X-Ecutioners, The Allies, and Birdy Nam Nam, and one-offs like El Stew, an alternative supergroup featuring guitarist Buckethead, ISP alumni DJ Disk and producer Eddie Def. After turntablism’s initial wave died down in the early 2000s, the Piklz continued to develop the genre, which Shortkut says has become its own culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a niche market,” Qbert says. “But I’m totally immersed in it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952275\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952275\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/IMG_2459.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/IMG_2459.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/IMG_2459-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/IMG_2459-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/IMG_2459-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/IMG_2459-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/IMG_2459-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invisibl Skratch Piklz at a Red Bull event. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘It’s Just Some Human Shit, and It’s a Beautiful Thing’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On his solo albums, Qbert has frequently explored sci-fi themes, beginning with 1998’s \u003cem>Wave Twisters\u003c/em>, and continuing with 2014’s \u003cem>Extraterrestria\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Galaxxxian\u003c/em>, 2020’s \u003cem>Origins (Wave Twisters 0)\u003c/em>, and 2022’s \u003cem>Next Cosmos\u003c/em>. He’s imagined what scratch music from across the galaxy might sound like, evoking starships navigating irradiated asteroid belts, alien creatures scurrying across cratered landscapes, and underwater temples emanating immemorial chants over percussive beats, while turning Rakim and Too Short phrases into Zen mantras. He’s done all this by embracing the musical possibilities of the turntable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“On what other equipment could you make the sounds go backwards and forwards and just do all these weird things with it? You know, with your hands,” he says. Unlike pressing buttons on a computer, “this is like fucking connected to your soul. It’s not like AI can do it. It’s just some human shit, and it’s a beautiful thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mix Master Mike served as the official DJ for the Beastie Boys from 1998 up until 2012, later joined Cypress Hill, and has toured with arena rock giants Metallica, Guns ‘N’ Roses, and Godsmack, playing to crowds of up to 50,000. His solo catalog has expanded the turntablism field into new arenas – literally. “I’ve always targeted the rock audience,” Mike says. “I’m not just hip-hop. I’m everything around it. The greatness is having to conquer uncharted territories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I like to remain mysterious in that sense as far as being a mysterious artist and being unpredictable. I’m the risk taker, right? It’s therapeutic for me at this point, but it’s like I’m just taking it as a mission because nobody’s doing this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952267\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1759px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952267\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMMonthedecks.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1759\" height=\"1196\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMMonthedecks.jpg 1759w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMMonthedecks-800x544.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMMonthedecks-1020x694.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMMonthedecks-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMMonthedecks-768x522.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMMonthedecks-1536x1044.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1759px) 100vw, 1759px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mix Master Mike. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This philosophy extends from live shows to recordings. “Growing up, I was always listening to soundtrack music. Lalo Schifrin, Quincy Jones, Ennio Morricone.” His goal in making records is to capture a cinematic sense, to make “a soundtrack that can live forever.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His newest release, 2023’s \u003cem>Opus X Magnum\u003c/em>, is a headphone album with arena sensibilities. Or vice-versa. There’s lots of subtle instrumental and sound effect-y passages, along with chest-pumping drums and serpentine basslines. The quieter moments are few, but precious. MMM’s Pikl heritage is evident in the way horns, keyboards and vocal phrases are scratched vicariously, resulting in twisty turns that keep your ears guessing what’s next. To the artist’s credit, \u003cem>Opus\u003c/em> does sound epically cinematic throughout, its constantly changing moods and textures suggesting perpetual motion and a full dose of adrenaline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>D-Styles’ two solo albums, released 17 years apart, illustrate his artistic growth. 2002’s \u003cem>Phantazmagorea\u003c/em> delves into dark themes, with vocal phrases seemingly selected for shock value, along with recognizable scratched snippets from KRS-One and Stetsasonic. 2019’s \u003cem>Noises In the Right Order\u003c/em> – inspired by a residency at Low End Theory, a club night frequented by lo-fi producers – recalls DJ Shadow’s \u003cem>Endtroducing\u003c/em> and the trip-hop era, while still using found vocals as documentary. D-Styles says \u003cem>Noises\u003c/em> was about being “more musical and less technical.” There’s plenty of scratching, but the emphasis is on overall composition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952271\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 597px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952271\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-at-HEIRO-DAY-2016.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"597\" height=\"506\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-at-HEIRO-DAY-2016.jpg 597w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-at-HEIRO-DAY-2016-160x136.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 597px) 100vw, 597px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invisibl Skratch Piklz at Hiero Day 2016 in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Being a turntable composer, D-Styles maintains, means using scratching’s vocabulary as a musical language. “You look at it like an alphabet. You got chirps, you got flares, you got crabs, you got autobahns, you got Stewie’s, and all of that stuff. You can add swing to it, you could be ahead of the beat. Behind the beat. You can accent. There’s so much that goes into putting these combinations together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Many Styles\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Apollo and Shortkut, meanwhile, joined forces with former ITF World Champion Vin Roc in 1999 to form Triple Threat, a DJ crew whose mission was to integrate turntablism into party-rocking live sets. “Just coming up as turntablists, we kind of like, created little monsters everywhere,” Apollo says. “All they would do is scratch in their bedrooms.” There’s more to DJing, he says, than just doing tricks and scratching and juggling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Triple Threat released a well-received 2003 album, \u003cem>Many Styles\u003c/em>, which blended turntablist-oriented tracks with emcee features from Planet Asia, Black Thought, Souls of Mischief and Zion-I. The trio toured the United States and Asia regularly, and remained active up until the late 2010s. Apollo – who judged the DMC World Finals last year – still identifies as a Pikl, and says his focus nowadays is on upgrading his studio and reestablishing himself as a producer; he hopes to contribute some tracks to future ISP albums.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952276\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1440px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/LLCoolJ.Ztrip_.shortkut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1440\" height=\"1920\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952276\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/LLCoolJ.Ztrip_.shortkut.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/LLCoolJ.Ztrip_.shortkut-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/LLCoolJ.Ztrip_.shortkut-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/LLCoolJ.Ztrip_.shortkut-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/LLCoolJ.Ztrip_.shortkut-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/LLCoolJ.Ztrip_.shortkut-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shortkut, at right, on the F.O.R.C.E. Tour with (L–R) DJ Z-Trip, LL Cool J and DJ Jazzy Jeff. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Shortkut’s recorded output mainly consists of DJ mixtapes covering a wide variety of genres, but he did produce 2012’s “Twelve,” a funky, fun track with “Sesame Street”-esque vocal samples, for the Beat Junkies 45 Series, as well as 2017’s “Mini-Wheels,” a 7-inch single for Thud Rumble, and “Short Rugs,” a limited-edition slipmat designed for 45 rpm records and a 7-inch record with three skipless vinyl scratch tracks. He’s been an occasional headliner at DJ Platurn’s 45 Sessions party; playing all-vinyl sets, he says, helps him maintain his sanity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After a lengthy break following 2000’s “final” performance, Qbert, Shortkut and D-Styles officially reformed as ISP for 2015’s \u003cem>The 13th Floor\u003c/em>, their first full-length release. “This was the first time as a scratch artist that I’ve felt able to do shows with the Piklz where people know the songs,” Shortkut says. The album’s moods range from dark to soulful to jazzy, and were intended to be templates for live performances that typically involve improvised scratch soloing over a structured song with defined instrumental parts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952273\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952273\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-making-of-The-13th-Floor-album-Japan-2015.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-making-of-The-13th-Floor-album-Japan-2015.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-making-of-The-13th-Floor-album-Japan-2015-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-making-of-The-13th-Floor-album-Japan-2015-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-making-of-The-13th-Floor-album-Japan-2015-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-making-of-The-13th-Floor-album-Japan-2015-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Invisibl Skratch Piklz in Japan, making their ’13th Floor’ album in 2015. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Many of \u003cem>The 13th Floor\u003c/em>’s compositional elements were developed by D-Styles, who went on to become an online instructor at the Beat Junkies Institute of Sound in 2019. He notes the Piklz are more than halfway through their next, as-yet-untitled album — several tracks from which they previewed live during their recent DMC showcase in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My strength is, I’m always in the studio,” says D-Styles. “I always have these ideas, these sketches that I’ll try at home by myself. But I always have parts in mind, so if i have drums, I’ll be like, this is perfect for Shortkut. And then I have these keyboards, you know, these notes. So I’ll carry that side. And then I’ll give Q this (vocal) phrase. And I know he’ll know what to do with it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Aesthetics That ‘Vibrate a Certain Way’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Qbert maintains he’s still a student, trying to learn new things after all these years. He keeps pushing himself to new levels because he doesn’t want to repeat what he’s already done. “You got to come unique and original, or else it’s like, fucking wack. Or it’s, \u003cem>ah… he did the same shit last time\u003c/em>, you know? I don’t want to hear that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952294\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1811px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.LPs_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1811\" height=\"600\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952294\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.LPs_.jpg 1811w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.LPs_-800x265.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.LPs_-1020x338.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.LPs_-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.LPs_-768x254.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Qbert_.LPs_-1536x509.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1811px) 100vw, 1811px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sample of Qbert’s visual aesthetic from three full-length albums: ‘Extraterrestria,’ ‘Origins Wave Twisters 0,’ and ‘Next Cosmos in 5D.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The most sublime aspect of the Piklz legacy may be their aesthetic, best described as part kung-fu, part sci-fi, part zany humor, yet firmly grounded in DJ culture and hip-hop expression. This is reflected in Mike and Q’s outsize personalities. “Those two in particular are very much outside of this Earth,” says Christie Z, noting that Mike’s custom Serato vinyl is covered in Zectarian language. (In 2017, Qbert joined Mike for a duo performance of MMM’s alienesque single “Channel Zecktar” live at the NAMM showcase.) Artists are sometimes kooky, she says, but she’s used to it by now. “That’s what they do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Mike sees himself as a glowing, ultramagnetic, cosmic antenna. “I would say, you know, my brain is like a super cerebral satellite dish that I’m just logging into the channels in my mind, and I call it the access to the interstellar network, my own interstellar network that’s going on in my head.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for Qbert, “nowadays I work off of karma,” he says. Though he’s consulted for audio companies before, when he’s asked for input, he doesn’t insist on contractual agreements. “I’ll give you the honest truth.” If a mixer could be sleeker and more ergonomic, he’ll say so. He feels equipment makers could be more visionary and futuristic with their products. “They could put chromatherapy in these things, you know, they vibrate a certain way to make it heal you as a human.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For all of Qbert’s zany sense of humor and embracing of otherworldliness, he’s remarkably down to earth at times. That is to say, his ideology isn’t illogical at all – just advanced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With any art, if you’re deep into it, you’re already touching infinity,” he says. “So you could do so many things in it that you haven’t done. And there’s freakin’ a bag of infinity left — that is never-ending.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11687704\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"60\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-400x30.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-768x58.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13952260/turntablism-invisibl-skratch-piklz-legacy-impact","authors":["11839"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_69"],"tags":["arts_2854","arts_21712","arts_2852","arts_17218","arts_21940","arts_1146","arts_19347","arts_21711"],"featImg":"arts_13952262","label":"source_arts_13952260"},"arts_13952208":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13952208","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13952208","score":null,"sort":[1707929580000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"invisibl-skratch-piklz-filipino-djs-daly-city-san-francisco-turntablism-history","title":"How The Invisibl Skratch Piklz Put San Francisco Turntablism on the DJ Map","publishDate":1707929580,"format":"standard","headTitle":"How The Invisibl Skratch Piklz Put San Francisco Turntablism on the DJ Map | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"arts"},"content":"\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note\u003c/strong>: This story is part of \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/\">That’s My Word\u003c/a>\u003cem>, KQED’s story series on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/\">Bay Area hip-hop\u003c/a> history.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a recent Friday night in San Francisco, a couple thousand fans of DJ culture crammed into the cavernous main room of a nightclub in Hunters Point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inside The Midway, it was elbow room-only from the stage to the back patio; many of those in the crowd were DJs themselves. The scene recalled the late ’90s-early 2000s glory days of the Bay Area, when turntablism seemed destined to become the Next Big Thing, and DJ nights dominated SF’s club scene. No one was there to dance; it wasn’t that kind of party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937762\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937762\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-28-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A person wearing a baseball cap stands at a table under fluorescent lighting.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-28-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-28-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-28-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-28-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-28-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-28-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-28-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ Qbert performs with Invisibl Skratch Piklz during the DMC World DJ Finals at The Midway in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The occasion was the DMC World Championship DJ Battle Finals, with some of the best DJs in the world competing against each other. But there was another attraction too: live showcases by the Invisibl Skratch Piklz and Mix Master Mike, the legendary DJs who transformed the Bay Area into a turntablist Mecca during a seminal era for local hip-hop. DMC event organizer Christie Zee put the proceedings into their proper context: “You can’t have a battle in the Bay without the Skratch Piklz.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As midnight approached, the lights dimmed, and the Piklz – Qbert, Shortkut and D-Styles – were announced to cheers that echoed throughout the high-ceilinged room. The Piklz opened with the 2015 ISP track “Fresh Out of FVCKs,” with its ominous electric organ melody that transitions into repeating melodic chords. A snare drum beat came in, followed by a rhythmically scratched snippet of a stuttering vocal phrase. The electric organ chords shifted into a chopped melody as the snare dropped out, then returned. And that’s all before the mind-bending scratch solos that followed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Piklz proceeded to display their musicality, keeping their technical acumen within the groove pocket with synchronized timing. As is customary with the Piklz, each played the part of a specific instrumentalist: D-Styles as the keyboardist, Shortkut as the drummer, and Qbert as the scratch soloist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952244\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952244\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM_DJ_mixer_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2275.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM_DJ_mixer_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2275.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM_DJ_mixer_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2275-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM_DJ_mixer_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2275-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM_DJ_mixer_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2275-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM_DJ_mixer_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2275-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM_DJ_mixer_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2275-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mix Master Mike at the DMC World DJ Finals at The Midway in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Jeff Straw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A live version of “Death By A Thousand Paper Cuts” – a song from D-Styles’ 2019 album \u003cem>Noises In the Right Order\u003c/em> – and several unreleased ISP songs showed that \u003ca href=\"https://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/jazzglossary/g/ghost_note.html\">ghost notes\u003c/a> aren’t just associated with jazz music. The turntable trio used the spaces between to impart a sense of presence and feel, a minimalist approach that allowed their scratches, cuts and juggles to resonate with maximum impact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This would have been a hard act to follow for anyone but Mix Master Mike. The ISP co-founder, who’s been a solo artist since 1995 or so, has a gigantic stage presence and skills to match. A one-man musical blender, MMM unleashed a maelstrom of sonic fury, with bone-crunching drums, an entire range of musical and vocal phrases, and precise turntable cuts that deconstructed the individual pieces of a live performance — only to reconstruct all the fragments into an emotionally-thrilling pastiche. After his set, when Mike was celebrated with a Lifetime Achievement Award, the honor was clearly well-deserved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Invisible Skratch Piklz were celebrating, too – 2023 marks their 30th anniversary – and it’s safe to say no Bay Area crew has done more to advance the DJ artform. Along with New York’s X-Ecutioners and LA’s Beat Junkies, ISP have defined the term turntablist, carving out a cultural niche that rests on a hip-hop foundation but exists in its own space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937759\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937759\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-13-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"People stand in a crowd leaning on a barrier indoors.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-13-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-13-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-13-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-13-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-13-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-13-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-13-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A crowd watches finalists compete during the DMC World DJ Finals at The Midway in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Piklz have counted many firsts. As hip-hop’s relationship with the DJ has flipped from essential to inconsequential, they’ve maintained the DJ tradition for future generations, and extended its global reach. Over the past four decades, they’ve gone from students of the scratch to wizened masters of turntable music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And like most cultural icons, their backstory is involved, multilayered and fascinating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952236\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1528px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952236\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/q.sta_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1528\" height=\"1032\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/q.sta_.jpg 1528w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/q.sta_-800x540.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/q.sta_-1020x689.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/q.sta_-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/q.sta_-768x519.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1528px) 100vw, 1528px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A young Qbert at a community hall mobile DJ dance party. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The Garage Party Era\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Invisibl Skratch Piklz story begins in what former ISP manager Alex Aquino calls the “pre-hip-hop era” of the late ’70s-early ’80s, when youth-oriented street dance intersected with pioneering mobile DJ crews and a Filipino-American tradition of garage parties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This was before breakdancing,” Aquino says. He recalls being 6 or 7 and seeing strutters, poppers and elements of DJ culture – including the Filipino mobile DJ crews who established a scene built around vinyl records, large stereo systems and frequent dance parties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of those Filipino DJs was Apollo Novicio, a.k.a. DJ Apollo, a founding member of ISP who spent his early childhood roaming around the Mission District. By the time he reached middle school, his family had relocated to Daly City – where he likely attended some of the same parties as Aquino. “Back in the day, they’d have garage parties and there would be a DJ in the corner of the garage, set up on a washing machine and dryer and stuff like that. And at the parties, they would have popping and locking circles. Strutting, popping and locking. Breakdancing wasn’t even here yet, really. This was, I’d say, early ’80s, and that was pretty much my first exposure to the DJing and dancing element of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952292\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1004px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobiledjparty.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1004\" height=\"674\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952292\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobiledjparty.png 1004w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobiledjparty-800x537.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobiledjparty-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobiledjparty-768x516.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1004px) 100vw, 1004px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Setup for a typical mobile DJ party in the early 1990s. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 1982, Aquino remembers, a New York transplant named Oscar Sop had introduced B-boying and fat laces to the neighborhood, becoming one of the Bay Area’s first breakdancers. Meanwhile, the DJ crews were becoming more professional, and getting hired for weddings, quinceaneras, traditional Filipino celebrations and the occasional school dance party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apollo recalls “doing the strutting, popping, locking thing before B-boying got here.” Back then, “I didn’t even know it was hip-hop. I was such a young age. I’m like, just doing it and like, later on find out, oh, this is a hip-hop culture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to dancing being popular among Filipino youth, he remembers DJ groups proliferating at local high schools. “It was just kind of like the thing to do,” he says. “All the kids would form DJ groups.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know how to explain (why), but there was a lot of Filipino mobile disc jockey groups,” says DJ Apollo. ”Back in the seventies, my older brothers and sisters, they used to collect music and listen to music. Everybody had to go to the record store and buy vinyl.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952212\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1030px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952212\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobileDJparty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1030\" height=\"778\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobileDJparty.jpg 1030w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobileDJparty-800x604.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobileDJparty-1020x770.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobileDJparty-160x121.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobileDJparty-768x580.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mobile DJ party in 1991. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dr. Oliver Wang, author of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.dukeupress.edu/legions-of-boom\">Legions of Boom: Filipino American Mobile DJ Crews in the San Francisco Bay Area\u003c/a>\u003c/em> and a professor of sociology at CSU Long Beach, explains that “the mobile DJ scene that the Piklz’ members got their start in wasn’t an exclusively Filipino phenomenon at all; there were Black, White, Latino and Chinese crews around then too. But the Fil-Am scene flourished above and beyond those other groups because they had distinct advantages coming from an immigrant community with strong social ties and large social networks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, Wang says, “Filipino American families have parties for practically any occasion — birthdays, debuts, christenings, graduations, or just plain house/garage parties for the heck of it. Importantly, those parties all wanted music, and that meant that DJs had all these opportunities to find gigs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the time breakdancing became popularized through movies like \u003cem>Beat Street\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Breakin’,\u003c/em> Apollo says, “DJing was already here… there were dances every weekend, and DJ battles and showcases almost every other weekend. That’s how it was when I was growing up around the San Francisco and Daly City area in the early ’80s.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952219\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1163px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/rscdjs.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1163\" height=\"831\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952219\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/rscdjs.jpg 1163w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/rscdjs-800x572.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/rscdjs-1020x729.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/rscdjs-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/rscdjs-768x549.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1163px) 100vw, 1163px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Appearing as FM2O (Furious Minds 2 Observe), Qbert, Mix Master Mike and Apollo perform at an ‘eco-rap’ show in San Francisco, circa 1989–1990. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Apollo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One of the top mobile DJ crews at that time was Unlimited Sounds. “They were like the biggest group from Daly City, and they were already established,” Apollo says. Many of the crew members were older and attended Jefferson High School. Apollo remembers hanging out at Serra Bowl, becoming friends with Unlimited Sounds and gradually being drawn into the world of DJing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every day after school, I would just hang out at their garage and practice,” he says. “All the equipment was there, the records were all there, the lights, everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apollo saved his allowance and lunch money to buy his first set of turntables, and formed makeshift DJ crews with his friends. “We would gather our parents’ equipment, like home stereo equipment and gather it all up. I would get my parents’ home stereo system combined with my homies’ parents’ stereo system, combined with my other homie’s house system. And then we would put all the equipment together and we saw we had a DJ group.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apollo started making mixtapes — he still remembers the first time he had enough records to make an all-hip-hop tape — and eventually became good enough to join Unlimited Sounds in 1985, who at the time had gigs all over the Bay Area. That experience gave him a solid foundation in DJing parties and playing a wide variety of records, but he was more interested in “scratching, juggling, trick-mixing — turntablism before it was even called that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952233\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/RSC-DJs-Psycho-City-Cover.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"401\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952233\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/RSC-DJs-Psycho-City-Cover.jpeg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/RSC-DJs-Psycho-City-Cover-160x107.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Rock City DJs at the famed San Francisco graffiti spot Psycho City, January 1993. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Prior to joining Unlimited Sounds, Apollo had hooked up with another up-and-coming DJ who was becoming known for his pause-tape mixes and obsessive focus on scratching: Michael Anthony Schwartz, a.k.a. Mix Master Mike, a Filipino-German kid who attended Jeffferson, the same high school as Aquino and Apollo. Rather than practice the blends and beat-matching typically used at parties, though, Apollo and Mix Master Mike would “do more scratching or tricks, routines and that type of stuff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With those bedroom routines, a reimagining of the turntable’s possibilities had begun.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Oh, Snap — What Did We Just Do?’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Mix Master Mike didn’t come up in the mobile DJ scene. His early inspiration was seeing Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay live.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watching Jay DJ for DMC and Run, he says, he remembers thinking, “Oh, they’re using records, but they sound more like they’re a full-fledged band, you know? That was just profound to me, that he was using records and rocking the house, \u003cem>with just records\u003c/em>. And that’s when I immediately knew that’s what I wanted to be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952222\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1732px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952222\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMM_.japan_.subway.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1732\" height=\"1177\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMM_.japan_.subway.jpg 1732w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMM_.japan_.subway-800x544.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMM_.japan_.subway-1020x693.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMM_.japan_.subway-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMM_.japan_.subway-768x522.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMM_.japan_.subway-1536x1044.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1732px) 100vw, 1732px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mix Master Mike on the subway in Japan, 1993. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Not long after Run-DMC brought their Raising Hell tour to a sold-out Oakland Coliseum arena, Apollo and Mike formed an informal DJ crew called Together With Style (not to be confused with the SF graffiti crew of the same name) and held long practice sessions in Apollo’s garage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But with Mike, “we did go hard on scratching and tricks and juggling – which later on turned into turntablism.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Individually, they would take turns on Apollo’s set of turntables. But one day, they decided to work in tandem — a moment that altered the course of DJ history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Apollo remembers it: “Me and Mike were messing around with the turntables and… we’re like, well, let’s just do something together, since we don’t have to wait our turn (to practice). So I grabbed one turntable, and he grabbed the other turntable and we kind of just started making a beat with two records and one mixer. I got the bass kick and he grabbed the snare and we just started making a beat like, \u003cem>boom, cha, boom boom boom cha, boom boom\u003c/em>, you know? And then we’re just like, ‘Oh, snap, what did we just do? That was crazy.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952218\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 604px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952218\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/10423_136960922731_697132731_2526758_2429020_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"604\" height=\"408\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/10423_136960922731_697132731_2526758_2429020_n.jpg 604w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/10423_136960922731_697132731_2526758_2429020_n-160x108.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 604px) 100vw, 604px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Rock Steady Crew DJs in 1991. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Apollo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Apollo and Mike would perfect the two-man routine over a period of several years, “and we just started performing it all over the place at showcases and dances, you know, wherever. People were seeing it and being amazed. We were amazed by it ourselves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='large' align='center' citation='DJ Apollo']I got the bass kick and he grabbed the snare and we just started making a beat like, boom, cha, boom boom boom cha, boom boom, you know? And then we’re just like, ‘Oh, snap, what did we just do?” [/pullquote] \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One witness to the early routine was Richard Quitevis, an acquaintance of Mike and Apollo who went by the name DJ Qbert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Qbert saw it one time and he was amazed by it. He’s like, \u003cem>Oh, what is that?!?\u003c/em>,” Apollo says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Qbert Enters the Picture\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>DJ Qbert grew up in San Francisco’s Excelsior district. Like Apollo, his first exposure to hip-hop precedes the term itself. He recalls fishing at Pier 39 at the age of 12 and seeing the Fillmore dance crew \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weKkAF9NdCI\">Demons of the Mind\u003c/a>. “There would be all these poppers; at the time they were called strutters. They would be playing this really fast electro music. And it was like, ‘Look at these robot-like guys in shiny little outfits with these silver hats.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Qbert was fascinated not only with the vibrant dancers, but the sounds. “I was like, ‘Man, this is crazy. I love it, but where are they getting this music from?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952215\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1371px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952215\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-bologna.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1371\" height=\"984\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-bologna.jpg 1371w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-bologna-800x574.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-bologna-1020x732.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-bologna-160x115.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-bologna-768x551.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1371px) 100vw, 1371px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shortkut, Mix Master Mike and Qbert gettin’ up in Bologna, Italy. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Qbert remembers early attempts at breakdancing with his friends, who fashioned their own makeshift outfits. But it was the DJ scratch – particularly the skills displayed by Mix Master Ice on UTFO’s 1985 single “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KE3-IyLsg8\">Leader of the Pack\u003c/a>” – that really drew his interest. “I just started collecting the music, always collecting the music. And that’s what made me become a DJ.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One day, Qbert was asked to DJ a garage party. “Everybody was about 12, 13, 14, 15, and everybody was breaking in the garage. And we were playing all my records on a big-ass giant box. Like, you open the top and you put the record in, and you just let that play. And the kids were spinning and they couldn’t control themselves. They would spin and they would spin, right into the DJ box, the turntable box. That was my first time being a mobile DJ.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He explains his early attraction to turntables and scratching: “You could manipulate sound by grabbing (the record), moving forward and backward,” he says, imitating a scratch sound. “It was like a toy. A toy that was like a musical instrument. I didn’t even know it was a musical instrument. I was just thinking of it as like, it just sounds crazy. You just pull sound out of the air and move it, like, ‘Oh, what a weird contraption.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eventually, Q joined a mobile DJ crew called Live Style Productions, and came to the attention of Apollo and Mix Master Mike, who remember going to Balboa High School to see him spin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Q, we just knew from around the way,” Apollo says. “We would go to different showcases on the weekends and see him perform. And so we knew about Q.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952240\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952240\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/600_us_champ_trophy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"407\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/600_us_champ_trophy.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/600_us_champ_trophy-160x109.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invisibl Skratch Piklz with the U.S. Championship trophy. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 1991, Qbert entered the DMCs, winning the U.S. Championships and advancing all the way to the World Finals in London, where he took 2nd place. Aquino claims Qbert’s technical skills were so advanced, they went over most of the audience’s heads, but Qbert admits he got cocky and didn’t practice before his set: “I was sloppy,” he says. That loss instilled in him the importance of practicing, which he took to with rigorous discipline.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The Turntables Might Wobble\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Hip-hop journalist and author Adisa Banjoko, a friend, recalls once being at Qbert’s house and hearing him scratch the rhythms of Rakim’s verses from Eric B. & Rakim’s “I Ain’t No Joke” – using entirely scratched tones to replicate Rakim’s stanzas. “You gotta record that,” Banjoko told Q, who just shrugged and said, “Nah, I do that all the time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around this time, Apollo and Mike were honing their two-man routine and making beats with the intention of forming a rap crew, with them as producers and DJs. After returning from London with his U.S. title, Qbert introduced Mike and Apollo to a rapper who used to hang out at his house named Nim-FHD.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is where it all comes together,” Apollo says. “Me and Mike were making beats, and we always wanted to find a voice for our beats. And so when Qbert introduced us to this rapper, and when me and Mike heard that guy’s voice, Nim’s voice, we were like, ‘Oh man, that’s the voice for our music.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952232\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 604px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952232\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/n1071373619_171639_1875.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"604\" height=\"416\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/n1071373619_171639_1875.jpg 604w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/n1071373619_171639_1875-160x110.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 604px) 100vw, 604px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The extended crew. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Apollo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Apollo explained his vision to Nim, and they enlisted H2O, another emcee they met through Qbert, who also joined the group. “We told Q, do you want to be a part of the ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd5gFx001qg\">Peter Piper\u003c/a>’ routine? And he was like, overjoyed. Like, ‘Let’s do it. Absolutely, let’s do it.’ So then we’re like… why don’t we become the DJs for this group that will be the first rap group with three DJs and two rappers? And we’ll do all the beats and scratching.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They christened themselves FM2O – an acronym for “Furious Minds To Observe” — the first iteration of what would become the Invisibl Skratch Piklz. As Mike says, “it was definitely a meant-to-be moment, when I hooked up with Q.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group was managed by Aquino, who had left Unlimited Sounds and started throwing parties while trying to establish an independent hip-hop label, Ace Beat. While working on a demo tape, FM2O played local venues and music industry showcases like the Gavin Convention and New Music Seminar. In 1992, they appeared at the Omni in Oakland on a bill with Banjoko’s crew, Freedom T.R.O.O.P. 187, plus Organized Konfusion, Gangstarr and headliner Body Count. Epic as that lineup is, Apollo, Mike and Qbert’s orchestrated turntable segment during FM2O’s set was the absolute showstopper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>FM2O’s music was slightly ahead of its time; in the early ’90s, “alternative hip-hop” hadn’t yet established itself in the mainstream. No hip-hop group had ever featured three DJs, all of them scratch fanatics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Aquino tried unsuccessfully to secure FM2O a label deal, the DJs made moves in the battle scene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952242\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952242\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_MMM_jacket_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2387.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_MMM_jacket_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2387.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_MMM_jacket_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2387-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_MMM_jacket_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2387-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_MMM_jacket_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2387-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_MMM_jacket_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2387-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_MMM_jacket_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2387-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mix Master Mike with his DMC Legend jacket at The Midway in San Francisco, 2023. \u003ccite>(Jeff Straw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The First Major World Titles\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Qbert’s second-place 1991 DMC finish earned him props from Clark Kent, a well-respected New York DJ and producer of the New Music Seminar DJ Battle for World Supremacy. Kent asked Qbert to judge the 1992 battle alongside NYC heavyweights like EPMD’s DJ Scratch and Gangstarr’s DJ Premier. Mix Master Mike, meanwhile, entered as a contestant – and ended up winning the battle. (Ironically, Aquino says, instead of practicing before his routine, Mike had stayed up all night.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLRprNA_GSk\">Video of the battle\u003c/a> – during which Mike performs eight different routines, besting Japan’s DJ Honda in the final showdown before taking on defending champ Supreme in a challenge match – confirms he was on a mission to crush all competition. He doubles up Word of Mouth’s “King Kut” with blinding speed and finesse, blends Schooly D and Flavor Flav phrases to dis “sucker DJs,” slows down the records to juggle entirely new beats, deconstructs the wax into a series of melodic tones, and maintains a sense of rhythmic mastery that’s chaotic and jarring but never veers out of control. Boisterous shouts from the crowd testify to Mike’s determined brilliance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Billed as the Rocksteady DJs (with the blessing of Bronx B-boy legend Crazy Legs, from the Rock Steady Crew), Qbert, Mike and Apollo won the DMCs that same year with the “Peter Piper” routine. The following year, with DJ Apollo unavailable while touring as the Souls of Mischief’s DJ, Mike and Qbert, billed as the Dream Team, again won the DMC World Championship. Mike still remembers the anticipation and energy that went into the preparations for the battle, along with the ginseng they imbibed before their set “like Chinese martial arts masters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952237\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/l_f99accf3c766cef703abeb72c042e21e.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"397\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952237\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/l_f99accf3c766cef703abeb72c042e21e.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/l_f99accf3c766cef703abeb72c042e21e-160x106.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mix Master Mike, pictured at center: ‘It was a discovery. Right? ‘Oh, shit. We could take this and flip it anyway we want to,’ you know?’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>These victories were culturally significant. Not only had no West Coast DJ ever been crowned a World Champion before, but no Filipino DJ had ever placed that high in a major competition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To explain just how significant, it’s necessary to understand the evolution of the DJ artform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first development, playing “break” sections of records (known as breakbeats), was initially a clumsy needle-drop technique originated by hip-hop pioneer Kool Herc. Grandmaster Flash refined the DJ vocabulary with backspinning, cueing, cutting, punch phrasing, quick-mixing and reading the record like a clock. Grand Wizzard Theodore developed the basic scratch. Steve Dee invented the beat-juggle. But no DJ was doing synchronized team routines that reimagined the turntables as individual instruments prior to the Rocksteady DJs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was an awesome thing,” Mike says. “It just started from a thought. The collective team, it was like it was a unit. We all had the same aspirations and goals of doing things people had never, ever seen or heard before. And it just spawned this whole movement. And it’s just something that we love to do. It was a discovery. Right? ‘Oh, shit. We could take this and flip it anyway we want to,’ you know? And that was the beauty of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952220\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952220\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.jackets-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1715\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.jackets-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.jackets-800x536.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.jackets-1020x683.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.jackets-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.jackets-768x515.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.jackets-1536x1029.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.jackets-2048x1372.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.jackets-1920x1286.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sporting championship jackets in Tokyo, 1993. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Their succession of three major titles in two years elevated the DJ artform and raised the bar for battles. Teams of three or more DJs would soon proliferate throughout the DJ universe, and battle routines became more well-rounded, with emphasis on scratching, beat-juggling, and musicality or rhythmic coherence, as well as sheer technical ability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also led to a backlash of sorts: Mike confirms that after dominating for three years in a row, his crew was politely asked to retire from the DMC competition. He characterizes the request as a “giving other people a chance to win type deal.” But to him and his other Bay Area battlers, “We felt like it wasn’t fair to us because we got a lot in the tank. Let’s go. Keep going. See how far we can go… we were ready to defend the next year. But unfortunately they wanted to make us judges.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it turned out, stepping away from the competitive battle scene proved to be a blessing in disguise. “After we stopped battling,” Mike says, “I was like, okay, what’s next? We’re going to make records now. I’m gonna become a full fledged artist, you know? I don’t want to be this DJ dude. I don’t want to be a DJ guy that’s playing other people’s records standing up there. We’ve done that already. I’m going to get in the studio and be a producer, and I’m going to make music out of this whole thing, like, springboard into making original compositions. And so that’s what I’m doing, to this day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952238\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1430px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952238\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-Hawaii-1996.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1430\" height=\"1039\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-Hawaii-1996.jpg 1430w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-Hawaii-1996-800x581.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-Hawaii-1996-1020x741.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-Hawaii-1996-160x116.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-Hawaii-1996-768x558.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1430px) 100vw, 1430px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invisibl Skratch Piklz in Hawaii, 1996. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But first, the crew needed a new name. During their time DJing for FM2O, the three DJs were collectively known as Shadow of the Prophet, or simply, The Shadow. A chance encounter with an early-career DJ Shadow – who apologetically offered to change his name – led to Qbert graciously telling him that he could keep the name “Shadow,” and that he’d change his group’s name instead. “Rocksteady DJs” and “The Dream Team” were one-offs, for the most part. They needed something catchy that also reflected who they were.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One day it came to them. As Qbert recounts, “We was on one, and we were laughing and laughing. And I think Mix Master Mike said, “Why don’t we be called the Invisible Pickles? We were just cracking up and we were thinking about, you know, an invisible pickle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next day, Qbert got a call from his pal Lou Quintanilla, a.k.a. DJ Disk. “And he said, ‘How about Invisible Scratch Pickles?’ I was like, that kind of sounds dope.” (Though it may sound abstract, the name is rooted in a concrete concept: the turntable as an “invisible instrument” that could be almost any instrument – drums, guitar, vocals, anything.) The crew’s offbeat sense of humor reflected in their new name had long been evident; in 1992, they released \u003cem>Battle Breaks\u003c/em>, one of the first DJ tool records specifically designed for scratching, officially credited to the Psychedelic Scratch Bastards on the Dirt Style label. In later years they would put out various releases under an affiliate record label that they named Galactic Butt Hair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before settling on the new name, though, they ran it by a younger DJ who was asked to join the crew — Jonathan Cruz, a.k.a. DJ Shortkut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952228\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1759px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952228\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.shortkut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1759\" height=\"1193\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.shortkut.jpg 1759w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.shortkut-800x543.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.shortkut-1020x692.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.shortkut-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.shortkut-768x521.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.shortkut-1536x1042.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1759px) 100vw, 1759px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shortkut. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Electro and the Art of the Quick Mix\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Growing up in Daly City, Shortkut caught the DJ bug thanks to a Filipino mobile crew who played his 6th grade dance. He started DJing at age 13, after the local Filipino sound system culture had cycled through disco, metal, and New Wave, before arriving at hip-hop, freestyle and Miami bass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of Shortkut’s first exposures to a DJ battle took place in a large hall.“There would be about four to six sound systems separately set up in the one room with their own individual sound systems. Each group would get about like 20 minutes to do their thing, and then at the end of the night, whoever won. The word got out that group won, and then that’s who everyone wanted to book for school dances or birthday parties.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortkut joined a crew called Just 2 Hype, which played freestyle, Miami bass and 808-laced Mantronix singles. “That’s why I think the Bay Area is specifically more scratch-DJ based,” he says, “because everyone scratched to fast beats, all the classic electro stuff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also worked on perfecting the art of the quick-mix, changing up the record every four or eight bars. But records like DJ Jazzy Jeff’s “Live At Union Square” drew him into the world of scratch-mixing. “When I first started scratching, I just listened to records, basically. All the early records I used to buy, I would just try to copy what I heard on record.”\u003cbr>\nIn the late ’80s and early ’90s, he says, “I really got into embracing hip-hop” – catching up with records that hadn’t been hugely popular in the Filipino scene, and becoming further enthralled with scratching and beat-juggling. “That’s when I was first hearing about Qbert and Apollo and Mix Master Mike,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952223\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1742px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan1_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1742\" height=\"1190\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952223\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan1_.jpg 1742w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan1_-800x546.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan1_-1020x697.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan1_-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan1_-768x525.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan1_-1536x1049.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1742px) 100vw, 1742px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">First trip to Japan, 1993. At far left is B-boy and dancer Richard Colón, a.k.a. Crazy Legs from the Rock Steady Crew. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Back then, Apollo was the big name, being from Unlimited Sounds. “He was the party rocker. But he was kind of the B-boy out of all the Filipino guys I knew.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As he attempted to build his DJ skills, Shortkut remembers listening to cassette tapes of Qbert scratching and mixing. Initially, he had only basic equipment, and used belt-driven turntables. “I got better once I got to direct-drives because I already knew how to handle it and have a certain feel to it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Qbert winning the U.S. DMC Championship in 1991 was huge, he says. “We didn’t really have any role models, as a Filipino kid.” He took the win as validation – and inspiration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I lived about five minutes from Q’s house,” he says. “I used to go to Q’s house with the guy who taught me how to DJ. We both cold-called Q because we knew he was the one who had all the battle videos. So we would go to his house and dub the videos and while they were dubbing, me and Q would scratch.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During this time, Shortkut says, Mike had moved to Sacramento, and Apollo was DJing for Branford Marsalis, “so I would hook up with Q and Disk a lot.” Q used to bring Shortkut and Disk along when he opened up shows in the Bay – affording the younger DJs valuable stage experience. Shortkut, Mike, and Q eventually formed a crew briefly called the Turntable Dragons, pre-ISP. Then, in 1993, Shortkut, Mike, and Q played a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13935467/the-bomb-magazine-label-san-francisco-turntablism-djs\">Bomb Hip-Hop\u003c/a> Party – possibly the first time they had been billed as the Invisibl Skratch Piklz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952239\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952239\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/invisblskratchp_002-h.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The five-man crew. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Everyone That Worked There Was Filipino’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Dave Paul, publisher of \u003cem>Bomb Hip Hop Magazine\u003c/em>, coincidentally also began as a mobile DJ in 1984 with a crew called Midnight Connections. He tells a funny story about working an after-school job for Chevron. “I wasn’t that great. So they moved me from, like, the main Chevron on Geary Street over to one on California Street. And everyone that worked there was Filipino. Turned out everyone that worked there was also a DJ.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Paul knew of Apollo from Unlimited Sounds, and had seen Qbert perform a famous “Mary Had A Little Lamb” routine during a San Jose battle around 1989 or 1990. “That really got his name out,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the annual Gavin Convention in San Francisco, Bomb Hip Hop magazine would present live performance showcases. Paul booked the Piklz on multiple occasions, beginning in 1992, when they were still called the Rocksteady DJs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Paul, the vibe of those early performances “was always sort of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDLzGtQmMyw\">don’t-give-a-fuck style\u003c/a>. Like, things didn’t have to be clean. They were just really raw. And it was just ill. They were doing stuff that no one else was doing at the time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10345320\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10345320\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/01/QBertMain.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/01/QBertMain.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/01/QBertMain-400x225.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ QBert. \u003ccite>(Thud Rumble)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After releasing a now-legendary compilation tape that featured Qbert along with a Canadian MC named Madchild, as well as local underground artists like Homeless Derelix, Blackalicious, Bored Stiff, and Mystik Journeymen, Bomb Hip Hop became a record label in 1995 with the release of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13937489/best-bay-area-turntablism-scratch-dj-albums\">\u003cem>Return of the DJ Vol. 1\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That record essentially started the movement of turntablism as a musical genre. The Skratch Piklz (at that time, Qbert, Shortkut and Disk) were featured on “Invasion of the Octopus People,” while Mix Master Mike contributed his first official solo production, “Terrorwrist.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Return of the DJ \u003c/em>evolved into a compilation series spanning multiple volumes, and inspired numerous others, like Om Records’ \u003cem>Deep Concentration\u003c/em> and Ubiquity’s \u003cem>Audio Alchemy\u003c/em> compilations. Asphodel, an alternative label known for ultra-underground somnolent, ambient, droney electronic music, signed the Skratch Piklz to a deal, which resulted in 1996’s single “Invisibl Skratch Piklz vs. Da Klamz Uv Deth,” which featured Qbert, Shortkut, and Mix Master Mike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952246\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1938px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952246\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ezgif-3-ae00e595ca.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1938\" height=\"1882\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ezgif-3-ae00e595ca.jpg 1938w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ezgif-3-ae00e595ca-800x777.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ezgif-3-ae00e595ca-1020x991.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ezgif-3-ae00e595ca-160x155.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ezgif-3-ae00e595ca-768x746.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ezgif-3-ae00e595ca-1536x1492.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ezgif-3-ae00e595ca-1920x1865.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1938px) 100vw, 1938px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Invisibl Skratch Piklz vs. Da Clamz Uv Deth,’ 1997. \u003ccite>(Asphodel Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“A very strange thing about that (single) is, I had just invented scratch music,” Qbert says. “Which is this thing where every sound is scratched. Drums are scratched, the hi-hats are scratched, the snare and vocals are scratched, the chords, every single thing is scratched! No matter what is in there. So that was tracked out — like, every track was off the turntables, making a complete scratch song.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Turntablism spread quickly through San Francisco’s progressive club scene in the mid-’90s. Mark Herlihy’s art/performance collective Future Primitive established itself as an avant garde music label with a live recording of Shortkut and Cut Chemist at Cat’s Alley, on Folsom Street. An outer Tenderloin hole in the wall, Deco, became a headquarters for unfiltered, ultra-creative DJ expression in its basement, via “Many Styles” nights curated by Apollo. Qbert was part of the groundbreaking alternative hip-hop group Dr. Octagon along with producer Dan the Automator and MC Kool Keith, who recorded an indie classic that got re-released nationally by Dreamworks. To this day, Qbert’s scratch solo on Dr. Octagon’s “Earth People” stands out as a particular flashpoint, the turntable equivalent, perhaps, of the guitar solos on “Hotel California” or “Comfortably Numb.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Needless to say, it’s not an empty boast when Mix Master Mike says he and the Skratch Piklz “pretty much created this genre of music.” No one was doing it before them, and many followed in their footsteps. Locally, the Bullet Proof Scratch Hamsters (aka the Space Travelers), Supernatural Turntable Artists, and the Oakland Faders all scratched and juggled. Live bands incorporating turntablists included Live Human (DJ Quest) and Soulstice (Mei-Lwun). New York’s X-Ecutioners were probably ISP’s closest counterparts nationally, having formed in 1989. But despite their turntable innovations, even they weren’t performing or recording as a \u003cem>band\u003c/em> until after the Skratch Piklz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952245\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952245\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_ISP_11_JeffStraw-2144.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_ISP_11_JeffStraw-2144.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_ISP_11_JeffStraw-2144-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_ISP_11_JeffStraw-2144-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_ISP_11_JeffStraw-2144-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_ISP_11_JeffStraw-2144-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_ISP_11_JeffStraw-2144-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invisibl Skratch Piklz at the DMC World DJ Finals at The Midway in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Jeff Straw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Back when they were known as the X-Men, the X-Ecutioners faced off against the Piklz in a landmark 1996 battle in New York’s Manhattan Center – a contest so epic, it’s listed among \u003cem>Mixmag\u003c/em>’s \u003ca href=\"https://mixmag.net/feature/the-10-best-dj-scratch-battles-of-all-time\">Top 10 DJ Scratch Battles of All Time\u003c/a>. X-Ecutioners member and DJ historian Rob Swift says Qbert first came on his radar in 1991, when he beat X-Ecutioners founder Steve Dee to win the US DMC Finals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We thought he was Hawaiian,” Swift says, because Qbert appeared to be wearing a lei in the battle video. “We didn’t know that he was this Filipino DJ that came out of this Filipino community of DJs in the Bay Area. We didn’t know that there \u003cem>were\u003c/em> DJs out there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swift later entered the 1991 New Music Seminar battle, where Qbert was a judge; the two exchanged numbers and began calling each other and exchanging videos regularly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When rappers began increasingly excluding the DJ throughout the ’90s, he says he and Qbert would discuss what to do about it., “We would both be like, ‘You’ve got these rappers (not respecting the DJ). Fuck them, and we’re going to create our own DJ scene. If the music industry is going to turn their backs on DJing, we need to figure out a way to just create our own scene.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And,” he adds, “that’s exactly what we did.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952225\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1759px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952225\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Lebanon.trophy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1759\" height=\"1166\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Lebanon.trophy.jpg 1759w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Lebanon.trophy-800x530.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Lebanon.trophy-1020x676.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Lebanon.trophy-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Lebanon.trophy-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Lebanon.trophy-1536x1018.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1759px) 100vw, 1759px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invisibl Skratch Piklz in Lebanon. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Enter the ITF — and D-Styles\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When the Pilkz battled the X-Ecutioners, it was as much about gaining respect for turntable culture as it was about individual bragging rights. Though the court of public opinion is still split on who won, the battle put a spotlight on both crews. As Swift says, “We started strategizing ways to book our own tours and create all-DJ competitions (like) the ITF, the International Turntablist Federation,” who organized the historic battle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Founded by Alex Aquino with help from Shortkut, the ITF was established in 1995 and stayed active until 2005. It was intended as a cultural organization, and as somewhat of a critique of the DMC, which had become the only major DJ competition, following the demise of the New Music Seminar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Without the DMC,” Aquino says, “we wouldn’t have this world stage for the guys to be on. But after Q lost that first battle, we were like, something has to change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Specifically, the criteria. “And so, we were like, let’s do our own battle. Let’s have real turntablists and DJs judge it, like a New Music Seminar, but instead of just the one-on-one battle, the advancement class for the belt, let’s do a scratching category. Let’s do a beat-juggling category. And let’s do a team category. And that’s how we started out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952211\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1366px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952211\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.magazine.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"1834\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.magazine.jpg 1366w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.magazine-800x1074.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.magazine-1020x1369.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.magazine-160x215.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.magazine-768x1031.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.magazine-1144x1536.jpg 1144w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In a Japanese magazine, date unknown. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>DJs like Vin Roc, Babu, Craze, and A-Trak all won ITF titles, as did teams like the Allies and Beat Junkies. The ITF succeeded in giving turntablists a visible platform to showcase their skills and in further popularizing the artform in the U.S. and internationally. (In 1999, the DMC would add a team category, and the organization currently rotates additional categories, including Scratch, Portablist, and Beat Juggling.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After \u003cem>Return of the DJ\u003c/em>’s “Octopus People,” with Apollo unavailable and Mix Master Mike pursuing a solo career, the Skratch Piklz needed new blood. For the next few years, ISP membership became somewhat fluid, swelling and contracting as new members joined for a while, before going off to do other projects. DJ Disk, DJ Flare, Canadian teenage prodigy A-Trak, and former Thud Rumble label manager Ritche Desuasido, a.k.a. Yogafrog, were all ISP members at one time or another, along with Shortkut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1996, Beat Junkies member Dave Cuasito, a.k.a. D-Styles, joined the Piklz and became a linchpin for the group; Aquino calls him “the hidden master.” Though not as flashy or famous as Qbert, he’s well-respected in turntablist circles and has helped focus the Pilkz on compositional elements in their music while also being able to scratch, cut and juggle at a high level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Born in the Philippines, D-Styles grew up in San Jose. Like the other Piklz, he was exposed to hip-hop through breaking and its accompanying soundtrack. “I would hear the songs that they were playing, but then they would scratch certain words and certain parts of that song. And so I was always curious how they were doing it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952229\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1759px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952229\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.qbert_.dst_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1759\" height=\"1168\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.qbert_.dst_.jpg 1759w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.qbert_.dst_-800x531.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.qbert_.dst_-1020x677.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.qbert_.dst_-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.qbert_.dst_-768x510.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.qbert_.dst_-1536x1020.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1759px) 100vw, 1759px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Grandmaster DXT and Qbert. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>His answer came when he saw Grandmixer DST (now known as DXT)’s scratch segment on Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit.” After getting a basic Realistic mixer for his birthday, he, too, joined a mobile DJ crew (Sound City), who pooled their equipment like so many others – and spent their meager proceeds on post-gig Denny’s meals. After taking part in typical mobile battles with crews exchanging 20-minute sets, he discovered there was a battle specifically for scratch DJs, and competed in the 1993 DMC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1996, he moved to San Francisco to attend college, but what he really wanted was to pursue music. He was already familiar with Mike, Qbert and Shortkut from the battle scene, and from hanging out on Tuesday night at Deco, a small speakeasy-style jazz bar with open turntables in the basement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One strange night, I got a phone call on my answering machine and it was Yogafrog and Q, and they were like, ‘Hey, man’ – I don’t know if they were drunk or what – but they were like, ‘we need to talk, man. We think we should all come together and form a crew.” They met up and talked, and soon after, he was asked to officially join the group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>D-Styles stoic demeanor compliments the other Piklz, yet beneath his focused concentration lies a punk rock attitude that aligns with Qbert’s philosophy that the only rule is there are no rules. Likewise, his turntable-composition approach balances the others’ battle-DJ backgrounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952235\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 636px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952235\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/SK-A-TRAK-1997-at-Qs.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"474\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/SK-A-TRAK-1997-at-Qs.png 636w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/SK-A-TRAK-1997-at-Qs-160x119.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shortkut and A-Trak at Qbert’s place, 1997. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“As far as a turntable composer, I feel like we definitely embrace the more musical side of it, and less technical,” he says. “For the battle DJs, they really try to spray like a Uzi, you know what I mean? And just get off a bunch of power stuff and try to wow the the crowd and the judges. For music, it’s more about the long-term thing. We want to make music that’s timeless. And it’s not based off of a five-minute routine.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the core Piklz now set with Qbert, Shortkut and D-Styles, Mix Master Mike – who remained affiliated with the crew – says, “I felt like we had the perfect stew. Everyone had their own style, their own identity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around this time, Mike began putting together his first solo album, \u003cem>Anti-Theft Device\u003c/em>, which he envisioned as “not an underground album (but) a worldwide release.” He imagined himself as a sonic transducer, attracting and reshaping matter into different forms. He drew on inspirations like Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham, early Public Enemy, Thelonious Monk, Rage Against the Machine and Ennio Morricone. He contemplated the subtlety of silence, of ghost notes and pregnant pauses. And then he went out and made an album with booming, deafening drums and thumping bass on nearly every track.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I focused on the drums first,” Mike says. “I wanted to make sure those drums were hitting really hard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952249\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952249\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM.antitheft.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"984\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM.antitheft.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM.antitheft-800x787.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM.antitheft-160x157.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM.antitheft-768x756.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mix Master Mike’s ‘Anti-Theft Device,’ 1998. \u003ccite>(Asphodel Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On \u003cem>Anti-Theft Device\u003c/em>, the found sounds and quirky vocal samples (“NASA maintains this is \u003cem>not\u003c/em> Colonel Blaha’s voice”) often present on DJ mix tapes resurface often, along with boom-bap beats and scratched phrases, instruments and sound effects. There are elements of intoxicated or altered reality, and bug-out moments that suggest turboized vocoders spouting underwater propellers, or seemingly random musical sample generators harnessing infinite libraries of sound, from raga to reggae to rock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the end of the day,” Mike says, “it’s about spearheading the evolution of the battle DJ – as artist, composer, tastemaker.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Mike was the first Pikl to make a solo album, Qbert crafted an especially ambitious concept for his first official solo debut. As Mike tells it, he had some extra tracks left over, which he gave to Qbert. “And he fuckin’, just like, went crazy on those beats. And then, yeah. It became \u003cem>Wave Twisters\u003c/em>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952250\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952250\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/R-16932444-1610670653-3566.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/R-16932444-1610670653-3566.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/R-16932444-1610670653-3566-160x160.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ Qbert’s ‘Wave Twisters,’ 1998. The album spawned a cult-classic 2001 animated film of the same name. \u003ccite>(Galactic Butt Hair Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Wave Twisters, the Beasties and Beyond\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Wave Twisters\u003c/em> holds the rare distinction of being a soundtrack around which a movie was later designed. The album received extremely positive reviews, making many music critics’ year-end lists. To this day, it’s regarded as one of the best turntablism albums of all time. Tracks like “Destination: Quasar 16.33.45.78” took ISP battle routines to new levels, imagining a battle in inner space between a heroic dental hygienist and the minions of a villain named Lord Ook. The track revels in sci-fi tropes, with vocal cues like “Attention, starship!” coloring the scratched, transformed and cut-up audio landscape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Qbert, \u003cem>Wave Twisters\u003c/em> was willed into existence. “I intentionally foresaw it because in the back of my head, I was like, I’m gonna make every song like a storyline. It’s going to be a thing. And somebody’s going to animate this. And then out of nowhere, the universe made it all work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13937489']Meanwhile, Mix Master Mike was setting his own intentions – around becoming a member of the Beastie Boys. A longtime fan of their music, he says, “even before I met them, I always thought I was the fourth Beastie, and I was the missing element.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After meeting the Beasties’ MCA during a Rock Steady Crew anniversary in 1996, Mike took an unusual route to make his dreams come true. “I went up to MCA and introduced myself,” he recalls. “He knew who I was through all the competitions and the battles, and we exchanged phone numbers and went back home. And late at night, I would just leave these scratch messages on his answering machine. Two, three in the morning, just leaving these scratches on his machine, hoping that these transmissions would penetrate. Fortunately they did. \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#mix-master-mike-becomes-the-beastie-boys-dj\">And the rest is history\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952251\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952251\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Beasties.MixMasterMike.2004-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1611\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Beasties.MixMasterMike.2004-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Beasties.MixMasterMike.2004-800x503.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Beasties.MixMasterMike.2004-1020x642.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Beasties.MixMasterMike.2004-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Beasties.MixMasterMike.2004-768x483.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Beasties.MixMasterMike.2004-1536x967.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Beasties.MixMasterMike.2004-2048x1289.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Beasties.MixMasterMike.2004-1920x1208.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L-R) Mixmaster Mike, Mike Diamond, Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch, and Adam ‘Ad-Rock’ Horovitz of The Beastie Boys attend the MTV Europe Music Awards 2004 at Tor di Valle Nov. 18, 2004 in Rome, Italy. \u003ccite>(Bruno Vincent/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Mike joined the Beasties in time for 1998’s \u003cem>Hello Nasty\u003c/em> album, remaining part of the group until MCA died of cancer in 2012 and the Beastie Boys disbanded. “So at the end of the day,” Mike says, “it’s all about power of intention, right? And my intention was to get in the band or work with the band.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the ’90s drew to a close, the Piklz weren’t quite done. They produced Skratchcon 2000, a scratching convention, bringing together pioneering masters and acolytes of DJ scratch music. “That was our old manager, Yogafrog,” Qbert says. “His idea to put on a convention called Scratchcon, that was a genius idea of his, and we should do a Part II. We got all the best, most popular scratchers on the planet to come through. It was huge. Steve Dee was there, even Aladdin, all the X-Ecutioners, everybody. It was amazing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952252\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952252\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Garage.Group_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"983\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Garage.Group_.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Garage.Group_-800x524.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Garage.Group_-1020x668.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Garage.Group_-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Garage.Group_-768x503.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Shortkut, D-Styles, Mix Master Mike, Yogafrog and QBert in QBert’s garage in the Excelsior District of San Francisco, 1998. \u003ccite>(Liz Hafalia /The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images))\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Skratchcon drew fans from all over the country, in addition to current and historic scratch DJs,for live showcases and demonstrations like DJ Radar’s introduction of scratch notation. The convention culminated with a live concert at the Fillmore Auditorium, billed at the time as the ISP’s last official performance. To this day, it stands as one of the highpoints of a decade overflowing with revolutionary developments in hip-hop DJ culture, which saw the Invisibl Skratch Piklz make history and become iconic representatives of turntablism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Mix Master Mike says, “There is no ceiling to this. No, it’s whatever you think about is whatever you create and whatever you can apply.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11687704\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"60\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-400x30.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-768x58.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"A comprehensive history of the pioneering DJ crew, from Daly City garage parties to world domination.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1708071724,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":121,"wordCount":8314},"headData":{"title":"How The Invisibl Skratch Piklz Put San Francisco Turntablism on the DJ Map | KQED","description":"A comprehensive history of the pioneering DJ crew, from Daly City garage parties to world domination.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"How The Invisibl Skratch Piklz Put San Francisco Turntablism on the DJ Map","datePublished":"2024-02-14T16:53:00.000Z","dateModified":"2024-02-16T08:22:04.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"sticky":false,"templateType":"standard","featuredImageType":"standard","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13952208/invisibl-skratch-piklz-filipino-djs-daly-city-san-francisco-turntablism-history","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note\u003c/strong>: This story is part of \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/\">That’s My Word\u003c/a>\u003cem>, KQED’s story series on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/\">Bay Area hip-hop\u003c/a> history.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a recent Friday night in San Francisco, a couple thousand fans of DJ culture crammed into the cavernous main room of a nightclub in Hunters Point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inside The Midway, it was elbow room-only from the stage to the back patio; many of those in the crowd were DJs themselves. The scene recalled the late ’90s-early 2000s glory days of the Bay Area, when turntablism seemed destined to become the Next Big Thing, and DJ nights dominated SF’s club scene. No one was there to dance; it wasn’t that kind of party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937762\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937762\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-28-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A person wearing a baseball cap stands at a table under fluorescent lighting.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-28-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-28-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-28-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-28-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-28-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-28-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-28-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ Qbert performs with Invisibl Skratch Piklz during the DMC World DJ Finals at The Midway in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The occasion was the DMC World Championship DJ Battle Finals, with some of the best DJs in the world competing against each other. But there was another attraction too: live showcases by the Invisibl Skratch Piklz and Mix Master Mike, the legendary DJs who transformed the Bay Area into a turntablist Mecca during a seminal era for local hip-hop. DMC event organizer Christie Zee put the proceedings into their proper context: “You can’t have a battle in the Bay without the Skratch Piklz.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As midnight approached, the lights dimmed, and the Piklz – Qbert, Shortkut and D-Styles – were announced to cheers that echoed throughout the high-ceilinged room. The Piklz opened with the 2015 ISP track “Fresh Out of FVCKs,” with its ominous electric organ melody that transitions into repeating melodic chords. A snare drum beat came in, followed by a rhythmically scratched snippet of a stuttering vocal phrase. The electric organ chords shifted into a chopped melody as the snare dropped out, then returned. And that’s all before the mind-bending scratch solos that followed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Piklz proceeded to display their musicality, keeping their technical acumen within the groove pocket with synchronized timing. As is customary with the Piklz, each played the part of a specific instrumentalist: D-Styles as the keyboardist, Shortkut as the drummer, and Qbert as the scratch soloist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952244\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952244\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM_DJ_mixer_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2275.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM_DJ_mixer_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2275.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM_DJ_mixer_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2275-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM_DJ_mixer_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2275-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM_DJ_mixer_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2275-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM_DJ_mixer_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2275-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM_DJ_mixer_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2275-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mix Master Mike at the DMC World DJ Finals at The Midway in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Jeff Straw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A live version of “Death By A Thousand Paper Cuts” – a song from D-Styles’ 2019 album \u003cem>Noises In the Right Order\u003c/em> – and several unreleased ISP songs showed that \u003ca href=\"https://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/jazzglossary/g/ghost_note.html\">ghost notes\u003c/a> aren’t just associated with jazz music. The turntable trio used the spaces between to impart a sense of presence and feel, a minimalist approach that allowed their scratches, cuts and juggles to resonate with maximum impact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This would have been a hard act to follow for anyone but Mix Master Mike. The ISP co-founder, who’s been a solo artist since 1995 or so, has a gigantic stage presence and skills to match. A one-man musical blender, MMM unleashed a maelstrom of sonic fury, with bone-crunching drums, an entire range of musical and vocal phrases, and precise turntable cuts that deconstructed the individual pieces of a live performance — only to reconstruct all the fragments into an emotionally-thrilling pastiche. After his set, when Mike was celebrated with a Lifetime Achievement Award, the honor was clearly well-deserved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Invisible Skratch Piklz were celebrating, too – 2023 marks their 30th anniversary – and it’s safe to say no Bay Area crew has done more to advance the DJ artform. Along with New York’s X-Ecutioners and LA’s Beat Junkies, ISP have defined the term turntablist, carving out a cultural niche that rests on a hip-hop foundation but exists in its own space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937759\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937759\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-13-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"People stand in a crowd leaning on a barrier indoors.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-13-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-13-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-13-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-13-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-13-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-13-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-DMCBattle-13-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A crowd watches finalists compete during the DMC World DJ Finals at The Midway in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Piklz have counted many firsts. As hip-hop’s relationship with the DJ has flipped from essential to inconsequential, they’ve maintained the DJ tradition for future generations, and extended its global reach. Over the past four decades, they’ve gone from students of the scratch to wizened masters of turntable music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And like most cultural icons, their backstory is involved, multilayered and fascinating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952236\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1528px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952236\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/q.sta_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1528\" height=\"1032\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/q.sta_.jpg 1528w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/q.sta_-800x540.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/q.sta_-1020x689.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/q.sta_-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/q.sta_-768x519.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1528px) 100vw, 1528px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A young Qbert at a community hall mobile DJ dance party. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The Garage Party Era\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Invisibl Skratch Piklz story begins in what former ISP manager Alex Aquino calls the “pre-hip-hop era” of the late ’70s-early ’80s, when youth-oriented street dance intersected with pioneering mobile DJ crews and a Filipino-American tradition of garage parties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This was before breakdancing,” Aquino says. He recalls being 6 or 7 and seeing strutters, poppers and elements of DJ culture – including the Filipino mobile DJ crews who established a scene built around vinyl records, large stereo systems and frequent dance parties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of those Filipino DJs was Apollo Novicio, a.k.a. DJ Apollo, a founding member of ISP who spent his early childhood roaming around the Mission District. By the time he reached middle school, his family had relocated to Daly City – where he likely attended some of the same parties as Aquino. “Back in the day, they’d have garage parties and there would be a DJ in the corner of the garage, set up on a washing machine and dryer and stuff like that. And at the parties, they would have popping and locking circles. Strutting, popping and locking. Breakdancing wasn’t even here yet, really. This was, I’d say, early ’80s, and that was pretty much my first exposure to the DJing and dancing element of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952292\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1004px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobiledjparty.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1004\" height=\"674\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952292\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobiledjparty.png 1004w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobiledjparty-800x537.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobiledjparty-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobiledjparty-768x516.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1004px) 100vw, 1004px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Setup for a typical mobile DJ party in the early 1990s. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 1982, Aquino remembers, a New York transplant named Oscar Sop had introduced B-boying and fat laces to the neighborhood, becoming one of the Bay Area’s first breakdancers. Meanwhile, the DJ crews were becoming more professional, and getting hired for weddings, quinceaneras, traditional Filipino celebrations and the occasional school dance party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apollo recalls “doing the strutting, popping, locking thing before B-boying got here.” Back then, “I didn’t even know it was hip-hop. I was such a young age. I’m like, just doing it and like, later on find out, oh, this is a hip-hop culture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to dancing being popular among Filipino youth, he remembers DJ groups proliferating at local high schools. “It was just kind of like the thing to do,” he says. “All the kids would form DJ groups.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t know how to explain (why), but there was a lot of Filipino mobile disc jockey groups,” says DJ Apollo. ”Back in the seventies, my older brothers and sisters, they used to collect music and listen to music. Everybody had to go to the record store and buy vinyl.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952212\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1030px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952212\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobileDJparty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1030\" height=\"778\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobileDJparty.jpg 1030w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobileDJparty-800x604.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobileDJparty-1020x770.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobileDJparty-160x121.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.mobileDJparty-768x580.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mobile DJ party in 1991. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dr. Oliver Wang, author of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.dukeupress.edu/legions-of-boom\">Legions of Boom: Filipino American Mobile DJ Crews in the San Francisco Bay Area\u003c/a>\u003c/em> and a professor of sociology at CSU Long Beach, explains that “the mobile DJ scene that the Piklz’ members got their start in wasn’t an exclusively Filipino phenomenon at all; there were Black, White, Latino and Chinese crews around then too. But the Fil-Am scene flourished above and beyond those other groups because they had distinct advantages coming from an immigrant community with strong social ties and large social networks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, Wang says, “Filipino American families have parties for practically any occasion — birthdays, debuts, christenings, graduations, or just plain house/garage parties for the heck of it. Importantly, those parties all wanted music, and that meant that DJs had all these opportunities to find gigs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the time breakdancing became popularized through movies like \u003cem>Beat Street\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Breakin’,\u003c/em> Apollo says, “DJing was already here… there were dances every weekend, and DJ battles and showcases almost every other weekend. That’s how it was when I was growing up around the San Francisco and Daly City area in the early ’80s.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952219\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1163px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/rscdjs.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1163\" height=\"831\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952219\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/rscdjs.jpg 1163w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/rscdjs-800x572.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/rscdjs-1020x729.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/rscdjs-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/rscdjs-768x549.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1163px) 100vw, 1163px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Appearing as FM2O (Furious Minds 2 Observe), Qbert, Mix Master Mike and Apollo perform at an ‘eco-rap’ show in San Francisco, circa 1989–1990. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Apollo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One of the top mobile DJ crews at that time was Unlimited Sounds. “They were like the biggest group from Daly City, and they were already established,” Apollo says. Many of the crew members were older and attended Jefferson High School. Apollo remembers hanging out at Serra Bowl, becoming friends with Unlimited Sounds and gradually being drawn into the world of DJing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every day after school, I would just hang out at their garage and practice,” he says. “All the equipment was there, the records were all there, the lights, everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apollo saved his allowance and lunch money to buy his first set of turntables, and formed makeshift DJ crews with his friends. “We would gather our parents’ equipment, like home stereo equipment and gather it all up. I would get my parents’ home stereo system combined with my homies’ parents’ stereo system, combined with my other homie’s house system. And then we would put all the equipment together and we saw we had a DJ group.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Apollo started making mixtapes — he still remembers the first time he had enough records to make an all-hip-hop tape — and eventually became good enough to join Unlimited Sounds in 1985, who at the time had gigs all over the Bay Area. That experience gave him a solid foundation in DJing parties and playing a wide variety of records, but he was more interested in “scratching, juggling, trick-mixing — turntablism before it was even called that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952233\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/RSC-DJs-Psycho-City-Cover.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"401\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952233\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/RSC-DJs-Psycho-City-Cover.jpeg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/RSC-DJs-Psycho-City-Cover-160x107.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Rock City DJs at the famed San Francisco graffiti spot Psycho City, January 1993. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Prior to joining Unlimited Sounds, Apollo had hooked up with another up-and-coming DJ who was becoming known for his pause-tape mixes and obsessive focus on scratching: Michael Anthony Schwartz, a.k.a. Mix Master Mike, a Filipino-German kid who attended Jeffferson, the same high school as Aquino and Apollo. Rather than practice the blends and beat-matching typically used at parties, though, Apollo and Mix Master Mike would “do more scratching or tricks, routines and that type of stuff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With those bedroom routines, a reimagining of the turntable’s possibilities had begun.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Oh, Snap — What Did We Just Do?’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Mix Master Mike didn’t come up in the mobile DJ scene. His early inspiration was seeing Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay live.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watching Jay DJ for DMC and Run, he says, he remembers thinking, “Oh, they’re using records, but they sound more like they’re a full-fledged band, you know? That was just profound to me, that he was using records and rocking the house, \u003cem>with just records\u003c/em>. And that’s when I immediately knew that’s what I wanted to be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952222\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1732px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952222\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMM_.japan_.subway.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1732\" height=\"1177\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMM_.japan_.subway.jpg 1732w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMM_.japan_.subway-800x544.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMM_.japan_.subway-1020x693.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMM_.japan_.subway-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMM_.japan_.subway-768x522.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.MMM_.japan_.subway-1536x1044.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1732px) 100vw, 1732px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mix Master Mike on the subway in Japan, 1993. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Not long after Run-DMC brought their Raising Hell tour to a sold-out Oakland Coliseum arena, Apollo and Mike formed an informal DJ crew called Together With Style (not to be confused with the SF graffiti crew of the same name) and held long practice sessions in Apollo’s garage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But with Mike, “we did go hard on scratching and tricks and juggling – which later on turned into turntablism.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Individually, they would take turns on Apollo’s set of turntables. But one day, they decided to work in tandem — a moment that altered the course of DJ history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Apollo remembers it: “Me and Mike were messing around with the turntables and… we’re like, well, let’s just do something together, since we don’t have to wait our turn (to practice). So I grabbed one turntable, and he grabbed the other turntable and we kind of just started making a beat with two records and one mixer. I got the bass kick and he grabbed the snare and we just started making a beat like, \u003cem>boom, cha, boom boom boom cha, boom boom\u003c/em>, you know? And then we’re just like, ‘Oh, snap, what did we just do? That was crazy.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952218\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 604px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952218\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/10423_136960922731_697132731_2526758_2429020_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"604\" height=\"408\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/10423_136960922731_697132731_2526758_2429020_n.jpg 604w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/10423_136960922731_697132731_2526758_2429020_n-160x108.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 604px) 100vw, 604px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Rock Steady Crew DJs in 1991. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Apollo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Apollo and Mike would perfect the two-man routine over a period of several years, “and we just started performing it all over the place at showcases and dances, you know, wherever. People were seeing it and being amazed. We were amazed by it ourselves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"I got the bass kick and he grabbed the snare and we just started making a beat like, boom, cha, boom boom boom cha, boom boom, you know? And then we’re just like, ‘Oh, snap, what did we just do?” ","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"large","align":"center","citation":"DJ Apollo","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One witness to the early routine was Richard Quitevis, an acquaintance of Mike and Apollo who went by the name DJ Qbert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Qbert saw it one time and he was amazed by it. He’s like, \u003cem>Oh, what is that?!?\u003c/em>,” Apollo says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Qbert Enters the Picture\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>DJ Qbert grew up in San Francisco’s Excelsior district. Like Apollo, his first exposure to hip-hop precedes the term itself. He recalls fishing at Pier 39 at the age of 12 and seeing the Fillmore dance crew \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weKkAF9NdCI\">Demons of the Mind\u003c/a>. “There would be all these poppers; at the time they were called strutters. They would be playing this really fast electro music. And it was like, ‘Look at these robot-like guys in shiny little outfits with these silver hats.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Qbert was fascinated not only with the vibrant dancers, but the sounds. “I was like, ‘Man, this is crazy. I love it, but where are they getting this music from?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952215\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1371px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952215\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-bologna.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1371\" height=\"984\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-bologna.jpg 1371w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-bologna-800x574.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-bologna-1020x732.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-bologna-160x115.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-bologna-768x551.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1371px) 100vw, 1371px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shortkut, Mix Master Mike and Qbert gettin’ up in Bologna, Italy. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Qbert remembers early attempts at breakdancing with his friends, who fashioned their own makeshift outfits. But it was the DJ scratch – particularly the skills displayed by Mix Master Ice on UTFO’s 1985 single “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KE3-IyLsg8\">Leader of the Pack\u003c/a>” – that really drew his interest. “I just started collecting the music, always collecting the music. And that’s what made me become a DJ.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One day, Qbert was asked to DJ a garage party. “Everybody was about 12, 13, 14, 15, and everybody was breaking in the garage. And we were playing all my records on a big-ass giant box. Like, you open the top and you put the record in, and you just let that play. And the kids were spinning and they couldn’t control themselves. They would spin and they would spin, right into the DJ box, the turntable box. That was my first time being a mobile DJ.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He explains his early attraction to turntables and scratching: “You could manipulate sound by grabbing (the record), moving forward and backward,” he says, imitating a scratch sound. “It was like a toy. A toy that was like a musical instrument. I didn’t even know it was a musical instrument. I was just thinking of it as like, it just sounds crazy. You just pull sound out of the air and move it, like, ‘Oh, what a weird contraption.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eventually, Q joined a mobile DJ crew called Live Style Productions, and came to the attention of Apollo and Mix Master Mike, who remember going to Balboa High School to see him spin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Q, we just knew from around the way,” Apollo says. “We would go to different showcases on the weekends and see him perform. And so we knew about Q.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952240\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952240\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/600_us_champ_trophy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"407\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/600_us_champ_trophy.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/600_us_champ_trophy-160x109.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invisibl Skratch Piklz with the U.S. Championship trophy. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 1991, Qbert entered the DMCs, winning the U.S. Championships and advancing all the way to the World Finals in London, where he took 2nd place. Aquino claims Qbert’s technical skills were so advanced, they went over most of the audience’s heads, but Qbert admits he got cocky and didn’t practice before his set: “I was sloppy,” he says. That loss instilled in him the importance of practicing, which he took to with rigorous discipline.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The Turntables Might Wobble\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Hip-hop journalist and author Adisa Banjoko, a friend, recalls once being at Qbert’s house and hearing him scratch the rhythms of Rakim’s verses from Eric B. & Rakim’s “I Ain’t No Joke” – using entirely scratched tones to replicate Rakim’s stanzas. “You gotta record that,” Banjoko told Q, who just shrugged and said, “Nah, I do that all the time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around this time, Apollo and Mike were honing their two-man routine and making beats with the intention of forming a rap crew, with them as producers and DJs. After returning from London with his U.S. title, Qbert introduced Mike and Apollo to a rapper who used to hang out at his house named Nim-FHD.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is where it all comes together,” Apollo says. “Me and Mike were making beats, and we always wanted to find a voice for our beats. And so when Qbert introduced us to this rapper, and when me and Mike heard that guy’s voice, Nim’s voice, we were like, ‘Oh man, that’s the voice for our music.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952232\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 604px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952232\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/n1071373619_171639_1875.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"604\" height=\"416\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/n1071373619_171639_1875.jpg 604w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/n1071373619_171639_1875-160x110.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 604px) 100vw, 604px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The extended crew. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Apollo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Apollo explained his vision to Nim, and they enlisted H2O, another emcee they met through Qbert, who also joined the group. “We told Q, do you want to be a part of the ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd5gFx001qg\">Peter Piper\u003c/a>’ routine? And he was like, overjoyed. Like, ‘Let’s do it. Absolutely, let’s do it.’ So then we’re like… why don’t we become the DJs for this group that will be the first rap group with three DJs and two rappers? And we’ll do all the beats and scratching.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They christened themselves FM2O – an acronym for “Furious Minds To Observe” — the first iteration of what would become the Invisibl Skratch Piklz. As Mike says, “it was definitely a meant-to-be moment, when I hooked up with Q.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group was managed by Aquino, who had left Unlimited Sounds and started throwing parties while trying to establish an independent hip-hop label, Ace Beat. While working on a demo tape, FM2O played local venues and music industry showcases like the Gavin Convention and New Music Seminar. In 1992, they appeared at the Omni in Oakland on a bill with Banjoko’s crew, Freedom T.R.O.O.P. 187, plus Organized Konfusion, Gangstarr and headliner Body Count. Epic as that lineup is, Apollo, Mike and Qbert’s orchestrated turntable segment during FM2O’s set was the absolute showstopper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>FM2O’s music was slightly ahead of its time; in the early ’90s, “alternative hip-hop” hadn’t yet established itself in the mainstream. No hip-hop group had ever featured three DJs, all of them scratch fanatics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Aquino tried unsuccessfully to secure FM2O a label deal, the DJs made moves in the battle scene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952242\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952242\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_MMM_jacket_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2387.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_MMM_jacket_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2387.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_MMM_jacket_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2387-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_MMM_jacket_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2387-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_MMM_jacket_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2387-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_MMM_jacket_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2387-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_MMM_jacket_PhotobyJeffStrawBranding-2387-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mix Master Mike with his DMC Legend jacket at The Midway in San Francisco, 2023. \u003ccite>(Jeff Straw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The First Major World Titles\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Qbert’s second-place 1991 DMC finish earned him props from Clark Kent, a well-respected New York DJ and producer of the New Music Seminar DJ Battle for World Supremacy. Kent asked Qbert to judge the 1992 battle alongside NYC heavyweights like EPMD’s DJ Scratch and Gangstarr’s DJ Premier. Mix Master Mike, meanwhile, entered as a contestant – and ended up winning the battle. (Ironically, Aquino says, instead of practicing before his routine, Mike had stayed up all night.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLRprNA_GSk\">Video of the battle\u003c/a> – during which Mike performs eight different routines, besting Japan’s DJ Honda in the final showdown before taking on defending champ Supreme in a challenge match – confirms he was on a mission to crush all competition. He doubles up Word of Mouth’s “King Kut” with blinding speed and finesse, blends Schooly D and Flavor Flav phrases to dis “sucker DJs,” slows down the records to juggle entirely new beats, deconstructs the wax into a series of melodic tones, and maintains a sense of rhythmic mastery that’s chaotic and jarring but never veers out of control. Boisterous shouts from the crowd testify to Mike’s determined brilliance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Billed as the Rocksteady DJs (with the blessing of Bronx B-boy legend Crazy Legs, from the Rock Steady Crew), Qbert, Mike and Apollo won the DMCs that same year with the “Peter Piper” routine. The following year, with DJ Apollo unavailable while touring as the Souls of Mischief’s DJ, Mike and Qbert, billed as the Dream Team, again won the DMC World Championship. Mike still remembers the anticipation and energy that went into the preparations for the battle, along with the ginseng they imbibed before their set “like Chinese martial arts masters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952237\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/l_f99accf3c766cef703abeb72c042e21e.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"397\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952237\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/l_f99accf3c766cef703abeb72c042e21e.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/l_f99accf3c766cef703abeb72c042e21e-160x106.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mix Master Mike, pictured at center: ‘It was a discovery. Right? ‘Oh, shit. We could take this and flip it anyway we want to,’ you know?’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>These victories were culturally significant. Not only had no West Coast DJ ever been crowned a World Champion before, but no Filipino DJ had ever placed that high in a major competition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To explain just how significant, it’s necessary to understand the evolution of the DJ artform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first development, playing “break” sections of records (known as breakbeats), was initially a clumsy needle-drop technique originated by hip-hop pioneer Kool Herc. Grandmaster Flash refined the DJ vocabulary with backspinning, cueing, cutting, punch phrasing, quick-mixing and reading the record like a clock. Grand Wizzard Theodore developed the basic scratch. Steve Dee invented the beat-juggle. But no DJ was doing synchronized team routines that reimagined the turntables as individual instruments prior to the Rocksteady DJs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was an awesome thing,” Mike says. “It just started from a thought. The collective team, it was like it was a unit. We all had the same aspirations and goals of doing things people had never, ever seen or heard before. And it just spawned this whole movement. And it’s just something that we love to do. It was a discovery. Right? ‘Oh, shit. We could take this and flip it anyway we want to,’ you know? And that was the beauty of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952220\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952220\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.jackets-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1715\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.jackets-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.jackets-800x536.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.jackets-1020x683.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.jackets-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.jackets-768x515.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.jackets-1536x1029.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.jackets-2048x1372.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.jackets-1920x1286.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sporting championship jackets in Tokyo, 1993. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Their succession of three major titles in two years elevated the DJ artform and raised the bar for battles. Teams of three or more DJs would soon proliferate throughout the DJ universe, and battle routines became more well-rounded, with emphasis on scratching, beat-juggling, and musicality or rhythmic coherence, as well as sheer technical ability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also led to a backlash of sorts: Mike confirms that after dominating for three years in a row, his crew was politely asked to retire from the DMC competition. He characterizes the request as a “giving other people a chance to win type deal.” But to him and his other Bay Area battlers, “We felt like it wasn’t fair to us because we got a lot in the tank. Let’s go. Keep going. See how far we can go… we were ready to defend the next year. But unfortunately they wanted to make us judges.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As it turned out, stepping away from the competitive battle scene proved to be a blessing in disguise. “After we stopped battling,” Mike says, “I was like, okay, what’s next? We’re going to make records now. I’m gonna become a full fledged artist, you know? I don’t want to be this DJ dude. I don’t want to be a DJ guy that’s playing other people’s records standing up there. We’ve done that already. I’m going to get in the studio and be a producer, and I’m going to make music out of this whole thing, like, springboard into making original compositions. And so that’s what I’m doing, to this day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952238\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1430px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952238\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-Hawaii-1996.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1430\" height=\"1039\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-Hawaii-1996.jpg 1430w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-Hawaii-1996-800x581.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-Hawaii-1996-1020x741.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-Hawaii-1996-160x116.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP-in-Hawaii-1996-768x558.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1430px) 100vw, 1430px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invisibl Skratch Piklz in Hawaii, 1996. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But first, the crew needed a new name. During their time DJing for FM2O, the three DJs were collectively known as Shadow of the Prophet, or simply, The Shadow. A chance encounter with an early-career DJ Shadow – who apologetically offered to change his name – led to Qbert graciously telling him that he could keep the name “Shadow,” and that he’d change his group’s name instead. “Rocksteady DJs” and “The Dream Team” were one-offs, for the most part. They needed something catchy that also reflected who they were.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One day it came to them. As Qbert recounts, “We was on one, and we were laughing and laughing. And I think Mix Master Mike said, “Why don’t we be called the Invisible Pickles? We were just cracking up and we were thinking about, you know, an invisible pickle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next day, Qbert got a call from his pal Lou Quintanilla, a.k.a. DJ Disk. “And he said, ‘How about Invisible Scratch Pickles?’ I was like, that kind of sounds dope.” (Though it may sound abstract, the name is rooted in a concrete concept: the turntable as an “invisible instrument” that could be almost any instrument – drums, guitar, vocals, anything.) The crew’s offbeat sense of humor reflected in their new name had long been evident; in 1992, they released \u003cem>Battle Breaks\u003c/em>, one of the first DJ tool records specifically designed for scratching, officially credited to the Psychedelic Scratch Bastards on the Dirt Style label. In later years they would put out various releases under an affiliate record label that they named Galactic Butt Hair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before settling on the new name, though, they ran it by a younger DJ who was asked to join the crew — Jonathan Cruz, a.k.a. DJ Shortkut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952228\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1759px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952228\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.shortkut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1759\" height=\"1193\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.shortkut.jpg 1759w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.shortkut-800x543.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.shortkut-1020x692.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.shortkut-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.shortkut-768x521.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.shortkut-1536x1042.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1759px) 100vw, 1759px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shortkut. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Electro and the Art of the Quick Mix\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Growing up in Daly City, Shortkut caught the DJ bug thanks to a Filipino mobile crew who played his 6th grade dance. He started DJing at age 13, after the local Filipino sound system culture had cycled through disco, metal, and New Wave, before arriving at hip-hop, freestyle and Miami bass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of Shortkut’s first exposures to a DJ battle took place in a large hall.“There would be about four to six sound systems separately set up in the one room with their own individual sound systems. Each group would get about like 20 minutes to do their thing, and then at the end of the night, whoever won. The word got out that group won, and then that’s who everyone wanted to book for school dances or birthday parties.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shortkut joined a crew called Just 2 Hype, which played freestyle, Miami bass and 808-laced Mantronix singles. “That’s why I think the Bay Area is specifically more scratch-DJ based,” he says, “because everyone scratched to fast beats, all the classic electro stuff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also worked on perfecting the art of the quick-mix, changing up the record every four or eight bars. But records like DJ Jazzy Jeff’s “Live At Union Square” drew him into the world of scratch-mixing. “When I first started scratching, I just listened to records, basically. All the early records I used to buy, I would just try to copy what I heard on record.”\u003cbr>\nIn the late ’80s and early ’90s, he says, “I really got into embracing hip-hop” – catching up with records that hadn’t been hugely popular in the Filipino scene, and becoming further enthralled with scratching and beat-juggling. “That’s when I was first hearing about Qbert and Apollo and Mix Master Mike,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952223\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1742px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan1_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1742\" height=\"1190\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952223\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan1_.jpg 1742w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan1_-800x546.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan1_-1020x697.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan1_-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan1_-768x525.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan1_-1536x1049.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1742px) 100vw, 1742px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">First trip to Japan, 1993. At far left is B-boy and dancer Richard Colón, a.k.a. Crazy Legs from the Rock Steady Crew. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Back then, Apollo was the big name, being from Unlimited Sounds. “He was the party rocker. But he was kind of the B-boy out of all the Filipino guys I knew.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As he attempted to build his DJ skills, Shortkut remembers listening to cassette tapes of Qbert scratching and mixing. Initially, he had only basic equipment, and used belt-driven turntables. “I got better once I got to direct-drives because I already knew how to handle it and have a certain feel to it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Qbert winning the U.S. DMC Championship in 1991 was huge, he says. “We didn’t really have any role models, as a Filipino kid.” He took the win as validation – and inspiration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I lived about five minutes from Q’s house,” he says. “I used to go to Q’s house with the guy who taught me how to DJ. We both cold-called Q because we knew he was the one who had all the battle videos. So we would go to his house and dub the videos and while they were dubbing, me and Q would scratch.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During this time, Shortkut says, Mike had moved to Sacramento, and Apollo was DJing for Branford Marsalis, “so I would hook up with Q and Disk a lot.” Q used to bring Shortkut and Disk along when he opened up shows in the Bay – affording the younger DJs valuable stage experience. Shortkut, Mike, and Q eventually formed a crew briefly called the Turntable Dragons, pre-ISP. Then, in 1993, Shortkut, Mike, and Q played a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13935467/the-bomb-magazine-label-san-francisco-turntablism-djs\">Bomb Hip-Hop\u003c/a> Party – possibly the first time they had been billed as the Invisibl Skratch Piklz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952239\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952239\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/invisblskratchp_002-h.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The five-man crew. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Everyone That Worked There Was Filipino’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Dave Paul, publisher of \u003cem>Bomb Hip Hop Magazine\u003c/em>, coincidentally also began as a mobile DJ in 1984 with a crew called Midnight Connections. He tells a funny story about working an after-school job for Chevron. “I wasn’t that great. So they moved me from, like, the main Chevron on Geary Street over to one on California Street. And everyone that worked there was Filipino. Turned out everyone that worked there was also a DJ.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Paul knew of Apollo from Unlimited Sounds, and had seen Qbert perform a famous “Mary Had A Little Lamb” routine during a San Jose battle around 1989 or 1990. “That really got his name out,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the annual Gavin Convention in San Francisco, Bomb Hip Hop magazine would present live performance showcases. Paul booked the Piklz on multiple occasions, beginning in 1992, when they were still called the Rocksteady DJs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Paul, the vibe of those early performances “was always sort of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDLzGtQmMyw\">don’t-give-a-fuck style\u003c/a>. Like, things didn’t have to be clean. They were just really raw. And it was just ill. They were doing stuff that no one else was doing at the time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10345320\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10345320\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/01/QBertMain.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/01/QBertMain.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/01/QBertMain-400x225.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ QBert. \u003ccite>(Thud Rumble)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After releasing a now-legendary compilation tape that featured Qbert along with a Canadian MC named Madchild, as well as local underground artists like Homeless Derelix, Blackalicious, Bored Stiff, and Mystik Journeymen, Bomb Hip Hop became a record label in 1995 with the release of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13937489/best-bay-area-turntablism-scratch-dj-albums\">\u003cem>Return of the DJ Vol. 1\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That record essentially started the movement of turntablism as a musical genre. The Skratch Piklz (at that time, Qbert, Shortkut and Disk) were featured on “Invasion of the Octopus People,” while Mix Master Mike contributed his first official solo production, “Terrorwrist.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Return of the DJ \u003c/em>evolved into a compilation series spanning multiple volumes, and inspired numerous others, like Om Records’ \u003cem>Deep Concentration\u003c/em> and Ubiquity’s \u003cem>Audio Alchemy\u003c/em> compilations. Asphodel, an alternative label known for ultra-underground somnolent, ambient, droney electronic music, signed the Skratch Piklz to a deal, which resulted in 1996’s single “Invisibl Skratch Piklz vs. Da Klamz Uv Deth,” which featured Qbert, Shortkut, and Mix Master Mike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952246\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1938px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952246\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ezgif-3-ae00e595ca.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1938\" height=\"1882\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ezgif-3-ae00e595ca.jpg 1938w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ezgif-3-ae00e595ca-800x777.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ezgif-3-ae00e595ca-1020x991.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ezgif-3-ae00e595ca-160x155.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ezgif-3-ae00e595ca-768x746.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ezgif-3-ae00e595ca-1536x1492.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ezgif-3-ae00e595ca-1920x1865.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1938px) 100vw, 1938px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘Invisibl Skratch Piklz vs. Da Clamz Uv Deth,’ 1997. \u003ccite>(Asphodel Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“A very strange thing about that (single) is, I had just invented scratch music,” Qbert says. “Which is this thing where every sound is scratched. Drums are scratched, the hi-hats are scratched, the snare and vocals are scratched, the chords, every single thing is scratched! No matter what is in there. So that was tracked out — like, every track was off the turntables, making a complete scratch song.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Turntablism spread quickly through San Francisco’s progressive club scene in the mid-’90s. Mark Herlihy’s art/performance collective Future Primitive established itself as an avant garde music label with a live recording of Shortkut and Cut Chemist at Cat’s Alley, on Folsom Street. An outer Tenderloin hole in the wall, Deco, became a headquarters for unfiltered, ultra-creative DJ expression in its basement, via “Many Styles” nights curated by Apollo. Qbert was part of the groundbreaking alternative hip-hop group Dr. Octagon along with producer Dan the Automator and MC Kool Keith, who recorded an indie classic that got re-released nationally by Dreamworks. To this day, Qbert’s scratch solo on Dr. Octagon’s “Earth People” stands out as a particular flashpoint, the turntable equivalent, perhaps, of the guitar solos on “Hotel California” or “Comfortably Numb.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Needless to say, it’s not an empty boast when Mix Master Mike says he and the Skratch Piklz “pretty much created this genre of music.” No one was doing it before them, and many followed in their footsteps. Locally, the Bullet Proof Scratch Hamsters (aka the Space Travelers), Supernatural Turntable Artists, and the Oakland Faders all scratched and juggled. Live bands incorporating turntablists included Live Human (DJ Quest) and Soulstice (Mei-Lwun). New York’s X-Ecutioners were probably ISP’s closest counterparts nationally, having formed in 1989. But despite their turntable innovations, even they weren’t performing or recording as a \u003cem>band\u003c/em> until after the Skratch Piklz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952245\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952245\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_ISP_11_JeffStraw-2144.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_ISP_11_JeffStraw-2144.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_ISP_11_JeffStraw-2144-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_ISP_11_JeffStraw-2144-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_ISP_11_JeffStraw-2144-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_ISP_11_JeffStraw-2144-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/AAA_Q_ISP_11_JeffStraw-2144-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invisibl Skratch Piklz at the DMC World DJ Finals at The Midway in San Francisco, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Jeff Straw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Back when they were known as the X-Men, the X-Ecutioners faced off against the Piklz in a landmark 1996 battle in New York’s Manhattan Center – a contest so epic, it’s listed among \u003cem>Mixmag\u003c/em>’s \u003ca href=\"https://mixmag.net/feature/the-10-best-dj-scratch-battles-of-all-time\">Top 10 DJ Scratch Battles of All Time\u003c/a>. X-Ecutioners member and DJ historian Rob Swift says Qbert first came on his radar in 1991, when he beat X-Ecutioners founder Steve Dee to win the US DMC Finals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We thought he was Hawaiian,” Swift says, because Qbert appeared to be wearing a lei in the battle video. “We didn’t know that he was this Filipino DJ that came out of this Filipino community of DJs in the Bay Area. We didn’t know that there \u003cem>were\u003c/em> DJs out there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swift later entered the 1991 New Music Seminar battle, where Qbert was a judge; the two exchanged numbers and began calling each other and exchanging videos regularly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When rappers began increasingly excluding the DJ throughout the ’90s, he says he and Qbert would discuss what to do about it., “We would both be like, ‘You’ve got these rappers (not respecting the DJ). Fuck them, and we’re going to create our own DJ scene. If the music industry is going to turn their backs on DJing, we need to figure out a way to just create our own scene.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And,” he adds, “that’s exactly what we did.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952225\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1759px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952225\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Lebanon.trophy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1759\" height=\"1166\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Lebanon.trophy.jpg 1759w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Lebanon.trophy-800x530.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Lebanon.trophy-1020x676.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Lebanon.trophy-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Lebanon.trophy-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Lebanon.trophy-1536x1018.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1759px) 100vw, 1759px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Invisibl Skratch Piklz in Lebanon. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Enter the ITF — and D-Styles\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>When the Pilkz battled the X-Ecutioners, it was as much about gaining respect for turntable culture as it was about individual bragging rights. Though the court of public opinion is still split on who won, the battle put a spotlight on both crews. As Swift says, “We started strategizing ways to book our own tours and create all-DJ competitions (like) the ITF, the International Turntablist Federation,” who organized the historic battle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Founded by Alex Aquino with help from Shortkut, the ITF was established in 1995 and stayed active until 2005. It was intended as a cultural organization, and as somewhat of a critique of the DMC, which had become the only major DJ competition, following the demise of the New Music Seminar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Without the DMC,” Aquino says, “we wouldn’t have this world stage for the guys to be on. But after Q lost that first battle, we were like, something has to change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Specifically, the criteria. “And so, we were like, let’s do our own battle. Let’s have real turntablists and DJs judge it, like a New Music Seminar, but instead of just the one-on-one battle, the advancement class for the belt, let’s do a scratching category. Let’s do a beat-juggling category. And let’s do a team category. And that’s how we started out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952211\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1366px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952211\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.magazine.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1366\" height=\"1834\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.magazine.jpg 1366w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.magazine-800x1074.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.magazine-1020x1369.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.magazine-160x215.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.magazine-768x1031.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.japan_.magazine-1144x1536.jpg 1144w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1366px) 100vw, 1366px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In a Japanese magazine, date unknown. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>DJs like Vin Roc, Babu, Craze, and A-Trak all won ITF titles, as did teams like the Allies and Beat Junkies. The ITF succeeded in giving turntablists a visible platform to showcase their skills and in further popularizing the artform in the U.S. and internationally. (In 1999, the DMC would add a team category, and the organization currently rotates additional categories, including Scratch, Portablist, and Beat Juggling.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After \u003cem>Return of the DJ\u003c/em>’s “Octopus People,” with Apollo unavailable and Mix Master Mike pursuing a solo career, the Skratch Piklz needed new blood. For the next few years, ISP membership became somewhat fluid, swelling and contracting as new members joined for a while, before going off to do other projects. DJ Disk, DJ Flare, Canadian teenage prodigy A-Trak, and former Thud Rumble label manager Ritche Desuasido, a.k.a. Yogafrog, were all ISP members at one time or another, along with Shortkut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1996, Beat Junkies member Dave Cuasito, a.k.a. D-Styles, joined the Piklz and became a linchpin for the group; Aquino calls him “the hidden master.” Though not as flashy or famous as Qbert, he’s well-respected in turntablist circles and has helped focus the Pilkz on compositional elements in their music while also being able to scratch, cut and juggle at a high level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Born in the Philippines, D-Styles grew up in San Jose. Like the other Piklz, he was exposed to hip-hop through breaking and its accompanying soundtrack. “I would hear the songs that they were playing, but then they would scratch certain words and certain parts of that song. And so I was always curious how they were doing it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952229\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1759px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952229\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.qbert_.dst_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1759\" height=\"1168\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.qbert_.dst_.jpg 1759w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.qbert_.dst_-800x531.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.qbert_.dst_-1020x677.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.qbert_.dst_-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.qbert_.dst_-768x510.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.qbert_.dst_-1536x1020.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1759px) 100vw, 1759px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Grandmaster DXT and Qbert. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Alex Aquino)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>His answer came when he saw Grandmixer DST (now known as DXT)’s scratch segment on Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit.” After getting a basic Realistic mixer for his birthday, he, too, joined a mobile DJ crew (Sound City), who pooled their equipment like so many others – and spent their meager proceeds on post-gig Denny’s meals. After taking part in typical mobile battles with crews exchanging 20-minute sets, he discovered there was a battle specifically for scratch DJs, and competed in the 1993 DMC.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1996, he moved to San Francisco to attend college, but what he really wanted was to pursue music. He was already familiar with Mike, Qbert and Shortkut from the battle scene, and from hanging out on Tuesday night at Deco, a small speakeasy-style jazz bar with open turntables in the basement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One strange night, I got a phone call on my answering machine and it was Yogafrog and Q, and they were like, ‘Hey, man’ – I don’t know if they were drunk or what – but they were like, ‘we need to talk, man. We think we should all come together and form a crew.” They met up and talked, and soon after, he was asked to officially join the group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>D-Styles stoic demeanor compliments the other Piklz, yet beneath his focused concentration lies a punk rock attitude that aligns with Qbert’s philosophy that the only rule is there are no rules. Likewise, his turntable-composition approach balances the others’ battle-DJ backgrounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952235\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 636px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952235\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/SK-A-TRAK-1997-at-Qs.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"474\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/SK-A-TRAK-1997-at-Qs.png 636w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/SK-A-TRAK-1997-at-Qs-160x119.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shortkut and A-Trak at Qbert’s place, 1997. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Shortkut)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“As far as a turntable composer, I feel like we definitely embrace the more musical side of it, and less technical,” he says. “For the battle DJs, they really try to spray like a Uzi, you know what I mean? And just get off a bunch of power stuff and try to wow the the crowd and the judges. For music, it’s more about the long-term thing. We want to make music that’s timeless. And it’s not based off of a five-minute routine.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the core Piklz now set with Qbert, Shortkut and D-Styles, Mix Master Mike – who remained affiliated with the crew – says, “I felt like we had the perfect stew. Everyone had their own style, their own identity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Around this time, Mike began putting together his first solo album, \u003cem>Anti-Theft Device\u003c/em>, which he envisioned as “not an underground album (but) a worldwide release.” He imagined himself as a sonic transducer, attracting and reshaping matter into different forms. He drew on inspirations like Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham, early Public Enemy, Thelonious Monk, Rage Against the Machine and Ennio Morricone. He contemplated the subtlety of silence, of ghost notes and pregnant pauses. And then he went out and made an album with booming, deafening drums and thumping bass on nearly every track.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I focused on the drums first,” Mike says. “I wanted to make sure those drums were hitting really hard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952249\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952249\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM.antitheft.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"984\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM.antitheft.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM.antitheft-800x787.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM.antitheft-160x157.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/MMM.antitheft-768x756.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mix Master Mike’s ‘Anti-Theft Device,’ 1998. \u003ccite>(Asphodel Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On \u003cem>Anti-Theft Device\u003c/em>, the found sounds and quirky vocal samples (“NASA maintains this is \u003cem>not\u003c/em> Colonel Blaha’s voice”) often present on DJ mix tapes resurface often, along with boom-bap beats and scratched phrases, instruments and sound effects. There are elements of intoxicated or altered reality, and bug-out moments that suggest turboized vocoders spouting underwater propellers, or seemingly random musical sample generators harnessing infinite libraries of sound, from raga to reggae to rock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At the end of the day,” Mike says, “it’s about spearheading the evolution of the battle DJ – as artist, composer, tastemaker.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Mike was the first Pikl to make a solo album, Qbert crafted an especially ambitious concept for his first official solo debut. As Mike tells it, he had some extra tracks left over, which he gave to Qbert. “And he fuckin’, just like, went crazy on those beats. And then, yeah. It became \u003cem>Wave Twisters\u003c/em>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952250\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952250\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/R-16932444-1610670653-3566.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/R-16932444-1610670653-3566.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/R-16932444-1610670653-3566-160x160.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ Qbert’s ‘Wave Twisters,’ 1998. The album spawned a cult-classic 2001 animated film of the same name. \u003ccite>(Galactic Butt Hair Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Wave Twisters, the Beasties and Beyond\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Wave Twisters\u003c/em> holds the rare distinction of being a soundtrack around which a movie was later designed. The album received extremely positive reviews, making many music critics’ year-end lists. To this day, it’s regarded as one of the best turntablism albums of all time. Tracks like “Destination: Quasar 16.33.45.78” took ISP battle routines to new levels, imagining a battle in inner space between a heroic dental hygienist and the minions of a villain named Lord Ook. The track revels in sci-fi tropes, with vocal cues like “Attention, starship!” coloring the scratched, transformed and cut-up audio landscape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Qbert, \u003cem>Wave Twisters\u003c/em> was willed into existence. “I intentionally foresaw it because in the back of my head, I was like, I’m gonna make every song like a storyline. It’s going to be a thing. And somebody’s going to animate this. And then out of nowhere, the universe made it all work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13937489","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Meanwhile, Mix Master Mike was setting his own intentions – around becoming a member of the Beastie Boys. A longtime fan of their music, he says, “even before I met them, I always thought I was the fourth Beastie, and I was the missing element.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After meeting the Beasties’ MCA during a Rock Steady Crew anniversary in 1996, Mike took an unusual route to make his dreams come true. “I went up to MCA and introduced myself,” he recalls. “He knew who I was through all the competitions and the battles, and we exchanged phone numbers and went back home. And late at night, I would just leave these scratch messages on his answering machine. Two, three in the morning, just leaving these scratches on his machine, hoping that these transmissions would penetrate. Fortunately they did. \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#mix-master-mike-becomes-the-beastie-boys-dj\">And the rest is history\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952251\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952251\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Beasties.MixMasterMike.2004-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1611\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Beasties.MixMasterMike.2004-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Beasties.MixMasterMike.2004-800x503.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Beasties.MixMasterMike.2004-1020x642.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Beasties.MixMasterMike.2004-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Beasties.MixMasterMike.2004-768x483.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Beasties.MixMasterMike.2004-1536x967.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Beasties.MixMasterMike.2004-2048x1289.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Beasties.MixMasterMike.2004-1920x1208.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L-R) Mixmaster Mike, Mike Diamond, Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch, and Adam ‘Ad-Rock’ Horovitz of The Beastie Boys attend the MTV Europe Music Awards 2004 at Tor di Valle Nov. 18, 2004 in Rome, Italy. \u003ccite>(Bruno Vincent/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Mike joined the Beasties in time for 1998’s \u003cem>Hello Nasty\u003c/em> album, remaining part of the group until MCA died of cancer in 2012 and the Beastie Boys disbanded. “So at the end of the day,” Mike says, “it’s all about power of intention, right? And my intention was to get in the band or work with the band.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the ’90s drew to a close, the Piklz weren’t quite done. They produced Skratchcon 2000, a scratching convention, bringing together pioneering masters and acolytes of DJ scratch music. “That was our old manager, Yogafrog,” Qbert says. “His idea to put on a convention called Scratchcon, that was a genius idea of his, and we should do a Part II. We got all the best, most popular scratchers on the planet to come through. It was huge. Steve Dee was there, even Aladdin, all the X-Ecutioners, everybody. It was amazing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952252\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952252\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Garage.Group_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"983\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Garage.Group_.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Garage.Group_-800x524.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Garage.Group_-1020x668.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Garage.Group_-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/ISP.Garage.Group_-768x503.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Shortkut, D-Styles, Mix Master Mike, Yogafrog and QBert in QBert’s garage in the Excelsior District of San Francisco, 1998. \u003ccite>(Liz Hafalia /The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images))\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Skratchcon drew fans from all over the country, in addition to current and historic scratch DJs,for live showcases and demonstrations like DJ Radar’s introduction of scratch notation. The convention culminated with a live concert at the Fillmore Auditorium, billed at the time as the ISP’s last official performance. To this day, it stands as one of the highpoints of a decade overflowing with revolutionary developments in hip-hop DJ culture, which saw the Invisibl Skratch Piklz make history and become iconic representatives of turntablism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Mix Master Mike says, “There is no ceiling to this. No, it’s whatever you think about is whatever you create and whatever you can apply.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11687704\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"60\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-400x30.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-768x58.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13952208/invisibl-skratch-piklz-filipino-djs-daly-city-san-francisco-turntablism-history","authors":["11839"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_69"],"tags":["arts_2854","arts_21712","arts_2852","arts_10278","arts_831","arts_17218","arts_21940","arts_1146","arts_19347","arts_21711"],"featImg":"arts_13952226","label":"arts"},"arts_13950520":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13950520","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13950520","score":null,"sort":[1707948014000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"ruth-beckford-dance-black-panthers-free-breakfast-program","title":"The Dancer Who Helped Start the Black Panthers’ Free Breakfast Program","publishDate":1707948014,"format":"standard","headTitle":"The Dancer Who Helped Start the Black Panthers’ Free Breakfast Program | KQED","labelTerm":{"term":8978,"site":"arts"},"content":"\u003cp>[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n the late 1960s, an uncommonly energetic 43-year-old named Ruth Beckford was teaching an Afro-Haitian dance class in Oakland. A dancing pro since the age of eight, Beckford had a habit of taking a close personal interest in her students. She taught the youngest ones a combination of life skills and etiquette to set them up for bright futures. She encouraged teens and young women to love themselves and pursue their dreams. And when one of her students told Beckford about her involvement with the Black Panther Party, Beckford was keen to be of assistance with that, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The student in question was LaVerne Anderson, who happened to be the girlfriend of Huey P. Newton. Beckford began by accompanying Anderson to some of Newton’s 1968 trial dates. In September of that year, when the idea for the Panthers’ Free Breakfast for School Children Program first came up, it was Beckford who sprang into action and made it happen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13874853']Beckford had long been a parishioner at Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://staugepiscopal.org/\">St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church\u003c/a>, then situated at West and 27th Streets. Beckford approached her priest there, Father Earl A. Neil, to find out if St. Augustine’s was willing to host a daily program there to feed neighborhood kids. Father Neil agreed, and he and Beckford went about building a health code-safe kitchen and dining space, as well as a nutritionally balanced menu.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the first day — a Monday in January 1969 — 11 children came to eat. By Friday, that number had swelled to 135. Beckford and Father Neil made such a success of the free breakfasts, the program was soon mandatory in all Black Panther chapters nationwide. It was also a shining example of Beckford’s ability to turn ideas into action, and to plant seeds that would one day create mighty forests. That’s something she had already been doing in her dance classes for 22 years before she got involved with the Panthers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952106\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952106\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/GettyImages-939585344-scaled-e1707777665615.jpg\" alt=\"Several young Black boys, one of whom is wearing a suit, raise their hands to speak as they sit around a table, paper plates of food in front of them.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1298\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Black Panther Party’s Free Breakfast for Children program — like this one in New York City in 1969 — combined education and good nutrition. \u003ccite>(Bev Grant/ Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>[dropcap]B[/dropcap]eckford was born on Dec. 7, 1925 in Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://localwiki.org/oakland/Providence_Hospital\">Providence Hospital\u003c/a> to a Jamaican father and a mother from Los Angeles. Beckford was the youngest of four — she had a big sister and a pair of twin brothers — and was raised on 38th Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard. She grew up in a household so supportive that, when they saw her kicking along to music in her crib as a baby, her parents pledged to get her into dance class as soon as she was old enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At three years old, Beckford began training in “every kind of dance,” her dedicated mom sewing all her costumes. It was clear from the beginning that the young girl was naturally gifted, and that dance was indeed her calling. By eight, she was a vaudeville dancer. By 14, she was teaching other children. At 17, she toured with the prestigious Katherine Dunham Company, where she fully embraced African and Caribbean dance for the first time. Beckford loved the work but declined a seven-year contract from Dunham so she could attend UC Berkeley instead. (Dunham remained a mentor and friend for life, and Beckford taught in her New York dance school in 1953.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13926548,pop_102326,arts_13916612']During her studies, Beckford was the only Black dancer in UC Berkeley’s dance club, Orchesis. The experience prepared her for working in majority-white companies later on. In her 20s, as the only Black dancer with the \u003ca href=\"https://calisphere.org/item/8c65bcebbbc335b04faa0cd457e3ebd7/\">Anna Halprin and Welland Lathrop\u003c/a> modern dance company, Beckford said she could sometimes hear the audience gasp as she arrived on San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre stage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once Beckford had graduated with a modern dance degree, she was keen to serve her community while doing what she loved most. First, she started an annual modern dance showcase that ran for over a decade. Then in 1947, aged just 21, Beckford started the Oakland Recreation Modern Dance Department — the first city-funded dance classes in the United States — and remained project director there for 20 years. Beckford insisted the classes be free so that anyone, no matter their means, would be able to attend. By the time she left in 1967, the department was running 34 modern dance classes for 700 students of all ages and abilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the importance of this program, Beckford later stated: “My philosophy for the young girls was, I would get them in through dance, but my whole goal was to make them be strong, free spirits. The girls got a lot of doses of self-empowerment training, self-esteem training,” she said. “Out of the thousands of girls that I taught, I knew a few would be dancers, but they all had to become women. I wanted them all to be strong young ladies — and it worked.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These relationships were so important to Beckford, she prioritized them over having children of her own. “I feel if I had had children,” she said in 2000, “I would not have been the mentor to the hundreds and hundreds of girls I mentored. I would give them all the attention. I would tell them they were special.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From 1954 on, Beckford was also running her own company, the Ruth Beckford African Haitian Dance Company. Her understanding of traditional styles was so exhaustive, she was invited to choreograph a folk festival in Haiti in 1958. At home, her company’s performances — comprised of six dancers accompanied by three drummers — were unlike anything most dance fans had seen in the Bay Area before. For a start, the company was comprised entirely of Black dancers — a refreshing contrast to the companies Beckford had grown up in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13951198\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13951198 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/GettyImages-576842076-scaled-e1706578196329.jpg\" alt=\"A Black male dancer does the splits in mid-air, while two Black women dance either side of him.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1516\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students and members of Ruth Beckford’s dance group rehearse a number in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Ted Streshinsky/ CORBIS/ Corbis via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>[dropcap]A[/dropcap]fter Beckford retired from teaching in 1975, there was still no stopping her. She became an author, writing an autobiography, two cookbooks and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.jstor.org/stable/2784188\">Katherine Dunham biography\u003c/a>. She also co-authored \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.everand.com/book/502678421/The-Picture-Man-From-the-Collection-of-Bay-Area-Photographer-E-F-Joseph-1927-1979\">The Picture Man\u003c/a>,\u003c/em> about Black Bay Area photographer E.F. Joseph. Her final work, \u003ca href=\"https://www.amazon.com/Still-Groovin-Affirmations-Women-Second/dp/0829813373\">\u003cem>Still Groovin’\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, was a book of spiritual advice and affirmations aimed squarely at mature women. “Women are sort of out there by themselves,” she said, “and women have to mentor each other. My book is a tool to help them become stronger.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Still Groovin’\u003c/em> wasn’t her only means of trying to empower her peers. Between 1984 and 1988, Beckford wrote a trilogy of plays titled \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">’\u003c/span>\u003cem>Tis the Morning of My Life\u003c/em>, about a woman named Roxie Youngblood who finds herself in a relationship with a much younger man. Beckford admitted the story was inspired by her own life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='pop_102855']“I have a different energy, I think, to most men my age,” she once explained. “As long as I have this energy, I’m going to use it and have fun with younger people. Younger men have the energy I have, and I feel mine is worthy of that.” On another occasion, she noted: “Older women are marrying younger men nowadays because they find they have much more in common.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a New York theater asked permission to stage her first play, Beckford agreed only if the original Bay Area cast could perform it. “It’s time for New York to see what the West Coast can do,” she insisted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For a lot of people, co-founding the Black Panthers’ Free Breakfast program would have been the pinnacle achievement of a lifetime. That Beckford then went on to mentor generations of young Black women was a huge deal. And the sheer number of ways Beckford sought to be of service throughout her life is ultimately breathtaking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She served on the Board of Oakland\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">’s\u003c/span> African American Museum and Library, where she also founded an oral history program. She counseled homeless people in Berkeley, and women in shelters and prisons around the state. She served on a dance panel at the National Endowment for the Arts and campaigned for better theater facilities in Oakland. She founded a women’s golf club. She even spent Thursday afternoons in the late 1990s volunteering in Jack London Square’s information booth so that she might pass on her passion for all things Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ruth Beckford remained indefatigable (despite surviving five back surgeries and a hip replacement) until her death at age 93. Shortly before her passing on May 8, 2019, Beckford reflected on a life thoroughly well lived.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have a joyous life, I have a good time,” she said. “I choreographed my life. Step-by-step, year-by-year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>To learn about other Rebel Girls from Bay Area History, visit the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/rebelgirls\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rebel Girls homepage\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Ruth Beckford used dance as a means to mentor thousands of young women in Oakland. She never stopped serving her community.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1710265590,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":23,"wordCount":1542},"headData":{"title":"The Dancer Who Helped Start the Black Panthers’ Free Breakfast Program | KQED","description":"Ruth Beckford used dance as a means to mentor thousands of young women in Oakland. She never stopped serving her community.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"The Dancer Who Helped Start the Black Panthers’ Free Breakfast Program","datePublished":"2024-02-14T22:00:14.000Z","dateModified":"2024-03-12T17:46:30.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"audioUrl":"https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/0af137ef-751e-4b19-a055-aaef00d2d578/ffca7e9f-6831-4[…]f-aaef00f5a073/6767ea25-cddc-42bd-baac-b12c0136bde8/audio.mp3","sticky":false,"templateType":"standard","featuredImageType":"standard","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13950520/ruth-beckford-dance-black-panthers-free-breakfast-program","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">I\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>n the late 1960s, an uncommonly energetic 43-year-old named Ruth Beckford was teaching an Afro-Haitian dance class in Oakland. A dancing pro since the age of eight, Beckford had a habit of taking a close personal interest in her students. She taught the youngest ones a combination of life skills and etiquette to set them up for bright futures. She encouraged teens and young women to love themselves and pursue their dreams. And when one of her students told Beckford about her involvement with the Black Panther Party, Beckford was keen to be of assistance with that, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The student in question was LaVerne Anderson, who happened to be the girlfriend of Huey P. Newton. Beckford began by accompanying Anderson to some of Newton’s 1968 trial dates. In September of that year, when the idea for the Panthers’ Free Breakfast for School Children Program first came up, it was Beckford who sprang into action and made it happen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13874853","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Beckford had long been a parishioner at Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://staugepiscopal.org/\">St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church\u003c/a>, then situated at West and 27th Streets. Beckford approached her priest there, Father Earl A. Neil, to find out if St. Augustine’s was willing to host a daily program there to feed neighborhood kids. Father Neil agreed, and he and Beckford went about building a health code-safe kitchen and dining space, as well as a nutritionally balanced menu.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the first day — a Monday in January 1969 — 11 children came to eat. By Friday, that number had swelled to 135. Beckford and Father Neil made such a success of the free breakfasts, the program was soon mandatory in all Black Panther chapters nationwide. It was also a shining example of Beckford’s ability to turn ideas into action, and to plant seeds that would one day create mighty forests. That’s something she had already been doing in her dance classes for 22 years before she got involved with the Panthers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13952106\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13952106\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/GettyImages-939585344-scaled-e1707777665615.jpg\" alt=\"Several young Black boys, one of whom is wearing a suit, raise their hands to speak as they sit around a table, paper plates of food in front of them.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1298\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Black Panther Party’s Free Breakfast for Children program — like this one in New York City in 1969 — combined education and good nutrition. \u003ccite>(Bev Grant/ Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">B\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>eckford was born on Dec. 7, 1925 in Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://localwiki.org/oakland/Providence_Hospital\">Providence Hospital\u003c/a> to a Jamaican father and a mother from Los Angeles. Beckford was the youngest of four — she had a big sister and a pair of twin brothers — and was raised on 38th Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard. She grew up in a household so supportive that, when they saw her kicking along to music in her crib as a baby, her parents pledged to get her into dance class as soon as she was old enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At three years old, Beckford began training in “every kind of dance,” her dedicated mom sewing all her costumes. It was clear from the beginning that the young girl was naturally gifted, and that dance was indeed her calling. By eight, she was a vaudeville dancer. By 14, she was teaching other children. At 17, she toured with the prestigious Katherine Dunham Company, where she fully embraced African and Caribbean dance for the first time. Beckford loved the work but declined a seven-year contract from Dunham so she could attend UC Berkeley instead. (Dunham remained a mentor and friend for life, and Beckford taught in her New York dance school in 1953.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13926548,pop_102326,arts_13916612","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>During her studies, Beckford was the only Black dancer in UC Berkeley’s dance club, Orchesis. The experience prepared her for working in majority-white companies later on. In her 20s, as the only Black dancer with the \u003ca href=\"https://calisphere.org/item/8c65bcebbbc335b04faa0cd457e3ebd7/\">Anna Halprin and Welland Lathrop\u003c/a> modern dance company, Beckford said she could sometimes hear the audience gasp as she arrived on San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre stage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once Beckford had graduated with a modern dance degree, she was keen to serve her community while doing what she loved most. First, she started an annual modern dance showcase that ran for over a decade. Then in 1947, aged just 21, Beckford started the Oakland Recreation Modern Dance Department — the first city-funded dance classes in the United States — and remained project director there for 20 years. Beckford insisted the classes be free so that anyone, no matter their means, would be able to attend. By the time she left in 1967, the department was running 34 modern dance classes for 700 students of all ages and abilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the importance of this program, Beckford later stated: “My philosophy for the young girls was, I would get them in through dance, but my whole goal was to make them be strong, free spirits. The girls got a lot of doses of self-empowerment training, self-esteem training,” she said. “Out of the thousands of girls that I taught, I knew a few would be dancers, but they all had to become women. I wanted them all to be strong young ladies — and it worked.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These relationships were so important to Beckford, she prioritized them over having children of her own. “I feel if I had had children,” she said in 2000, “I would not have been the mentor to the hundreds and hundreds of girls I mentored. I would give them all the attention. I would tell them they were special.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From 1954 on, Beckford was also running her own company, the Ruth Beckford African Haitian Dance Company. Her understanding of traditional styles was so exhaustive, she was invited to choreograph a folk festival in Haiti in 1958. At home, her company’s performances — comprised of six dancers accompanied by three drummers — were unlike anything most dance fans had seen in the Bay Area before. For a start, the company was comprised entirely of Black dancers — a refreshing contrast to the companies Beckford had grown up in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13951198\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13951198 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/GettyImages-576842076-scaled-e1706578196329.jpg\" alt=\"A Black male dancer does the splits in mid-air, while two Black women dance either side of him.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1516\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students and members of Ruth Beckford’s dance group rehearse a number in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Ted Streshinsky/ CORBIS/ Corbis via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">A\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>fter Beckford retired from teaching in 1975, there was still no stopping her. She became an author, writing an autobiography, two cookbooks and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.jstor.org/stable/2784188\">Katherine Dunham biography\u003c/a>. She also co-authored \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.everand.com/book/502678421/The-Picture-Man-From-the-Collection-of-Bay-Area-Photographer-E-F-Joseph-1927-1979\">The Picture Man\u003c/a>,\u003c/em> about Black Bay Area photographer E.F. Joseph. Her final work, \u003ca href=\"https://www.amazon.com/Still-Groovin-Affirmations-Women-Second/dp/0829813373\">\u003cem>Still Groovin’\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, was a book of spiritual advice and affirmations aimed squarely at mature women. “Women are sort of out there by themselves,” she said, “and women have to mentor each other. My book is a tool to help them become stronger.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Still Groovin’\u003c/em> wasn’t her only means of trying to empower her peers. Between 1984 and 1988, Beckford wrote a trilogy of plays titled \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">’\u003c/span>\u003cem>Tis the Morning of My Life\u003c/em>, about a woman named Roxie Youngblood who finds herself in a relationship with a much younger man. Beckford admitted the story was inspired by her own life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"pop_102855","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I have a different energy, I think, to most men my age,” she once explained. “As long as I have this energy, I’m going to use it and have fun with younger people. Younger men have the energy I have, and I feel mine is worthy of that.” On another occasion, she noted: “Older women are marrying younger men nowadays because they find they have much more in common.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a New York theater asked permission to stage her first play, Beckford agreed only if the original Bay Area cast could perform it. “It’s time for New York to see what the West Coast can do,” she insisted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For a lot of people, co-founding the Black Panthers’ Free Breakfast program would have been the pinnacle achievement of a lifetime. That Beckford then went on to mentor generations of young Black women was a huge deal. And the sheer number of ways Beckford sought to be of service throughout her life is ultimately breathtaking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She served on the Board of Oakland\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">’s\u003c/span> African American Museum and Library, where she also founded an oral history program. She counseled homeless people in Berkeley, and women in shelters and prisons around the state. She served on a dance panel at the National Endowment for the Arts and campaigned for better theater facilities in Oakland. She founded a women’s golf club. She even spent Thursday afternoons in the late 1990s volunteering in Jack London Square’s information booth so that she might pass on her passion for all things Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ruth Beckford remained indefatigable (despite surviving five back surgeries and a hip replacement) until her death at age 93. Shortly before her passing on May 8, 2019, Beckford reflected on a life thoroughly well lived.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I have a joyous life, I have a good time,” she said. “I choreographed my life. Step-by-step, year-by-year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>To learn about other Rebel Girls from Bay Area History, visit the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/rebelgirls\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rebel Girls homepage\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13950520/ruth-beckford-dance-black-panthers-free-breakfast-program","authors":["11242"],"programs":["arts_8978"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_835","arts_966","arts_7862","arts_11615"],"tags":["arts_6775","arts_1346","arts_10278","arts_7408","arts_1143","arts_21841"],"featImg":"arts_13951421","label":"arts_8978"},"arts_13937270":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13937270","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13937270","score":null,"sort":[1699894805000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"the-pregnant-teen-who-captained-a-clipper-ship-in-1856","title":"The Pregnant Teen Who Captained a Clipper Ship in 1856","publishDate":1699894805,"format":"standard","headTitle":"The Pregnant Teen Who Captained a Clipper Ship in 1856 | KQED","labelTerm":{"term":8978,"site":"arts"},"content":"\u003cp>On Nov. 13, 1856, witnesses on San Francisco’s shoreline were astonished by the sight of a pregnant 19-year-old girl guiding a grand, 216-foot-long clipper ship into port. Mary Ann Patten had spent the previous two months leading the crew and cargo of the Neptune’s Car to safety from Chile’s Cape Horn. It was a role the young woman stepped up and took on after her husband — respected captain and master mariner, Joshua Adams Patten — contracted \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541015/#:~:text=Tuberculous%20meningitis%20(TBM)%20is%20caused,to%20be%20infected%20with%20MTB.\">tuberculous meningitis\u003c/a> and pneumonia, rendering him blind, incoherent and bedridden.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That Mary had successfully overseen the ship’s safe passage — even while nursing her ailing husband — made her an instant celebrity. That she was the first American woman to captain a merchant vessel made her a nautical legend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13932525']The end of the Pattens’ journey on Neptune’s Car in many ways stands as a testament to their partnership. Joshua and Mary were married when she was just 16. The refined and intelligent girl was born in East Boston to immigrant parents from England, and always had a passion for learning. Joshua was widely viewed as a man of strong principles and good character. Though he was ten years Mary’s senior, the pair quickly developed a deep dedication to one another that was rooted in mutual respect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That dedication was in evidence after the original captain of the Neptune’s Car became ill and Joshua was asked to take his place on an 18-month around-the world voyage. Keen to accept the business opportunity but loathe to leave Mary for so long, Joshua contacted New York’s Foster & Nickerson shipping company and said that he would accept the job only under one unusual condition — that his wife be allowed to go with him. His bosses agreed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937748\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1596px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937748\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.15.33-PM.png\" alt=\"A 19th century painting of a vast clipper ship at sea.\" width=\"1596\" height=\"1130\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.15.33-PM.png 1596w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.15.33-PM-800x566.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.15.33-PM-1020x722.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.15.33-PM-160x113.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.15.33-PM-768x544.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.15.33-PM-1536x1088.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1596px) 100vw, 1596px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Neptune’s Car, the ship that Mary Ann Patten would later captain, as seen in Hong Kong Harbor in the early 1850s.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Conditions aboard clipper ships in the 1850s were far from romantic. Everyday life was cold, wet and grueling. Food rations were limited, illness was common on long journeys and, though sick sailors were isolated as soon as possible, it wasn’t unusual for disease to spread in the tight living quarters. Despite what was sure to be a challenging environment, Mary had no fear about joining Joshua on the epic journey. Having been born into a family of seafarers, she held a reverence and love for the open ocean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For her first year aboard Neptune’s Car, Mary spent her time wisely and constructively. She studied marinery in Joshua’s library. She assisted her husband with his duties, even keeping the captain’s log. She also took the time to learn how to use the ship’s chronometers — tools to aid celestial navigation. Thanks to her curious mind and diligent personality, by the time Joshua fell ill, Mary had a solid understanding of how to run the ship effectively. It’s a good thing: If she hadn’t, the fate of Neptune’s Car would have been much bleaker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13892514']The reason it was left to Mary to captain the vessel was because the ship’s first and second mates were incapable of doing so themselves. The second mate had never learned how to navigate, and the first — a man named Keeler — was grossly incompetent to the point of dangerous. (Keeler was a hasty replacement for the original first mate, who had broken his leg just before Neptune’s Car set sail.) Keeler was such a liability that he was removed from duty while Joshua was still in charge. One 1877 newspaper article even reported that Keeler was “put in irons” after trying to start a mutiny.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Soon after Mary took over, Keeler wrote her a letter from the brig to try and persuade her that she was ill-equipped to take charge of the ship. He, rather absurdly, suggested that he might take the job instead. Mary responded simply that her husband had not trusted Keeler, so she wasn’t inclined to either. Mary already knew that she had the trust of the rest of the crew, who had adapted remarkably quickly to taking orders from a woman — a diminutive one at that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March 1857, the \u003cem>Star of the North\u003c/em> newspaper reported:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The rough sailors all obeyed the ‘little woman’ as they called her, with a will, and eyed her curiously and affectionately through the cabin windows while deep in the calculations on which her life and theirs depended … Her time was spent between the bedside of her delirious husband and the writing desk, working up the intricate calculations incident to nautical observations, making entries in the log book in her own delicate penmanship and tracing out with accuracy the position of the ship from the charts in the cabin.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>When Neptune’s Car finally arrived in San Francisco safely, Mary’s first priority was getting Joshua home and to medical attention. Because he was a member of their fraternal organization, the California Masonic Temple quickly arranged travel for Joshua and Mary back to Boston.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13908327']Soon, news broke that Foster & Nickerson were refusing to pay Joshua’s wages. The resulting public outcry was so great that the New York Board of Underwriters awarded Mary $1,000 and the companies whose cargo she had safely delivered gave her an additional $1,500. (All told, that adds up to around $90,000 in 2023 money.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After receiving the money, Mary responded with a humble and widely circulated letter. In it, she wrote: “I … endeavored to perform that which seemed to me, under the circumstances, only the plain duty of a wife towards a good husband.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sadly, just eight months after the Pattens’ return home, and four months after Mary had given birth to their son, Joshua finally succumbed to his long illness at the McLean Asylum in Somerville, Massachusetts. An obituary published July 25, 1857 stated:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Deaf and blind and sick as he has been for months past, [Joshua’s] heroic wife refused to surrender him to the care of strangers. It was not until Friday, when it was apparent that his reason was gone and he was utterly unmanageable, that she consented to his removal to the Asylum. Mary had a fever herself at the time. The patience in suffering and the energy in emergencies which she has hitherto displayed may carry her over this, which she regards as the greatest of her sorrows.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Mary was not long without Joshua. She died of tuberculosis just one month before her 24th birthday, leaving her son, Joshua Jr., to be raised by his maternal grandmother. Today, Mary and Joshua are buried side-by-side in Woodlawn Cemetery, Massachusetts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearby, there is a white stone etched with the words: “Are there seas in heaven, Joshua? And is there such a vessel as our Neptune’s Car? If there is, wait for me and we shall explore the vast and boundless reaches of eternity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>To learn about other Rebel Girls from Bay Area History, visit the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/rebelgirls\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rebel Girls homepage\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Mary Ann Patten was aboard Neptune's Car when her husband, the captain, fell ill. She navigated the vessel to safety.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1705092195,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":21,"wordCount":1237},"headData":{"title":"The Pregnant Teen Who Captained a Clipper Ship in 1856 | KQED","description":"Mary Ann Patten was aboard Neptune's Car when her husband, the captain, fell ill. She navigated the vessel to safety.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"The Pregnant Teen Who Captained a Clipper Ship in 1856","datePublished":"2023-11-13T17:00:05.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-12T20:43:15.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"audioUrl":"https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/0af137ef-751e-4b19-a055-aaef00d2d578/ffca7e9f-6831-4[…]f-aaef00f5a073/07cbfb3d-2008-4e9f-b066-b0bc01444a1f/audio.mp3","sticky":false,"templateType":"standard","featuredImageType":"standard","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13937270/the-pregnant-teen-who-captained-a-clipper-ship-in-1856","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On Nov. 13, 1856, witnesses on San Francisco’s shoreline were astonished by the sight of a pregnant 19-year-old girl guiding a grand, 216-foot-long clipper ship into port. Mary Ann Patten had spent the previous two months leading the crew and cargo of the Neptune’s Car to safety from Chile’s Cape Horn. It was a role the young woman stepped up and took on after her husband — respected captain and master mariner, Joshua Adams Patten — contracted \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541015/#:~:text=Tuberculous%20meningitis%20(TBM)%20is%20caused,to%20be%20infected%20with%20MTB.\">tuberculous meningitis\u003c/a> and pneumonia, rendering him blind, incoherent and bedridden.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That Mary had successfully overseen the ship’s safe passage — even while nursing her ailing husband — made her an instant celebrity. That she was the first American woman to captain a merchant vessel made her a nautical legend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13932525","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The end of the Pattens’ journey on Neptune’s Car in many ways stands as a testament to their partnership. Joshua and Mary were married when she was just 16. The refined and intelligent girl was born in East Boston to immigrant parents from England, and always had a passion for learning. Joshua was widely viewed as a man of strong principles and good character. Though he was ten years Mary’s senior, the pair quickly developed a deep dedication to one another that was rooted in mutual respect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That dedication was in evidence after the original captain of the Neptune’s Car became ill and Joshua was asked to take his place on an 18-month around-the world voyage. Keen to accept the business opportunity but loathe to leave Mary for so long, Joshua contacted New York’s Foster & Nickerson shipping company and said that he would accept the job only under one unusual condition — that his wife be allowed to go with him. His bosses agreed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937748\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1596px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937748\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.15.33-PM.png\" alt=\"A 19th century painting of a vast clipper ship at sea.\" width=\"1596\" height=\"1130\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.15.33-PM.png 1596w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.15.33-PM-800x566.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.15.33-PM-1020x722.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.15.33-PM-160x113.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.15.33-PM-768x544.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.15.33-PM-1536x1088.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1596px) 100vw, 1596px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Neptune’s Car, the ship that Mary Ann Patten would later captain, as seen in Hong Kong Harbor in the early 1850s.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Conditions aboard clipper ships in the 1850s were far from romantic. Everyday life was cold, wet and grueling. Food rations were limited, illness was common on long journeys and, though sick sailors were isolated as soon as possible, it wasn’t unusual for disease to spread in the tight living quarters. Despite what was sure to be a challenging environment, Mary had no fear about joining Joshua on the epic journey. Having been born into a family of seafarers, she held a reverence and love for the open ocean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For her first year aboard Neptune’s Car, Mary spent her time wisely and constructively. She studied marinery in Joshua’s library. She assisted her husband with his duties, even keeping the captain’s log. She also took the time to learn how to use the ship’s chronometers — tools to aid celestial navigation. Thanks to her curious mind and diligent personality, by the time Joshua fell ill, Mary had a solid understanding of how to run the ship effectively. It’s a good thing: If she hadn’t, the fate of Neptune’s Car would have been much bleaker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13892514","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The reason it was left to Mary to captain the vessel was because the ship’s first and second mates were incapable of doing so themselves. The second mate had never learned how to navigate, and the first — a man named Keeler — was grossly incompetent to the point of dangerous. (Keeler was a hasty replacement for the original first mate, who had broken his leg just before Neptune’s Car set sail.) Keeler was such a liability that he was removed from duty while Joshua was still in charge. One 1877 newspaper article even reported that Keeler was “put in irons” after trying to start a mutiny.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Soon after Mary took over, Keeler wrote her a letter from the brig to try and persuade her that she was ill-equipped to take charge of the ship. He, rather absurdly, suggested that he might take the job instead. Mary responded simply that her husband had not trusted Keeler, so she wasn’t inclined to either. Mary already knew that she had the trust of the rest of the crew, who had adapted remarkably quickly to taking orders from a woman — a diminutive one at that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In March 1857, the \u003cem>Star of the North\u003c/em> newspaper reported:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The rough sailors all obeyed the ‘little woman’ as they called her, with a will, and eyed her curiously and affectionately through the cabin windows while deep in the calculations on which her life and theirs depended … Her time was spent between the bedside of her delirious husband and the writing desk, working up the intricate calculations incident to nautical observations, making entries in the log book in her own delicate penmanship and tracing out with accuracy the position of the ship from the charts in the cabin.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>When Neptune’s Car finally arrived in San Francisco safely, Mary’s first priority was getting Joshua home and to medical attention. Because he was a member of their fraternal organization, the California Masonic Temple quickly arranged travel for Joshua and Mary back to Boston.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13908327","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Soon, news broke that Foster & Nickerson were refusing to pay Joshua’s wages. The resulting public outcry was so great that the New York Board of Underwriters awarded Mary $1,000 and the companies whose cargo she had safely delivered gave her an additional $1,500. (All told, that adds up to around $90,000 in 2023 money.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After receiving the money, Mary responded with a humble and widely circulated letter. In it, she wrote: “I … endeavored to perform that which seemed to me, under the circumstances, only the plain duty of a wife towards a good husband.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sadly, just eight months after the Pattens’ return home, and four months after Mary had given birth to their son, Joshua finally succumbed to his long illness at the McLean Asylum in Somerville, Massachusetts. An obituary published July 25, 1857 stated:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Deaf and blind and sick as he has been for months past, [Joshua’s] heroic wife refused to surrender him to the care of strangers. It was not until Friday, when it was apparent that his reason was gone and he was utterly unmanageable, that she consented to his removal to the Asylum. Mary had a fever herself at the time. The patience in suffering and the energy in emergencies which she has hitherto displayed may carry her over this, which she regards as the greatest of her sorrows.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Mary was not long without Joshua. She died of tuberculosis just one month before her 24th birthday, leaving her son, Joshua Jr., to be raised by his maternal grandmother. Today, Mary and Joshua are buried side-by-side in Woodlawn Cemetery, Massachusetts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearby, there is a white stone etched with the words: “Are there seas in heaven, Joshua? And is there such a vessel as our Neptune’s Car? If there is, wait for me and we shall explore the vast and boundless reaches of eternity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>To learn about other Rebel Girls from Bay Area History, visit the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/rebelgirls\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rebel Girls homepage\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13937270/the-pregnant-teen-who-captained-a-clipper-ship-in-1856","authors":["11242"],"programs":["arts_8978"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_7862","arts_11615"],"tags":["arts_10278","arts_21841"],"featImg":"arts_13937666","label":"arts_8978"},"arts_13932525":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13932525","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13932525","score":null,"sort":[1693577313000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"mother-thompson-san-francisco-tavern-owner-bay-area-history","title":"The Eccentric Saloon Owner Beloved and Defended by 19th-Century Sailors","publishDate":1693577313,"format":"standard","headTitle":"The Eccentric Saloon Owner Beloved and Defended by 19th-Century Sailors | KQED","labelTerm":{"term":8978,"site":"arts"},"content":"\u003cp>Sailors called her “mother,” thieves cursed her name, and for decades she entertained both at her Embarcadero saloon. Mother Thompson, as she was known, may have shared a nickname with a \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliza_Thompson\">well-known temperance campaigner\u003c/a>, but her business was booze, banter, then more booze. It was also her to job to boldly defend her bar during a time when it was dangerous to be a woman behind one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13931837']Mother Thompson’s establishment, named Mrs. Thompson’s, was opposite today’s Rincon Park. Its front door was on Embarcadero between Howard and Folsom, with an additional rear entrance on Steuart Street that faced a vacant lot. \u003cem>The San Francisco Examiner\u003c/em> reported in 1901 that one patron attempting to use the back entrance was robbed of his pocket watch by three men. The front entrance wasn’t much safer. In 1918, the \u003cem>Sacramento Bee\u003c/em> reported that a 41-year-old sailor named John McMahon was shot in front of the bar by an unknown assailant and died on his way to the Harbor Emergency Hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trouble didn’t always stay outside the saloon either. On one occasion when a customer refused to pay for his drinks, Thompson simply came out from behind the bar, walked up to the man, and slammed him in the throat with a length of rubber hose. \u003cem>The Oakland Tribune\u003c/em> later reported that “he went down as though struck by a pile driver,” and “a couple of swampers [men who performed odd jobs] picked him up and tossed him to the sidewalk.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13933424\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13933424\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp37.02367-800x946.jpg\" alt=\"An historical image of crowds of men gathered with mules on a busy corner. Behind them is a city block of wooden structures and shops.\" width=\"800\" height=\"946\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp37.02367-800x946.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp37.02367-160x189.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp37.02367-768x908.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp37.02367.jpg 846w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The view, in 1900, of Embarcadero facing north from Folsom St. Mother Thompson’s bar was on the block visible behind the crowds in the foreground. \u003ccite>(OpenSFHistory / wnp37.02367)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Thompson’s regulars — mostly sailors — treated her with the utmost respect, often bringing her gifts from their travels including fine silks, wooden carvings and artificial flowers. When her tavern caught fire in 1916, sailors assisted the firemen tasked with extinguishing the blaze. \u003cem>The Chronicle\u003c/em> reported that during the fire, six men in the bar refused to leave, saying “If she goes down, we go with her.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13927137']Thompson returned these kinds of favors by offering tabs and free drinks to friendly seafarers who were down on their luck. In a 1911 story in \u003cem>The San Francisco Call\u003c/em>, Thompson — apparently “getting on in years” with gray hair and a “very ample” waistline by then — was quoted as saying, “The sailor byes [boys] has a hard life with nothin’ but a plank between him and death. And so they likes to have what fun they can ashore.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These men often felt protective of Thompson and assisted her when she was faced with unruly patrons. “Niver have I been insulted by sailor men,” Thompson told \u003cem>The Call\u003c/em>. “One or twice a man has started to say something, but always it was a landsman and the byes put him out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1913, when a towboat captain named Joseph C. Powell demanded repeatedly that someone else in the bar pay for drinks he’d already consumed, Thompson’s regulars were said to have set upon him, beaten him senseless and taken $5 from his pocket to pay her. \u003cem>The Oakland Tribune\u003c/em> reported shortly thereafter that Powell was “laid up at the harbor hospital for repairs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13933422\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13933422\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp4.1330-800x630.jpg\" alt=\"A black wooden shack marked PIER 10 sits before ships docked on the San Francisco Bay. The air is thick with smoke. The ferry building is visible off in the distance.\" width=\"800\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp4.1330-800x630.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp4.1330-160x126.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp4.1330-768x605.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp4.1330.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The scene across the street from Mrs. Thompson’s back in 1900. \u003ccite>(OpenSFHistory / wnp4.1330)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It is fairly likely, based on the manner in which she was quoted in \u003cem>The Call\u003c/em>, that Thompson originally hailed from England. This would also explain her popularity with British sailors — she was the only bartender in San Francisco who served English ale in pewter mugs, as was customary in the U.K. at the time. Sailors from Liverpool flocked to see Thompson every chance they got. One report in \u003cem>The San Francisco Call\u003c/em> also mentioned “a swarthy, black-haired Highland Scotchman and a gray-haired old Welsh bosun” enthusiastically singing the sea shanty “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItFqjjLPjcA\">Blow the Man Down\u003c/a>” at the end of the bar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thompson, though well equipped to deal with even the roughest of customers, was also known to sit behind the bar knitting on slow nights. She had raised several children — when they were young, they stayed with her at the bar while she worked — and kept a large gray cockatoo as a pet. The bird hung out at the tavern and was known to occasionally shout “Belay, there!” at noisy customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just how long Mrs. Thompson’s was in operation is now difficult to ascertain. Some turn-of-the-century newspaper articles said only the oldest of sailors would remember exactly when it opened. Based on when newspaper reports about the bar disappeared, it was likely put out of business by Prohibition in 1920.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13929998']What we do know is that between 1900 and 1940, women like Mother Thompson made up just 2% of the bartending workforce. Things got even worse in 1948 when \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goesaert_v._Cleary\">a Supreme Court ruling stopped women from working as bartenders\u003c/a> in any establishment that wasn’t owned by their father or husband, or in any town that had a population over 50,000 people. The law was designed to force women back out from behind the bar after the boom in female bartending that had happened during World War II. That law wasn’t overturned until 1971.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mother Thompson had neither the time nor the inclination to worry about whether or not her profession was suitable for someone of her gender. This undoubtedly eccentric woman was concerned only about living her life on her own terms from beneath her signature black straw bonnet. But Thompson also served as an important early example of just how successful a female bar owner could be — not to mention how beloved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She has a deal of kindness in her eyes,” \u003cem>The San Francisco Call\u003c/em> once noted, “and she smiles when she talks of the seafaring men.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>To learn about other Rebel Girls from Bay Area History, visit the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/rebelgirls\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rebel Girls homepage\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Mother Thompson’s Embarcadero tavern was rough and ready, but it was a home away from home for sailors.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1705092279,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":17,"wordCount":1055},"headData":{"title":"Mother Thompson’s San Francisco Tavern Was a Sailor’s Paradise | KQED","description":"Mother Thompson’s Embarcadero tavern was rough and ready, but it was a home away from home for sailors.","ogTitle":"The Eccentric Saloon Owner Beloved and Defended by 19th-Century Sailors","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"The Eccentric Saloon Owner Beloved and Defended by 19th-Century Sailors","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","socialTitle":"Mother Thompson’s San Francisco Tavern Was a Sailor’s Paradise%%page%% %%sep%% KQED","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"The Eccentric Saloon Owner Beloved and Defended by 19th-Century Sailors","datePublished":"2023-09-01T14:08:33.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-12T20:44:39.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"audioUrl":"https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/0af137ef-751e-4b19-a055-aaef00d2d578/ffca7e9f-6831-4[…]f-aaef00f5a073/31669622-87e3-42ec-aad5-b07c01210b6c/audio.mp3","sticky":false,"templateType":"standard","featuredImageType":"standard","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13932525/mother-thompson-san-francisco-tavern-owner-bay-area-history","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Sailors called her “mother,” thieves cursed her name, and for decades she entertained both at her Embarcadero saloon. Mother Thompson, as she was known, may have shared a nickname with a \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliza_Thompson\">well-known temperance campaigner\u003c/a>, but her business was booze, banter, then more booze. It was also her to job to boldly defend her bar during a time when it was dangerous to be a woman behind one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13931837","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Mother Thompson’s establishment, named Mrs. Thompson’s, was opposite today’s Rincon Park. Its front door was on Embarcadero between Howard and Folsom, with an additional rear entrance on Steuart Street that faced a vacant lot. \u003cem>The San Francisco Examiner\u003c/em> reported in 1901 that one patron attempting to use the back entrance was robbed of his pocket watch by three men. The front entrance wasn’t much safer. In 1918, the \u003cem>Sacramento Bee\u003c/em> reported that a 41-year-old sailor named John McMahon was shot in front of the bar by an unknown assailant and died on his way to the Harbor Emergency Hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trouble didn’t always stay outside the saloon either. On one occasion when a customer refused to pay for his drinks, Thompson simply came out from behind the bar, walked up to the man, and slammed him in the throat with a length of rubber hose. \u003cem>The Oakland Tribune\u003c/em> later reported that “he went down as though struck by a pile driver,” and “a couple of swampers [men who performed odd jobs] picked him up and tossed him to the sidewalk.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13933424\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13933424\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp37.02367-800x946.jpg\" alt=\"An historical image of crowds of men gathered with mules on a busy corner. Behind them is a city block of wooden structures and shops.\" width=\"800\" height=\"946\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp37.02367-800x946.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp37.02367-160x189.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp37.02367-768x908.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp37.02367.jpg 846w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The view, in 1900, of Embarcadero facing north from Folsom St. Mother Thompson’s bar was on the block visible behind the crowds in the foreground. \u003ccite>(OpenSFHistory / wnp37.02367)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Thompson’s regulars — mostly sailors — treated her with the utmost respect, often bringing her gifts from their travels including fine silks, wooden carvings and artificial flowers. When her tavern caught fire in 1916, sailors assisted the firemen tasked with extinguishing the blaze. \u003cem>The Chronicle\u003c/em> reported that during the fire, six men in the bar refused to leave, saying “If she goes down, we go with her.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13927137","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Thompson returned these kinds of favors by offering tabs and free drinks to friendly seafarers who were down on their luck. In a 1911 story in \u003cem>The San Francisco Call\u003c/em>, Thompson — apparently “getting on in years” with gray hair and a “very ample” waistline by then — was quoted as saying, “The sailor byes [boys] has a hard life with nothin’ but a plank between him and death. And so they likes to have what fun they can ashore.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These men often felt protective of Thompson and assisted her when she was faced with unruly patrons. “Niver have I been insulted by sailor men,” Thompson told \u003cem>The Call\u003c/em>. “One or twice a man has started to say something, but always it was a landsman and the byes put him out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1913, when a towboat captain named Joseph C. Powell demanded repeatedly that someone else in the bar pay for drinks he’d already consumed, Thompson’s regulars were said to have set upon him, beaten him senseless and taken $5 from his pocket to pay her. \u003cem>The Oakland Tribune\u003c/em> reported shortly thereafter that Powell was “laid up at the harbor hospital for repairs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13933422\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13933422\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp4.1330-800x630.jpg\" alt=\"A black wooden shack marked PIER 10 sits before ships docked on the San Francisco Bay. The air is thick with smoke. The ferry building is visible off in the distance.\" width=\"800\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp4.1330-800x630.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp4.1330-160x126.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp4.1330-768x605.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/opensfhistory_wnp4.1330.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The scene across the street from Mrs. Thompson’s back in 1900. \u003ccite>(OpenSFHistory / wnp4.1330)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It is fairly likely, based on the manner in which she was quoted in \u003cem>The Call\u003c/em>, that Thompson originally hailed from England. This would also explain her popularity with British sailors — she was the only bartender in San Francisco who served English ale in pewter mugs, as was customary in the U.K. at the time. Sailors from Liverpool flocked to see Thompson every chance they got. One report in \u003cem>The San Francisco Call\u003c/em> also mentioned “a swarthy, black-haired Highland Scotchman and a gray-haired old Welsh bosun” enthusiastically singing the sea shanty “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItFqjjLPjcA\">Blow the Man Down\u003c/a>” at the end of the bar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thompson, though well equipped to deal with even the roughest of customers, was also known to sit behind the bar knitting on slow nights. She had raised several children — when they were young, they stayed with her at the bar while she worked — and kept a large gray cockatoo as a pet. The bird hung out at the tavern and was known to occasionally shout “Belay, there!” at noisy customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just how long Mrs. Thompson’s was in operation is now difficult to ascertain. Some turn-of-the-century newspaper articles said only the oldest of sailors would remember exactly when it opened. Based on when newspaper reports about the bar disappeared, it was likely put out of business by Prohibition in 1920.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"arts_13929998","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>What we do know is that between 1900 and 1940, women like Mother Thompson made up just 2% of the bartending workforce. Things got even worse in 1948 when \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goesaert_v._Cleary\">a Supreme Court ruling stopped women from working as bartenders\u003c/a> in any establishment that wasn’t owned by their father or husband, or in any town that had a population over 50,000 people. The law was designed to force women back out from behind the bar after the boom in female bartending that had happened during World War II. That law wasn’t overturned until 1971.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mother Thompson had neither the time nor the inclination to worry about whether or not her profession was suitable for someone of her gender. This undoubtedly eccentric woman was concerned only about living her life on her own terms from beneath her signature black straw bonnet. But Thompson also served as an important early example of just how successful a female bar owner could be — not to mention how beloved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She has a deal of kindness in her eyes,” \u003cem>The San Francisco Call\u003c/em> once noted, “and she smiles when she talks of the seafaring men.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>To learn about other Rebel Girls from Bay Area History, visit the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/rebelgirls\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rebel Girls homepage\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13932525/mother-thompson-san-francisco-tavern-owner-bay-area-history","authors":["11242"],"programs":["arts_8978"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_7862","arts_11615"],"tags":["arts_6660","arts_10278","arts_21529","arts_21841"],"featImg":"arts_13933547","label":"arts_8978"},"arts_13957242":{"type":"posts","id":"arts_13957242","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"arts","id":"13957242","score":null,"sort":[1715028532000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"wolfe-pack-studios-final-show-unfinished-business-rachel-wolfe-goldsmith","title":"Wolfe Pack Studios’ Final Show Isn’t Bad News","publishDate":1715028532,"format":"standard","headTitle":"Wolfe Pack Studios’ Final Show Isn’t Bad News | KQED","labelTerm":{"term":140,"site":"arts"},"content":"\u003cp>Even when venues close and galleries shutter, the idea that led to the creation of the space can remain; sometimes that idea can grow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is true for Oakland-based painter \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rachelwolfepack/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith,\u003c/a> whose event space, studio and gallery\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/wolfepack_studios/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Wolfe Pack Studios\u003c/a> is set to host its final exhibition May 9 through May 18.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957251\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1226px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.40.07%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"Woman wearing clothes covered in different colors of paint standing in front of a studio-gallery space.\" width=\"1226\" height=\"1570\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957251\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.40.07 AM.png 1226w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.40.07 AM-800x1024.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.40.07 AM-1020x1306.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.40.07 AM-160x205.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.40.07 AM-768x983.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.40.07 AM-1199x1536.png 1199w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1226px) 100vw, 1226px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith in front of Wolfe Pack Studios in downtown Oakland. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Unfinished Business\u003c/em>, a solo show of Wolfe-Goldsmith’s latest work, is a series of sandy golden-brown painted canvases, each based on a photograph of Wolfe-Goldsmith’s recent lived experiences. Those include a scene of West Oakland’s Wood Street, an image from a trip Wolfe-Goldsmith took to Morocco last year, and a silhouette of Wolfe-Goldsmith in a harness while rock climbing, made to look as if she’s flying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The artwork flows beyond the borders of the canvases, with lines and shapes enveloping the entire gallery as one big continuous piece. Within that, there’s a metaphor: when the canvases come down, blank spaces will remain where the images once hung.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m working on a story based on myself,” says Wolfe-Goldsmith of the exhibition, while sitting on a couch in her studio-gallery. She adds that the driving notion behind her latest work is “death and transition — whether that be in a spiritual form or in a real world of things changing, dying and moving into a new form.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The title \u003cem>Unfinished Business\u003c/em> was inspired by a 2018 fire at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13864120/m0xy-warehouse-artists-in-oakland-plot-recovery-from-fire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">M0xy Warehouse\u003c/a> in Oakland, in which Wolfe-Goldsmith lost all of her paintings. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s since gained recognition for her large-scale murals that span multiple stories on the exteriors of huge buildings. Her work can be seen all around downtown Oakland, as well on walls in Sacramento, Detroit and Washington D.C. “I was mostly a canvas painter at that time,” Wolfe-Goldsmith reflects about the 2018 fire. “I lost everything, and that was kind of the time where I transitioned toward mural paintings.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957252\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1096px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.34.56%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"Woman with her back to the camera holds a canvas painting.\" width=\"1096\" height=\"1654\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957252\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.34.56 AM.png 1096w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.34.56 AM-800x1207.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.34.56 AM-1020x1539.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.34.56 AM-160x241.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.34.56 AM-768x1159.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.34.56 AM-1018x1536.png 1018w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1096px) 100vw, 1096px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith mounts her exhibition ‘Unfinished Business’ at Wolfe Pack Studios. \u003ccite>(Deej Letemps)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In addition to making murals, she’s been holding events at her Wolfe Pack Studios. Since \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13927149/welcome-to-wolfe-pack-studios-a-new-creative-clubhouse-in-oakland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">opening in October of 2022\u003c/a>, Wolfe Pack has regularly hosted comedy showcases with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kinglangbang/?hl=en\">Langstyn Avery\u003c/a>, as well as events like Writer’s Block, a gathering for wordsmiths led by Deej Letemps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But her fondest memory? “The feeling of standing in an idea,” Wolfe-Goldsmith says, without hesitation. Looking around her space, she adds, “It’s not just thinking about it or praying for it, it’s coming in everyday and doing a little bit, and doing a little bit more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Standing in your own idea is one thing, but seeing its impact on others takes it to the next level. “This wouldn’t be possible without everyone else,” says Wolfe-Goldsmith. “Standing in an idea, and watching other people be a part of it… Seeing that infectious creative energy take with other people — it’s really dope.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957250\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1232px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.35.28%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"Woman with blue hat on paints a brown and gold image on a canvas.\" width=\"1232\" height=\"1644\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957250\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.35.28 AM.png 1232w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.35.28 AM-800x1068.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.35.28 AM-1020x1361.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.35.28 AM-160x214.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.35.28 AM-768x1025.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.35.28 AM-1151x1536.png 1151w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1232px) 100vw, 1232px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith putting the final touches on her exhibition ‘Unfinished Business.’ \u003ccite>(Deej Letemps)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There’s good news for anyone who’s benefited from that infectious energy: the idea isn’t ending, it’s growing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without yet going into details on what’s next for Wolfe Pack Studios, Wolfe-Goldsmith says the closure isn’t altogether bad. The idea behind the gallery-studio is moving to a bigger shared space, she explains, that will still be accessible to the public.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Unfinished Business’ is on view at Wolfe Pack Studios (306 13th St., Oakland) from May 9–18. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C6cfso-PbQg/\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Artist Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith reflects on 'Unfinished Business' — and looks to the future.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1715028584,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":15,"wordCount":657},"headData":{"title":"Wolfe Pack Studios’ Final Show Isn’t Bad News | KQED","description":"Artist Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith reflects on 'Unfinished Business' — and looks to the future.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"Wolfe Pack Studios’ Final Show Isn’t Bad News","datePublished":"2024-05-06T20:48:52.000Z","dateModified":"2024-05-06T20:49:44.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"sticky":false,"WpOldSlug":"wolfe-pack-studios-final-show-isnt-bad-news","nprStoryId":"kqed-13957242","templateType":"standard","featuredImageType":"standard","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/arts/13957242/wolfe-pack-studios-final-show-unfinished-business-rachel-wolfe-goldsmith","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Even when venues close and galleries shutter, the idea that led to the creation of the space can remain; sometimes that idea can grow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is true for Oakland-based painter \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rachelwolfepack/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith,\u003c/a> whose event space, studio and gallery\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/wolfepack_studios/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Wolfe Pack Studios\u003c/a> is set to host its final exhibition May 9 through May 18.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957251\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1226px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.40.07%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"Woman wearing clothes covered in different colors of paint standing in front of a studio-gallery space.\" width=\"1226\" height=\"1570\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957251\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.40.07 AM.png 1226w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.40.07 AM-800x1024.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.40.07 AM-1020x1306.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.40.07 AM-160x205.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.40.07 AM-768x983.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.40.07 AM-1199x1536.png 1199w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1226px) 100vw, 1226px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith in front of Wolfe Pack Studios in downtown Oakland. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Unfinished Business\u003c/em>, a solo show of Wolfe-Goldsmith’s latest work, is a series of sandy golden-brown painted canvases, each based on a photograph of Wolfe-Goldsmith’s recent lived experiences. Those include a scene of West Oakland’s Wood Street, an image from a trip Wolfe-Goldsmith took to Morocco last year, and a silhouette of Wolfe-Goldsmith in a harness while rock climbing, made to look as if she’s flying.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The artwork flows beyond the borders of the canvases, with lines and shapes enveloping the entire gallery as one big continuous piece. Within that, there’s a metaphor: when the canvases come down, blank spaces will remain where the images once hung.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m working on a story based on myself,” says Wolfe-Goldsmith of the exhibition, while sitting on a couch in her studio-gallery. She adds that the driving notion behind her latest work is “death and transition — whether that be in a spiritual form or in a real world of things changing, dying and moving into a new form.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The title \u003cem>Unfinished Business\u003c/em> was inspired by a 2018 fire at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13864120/m0xy-warehouse-artists-in-oakland-plot-recovery-from-fire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">M0xy Warehouse\u003c/a> in Oakland, in which Wolfe-Goldsmith lost all of her paintings. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s since gained recognition for her large-scale murals that span multiple stories on the exteriors of huge buildings. Her work can be seen all around downtown Oakland, as well on walls in Sacramento, Detroit and Washington D.C. “I was mostly a canvas painter at that time,” Wolfe-Goldsmith reflects about the 2018 fire. “I lost everything, and that was kind of the time where I transitioned toward mural paintings.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957252\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1096px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.34.56%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"Woman with her back to the camera holds a canvas painting.\" width=\"1096\" height=\"1654\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957252\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.34.56 AM.png 1096w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.34.56 AM-800x1207.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.34.56 AM-1020x1539.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.34.56 AM-160x241.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.34.56 AM-768x1159.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.34.56 AM-1018x1536.png 1018w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1096px) 100vw, 1096px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith mounts her exhibition ‘Unfinished Business’ at Wolfe Pack Studios. \u003ccite>(Deej Letemps)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In addition to making murals, she’s been holding events at her Wolfe Pack Studios. Since \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13927149/welcome-to-wolfe-pack-studios-a-new-creative-clubhouse-in-oakland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">opening in October of 2022\u003c/a>, Wolfe Pack has regularly hosted comedy showcases with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kinglangbang/?hl=en\">Langstyn Avery\u003c/a>, as well as events like Writer’s Block, a gathering for wordsmiths led by Deej Letemps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But her fondest memory? “The feeling of standing in an idea,” Wolfe-Goldsmith says, without hesitation. Looking around her space, she adds, “It’s not just thinking about it or praying for it, it’s coming in everyday and doing a little bit, and doing a little bit more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Standing in your own idea is one thing, but seeing its impact on others takes it to the next level. “This wouldn’t be possible without everyone else,” says Wolfe-Goldsmith. “Standing in an idea, and watching other people be a part of it… Seeing that infectious creative energy take with other people — it’s really dope.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13957250\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1232px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.35.28%E2%80%AFAM.png\" alt=\"Woman with blue hat on paints a brown and gold image on a canvas.\" width=\"1232\" height=\"1644\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13957250\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.35.28 AM.png 1232w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.35.28 AM-800x1068.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.35.28 AM-1020x1361.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.35.28 AM-160x214.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.35.28 AM-768x1025.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/Screenshot-2024-05-06-at-8.35.28 AM-1151x1536.png 1151w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1232px) 100vw, 1232px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith putting the final touches on her exhibition ‘Unfinished Business.’ \u003ccite>(Deej Letemps)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There’s good news for anyone who’s benefited from that infectious energy: the idea isn’t ending, it’s growing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without yet going into details on what’s next for Wolfe Pack Studios, Wolfe-Goldsmith says the closure isn’t altogether bad. The idea behind the gallery-studio is moving to a bigger shared space, she explains, that will still be accessible to the public.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Unfinished Business’ is on view at Wolfe Pack Studios (306 13th St., Oakland) from May 9–18. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C6cfso-PbQg/\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/arts/13957242/wolfe-pack-studios-final-show-unfinished-business-rachel-wolfe-goldsmith","authors":["11491"],"programs":["arts_140"],"categories":["arts_1","arts_70"],"tags":["arts_3649","arts_1737","arts_1143","arts_585"],"featImg":"arts_13957253","label":"arts_140"}},"programsReducer":{"possible":{"id":"possible","title":"Possible","info":"Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? 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You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn","officialWebsiteLink":"/mindshift/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":"2"},"link":"/podcasts/mindshift","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"}},"morning-edition":{"id":"morning-edition","title":"Morning Edition","info":"\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. 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