Tell us how you entered the Lab world
It was the summer of 2003 and I was a proctor for SAT tests, and my
boy Pres was like, "Yo I saw a help wanted post on the lab site."
I michna’d my way into an interview with Jasper, Pete, and Tony and it
was slightly unclear to me what they were looking for.
So they set it off with: "On a scale of 1 to 10 how well do you know
current Hip Hop?" then they asked "On a scale of 1 to 10 how well do
you know funk?" I was modest and told them a 5 because I was ready for
Tony to ask me "who played drums on Rock Creek Park?"
Then Jasper handed me Four Tet "Rounds" and said "Here, review this."
Little did I know a then unknown Blu Jemz was also applying for the
same job. After all that Jemz ended up getting the job and I continued
proctoring SAT tests in Staten Island. A few weeks later I started
working at the little shop that could aka indie powerhouse Etherea
Records in the East Village. This was my ticket into the lab for three
reasons. 1) Etherea was run by a Korean 3) The shop had long slave
like store hours (this impressed pete) 3) My knowledge of music pretty
much tripled working there…
Finally a few months later I told anthony in person: " I know you’re
not hiring right now, but if you need extra help in shipping I can do
it" A day later I got hired to work in shipping and at the retail
store on 7th street.
Tell me an interesting story about growing up in Miami.
I moved to Miami in ’96 and all I really cared about was meeting
Vanilla Ice. A few weeks later I saw a billing in the paper for
Vanilla Ice LIVE in Ft. Lauderdale. So I went. Half the crowd was
there just out of curiosity (eyebrows raised with "really?" faces) and
the other half of the crowd was cheeseball tattoo silver necklace
tanktop white trash rap rock loving ICE FANS. It was amazing. Back
then I used to roll hard with disposable cameras and was just like "If
I can get one flick with Ice, that would be really huge." So after
his horribly amazing limp biskit style show, I ended up talking to his
DJ. Dude was like "You know I was the DJ for MC 900 Ft. Jesus."
Instantly impressed I said "Yo can I get a flick with Ice?" He was
like aiiiight and introduced me to Robert Van Winkle. He gave me a
pound and we took the flick. It was framed in a cardboard Eckert’s
frame for a few years until it got lost in a shuffle. I was wearing a
Metalheadz T-shirt.
Your favorite foods
Artichokes, garlic, fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced beats, filet
minon, lobster with my own butter lemon salt pepper sauce, fresh
salmon with spinach, mashed potato with balsamic french style, miso
soup, thai green curry, homemade mac and cheese, jalapenjo sausage,
tomato garden soup, whitefish, japanese carrot dressings, croutons,
black olives, onions, red peppers and mad toppings
Tell us one local spot we should hit up during WMC
The sauna at the standard hotel with a girl you just met
Worst job you ever had
A week after I graduated college I went out job hunting. i had a few
bullshit desk job interviews which led to nothing. i needed cash fast.
i grabbed an employment guide (free junk paper) and the next thing I
know I’m dressed in a suit selling children’s books. The best was the
phrases they taught you to say to solicit milfs, such as "Have you
seen the new one?" or "Your kids’ll love these"
Things that make you feel good
Too many things – stretching, eating, drinking good coffee, attacking
never ending to-do lists, seeing friends become successful,
jazzercise, etc.
What kind of women do you fantasize about
Latin dimes all day
What type of kid were you in high school
Like Ferris Bueller if he rode BMX/played trombone/built stereo
systems/went to raves/40′s and blunt
What is one of the coolest things you’ve found in a thrift shop
When I was recording with Secret Frequency Crew we found this coffee
table that was just a 2 foot mirrored cube on all sides.
If your house was burning, i would save….
hard drives and photos/negatives
Which contemporaries influence your work
Friends With You, Freegums (duh), Animal Collective, TV On The Radio,
Kaws, Espo, Krink, Skull Disco, Tempa, Warp, BPitch Control, Justice,
System D-128, MGMT, NYC street art, and more
What should we expect at the LA show
Like Wrestlemania VII
come check out Michna, his band, Freegums and free beer
this saturday, 9pm at Turntable Lab Los Angeles
also, on sunday check him at the Ghostly anniversary
