DJ Q-Bert: Banned from the inaugural DMC World Championships, right? Incorrect! But there’s only so many times you can win the DJ world’s most prestigious prize without looking like an egotistical wanker. Yet the honour, and subsequent pleasure, of speaking to the man himself soon reveals that Q-Bert is far from a one-handed warrior. Over the phone, he comes across as a phenomenally down-to-earth character (phenomenal when considering his success and high calibre), making one temporarily forget the wealth of talent behind the voice. “The DMC thing was all a joke that got blown outta proportion,” Q-Bert reveals in a soft American accent. “One of the judges made a comment at the last comp I played that I should be banned, and the media seized that as gospel. Y’know the media,” he muses to me, a member of the media. “If they’ve got two alternatives to a story, they’ll go for the more entertaining one.” Joke or no, rumour or not, it’s internationally known that Q-Bert is one of the best talents behind the wheels of steel, and worthy of being cast from competition. Taker of the DMC comp three years running (1992-1994), it is undeniable on both a professional and punter level that this man and his vinyls are happily married and enjoying a long and eventful honeymoon. Where did a desire to become so good stem from? “Where I grew up in San Francisco,” Q-Bert explains, “there were a lot of B-Boys around and subsequently a lot of competition within that field. Being young, that kinda made me work extra hard to become better at what I do. I wanted to be considered the best.” The fact that this man is coming to Canberra – my beloved humble home – was enough to noticeably increase the capacity of my pants. Having never played in Canberra before, I felt it necessary to inform him of our diverse taste. Needless to say, it was music to the man’s ears. “Great! Obviously, as you said, the whole B-Boy culture is really my thing, but I love playing different styles. I love my 70s funk and electro, and I do love spinning some drum&bass too. That’s really great to hear you (Canberra) like all sorts of stuff. I’ll definitely play a really mixed set then.” With music taking a temporary backseat, the man’s approachably began to really emerge through his frank and honest answers about the DJ lifestyle. “Yeah, sure the lifestyle is great, doing what you love and all, but sometimes it can get too much. I mean, I think I was heading down a bit of a spiral until my partner said to me, “Hey! Let’s live life a bit!” That was the slap in the face I needed. So many of my DJ friends do nothing but tour and tour and they never really get to stop and appreciate things. Now me and my partner are out living in Hawaii and having a great time and I couldn’t be happier. I still get to tour and play, but I also have time to enjoy things.” Since the announcement of his arrival to our Oceanic shores, I have been unable to keep my palms from sweating and my mouth from going dry (and that’s NOT simply because I haven’t had a drink in seven, no, eight minutes). There is much going on this month, no doubt, but one would be a fool to miss the bliss of a blitzing Q-Bert set. Be sure to check out Q-Bert on his upcoming tour at the following venues: Fri 25/06 – Adelaide, Traffic
Sat 26/06 – Canberra, ANU
Thu 01/07 – Melbourne, The Prince Bandroom
Fri 02/07 – Perth, Metro City (Sonik)
Sat 03/07 – Sydney, The Hordern Pavilion
