A couple of years ago I wrote about the dj lessons that I had been taking over at Scratch Academy. Aside from the opportunity I had to completely flub a scratch routine in front of Rob Swift, the highlight of my time there was getting to hear Grand Wizard Theodore explain to the whole class how he invented the art of scratching records.
The other day I found that one of the Scratch students had recorded Theodore's speech and posted it on youtube. If you're at all interested in turntablism, it's definitely worth taking a few minutes to watch the whole thing. In the clip he talks about what dj equipment was like back in the old days, how his mother was the motivation behind scratching, and then does a demo of his legendary blindfolded needle drop skills.
And speaking of Grand Wizard Theodore, here's a clip of him demo'ing his own musical invention, the "Scratchophone." It is essentially a cross between a turntable and a guitar, it's as crazy as it sounds, and I definitely need to look into purchasing one:
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