Welcome to the home of the Skratch Bastid. June 25th, 2008 My latest Canadian tour, the WE STAND ON GUARD FOR THE FUNK Tour has already begun and I've teamed up with Dose.ca, Adidas and my OG homies WESC to bring you a great giveaway package to promote this adventure. We're giving away FIVE prize packages, which include a set of WESC headphones, a pair of Adidas kicks and a Skratch Bastid "Get Up!" CD. No purchase necessary, but you should probably come to my show for good luck! CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE CONTEST OVER AT DOSE.CA! Below is a poster for my tour, including dates. Dose.ca also has me writing a blog over at their website, which i'll be linking here once i find the pictures that i took this weekend :). Also this week, I've got a gig outside Quebec in Lachine with my homie Hatchmatik, so i've thrown that flyer up here, too. Awwwww Yeeeeeeeah. June 5th, 2008 Hello there, Haven't said 'hi' in a minute. All is well over here, though. Working hard on traveling and playing shows, as well as some studio work. It's almost summer time and I can feel it at the shows. People just enjoy themselves more at this time of year! Make sure you fit in some time in the sun, it'll do wonders for your health. I'm in Europe for some shows this week. It's beautiful over here. If you're in Ireland or Scotland, and I didn't see you, i'll be back in September! After this I'm coming back to Canada for a bunch of shows, and amongst other things, a second installment of Bastid's BBQ, but this time at the Drake Hotel in Toronto. More dates coming soon, so stay tuned! To recap, the tour across the country with Buck 65 and Cadence Weapon was a fantastic trip (save for some of our camera gear getting stolen). We touched damn near every corner of Canada and put on a hell of a show every night. Thanks to all of you that came out, and I will see you again soon. Also, the Canadian Juno Awards were an excellent weekend. I didn't come home with any hardware (congratulations to Joni Mitchell for taking home producer of the year), but I had an amazing time at the festivities. The Red Bull party with Mat The Alien was one of the best shows of the year, hands down. Comedian Russel Peters even stepped to the stage to pull out a scratch. Didn't know he had it in him. I also had a funny encounter with a Canadian Rock legend. Read about that here. Alright, I think that's it! Thanks for checking back in. I've got a new website coming down the hatch, so this may look a bit different next time you visit, but I'm sure you'll enjoy the new features and look. Take it easy! April 2nd, 2008 Buck 65, Cadence Weapon, DJ Weez-Il and I are hitting the road for a MASSIVE Canadian tour. 20 dates, from Saint John's, Newfoundland to Toffino, British Columbia. A true coast to coast venture. See if we're coming to your town in the DATES section. Near the beginning of the tour, we've got a week off and i'm going to make it out to the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival to play with Mat The Alien and then back to Toronto for my monthly residency @ The Drake Hotel. So be sure to see if i'm going to be in your area!! Juno Awards are this weekend in Calgary. Wish me luck! I'm playing all over Calgary, check me out. Over the last 3 weeks, I've had some amazing music experiences. SXSW, Paid Dues, and some great one-offs. I have many photos, but unfortunately not the time to upload them right now. Tomorrow, I promise! February 12th, 2008 BIG NEWS! I've been nominated for a JUNO award in the category of Jack Richardson Producer of the Year. Check it out HERE! For my international friends and fans, the JUNO awards are Canada's national music awards. This year, they are taking place in Calgary, Alberta from April 4th-6th. Currently on tour. Check the dates! Grandmaster Flash this Thursday! CALGARY FEBRUARY DATE HAS BEEN CHANGED TO WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 20TH. January 6th, 2008 Happy New Year! 2007 was a classic. Straight up. Benchmark status. Let's hope 2008 is another banger. Over the past 3 weeks, I've been catching up with friends and family and enjoying the holidays. I also took some time to re-cap the "International Situation Tour" which I've been telling you about from time to time. Heeeere we go.... Buck 65/Skratch Bastid/Bernard Dolan US Tour October 30th-November 30th 2007 4 guys, 1 van. The tour actually started in Providence and Boston on the 30th and November 1st respectively, where Buck's CD release parties took place. We flew out to San Francisco on the 2nd for and rented our van. San Francisco was one of the highlights of the trip. Great city and a lovely crowd. The homies DJ Stef and Serg showed love as did Diane, who snapped a few pics of the crew. Weather was looking lovely for November! Los Angeles is always a trip, what with all the flashy lights and all. Stayed at the awesomely-art-deco Beverly Laurel and ate at Swingers 4 times in 2 days. Popped into the LA WESC store. We played @ the Troubabdour which is somewhat of a legendary venue. Probably my favorite show of the tour. the sound was AMAZING. The only highlight of the 24 hour drive that took us from LA to Dallas was this amazing leather jacket that I purchased for 10 dollars. The south definitely wasn't a bright spot. Between Dallas, Austin (usually a banger!), Baton Rouge and Tallahassee, there wasn't much to write home about besides a couple of the rest stops and sights that we saw on the drive. Orlando was a refreshingly energetic show. It could have been because this was at the height of our Cracker Barrel ingestion. Philly was cool. Great room, and cool city. After the show i stopped by Transit to check in with The Rub homies who were playing the same night. New York was the ticket! I love New York and I hadn't visited since '98 when I went on a trip to buy my first major crate of wax. It exceed my expectations. We rocked the Mercury Lounge and walked around the city for a day. Can't wait to go back. Shouts out to Karl, Alyson and Nick for showing some hometown love. By now, it was getting significantly colder. Didn't see much of Detroit, although I will tell you that I ate my best meal of the tour there and that we played in a venue with a bowling alley that I regretfully didn't bowl a string in. The crowd was a bit of a gutterball, maybe a 3-pinner at best. Chicago was the shit! Our venue had the best stage that I've ever played on. Solid concrete with 4 bass bins underneath. It was Thanksgiving the following day and we spent the day booting around the city (amazing buildings) and watching "No Country For Old Men". The next morning we woke up to find that someone broke into our van. Happy Thanksgiving. And this was a smart crook. He took our GPS, numerous electronics adapters, our f@(&ing spare tire and my beloved leather vest. I mean, not only was this guy crafty, but he also had a sense of fasion. Needless to say, it soured the drive to Minneapolis. Which ended up being the rowdiest crowd of the tour. Booze was flowing and i pulled out the mullet wig. Could be why there are no pictures. A good way to boot the blues from the break-in.We can all forget about Omaha. Some nice people (we're talking SOME of the 20 that were there), but on the real, Nebraska sucks. There was a gas station there that describes how I feel about visiting Nebraska. Boulder, Colorado was wicked. Buck's girlfried lives there and I think he put a little something extra into the show @ the amazing Fox Theatre. While he was maxing and relaxing on some QT shit, we hit up the Sulphur springs for some Rejuvenation. ...And it's a good thing we did because the drive that ensued was hell! Snowy mountains and closed roads = bootay. Shouts out to the tour manager Jess for getting us to Seattle in one piece. Seattle was a live crowd, and combined with Portland it was a perfect way to end the tour. Ran into the Grayskul MCs in Seattle who split my side on some rap jokes shit. We played at the Doug Fir Lounge, which looked like a Swiss Chalet but had much better food than the chain. It was the perfect opportunity to sport my new shades and rock the spot. And that's it! 21 shows in 30 days. Shouts out to Jess, Bernard and Buck for keeping the wheels from falling off and to WESC posse for keeping a brother dipped. But on the real, you gotta get up on this leather vest tip. it's sweeping the country. holler! November 13th, 2007 Buck and i have decided that the best way to keep you up to date on our travels is to do a radio program about it. I was lucky enough to co-host Buck's legendary "Treatment Program" on CKDU 97.5 FM in Halifax for a few years, and this is kind of picking up where we left off. No format really, just playing songs that were on our mind and that we've been playing in the van, along with plenty of stories from the road. Check out EPISODE ONE HERE. We'll be doing more of these, so stay tuned! here's a few more pics from the road: Don't forget to pick up a copy of Buck 65's new album "Situation", available in all major Canadian CD outlets, online from iTunes and most definitely at the STRANGE FAMOUS WEBSITE, Buck's US label. November 6th, 2007 The Buck 65/Skratch bastid/Bernard Dolan US tour is in full swing. I'm writing this from Swingers' Diner in L.A., where I have eaten 4 of my last 6 meals. Highly recommended. 20 more cities to go. Check the dates section to see if I'm coming to your city. Here's a few pics: I actually am and enjoying/liking america. Don't let the late night photos fool you! ...And when I get back to the homeland, i'll be doing some dates out west: Nelson, Golden, Fernie, Whistler and this one in Vancouver: See you there! October 18th, 2007 Check it out: I'm in the new issue of Fader (#49, Spankrock/Deerhunter cover). And let's not forget, 12 more days until OCTOBER 30th! Make sure you check out BUCK 65's MYSPACE PAGE for some brand new songs from our new album, Situation. In promotion of our new album, many, many dates in the US have been added to my tour dates. Coming soon to a venue near you. Here's the cover of the album, and a banner that you can download. July 23rd, 2007 Hey sportsfans. "Get Up" just got added to Turntable Lab, which is I guess like the internet djing ghetto-pass or something, so I'm proud. Check out the link on my press materials page. I've been continuing to bang out beats like a dummy and I've been coming up with some great stuff, so stay tuned for more bastid beats coming to you in 07-08. I just finished 2 tracks with my homie Fatt Matt and am working on some more with my homie Sleep, one of my all time favorites. The Buck 65 & Skratch Bastid album has officially been pushed back to October 30th. And it sounds so good. I'm disappointed that it got pushed back until then, but i really really think you guys will enjoy it. I'm sure you'll hear some of it soon. Upcoming cities that I'm hitting are Quebec City, Fredericton, Toronto & Cincinnatti. Which I think is harder to spell than Mississippi. But who am I to make these rules. Hope you're having a good summer! Cheers. June 26th, 2007 "Get Up!" has been recieving a bunch of great reviews. Check it: BOOM. Now go and buy lots of them from THE STORE. If you are one of the many million who has already purchased one, I'd like to extended my humble thanks. Summer's sitting on my doorstep and I'm going to go outside and have a long chat accompanied by a few tubes of beer. Heading to Halifax for Canada Day and passing by Saint John, NB and Charlottetown, PEI on the way. Then I'm moving my girlfriend up to this pleasant city of Montreal. I think some leisure biking is in order. Also in order are Toronto, Quebec City, Ottawa and more NB and NS. And maybe even Scribble Jam. I really like Tum Tum's album. In unrelated news, the Buck 65 album got mastered yesterday and is scheduled to be released SEPTEMBER 18th, worldwide. The beats sound great and I'm so happy that I was a part of this project. Can't wait for you to hear it. It's been a long time in the making! My man rhek made me some banners to advertise for my store. Check this one: That's about it for now. May 26th, 2007 THE STORE IS NOW OPEN! You can pick up my brand new "Get Up!" mix and other past releases by clicking HERE or by clicking on the new button in the toolbar. Big shout outs to Peter for making the store happen! May 16th, 2007 Yo! What's going on, people? No, that question's not posed in a Marvin tone, but more like a Cee!!!!!!! tone. Feel me? no? okay. Without further ado, let me just say this: my new mixtape is done and available now!!!! It's the best mixtape I have ever made. Hands down. What's that, you want one? The store's being setup as we speak. BUT. If you want one now, they are $12, shipping included. Hit me up at skratchbastid@skratchbastid.com to get you some! Ungh! Here's what it looks like and what is on it... Honestly, you gotta check that shit out. Your copy will be hand packaged by my younger brother, Dave. It's Dave's borthday today. And Adrienne's. I love those people. I spent the first week of may out West with my good friends the Kuttin Kracker, Fatt Matt and Cee!!!!!!!!. Those guys are awesome. We tore up Whistler and Vancouver. After that, played the little amazing town of Golden and then Calgary, where the beer flowed like water. And now i'm out West. Mixing the Buck 65 record! check this out.... Having the time of my life, really. The date for the record is SEPTEMBER 19th. Mark it down, folks! The Bastid's big project. whew. I gotta run.... February 14th, 2007 Happy Valentines Day. I love you all. Last week I was down in Southern Ontario. Now, I have to admit, I used to hate going to Toronto when I was a younger. But I think I like it more every time I visit. I played a DJ gig at The Drake Hotel and 3 shows with Buck 65 and The Tragically Hip. We played at the Copps Coliseum, the John Labatt Cantre and the Air Canada Centre. Mike D, Team Buck and I snapped a couple quick pictures, check 'em below. Buck and I performed 2 of our new songs at the shows: "Way Back When" and "Spread 'Em". I'm really digging the way they sounded on a big system, which is always a reassuring thing. The album we are working on now has a title: Situation. It's due to be released in September now and I can't wait to drop it on you sportsfans. it's been a year and a 3 months in the making. Upcoming shows include another trip down Toronto for Canadian Music Week and a streak of appearances down at South By South West in Austin, Texas. I'm also planing a coast-to-coast Canadian tour in April with a camera crew and all that jazz, so all you Canadian fans, camera hogs and beer lovers get ready, cause i'm crashing your party and buying all of the good records in your record stores, if they still exist by the time I get there. Here's a few flicks for dat ass... October 26th, 2006 What's up y'all. Just doing some internet biz. Cleaning up and what not. While figuring out what to throw out on my computer, I came across a mix that I did for J-Swing and Flipout's Straight Goods Radio Show in Vancouver. I put it togther using my touring records, Rhek's records and Serato. No real theme, just straight goods. Here it is: Skratch Bastid on Straight Goods Radio. Check out their mySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/straightgoodsradio, they've got treats up there... And yes, I'll be heading out West again in November. I just posted the dates for my tour, so check out the dates page to see if you're getting hit up. I don't know aout where you are, but i was in onterio last weekend and I saw some snow. Looks like it will be a cold tour. Congratulations to my friends Mat The Alien and Amanda on getting engaged! And to Ian and Jenn on their newborn baby. Make sure you check out Buck 65's mySpace page for new music that he has posted up. it's some stuff that he recorded called the Dirty Work EP. Good shit! UGK has a couple of new songs out and one of them is awesome. Try and find "The Game Belongs To Me". Check out Trae's solo album, too. And jesus, Lil Fame recorded a song with C-Murder. I don't know about -Murder's verse, but Fame destroys it, as usual. Anyway, just dropping by to say hi. Again, make sure you check out the dates page to see where I am playing soon. Peace, y'all! October 3rd, 2006 September was a motha. The East coast got hit hard. Halifax, Saint John, Fredericton, Charlottetown and Antigonish. Bangers, son. Montreal got some, too. I performed a show with my friend Bad News Brown at Club Soda and I won the semi-final round of Montreal's Head 2 Head Battle The MUDJ Battle, taking me to the final round on October 26th versus Godfather D. The MUDJ Battle is kind of like 'wrestling meets DJ battles' and is more fun than your average local scrtch-off, so make sure you come and check it out. I also played shows in Toronto and Montreal with Melle Mel and Scorpio of The Furious Five and Samantha Fox. For real. See below for the flex-off. And yeah, I've decided to try and take a few more pictures. I finally figured out how to use my camera properly (duh) and so I may aswell take advantage of it, right? More to come later. I figure this is just as good as any place to post my pictures. Also make sure to keep checking my MySpace page for flyers and all that other quick-type advertising. I also ran into my friend Buck 65 at a fruit stand in the Kensington market last weekend. He told me that he's been performing a few of our new jams on the road, so make sure you catch him if he's in your town, you may very well get a sneak preview of our new songs. Songs i like lately: 'Music For Life' - Nas & Hi-Tek; 'Hollywood Divorce' - outkast, weezy, snoop; 'Watch how it go down Remix' - Lil Fame, Termanology, Papoose and DJ Premier. Over the next two weeks, I'll be catching up on e-mails, so if you sent me some and I didn't respond to you, i'll get back to you soon, I promise. I was away lots and the internet & MySpace can be, err, anti-social in other peoples presence. Oh yeah, and my computer stopped working. But I've got new one. So don't worry. Nerds. Might I add that my brother Dave convinced me to update this page. It has been neglected I agree. I'm making a mid-year's resolution. "Flex more complex than Mozart's instrumental" - Melachi The Nutcracker July 27th, 2006 What’s up y’all. Sitting in an airport. It’s about that time, it’s about that time. Things have been good over here. The summer has been nuts. The last month saw some great shows in St. John, Charlottetown, Halifax, Calgary, Golden, Vancouver, Whistler, and Rollo Bay (..where I played in the heaviest rain I’ve ever played in outdoors; but they stuck with me. Bastid is for the people!). The West Coast trip was filled with good times, as I hit up the Calgary Stampede (cowboy hat and all), played Golden for the first time (and not the last), played the big jig out in Vancouver (Plush, 1000+ peoples) and got to hang out with my homie Mat The Alien who’s still doing ‘really good’. Montreal is hot as a mutha right now, so I had to step out East to get some chill time. During the chill time, Buck 65 and I started working on a new record. DJ Signify sent us 2 beats, and I put up 12. Ol’ Bucky came with the heat raps. 14 of ‘em. Let’s just say I’ll be busy for a little while. Rich has been writing somethin’ fierce. I’ll keep you posted. I’m also preparing to go back to Scribble Jam to rock some of these routines. My man Wundrkut from Vancouver is heading down there, too. Will it be a canuck repeat like 2004? Let’s show ‘em how it’s done, Eric. I don’t know if y’all heard or not, but my regional DMCs did not go down this year, and so it looks like Scribble will be my routine focus this year. See you down there, America. Upcoming shows: Brossard, Ottawa, Hamilton, 2 weddings in Fredericton and Digby (keeping it rural), Scribble and of course my regular Thursdays at Club Blizzarts in Montreal. Then it’s time to finish up this Buck project and get ready for September and beyond. I need to drop a mixtape on y’all, too. It’s been a minute. I kept talking about it but never did it; I feel like I owe you something good. Hot new stuff? The Roots “Game Theory” album. I just saw their live show for the first time at the Montreal Jazz Fest and it was great. What more can I say? The subtle references and allusions to musical classics from all genres were too numerous too count, and that’s all a nerd like myself could ask for. Add on a packed house, some Heineken, an unbeatable seat (thanks Mike) and you’ve got yourself a great show. But f’real, check out the album. Also, a new M.O.P. joint called “Gangsta Boogie” has been floating around and it is hard as hell (..what did you expect?). *Don’t call it a blog, Jack, I’ve been here for years*: I’m going to add this website update to my myspace page under my ‘blog’ section. I f$@#%n hate the word blog, but I guess I’ve got to conform sometimes. I’m a bit of a loudmouth. Especially when rap is on the tip of my tongue. Until next time! May 10th, 2006 Wooooo! Summer is almost here. I can almost taste it. It tastes like beer. So, yes, it's been a minute. I've come back to update the dates for my summer, which looks to be laid out pretty nicely. A couple of loose ends to tie up, so check it now, and check it later. The shows recently have been bonkers! The Jedi Mind Tricks show two weeks ago in Montreal was insane. Packed to the teats, and you already know that I tore the house down. Halifax and Saint John also got healthy doses of Bastid. it's been a good few months. Up next, a some more local Montreal gigs including this months edition of The Megablast @ Academy Club, as well as: Toronto (finally!), my homies the Chicharones (that's Josh Martinez and Sleep) are coming to Montreal and i'm playing a show here and in London with them; i'll be in Halifax, the Shoreline Festival in PEI, the DMCs in Montreal and like I said, more to come. You know what else is great? There's finally a new Outkast song floating around. Be on the lookout for "The Might O". And the new 8Ball and MJG joint "Ridin' High": the next hit. That's what I've been bumping in between making SP beats off of old records. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense, does it? Well, I guess I've been bumping some "Ready To Die", too. Easy Mo Bee killin' the SP. There you have it. Catch you soon! March 10th, 2006 Here's a segment I recorded for my new radio slot on CISM 89.3 in Montreal: Gangsters Modernes. A little bit of freestyle mixing, with a couple of newer MP3s attached to the end. Something to hold you over until this mixtape. Dates section updated. More soon come! On my way out the door.... February 20th, 2006 Happy belated Valentine's Day, love birds and sportsfans. Thanks for keeping up with me. One new place to keep up with me....I caved in and registered to MySpace, so go and become my 'friend' (instantly!) at http://www.myspace.com/skratchbastid. Did an opening slot for the Pocket Dwellers this past Saturday that was nothing but fun. If you get a chance to check those guys out, they put on a really good show. Coming out West this weekend, check the dates. Song of the past month has been "Tell Me When To Go" by 40 Waters and Keak Da Sneak. listen to it for free here. Video looks real good and the 'making of' video is a good experience. Just stopping in to say hi, full West Coast report coming soon! Be easy. January 16th, 2006 Rappy New Year Well, the holidays were a blast. East coast, you know how to have a good time. And yes, that’s why this update has taken (x number of) days. Got to give a big shout out to my man Gordski for lending me the GoodnightmusicsMobile for much of the holidays. We risked our lives trying to get to Prince Edward Island to play a show, and it was a crazy night. Packed and sweaty. I couldn’t scratch due to condensation on the records. I swear! That’s hot. The annual Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve shows in Halifax were off the hinges. Thanks to everyone who came out and showed love. The headphones are still in one piece. So, what are you doing for the new year? I’ve jumped back up to Montreal and I am continuing to hold down my Thursday “Stay Fly” weekly night at Blizzarts. I'm gonna be in the studio for a month, pounding out this mixtape and some new beats. I know I’ve been a little tardy with the tape, but I promise you, it’s coming! I think I’m also going to drink less beer, but probably more gin. I’ve got a gig coming up in Whitehorse, Yukon at the end of February. It’ll be the first time I’ve been up there in my life, which is exciting news to me. It also means that I’ll be swinging back by the West Coast again, so check back on the updates soon to see if I’m sliding through your ‘hood, cause I probably am. Locally this month, I'll be doing some fun gigs, namely The Megablast with my homie A-Rob @ Sala Rosa and the also-bound-to-be-classic NSIA afterparty @ the Godin Hotel, on top of, of course, Stay Fly and a gig @ Foufounes Electriques. Pimp C has officially been released. Can’t wait to hear wait he’s been saving up in his head for the past five years. Song of the week, even though it’s a year old: Pimp C “I Know You Strapped”. Just for the hell of it. December 6th So, I'm a week late. But I won't change the update dates to act like I'm all perfect and shit. Here's the new video. Download it: Collecting Empties. It's as low budget as you get... 130 bux. But lots of fun. Thanks to Jay Lapeyre for making this happen; and to Pip and John Smith for the use of their apartments and their empty collections. I lost 30 dollars in poker last week. I once lived above a gambling addict. Don't worry. It's all for fun. I don't chase my bets. In fact, I feel more on top of my game than ever. Wanna hear some new beats? Soon my friends, soon. There's some bangers going on in the studio, bro. F*#@. Song of the week is still “Get Low” by 8ball and MJG. Lovin' it. November 29th Things are getting busy! I have to squeeze some time into the studio. In the meantime, I have renovated the dates page so that you can check me out under the misteltoe and such. Big shoutout to the Pocket Dwellers and Rochester and posse for holding down the Maritimes this past weekend. We played across the street from each other twice and then i finally got to see their show. Hot shit! Song of the moment: "Get Low" by Eightball and MJG. MJG is absolutely killing it. Got a surprise coming for you guys tomorrow. Stay tuned! November 7th I think rap is the new wrestling. Watching Jay-Z and Nas unite on stage was like witnessing some kind of Stone Cold Steve Austin-Chris Benoit alliance. What’s next? I think it’s going pay-per-view. Honestly. November looks like a busy month, so I’ve updated the dates section for all y’all. The new mixtape is coming along nicely, in my head. Gathering up some heat from my homies Sleep, John Smith, Pipi, Tachichi, Kunga…possibly a surprise guest. I don’t know what I’m going to call it yet. Possibly “Be Easy”. Maybe “Believe That”. Make sure you check out the new Peanuts and Corn release from mcenroe, John Smith and Yy: Park Like Setting. That song “Craftsmen” is tough. Song of the month is “Crazy” by Cee-Lo and Dangermouse from their ‘Gnarls Barkley’ project. Cee-Lo is the most diverse artist in rap. I’m convinced. October 12th, 2005 Dates updated. The Blizzarts "Stay Fly" residency is in full effect this month, off to a great start. Make sure you come down if your out and about on a Thursday in Montreal. Also, on October 22nd I've got a nice show planned with Peanut Butter Wolf and J-Rocc that i'm pretty excited about. Atmosphere played a show here in Montreal on October 10th. They kicked ass. If you've got a chance to catch them on this tour, make sure you check it out. Large Professor and Medaphoar are playing tonight aswell, which I am definitely looking forward to. New Bun B album drops next week. Cop that. Also, if you haven't heard the new DJ Quik album, it is great...make sure you check it out: "Trauma". Basically, I'm back in the lab whipping up some beats and a new mixtape for all of the eager ears. I'll keep you posted on that as it progresses. I just wanted to pop on here and let you know about these shows coming up and what not. Until next time..... September 28th, 2005 Doing the laundry. It’s gotta be done SOMEtime. So, let me take this idle time to fill you in on what’s been happening. Well, my man Yosuke at Granma Music in Japan has just sent me copies of the Japanese release of Taking Care of Business and it looks great! Good job, Yosuke. I’m working on getting a scanned image of the CD up on the site so everyone can see it. The design is basically the same, but it has one of those import-y paper sleeves around the spine with Japanese written on it. The only things I can make out are ‘1200 hobos’ and ‘Party Rocker’. Yessssssss. I’m headed back east for the weekend to play some shows in Halifax, Antigonish (shouts out to my man Brian Boudreau) and Charlottetown (@UPEI). I’m also going to eat some Dharma Sushi. It’s an addiction. Big love to Baba, my granny, who dodged the hurricane in Southern Texas last week! Glad your safe. I’m missing the Devin The Dude show here in Montreal tomorrow. Dammit. At least I got to see DJ Cash Money throw down this week which is always a treat. The man is just so damn funky. Also at the show was DJ A-Trak, who did a seminar with DJ Mana and myself earlier in the week… good god, the man is on some shit! He’s at the top of the game right now, there’s no question in my mind. And tomorrow, he leaves to go back on a 2 1/2 month tour with Kanye West. He’s doing it all. Mazel tov! Oh, and I got nominated for "DJ/DJ Crew of the Year" by the Canadian Urban Music Awards. Still love the new Ghostface jam… also, my manager Mike D has been playing the new Damian Marley CD, and the pieces I’ve heard have been quite good. Most of you have probably heard ‘Welcome To Jamrock’, but I’d say check out the album, too… that Nas guest spot is nice. Oh, and my homie Ian from WESC put me on to www.dirtysouthradio.com, and my life has changed. I’ll admit, there are some reeeeally bad songs on there, but I guess that’s the price you’ve got to pay to hear some of the bonkers stuff they’ve got on there. Check it out. Well, time to fold some clothes. See you soon….. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- September 17th, 2005 What!? It's been a while since I've updated the site. A looong while. I apologize! I guess all it takes is a rainy day here in Montreal and things seem to get organized. So where have I been? Not on the internet, I'll tell you that much. I mean, these winters in MTL will straight kick your ass and keep you begging for some warmth, so I've been stocking up on some good weather while it's been at my disposal. I toured the country in July and had a great time. Big ups to everyone from coast to coast who came out to a show, put on a show or put me up in their city. You really make the trip worthwhile, for real. After that, I hit the studio for some routine-making time and then hit up Scribble Jam. The overall event was fun, as per annum. I don't know if you heard about it or not, but the battle was pretty disappointing for me, as I was knocked out in the semi-final round on a disputable call. Check it out here: (semis 2c and 2d). Ah well, I'll be back next year with lots of new shit for the people, I guess. Thanks to Mike Brie for the footage! Over the next month, I prepared for the Canadian DMC finals, celebrated my birthday (twice) and kicked it with my friends and family after being on the road most of the summer. It was great to chill out for a second. Played some shows in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and then i hit up the Canadian DMC finals, placing 2nd to DJ Drastik in a squeaker (3/500 points!). Here's the footage from that. Now, I'm settling back in to Montreal. Of course, the dates have been updated. What else is coming up? A new mixtape! Some new beats! Another record in the making? I think so.... Also, it is important to mention that the new Ghostface single "Be Easy" produced by Pete Rock is the best. I think That's about it for now, but I promise I will be back more frequently now that i've got my feet on solid ground. Peace! June 25th, 2005 London, Ontario rocks. If you didn’t know, it’s actually the best place to play a rap show in Canada. That’s my word. I’m in the lab for the week, cooking up some marvelous routines and such. Summer is in full effect, and I’ve got some shit for everybody. Summer means people are in a better mood and I can play a wider variety of music at clubs, festivals and such, where people don’t look at you with a screwface and say “GOT ANY FIFTY?!!!?!?”. So that’s nice. Check the dates section for an update. I’m hitting Halifax, PEI, Winnipeg, Brandon, Calgary, Edmonton, Calgary, Victoria and Vancouver in the next month, so, heads up… “Taking Care Of Business” is now available across the country, in most mom-and-pop shops, HMVs and other music outlets. Cop it if you haven’t yet, and request it if you don’t see it! You can also request in on any college radio station in Canada. The new Missy Elliot 12” is friggin’ slammin’. I swear. That beat for “On & On” is some of the hardest shit I’ve heard in months. As my man Kuttin’ Kracker put it, why don’t the neptunes chuck jiggaman some shit like this? I guess they did give him “Excuse Me Miss Again”, which was pretty tough, but I think this one-ups it. The beer of the moment is Sleeman Original Draught. And yes, I did cop some zippy skate bearings from my homies at Empire Skateshop in Montreal. And that's it for now. Hit me. June 9th, 2005 Haven't updated this bad boy in a minute...It's been too nice outside! I hope you have been enjoying the weather as much as I have. Luckily, my pasty ass hasn't got burned yet. Basically, for the first time ever, I think I am on top of the skin cancer game. And I think my skateboard needs some new bearings. And I may need a new liver. Okay, we're getting carried away. Since we last spoke, I won the North Bay regional DMC heat. I've never been to North bay before, but a couple heads had seen me in Ottawa and on the Scribble Jam DVD, so there was some love in the house. This means I'll be seeing the rest of the Canadian contingent of young scratch DJs at the Canadian finals on Septemebr 10th in Hamilton, Ontario. Check out more deets at DMC Canada. Speaking of the Scribble video, my 2001 set where I flipped Buck 65's "The Centaur" into the Imperial Death March has been popping up on collegehumor.com, ebaumsworld.com and all of those other websites your little brother checks for funny videos of comical hurtful situations and dirty humor. They're about 4 years late in 'discovering' the clip, but I guess during the 'Episode 3' fever, someone dug out the footage and submitted it. Check it out, I'm at the top of the page; the link "IMPERIAL DJ" @ collegehumor.com. So, the OTHER video, the I AIN'T LAZY VIDEO, has been getting a couple spins on MuchMusic and lots of internet run. If you haven't seen it by now, you're probably using a slow computer, so hit up an internet cafe with some headphones or go to Future Shop and "pretend" to be interested in buying a computer by testing it's internet services. I've updated the dates, and there are plenty of spots I'm going to hit up this summer, so be on the lookout for the Bastid rolling through your city. In the meantime, cop that Taking Care Of Business album at the stores listed below, if you haven't done so already. I'm outta here. May 3rd, 2005 So, the tour ended a week ago. And what a time it was. Thanks to everyone that came out to show their support for our music. Thanks to Pip, Joe, Noah, Greg, Gord, Mike, Lou, Cass and everyone else who helped this go down. We'll be back out in September. But, to stay current, let's talk about the present and the future. This week in Montreal i'll be playing at Blizzarts on Friday. That's the same day as Roots Manuva and Common Sense, and while I don't plan on stealing fans from either contingent, I will gladly play clean-up man and steal some willing party people, so come on down and check it out. I will be playing my new single, which if you haven't checked the video for, you're sleepin'. It was premiered last night on MuchMusic, but I didn't see it. Let's request it! Here it is again for the late-bloomers: THE I AIN'T LAZY VIDEO.....and for those that may want to play it on curse-free radio, here's I Ain't Lazy (Radio Friendly). While traveling the great (big) land of Canada, I dropped off some music along the way. You can pick up Taking Care of Business and the I Ain't Lazy 12" at: VANCOUVER: BEAT STREET (www.beatstreet.ca ) - 439 West Hastings CALGARY: FAMELESS (www.fameless.ca) - 1314 First Street SW SASKATOON: PHONOGRAPHIQUE (www.phonographique.ca) & NINE TIMES WINNIPEG: THE VINYLIST (Get it staright from Smitty!!!) & MUSIC TRADER TORONTO: ROTATE THIS - 620 Queen Street West & KOPS OTTAWA: VERTIGO RECORDS - 193 Rideau Street MONTREAL: OFF THE HOOK, CD ESOTERIK & CHEAP THRILLS HALIFAX: REVOLUTION - 5189 Prince & CDPlus on Barrington LONDON: (I forget...it's the spot where Thesis works....) Happy Birthday to my brother Brian, the current proprietor of the Dopeass Topaz. April 11th, 2005 Hot of the press!! THE I AIN'T LAZY VIDEO. It's 22 mb big, so please be patient. I'll post a smaller one soon, for all you dial-uppers. Shouts out to my man Andre at pegcity.com for the post. Edmonton tonight!! We'll see you out there e-ville. April 10th, 2005 We're grindin'. Here we are in Calgary, almost halfway through the tour. It's great to be playing shows with Pip, John and Kunga....Solid dudes with solid stage shows. I gotta run, but check it out. Our brand new 12" is now available exclusively online at Futility Records. Cop that shit, eager beavers. Shouts out to everyone who has helped us out on tour so far! Sleep, Neoteric, Fatt Matt, Gman & Rizk, Knowmatic, Cass, Louvens, A-wax, mc & Bird, Felipe, Weez-Ill, all promoters and everyone who said "ho". March 1st, 2005 Holy shit, it's March. I added some dates...Montreal, Halifax, Antigonish and Vancouver. More as they come. Stay tuned close...last minute dates expected for the month of March...The US leg of the tour kind of got broken up, so we're not sure what's gonna come up. Tour dates for the "Good 4 Business Tour" featuring John Smith, Pip Skid, The Goods (with Tachichi in eastern Canada) and myself will be up this week, also. Here's a little preview of the album and the tour roster: Get Nice - Skratch Bastid, John Smith and Pip Skid w/ Kunga 219 and Tachichi. Actually one of two songs that doesn't feature scratches on the "Taking Care Of Business" album...but I think there's enough dope raps to carry the track on it's own. I can't be hoggin' the space all the time. The 12" is being mastered today by Phil Demetro at Lacquer Channel mastering in Toronto. We'll let you know how that turns out. The video is also being completed today by Jason Lapeyre out in Winnipeg. Good lookin', fellas! February 15th, 2005 Sup everybody. It has been a crazy couple of months. I am about to embark on three months of INTENSE touring with Pip Skid, John Smith and Tachichi (in Canada), Kunga 219 (in Canada and the US), Sleep and Josh Martinez (in the US and Europe). I’ll post all of the dates as soon as they are solid, but look out! I could be rolling through your city any day now. There are a couple of new dates in the dates section. I recently established a record label for my recordings and called it “First Things First”. This is the label that ‘Skratch Bastid, Pip Skid and John Smith are: Takin’ Care Of Business’ is coming out on, as well as the 12” and video for “I Ain’t Lazy”. I will probably put my mixtapes out under this label aswell, but you know how mixtapes go…we try and keep it gully. The name describes how we get things done. Start with the fundamentals before moving on to anything flashy. Have a strong live show. Put out solid records before promoting the shit out of some…shit. It’s also about maintaining an important role for the DJ, whether it’s making the beats or doing the cuts or holding down the live show. It’s becoming more of a rarity to see a DJ doing anything or even being present at a rap show. And I don’t mean just with a ‘gunshot machine’. I mean holding it DOWN. Doin’ something and staying relevant. The DJ started it all. Let’s not forget where it came from. Stay tuned for an update real soon…peace! January 24th, 2005 Halifax show cancelled due to all that snow. Damn, they've been getting some good weather lately. Ask The Bastid updated with a random rant. More dates added, aswell. To keep y'all updated.....The Skratch Bastid, Pip Skid and John Smith album "Takin' Care Of Business" is nearly complete. I am working on the Gordski Remix of the lead single "I Ain't Lazy". I am also awaiting a remix from another renowned Canadian producer, to spice up the 12" a little....you know, give you some extra goodies. That will round out the recording process and then it will be mixed, mastered and pressed. I won't drop a date on you just yet, but stay tuned for more information, along with audio samples, tour dates, radio slots, in-stores and barmitzvah appearances. Whew. January 8th, 2005 2005....Gonna be a busy year. Updated dates. See for yourself. Can't wait for this Geto Boys album. December 25th, 2004 Happy Holidaze......... Yesssssssss. It is good to take a break. Been recording my ass off. Didn't leave the apartment for three days in a row last week. Good thing too...Montreal was frickin -40 with wind chill. I get off the plane here and it looks like April and there is nothing but rain. And beer, chowder, cookies, chocolate and homies. Didn't really partake in too much Christmas shopping this year. I ain't no grinch, either....I just like to generally be nice to people all year 'round. Plus I was trapped in my apartment. So, I asked my sister what CD she might want for Christmas and she said that she likes the new Ciara song "1, 2 Step" and the new Destiny's Child song "Lose My Breath". Instead of buying either of the CDs, I whipped up this: Lose My Step. Check it out. If you want to pass it on, or play it at a christmas party, or develop a dance troupe routine to it, feel free. My gift to all y'all, but mostly for my sister. The dates section has been updated with lots of goodness in the coming month...January turned out to be a good month. Keep an eye out for the "Takin' Care Of Business" album coming soon.....almost done. 13/16ths done. December 13th, 2004 So, the Nas show was very dope. Made me feel good. There could have been some improvements on the DJ end of things, but I think L.E.S. was busier making beats for Nas' new album than he was practicing on the ones and twos...which I guess is understandable. Plus, it's Nas. He's a one man show. Played everything from "Live at the Barbeque" to "Bridging the Gap". Check the downloads section for my opening set! Gotta run....more updates to follow over the holidays!! December 7th, 2004 Trip out East was good, as always. Halifax was rainier than I've ever seen it, but people still came out of their caves for some really good shows. The Marquee was a nice size crowd after the James Brown show (which was pretty good for a 70 year old man, god damn), and the Palace was filled to capacity. The prestigious Maritime DJ Spinoff was a success as well, three-peating like MJ and Pippen. Played a good benefit for the landmine victims in Uganda. Newfoundland is cold. Shouts out to Fredericton for a dope show, as well! Big Nas show coming up next week, December 12th at The Dome in Montreal! Dates section will be updated soon, my friends. Like, in the next 2 days. I'm currently finishing up the upcoming Skratch Bastid/John Smith/Pip Skid album, scheduled to be released January 25th. Which, coincidentaly is the same day that the new Geto Boys album hits the shops (please go to the website and look/listen). We've got a 12", a CD and a video lined up for release. The album is titled "Takin' Care Of Business" and the 12" and video song will be "I Ain't Lazy". That's just a heads-up for all you keeners out there. More news as it develops. -SkratchBastid1200Hobos October 18th, 2004 Whew, it's been a busy couple of months. In July, I moved from my lifetime home of Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Montreal, Quebec in an attempt to brush up on my french and eat some more bagels. So far, so good. Also this summer, I placed second at the Canadian DMC finals and I managed to scoop up my second consecutive Scribble Jam DJ battle competition in Cincinatti. Check out the Scribble Jam Website if ya dun know. Just got back from a brief tour with J-Live and Brother Ali that hit Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. You can check out where I'm gonna be at next in the dates section, and if you want to go so far as to bring me out yourself, get at Mike D. Currently, I'm working hard at finishing up an album I recorded with John Smith and Pip Skid. The cuts are nearly done. Beats by myself, Gordski and Jorun. See the links page for Gordski (via Goodnight Musics) and Jorun links. Be on the lookout for a 12", a CD and a new mixtape out in January. I've updated sections of the website, so check out what's new and hit me with an e-mail if you have any news to tell me or questions about anything rap related. -SkratchBastid1200Hobos