Let’s break the ice. Let us know who you are, where you are from, and when did you fall in love with Skratching?
I’m DJ Nocturnal aka The Manhandler of Wax!! & Co-Founder of The Mighty Sleeprockers. I believe i fell in love with Skratching back in the late 90’s to early 2000’s more accurately when i seen/heard DJ Qberts “Wave Twisters”
Who or what are your influences? When did you first hear or see someone scratching?
My influences are Qbert, Mixmaster mike, Z-Trip, DJ Shadow. The first time i seen someone Skratch in front of my eyes was at a J-roc show out here in Sacramento. I remember it being a small club on broadway, i forgot the name of the venue but i do remember he was rocking the show with all Wax and going to town on the decks rocking juggles and getting busy on the cut. I remember my girl friend at the time was bored but my homies and I were blown away. Until that night i never seen someone murder the decks like that in person.
How did you get involved with Skratchpad Sacramento? What exactly goes down at a Skratchpad event?
Originally my brother Kodac Visualz brought Skratchpad to Sacramento but then he got real busy and could not keep up with running the event so he put SP on hold. A year or two later I was working a lot of shows and weekly DJ nights and i would always hear people telling me to bring back Skratchpad. Folks would say that if anyone could bring back SP916 it would be me. at the time i did not take that too seriously, I mean to run Skratchpad is to be unselfish and completely dedicated to the Skratch community, in other words Skratchpad is truly a labor of love. So after putting together a handful of DJ nights in Sacramento and most of them being kinda a wash i decided i’d give Skratchpad a try and made a phone call to Celskiii and ever since we had some amazing shows, battles and events all thanks to the support of Sacramento’s Skratch community.
What’s one thing you can tell someone about Skratching that you wish you knew when you first started?
I would tell them to do what’s natural and what feels right. You can learn a lot of technics by watching videos and taking part in skratch sessions with homies but you can not learn “FUNK” In other words Learn all that you can but also don’t be afraid to let your own natural style shine through.
What equipment do you use? Do you have a favorite piece of gear?
oh man!!! I have a ass load of gear!!, On the daily i rock a pair of Numark TTX’s and my Rane 62 (Z-Trip edition) I would say that setup is def my favorite although i also really dig my Midi Fighter 3D as well.
As a touring DJ, how many cities have you played? How does different areas respond to your skratch abilities?
Hmmmmm, That’s hard to answer. I rocked hundreds of cities and over 30+ states that is for sure but to pinpoint them all is damn near impossible. Each city or state that i rock in all react differently but more often than not folks are shocked and confused hahahahaha, It’s funny because a lot of folks consider Skratching to be an “Old Skool” way of DJing and i tell em, Where i’m from this is standard hahahaha.
Do you find certain areas lacking in DJ / Skratch culture? (I live in one.)
Well, in my eyes every place could use more Skratch Culture!! Throughout my travels touring and such i did realize that many folks have never been introduced to skratch music or it’s culture. it’s crazy because Skratching and turntablism exist all over the world, you can see people from all walks of life posting Skratch videos on youtube and entering battles but not many of those guys tour or take their talents outside of their bedroom so when i rock shows across the nation i always run into folks who have never seen someone skratch in front of their eyes ever. That always trips me out when that happens.
How much fun is it to rock with Sleeprockers? How does a group of turntablists change / effect your performance?
Rocking with Sleeprockers SUCKS! i want all the shine!!! Nah, i’m just playin. For real though rocking with my crew is always a blast. having 4 other crew members of gifted Turntablist and producers makes for some real over the top and original sets. Working with the sleeprockers allows me to share my ideas and mold them into things that could only be possible with a 5 man crew. We all come from battle backgrounds and have party rocking experience as well as the production element so when you get the juices flowing our set end up mutating into insanely dope works of freshness.
What’s the biggest challenge you had to overcome when you first started working as a group?
Really i can not think of any, Working as a group has only made things easier. We all respect each other and our opinions so working together is never a challenge, if anything it’s really natural.
What was the last song you listened to?
Hit me baby one more time by Britney Spears
Do you have a favorite record you love to use for Skratching?
I really love “COP PORN” i think it’s because of the naked chick on the label but right now i’m all about Slow Roasted Super Seal!!
What style(s) of music do you enjoy spinning?
I’m known for spinning that Raw Underground Hip-hop and classic joints but i really like spinning polka as well
Do you have any skratch tapes or other work we can check out? Where can we get it?
Right now i got The Benchmark out for download as well as limited Edition hardcopies but i’m currently working on a new Skratch tape titled “Night Terrors” that is going to release on my newly founded label “Twiddle Dope”. Till then you can download The Benchmark on my Bandcamp page. http://djnocturnal.bandcamp.com
Where can we connect with you online?
www.Twiddledope.com or Facebook and twitter, oh yeah not to forget SexyOverweightDJ.com
What’s next for DJ Nocturnal?
I’m working on new set’s and battle routines, I really want to focus on DMC and get busy in the battle circuit. Also i’m in the process of branding my label “Twiddle Dope” so everything that i release from here on out will be under my own label. I’m also really focusing on growing as a Skratch DJ/Turntablist and putting more effort in to all original music and live performance pieces. One day i hope to achieve what folks like Qbert or DJ Shadow have and take my over the top live shows and wild skratch compositions on tour world wide.
Any last thoughts? Shout outs?
I’m really excited to be featured on Skratchtapes.com and proud to be a part of the Skratch community. Big up’s to my crew The Sleeprockers, ARG, Live manikins, My Skratchpad Family, Huskey Radio, Mr.P Chill, Doc Jeezy, McDonalds and IDigFatChicks.com
Ohhhh Yeah, to everyone else, STOP READING THIS AND GO FUCKING SKRATCH ALREADY!!!
