Bay Area turntable wizard DJ Qbert headlines rare solo show at Great American
Virtuoso scratch master DJ Qbert plays a rare hometown show Thursday when he headlines the Great American Music Hall.
Emerging from the mobile hip-hop DJ culture in San Francisco and Daly City during the late '80s, Richard Quitelvis aka DJ Qbert would found the pioneering scratch crew the Invisibl Skratch Piklz with Mike Schwartz (Mixmaster Mike) and Apollo Novicio (DJ Apollo) after initially working as Shadow of the Prophet and FM2.0.
Each individual turntablist would also established himself as a force to be reckoned with on the competitive DJ circuit with both Qbert and Mixmaster Mike winning major titles on their own and with a groundbreaking duo routine in 1993. But it was the ISP's approach to making music together that found the DJs holding down lead and rhythm parts as well as exploring jazz-influenced call-and-response dialog that elevated the turntable to a musical instrument.
While Apollo would break from the group, the Invisbl Skratch Piklz expanded to include DJ Disk, DJ Shortkut and DJ Flare as members participating in live performances and the studio creation of a string of breakbeat "battle records" (specially designed vinyl used by DJs to compete and develop routines), mixtapes and videos that further cemented the group's reputation. Qbert would push the art of scratching even further with his other projects, recording the landmark Dr. Octagon album with producer Dan the Automator and rapper Kool Keith as well as making his proper solo debut Wave Twisters in 1998 which also served as the soundtrack to the demented animated sci-fi film of the same name that was released a couple of years later.
ISP would go into retirement as a collective after hosting the day-long conference Skratchcon 2000, leaving Qbert to focus on developing DJ equipment like his all-in-one turntable/scratch mixer the QFO and a specialized needle cartridge while maintaining a steady schedule of international appearances. He's gotten even busier in recent years with the celebrated 2011 reunion of the Skratch Piklz at FaderFest in San Francisco and the release of his ambitious sophomore album Extraterrestria/Galaxxxian in 2014.
Three years later, ISP released the group's first proper album -- 13th Floor Elevator -- and staged a momentous reunion performance at the Independent that featured Qbert onstage with DJ Apollo, Shortkut and Mixmaster Mike for the first time in 25 years. He appeared onstage with Faith No More/Mr. Bungle vocalist Mike Patton in 2018 for a pair of sold-out shows at the Chapel. Two years ago, Qbert released his most recent album, Next Cosmos in 5D. This Thursday night performance at the Great American Music Hall gives turntablism fans a chance to witness the master in an intimate setting.
DJ Qbert
Thursday, Aug. 1, 7 p.m. $38-$40 (Friday sold out)
The Chapel