SCRATCH TO LAUNCH FREE SYMPOSIUM SERIES
On July 27th, Scratch will be kicking off a free monthly symposium series featuring interviews and discussions with celebrity DJ’s about different disciplines within the art form.   The first event will feature DJ Spinbad from Power 105 and Z100 who will discuss making a career as a DJ across the battle, mixtape, club and radio scenes.   These symposiums are FREE but space is limited. 
Click here to RSVP or for more information.

DJ DADDY DOG

DJ Daddy Dog of the 5th Platoon has been DJ’ing for over 15 years. From battling, to rocking clubs, to teaching at Scratch DJ Academy, he has done it all throughout the course of his career. We sat down with him to learn a little more about where he’s been and what he’s doing now:

Scratch: How exactly did you get in DJ'ing? When did you decide to become a DJ?

 
DJ DADDY DOG:  Basically, I just got a new home stereo system back in 1990. I was sick in bed with a fever, but in the other room my friends were playing around with the stereo. So they took an old record and started to record different pieces of a song into the tape deck. Then they paused the tape deck… rewound the record and repeated the process over and over again. I was still in the other room and could hear what they were doing and it sounded pretty awful. But it opened my eyes and made me realize that you can take a record you know and rearrange, add to it, or change it with a musical idea you have in your head. Instead of just playing a record, you can manipulate it into something new and something you created. After that, I bought turntables and was just mesmerized with all you can do with them. I never really made a conscious effort to become a DJ. It was just a hobby that I loved and spent any free time doing.
 
Scratch: What was going on in your life at the time?
 
DJ DADDY DOG: Well I got serious with DJ’ing after I saw a couple of DJ battles…I saw other DJ’s doing more than mixing. Guys were scratching and doing tricks on beat! I was like, “Wow…I want to be as nice as that DJ.” I was transitioning from high school to college when I really started to practice 8 or more hours a day. It was pretty crazy…I would sometimes wake up at 5 am to just to practice. Sometimes I would cut school just to DJ. Man… I remember missing so many midterm and final tests, but still graduated college with a 3.00 GPA
 
Scratch: Who was your main influence? What was your inspiration for becoming a DJ?
 
DJ DADDY DOG: I would say DJ Riz was my biggest influence. The first time I saw him was in 1991 DJ’ing with Funk Master Flex, but I didn’t care about Flex… "I was like, who is this white guy killing shit!” He used to dj college radio stations on Saturdays….so I was home recording and studying what he was doing. Still to this day…he’s my overall influence because he can mix, scratch, and do tricks so smooth and clean. The crazy thing about DJ Riz is that he’s one of the best overall DJ’s in the world…and yet doesn’t get the recognition he deserves!
 
Scratch: What did you do to practice? What did you do to get better?
 
DJ DADDY DOG: Well I would listen to the radio and try to imitate what the radio DJ’s were doing. Then I would watch music videos and DJ battles and also try to imitate what the DJ’s were doing there. Then I met with other DJ’s to basically learn from each other. Since there was no Scratch, I would just do anything I could to pick up ideas.
 
Scratch: Tell us a little more about your crew, the 5th Platoon.
 
DJ DADDY DOG: We all started as DJ’s that wanted to push the envelope. So we would just practice together and come up with routines and feed off each others’ skills. After a while, we started to enter DJ battles…there weren’t many venues where DJ’s could just showcase their talents, so battles were our only option. Roli Rho, Neil Armstrong, and I formed the crew in 1995… 10 years strong baby! During our years, we added DJ Kuttin Kandi, Vinroc, Doboy, and I.Emerge. Within our 10 years we have amassed countless awards and accomplishments. We have won over 10 world championship titles, done music for movies, Nike commercials, South Park cartoons, MTV shows, and just recently one of the crew members became the CEO of Friendster.com! Oh yeah!
 
Scratch: Having been in the DJ game for years, what would you tell people who are just getting into this art form?
 
DJ DADDY DOG: That DJ’ing is an art just like painting, writing music, playing basketball. Its all going to take time to perfect. It’s a continual learning art form that takes practice, patience, perseverance. We can’t all be Michael Jordan in a day or two. So be patient and try not to get frustrated if you can’t mix two records right away, or don’t have precise hand control on the record. You have to remember that Michael Jordan himself spent years sharpening his skills before he began a legend.
 
Scratch: Tell us about the battle dj scene? Do you refer it to spinning in a club?
 
DJ DADDY DOG: The battle scene is the best way to sharpen your skills, basically no one wants to lose. It forces you to practice more, get more creative, and mostly fine tune your DJ personality. The scene is not for everyone. It’s intense and constantly competitive. Personally, I battled for 5 years and took my DJ knowledge and applied it to spinning parties. I would incorporate simple scratching and doubling effects that would blow your average club DJ out the water. Now I’m 30 years old, I practiced for 5 years, and then battled for 5 years, also DJ’ed clubs for 5 years. Different phases of my life gave me different levels of satisfaction. At one point I liked the constant practicing for a DJ battle. After that, I liked DJ’ing in clubs and getting people loose on the dance floor. Now teaching is happiness.
 
Scratch: Who have you enjoyed working with throughout your career?
 
DJ DADDY DOG: I would have to honestly say Scratch DJ Academy. Not that getting to meet famous actors or musicians isn’t a pleasure…but the Academy has given me the opportunity to pass my knowledge to so many people. It’s an incredible feeling knowing that you can help someone learn and aspire for more. I had no formal DJ or musical training so it was difficult to learn. I would watch and listen, then imitate it. That was learning for me. Now as a teacher at Scratch, I see how much easier it is for people to learn DJ’ing. Also, I liked working for MTV. Not only did it give me national exposure, it gave me the chance to see different parts of America on US Tour. Since then I have DJ’ed in over 45 states.
 
Scratch: Has DJ’ing opened the door to some amazing opportunities for you?
 
DJ DADDY DOG: Most definitely, DJ’ing has taken me places much further than I could have even imagined. DJ’ing got me into television and traveling. So far, I have been on MTV, Blind Date, Entertainment Tonight, Comedy Central , and TV and radio in France, England, Finland, Jamaica, Japan. I have been to places like Korea, Germany, Italy, Scotland, China. Have opened for Eminem, Papa Roach, Jennifer Lopez, Dennis Leary, Public Enemy, Bob James. And the list goes on and on and on. Until this interview, I never realized how DJ’ing played such an important part in my life. Initially it was a hobby, then a low paying part time profession, into a full time profession and now into a teacher.
 
Scratch: So what are you up to right now?
 
DJ DADDY DOG: I have been teaching mostly but just recently I finished two mixed CDs and plan to finish a couple of more. Then I’m going to press up some records for DJs that serve as a great mixing tool.

Scratch: Do you have a website? How can we get more info about what you are doing?

DJ DADDY DOG: Check out HYPERLINK WWW.5THPLATOON.COM and WWW.SCRATCH.COM