Check out our quick chat with Prince Toby of Melbournia, creator of LOLTATZ and helping us to procrastinate – or Lolcrastinate since ’09 (that is a long time in internet land BTW…)

What have you been doing lately?

Lately, a little of a lot. And by that mostly a lot but only a little of it. 

Working on a new LOLTATZ site which should be launched by the time you hit “publish post”. 

Can’t even wait. 

Tell us about LOLTATZ

What started as a drunk idea on a cold winter Friday night, LOLTATZ  was and/is a play on the Meme that is LOLCATS and that’s basically where it originated, deep right? I followed it up that night before the idea went into the blackhole of ‘drunkideasthatneveramountoanything’ and created a wordpress blog STAT. I waddled home in a comic book guy esque manner to my humble den of internet and plugged away at posting some of the already piled up amazements I had been hiding in a folder called:

The rest is history before your eyes. 

What’s your favourite LOLTAT? 

My faves are:

The Amputees: Both – Shark and Fingered

The LOLOCAUST

Wu-Tang face

No-Eye-Deer

90′s nostalgia through sleeve of cartoon history

and more recently the DUGONG – “The Seatard”

and last but never the least, the crazy man from Barcelona with an elephant dong.

What other LOL’z do you enjoy?

I have a secret love affair for LOLCATS and LOLDOGS, even though I’m not the biggest fan of cats themselves, I do love animals.

My love life of LOL’z also include: This is Photobomb, Cyanide & Happiness, Natalie Dee and Something Awful (totes NSFW) 

Do you have any LOLTATZ? Show us ya LOLTATZ!

I do. Just one though: Toe + Bee = Toby

Secret skills:

Ask Julie, Tip: 3 Fingers.

Can’t leave home without:

Harper giving me the guilts about leaving the house. 

Any last words?

Well I’m not dying, but I could always pretend. 

SRSLY, LOLTATZ are everywhere, you’d be doing me and the internet a massive service if you could ask that idiot bitch with the tampon tattoo for a pic on your shitty LG camera phone, that ridiculous west fuckwit with tribal neck tattoos ear to fingernail and those nerdy kids with World of Warcraft stomach ink. Don’t think about, they didn’t, nor should you.

Shout outs to:

Peace to the godz and the earth, Wu-Tang and tattoo artists with no shit filter. <3 x

CC and I hit up the Armageddon Expo, I guess you could call it Australia’s version of Comicon (via NZ). It was a whole new world, we unleashed our inner nerdcore and had a blast whilst avoiding being hit by giant weaponry. Good times, I’m keen to do it again.

Hello! It’s my redcrush Seth Green!

Umm…someone needs to tell us who these dudes are…

Cosplay – who knew it involved dancing and miming?

and the day wouldn’t have been complete without…wrestling?

Lots more here

Last year I stumbled across the Looky Looky blog, they had some dope tees for sale and I was lucky enough to cop one which I wore for the Sneaker Freaker Best of Best shoot. Although I was pretty much dying of pneumonia at the time, I’m glad I had a dope shirt to rock which just so happened to match my fave kicks of the year. Thanks Girls!

Now while I’ve taken my sweet ass time getting this interview up, the Looky girls have started a new website which includes an online store. Be sure to check it out, you can find the link at the end of the Q & A.

Pay attention world and meet our favourite Berliners – Looky Looky Posse. Of course considered a part of the growing Mayorette community – Crew love is true love!

Hi girls, can you introduce yourselves and give us a brief background?

We are three, we are close friends and we love our posse. We started doing the Looky Looky t-shirts for ourselves. Then friends started asking if they could also get t-shirts, so it began to get bigger.

What is Looky Looky all about? Who is it for?

The Looky Looky thing is small but not for special people and only kind of limited because we print only as many as we have pre-orders.

Looky Looky is all about crew love! when we see people with our shirts on, we know, “Hey, that must be a friend of a friend of ours”. so it is like a huge crew in the end!

But don’t forget it’s just about t-shirts. We hate words like street wear and edgy. We are strong through our posse and love. Not through cotton.

How did you girls come together to start Looky Looky?

We have been friends for a long time and wanted to start a blog about sneakers and street wear, about what we love and also about what we hate. But as soon we started, we were bored because there are enough blogs that are about this.

We wanted to name this Looky Looky because you see something and it’s not too serious. That is what Looky Looky is all about – cotton, crew love and taking ourselves and design not too serious. It’s for women and men, this is important – no girly stuff.

What has been your favourite Looky moment so far?

When we started doing t-shirts for German rap star Sido. We were at a small, secret concert and waited in front of his security to get a chance to talk to him. Kind of embarrassing feeling like a groupie.

It was much fun getting an email from and him and weeks later, we were creating tees just for him and seeing them on TV.

Each time people are send us pics of wearing Looky Looky
T-shirts or doing the LL sign with their hands, I’m so happy because I never knew this could be possible. We love it when people buy a shirt and say “Thank you” … For what?

This year has been exciting for you, what else have you got planned?

We will finish our first small web shop and we would like to do a new photo shoot and new collaborations with exciting people.

Tell us about Berlin and what we’re missing out on.

You can live as you like in Berlin; you always will find similar people you can share your life with. Also, you will miss the curry wurst with ketchup and the unfriendly way the real Berliners are talking to you.
And forget about Berlin being sooo big. Now way. You always meet people on the street that you know, so this makes Berlin small.

But please, come to Berlin between June and September! Please! Berlin is like your boyfriend. If he is in a bad mood (Winter) he hates you. But when he is in a good mood (Spring and Summer) he will love you back a thousand times more and better.

So Berlin in Summer is the greatest place to be. Winter is unfriendly like the Berliner, but summer shows off a big heart.
If you are lucky you will feel it.

Favourite places in Berlin:

Luzi: Oranienstrasse in Berlin/Kreuzberg, small cafes and little shops, nice food.

Julia: Kreuzberg. From Kottbusser tor to Schlesisches tor and all the places in Berlin that my friends are living.

Conny: Cafe Morgenland hanging with the girls Barin der Mariannenstrasse with the girls. Teufelsberg is a great place to go as well. Of course the great Kurfuerstendamm in West Berlin.
 

What do you get up to in your time off?

Luzi: Music and meeting friends.

Julia: Meeting friends, watching movies, a lot of sitcoms and shit TV, cleaning my apartment (I loooove my apartment!)

Conny: Cookies on Thursdays and hanging out with Looky Looky and Co.
 

Favourite drinks:

Luzi: Moskow Mule.

Conny: I agree!!!

Julia: White wine, Prosecco with Red Bull, Vodka with Red Bull.

Can’t leave home without:

Luzi: My Air Max.

Julia: My mobile, my Nike shoes, money and my keys to my beautiful and clean apartment.

Conny: My new Von Zipper sunnies!

Secret skills:

Luzi: Being somehow funny.

Julia: Mmmh, I don’t know, they are secret to me too.

Conny: Trying to be funny.

Shout outs to:

Conny in Indo, Berlin posse and Sido.

Jump to Looky Looky!

The first time I heard the name “Ms Fitz” was a few weeks back over dinner with the girls. All I knew was that she was a stylist and had just moved from Sydney to New York.

I couple of days later I looked her up and kapow! I was blown away! The imagery that she’s capable of producing is just fantastic.

So massive thanks Mafia for the intro… What an amazing lady.

Oh, and by the way. If being an incredible stylist working on editorals for famo magazines, TV shows and music vids isn’t enough for you, she’s also a dancer, director and one, simply stunning super-human. Meet Ms Fitz…

What have you been doing lately?

Hustlin’! I came over to New York from Sydney a month or so ago and I’m working at cracking it here with my work, which is styling, art direction and performing. At the moment I’m working on a music video which I’m directing for J-Cast,(the son of the great funk legend, Jimmy Castor) so I’m having heaps of fun! Directing is something I’ve always wanted to do, I love music and film so its a great medium to integrate all my talents.

 
What’s next?

I’m working my butt of networking and meeting creative peeps in my field  I’ve also been laying down some rhymes with my man Chew Fu (things are really blowing up for him with Lady Gaga etc), designing some accesories and planning some editorial shoots. 

The thing is with New York, it doesn’t really matter how much of a wiz you were back home, you gotta start from the bottom like everyone else.. so who knows where it’s all going to take me! I’m loving the challenge!

NYC, tell us your favourite bits:

BROOKLYN! Yeah! I’ve met some really amazing friends here- Jordan Fox, for example- he’s an amazing drag performer, and all his crew throw amazing parties. But also I’ve had traditional Spanish meals up in Harlem, got my nails did, bought lots of vintage, partied on the Pat Field boat party, seen the 4th of July fireworks, hung out in grotty old punk bars and saw a leprachaun on the subway. 

What’s the cheekiest thing you’ve done lately:

Cheekiest? ha I guess when Peaches was in town- we all got rolling drunk at an after party, danced like idiots to Whitney Houston and then we stayed up eating sushi in a hotel room till the sun came up. I am OBSESSED with her stylist Vaughn Alexander- he’s been a really great mentor for me, he’s seen and done it all- (crazy motherfucker, hahaaaa) and gives me lots of advice about the industry. Then I got home and all drunk and all I could think was “what the fuck is dragon sushi? Did I just eat a DRAGON?” Hhaaaa!

If you were having a party, what should we bring?

All your old mixtapes, shoes that you can dance in, lots of fake hair and a bad ass attitude
 

Can’t leave home without:

Doing my hair and makeup

Secret skills:

I can do all these crazy things with the muscles on my stomach. It grosses Chewy out. Oh, and I can turn my eyelids inside out!

Rahhh!!

Any last words?

Grab life by the balls!

Shout outs to:

DJ Mafia, Chew Fu, Claw Money, Duke Magazine, Elvis Di Fazio, Thom Kerr, The Mayorettes, all my blog and twitter peeps  
 

Check out more Ms Fitz here:

Hopped over to the Hi Fi to catch Muph & Plutonic on Friday – always a fantastic show along with Nine High doing a killer set. Also in the line up for the night: Mexi, Polo Club, Illy, Danielsan and Dialetrix. Check the pics…

Thanks to Matt and Miss C!

An escapee from the UK (no convict), Fraksha has been hanging around Melbourne for some time time now so I think that we can do what Aussie’s do best and claim him as our own. He and the boys from Nine High are set to launch their self titled album (out now through TAOS) at Miss Libertine on July 17. Be sure to get up front for one hell of a show!
 

What have you been doing lately? 

Lately I have been stupidly busy trying to juggle a 9-5 with the release of our album which has been made extra hard due to everyone not living in the same country as well as trying to work on solo stuff and gigs pretty much every weekend. This has lead to a diet alternating between KFC, ‘Triple Bypass’ pizza’s from http://bakedinsouthmelbourne.com.au/ and numerous cheese toasties all mixed up with a belly of vodka and boost juice and lack of sleep.
 
Any free time has been spent hiding under a blanket watching ‘Arrested Development’ and ‘The Shield’.

How do you feel about escaping your mother land? 
 
Very very good! I didn’t actually realise how shit it was until I left. Of course there’s always things and people I miss, but as far as overall day to day living goes there ain’t no comparison. I’m going back in a few weeks for a fortnight, any longer than that would be  long!
 
The main thing I miss is the music scene to be honest, but with the internet it is pretty easy to keep abreast of what’s happening, its just means I can’t actively be involved so much.

Melbourne, a hell of a city. For the people not living here, what are they missing out on?
 
The main thing I noticed abut Melbourne is that it is such a small city in comparison with London. You can walk through the CBD and bump into numerous people every day that you know which is highly unlikely to happen in London, and I like that about the place. It still has that vibrant city feeling, but more welcoming and friendly and without the coldness of London (not referring to the weather) I suppose that’s reflected a lot in the music from each city too.
Also in London everyone’s a stranger! Even though I lived in England for 26 years there are still more areas in London that I don’t know than places I do, whereas I pretty much know most of Melbourne now in 3 years!
 
Melbourne is a much more relaxed place, less financial worries, safer environment, less PC, better food (apart from your fry ups!), beautiful girls, the list could go on forever!

Your top 5 for the minute:
 
1) Tempa T – Next hype
2) Frisco – The Elite
3) Wiley – I was like you
4) Skepta – Sticks and Stones
 
Not a planned co-incidence, but all the above tracks are on our boy Loco’s latest mix which you can download from the blog. He’ll be over here in a few days too on DJ duties for us, but I’ve also hooked up some DJ gigs of his own around Melbourne over the next month (check the blog).
 
5) Jammers birthday bash radio set – Mak10, D Double E, Kano, Crazy Titch, Esco, Footsie, Sharky Major, Dangermouse, Armour, Dizzee (Not an actual track itself, but I probably listen to this every day at some point!)

Secret skills: 
 
Not so secret amongst my close friends, but my rendition of Barry Manilow’s ‘Copacabana’ at Karaoke is pretty special!

Can’t leave home without: 
 
Money, keys + phone – boring I know, but anything else I can buy and usually do. I think I buy a new lighter every day for example!

What’s in your Go Bag?

On top of the standard stuff I would take:
 
• at least 3 pairs of shoes in varying colours
• a couple of tracksuits
• a note pad and pen
• 200 cigarettes to use as currency
• A big sword for when people start cracking up and you’re gonna need to keep them at bay
• One of them lazy patch suits http://lazypatch.com/
• Slipper socks
• A camera
• A big bag of smack – the man with the skag controls the army of junkies who will no doubt be clucking for a hit. Useful when I want something you have that I don’t : )

Any last words? 
 
Sorry Mum for ruining Christmas! Other than that, please go out and grab our self-titled album which is out now and come down to Miss Libertine on July 17th for our launch party which is gonna be a serious night of fun! If we sell out the venue I promise I will perform our entire set wearing a Spongebob outfit! 

Also go check our MySpace and blog to keep updated on numerous gigs and things over the next month or so while we’re all the same country!

Shout out’s to: 
 
Thanks a lot to you Hayley for inviting me to take up much valued space on your blog, shouts to Kochy and Flago for all their continued help with the record and everything else they’ve done for us, hold tight all the grime and dubstep crew in Melbourne, hold tight all you wasteman MC’s and the waste gash everywhere. There’s a million and one people to big up and I’ll forget most of them so I’ll leave it at that!

Tweet tweet Fraksha.

Hot damn! What a night. Thanks to Gwenn from Lush, I got to be photo-lady at the Zoo York State of Mind premier at the Astor.

The vid is fantastic, with super soundtrack to boot. Getcha hands on it!

A few weeks ago, the lovely Molly from Vivi Dot sent the Mayorettes an amazing package FULL of goodness. So who’s Molly? A San Fran local with an obsession with fabric and paper. She’s been running Vivi Dot since 07 and I had a quick chat with her to find out more…

What have you been doing lately?
I just returned from a European reunion with 4 of my closest girlfriends from the University of Washington.  It was amazing, but also exhausting since we went out really late (thanks to the time difference) and tried to be up to be tourists during the day.   Since I returned I’ve been trying to get back into my normal routine and also take advantage of the recent bit of amazing weather here since it never lasts long.  On the Vivi Dot front I’ve been working on creating my own custom fabrics which I’m really excited about.  The tiny bow hair clips and houndstooth print I sent you are examples of this.

How did Vivi Dot get started?
About 4 years ago I was going to a lot of concerts and seeing a lot of 1-inch promo/band buttons.  I decided to invest in a button maker of my own and started making things with origami paper, comic books and creating my own images.  I quickly started making earrings and had a multiple people inquire about where I bought them.  Quite some time later I made myself commit to making a bunch of stuff by signing up for one of the many holiday art/design/craft fairs in the city. It started to take off from there.  I only had buttons, magnets and earrings at that first show and later branched out, using fabric and finding new products to make.

Who is Vivi Dot for?
With so many varied prints and products Vivi Dot appeals to just about everyone.  I know that sounds contrived, but I’ve really found most people who visit my booth at a show can connect with a fabric and product combination in one way or another.  I think the wide variety allows people to find their own style within my line.  I’ve sold hair accessories to a three year old and clip on earrings to a woman who was at least 70. I will continue to add more prints to my online store so people shopping there will soon have as much variety to choose from as those who shop offline.

What are we missing out on in San Fran? Favourite spots/hangouts:
Between my full time job and Vivi Dot I don’t have a ton of free time so my social life has become quite lame compared to my pre Vivi Dot days.   Because of this I’m definitely drawn towards participating in events that involve slanging my Vivi Dots in a fun party atmosphere.  Indiemart (http://indie-mart.com/) is a good example of this as it combines music and a bunch of local designers selling their wares in a bar.   There’s always a ton of good concerts and festivals to attend as well.  Vivi Dot had a booth at the Treasure Island Music Festival last year, which was an amazing weekend of music and selling.

What do you get up to in your time off?
I don’t ever feel like I have much time off since I’m trying to get as much Vivi Dot related stuff done when I’m not at my day job.  That being said, I still always seem to find time to hangout with my boyfriend, take my dog to the beach that’s a 10-minute walk away, and catch up with my girlfriends over alcohol fueled dinners.

Can’t leave home without:
A hair tie for when my curly hair inevitably gets unruly, ChapStick (the classic blue variety), my iPhone, and I always try to have something Vivi Dot on me (either wearing an accessory or using a money clip or bookmark).

Secret skills:
It’s funny to think that this is a secret since it used to really define who I was, but most of the people who know me via Vivi Dot don’t know I’m also a dancer.  I grew up taking and eventually teaching dance (tap, ballet, jazz and later hip hop).  Two of my best friends in San Francisco (see the shout out below) are people I met in the hip hop dance group I joined after moving down here after college.  I don’t take or teach classes anymore, but definitely plan to do so in the future.  I tried to keep the hip hop love alive by dressing as Lil Mama for Halloween.  I put a lot of miles on my bedazzler for that costume!

Shout outs to:
Summer, Allie and Duncan!  They’re the Vivi Dot support staff.  Duncan (the boyfriend) is the best Vivi Dot roadie possible.  I don’t even have to ask him to help me load and unload everything for my shows, press buttons when I’m strapped for time, or act as the shipping manager when I’m out of town.  Summer and Allie are always up for a good sweatshop party** which basically combines pressing a ton of Vivi Dots while watching bad reality television and drinking copious amounts of wine.

    ** Please note that Vivi Dot is wholeheartedly against sweatshops and would never force anyone to work in difficult or dangerous conditions. Everything from Vivi Dot is handmade with love, voluntary sweat, in the company of friends and sometimes fueled by an alcoholic beverage or two (though never enough to compromise our quality control).

While Molly was in Prague, she took an after shot for Krakha of something he'd left there a few months before. Sweet!

 Check out more Vivi Dot.

You are one busy lady, what have you got on your plate at the moment?

Hon, there’s not even enough time for me to even think of something witty to write in this interview…I’m totes burned at both ends and loving it. Dec/Jan were like a blur of DJ gigs with all up 58 gigs in two months. INSANE. Feb is a lot lighter on the load thank fuck, but I have this nagging ability to keep my fingers busy (stop thinking dirty thoughts Hayley!) so I’ve taken on board a new position at The Vine as their female streetwear blogger, which has been the most amazing opportunity. The number of hits that site gets and their traffic is mind blowing so it’s absolutely fan-fabulous being part of the team.

I’ve also started Panda Party for my own outlet, as I am writing on specific subjects with Sneaker Freaker and The Vine, so it’s more for me and what I want to read and divulge to my own readers.  

Panda Party – what’s it all about?

It started out cos I bought a new SLR Canon Camera and decided that I may as well start documenting the amazing gigs I have suddenly gotten booked for. Let’s face it, everyone loves seeing themselves on the internet, as proven by the fact that Facebook crashes every hour on the hour as mug hungry peeps try to find pictures of themselves to tag and show their mates (and enemies), just how much fun they are having. I got over seeing my face on there and wanted a new outlet to celebrate my party photos.

It’s called Panda Party, because I am intensely obsessed with Pandas, to the point that I think I may just be one. Think about it…cute, cuddly and funny, but if you get too close I’ll scratch ya fucking eyes out! It was initially just going to be photos from all my parties, but to tell you the truth, sometimes after my gigs, especially in the last month or two, I’ve had no time to get the camera out and shoot before I’d have to run off to the next gig. So there are some random posts about things that excite me, but the majority of it will be about the photos.  

What inspired you to start taking party pics?

After interviewing A-Trak while he was down for his Melbourne show, he got me thinking about documenting this amazing time of our lives, not just to show other people how lucky we are to be living a dream (although my level is around a 0 compared to his lifestyle!) but also to have a sort of photo album of the things we have done. Lets face it, time is moving faster and faster as we get older, and who is going to remember what happened yesterday let alone a year ago. He’s a weird guy with a very exceptional way of thinking about the world, that no one else understands and I find that so intriguing.   

Last time we spoke, I asked if you had any secret skills. You told us about your double-jointed fingers and acting, but you didn’t mention photography. Were you keeping this secret a secret? I thought we were friends!

Bahahaha, I would so not call myself a photographer, although everything that I have come to earn money off or want to be has been self taught. I guess it goes back to being a breakdancer and not having an outlet to learn from anyone. I had to sit in front of my fold out ‘how to breakdance’ sheet that came with a record I begged my mum’s friend to bring back from the US for me, and learn myself. Same with dj’ng. Copped two belt-drive turntables from the op shop and busted through around 98 needles until I even could try to mix. If I like something or want something I just go buy it and hope for the best. It usually works out fine…but by no means am I a photographer. I just like making people happy and what better way to capture that smile than with a lasting image (cue vomit!)

What kind of camera do you use? Do you use it for good, or evil?

I only have a bottom of the line Canon 1000D SLR, but I tell you what, so many people email me or hit me up on FB to find out what camera I’m using. I guess you kind of have to have a good eye,..that really helps. Everything is used for good, Hayley…never evil……I use my body for evil!  

Do people approach you when they see your camera?

Holy shit yes. When I was at Summerdayze, I grabbed the cam after my gig and started shooting, cos lets face it, perfect crowd!!!! This is where the whole Panda Party thinking really took off, cos people were asking where they could see their photos, thinking I was a professional. Time to get those lil business cards to hand out yo!  

Do you have any favourite shots/events so far?

I love taking photos at Hoochie Mama cos lesbians are so hilarious. They are the biggest posers you’ll ever meet. They want you to take multiple shots and with every single different girl in the joint. They love getting their hair right and looking like a fucking L-Word model. It’s hysterical, and they are all hot anyways so it’s easy work!

I’m hanging to shoot pics with Coolio…as I just copped support for his Melb show in March. First Vanilla, now Coolio……I just need someone to bring out Bell Biv Devoe and I can die happy yo!  

Greg Keelor sent him flowers, Kanye’s taken time out from self love to give him props on his blog, he’s toured the US, Canada and Europe, he can make Buck 65 sound like Darth Vader, He lives in Montreal and speaks French if he feels like it, meet DJ and Producer Skratch Bastid.

A few years back, let’s say 2003, I was at a party where a bunch of people crowded around the TV to watch the Skribble Jam DVD. This particular item got played about 100 times in a row (now, Bastid devotees may sigh and cry, “seen it!” But please, others need to be educated…and you know you want to see it again).

(Oh…and he can also make your boyfriend dance to JT).

Since 2003 I’ve come across the Bastid every so often, generally in email form linking to Youtube with headers like “FW: FW: FW: Check this out!” and again, watching snippets of battle sets on DVD’s. Obviously the guy was working his ass off, while bits and pieces of his routines were creeping into Melbourne lounge rooms, he was busy being nominated for Juno awards, working with Buck 65, winning trophies for awesome rap-mixing* and sharing the stage with Nas, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Ludacris, Mix Master Mike, Ice-T, and DJ Premier – that’s not all, the list could go on.

On arriving in Vancouver last year, I was jet-lagged as hell but managed to haul my dazed, sleep deprived ass to a Skratch Bastid show. It was fucking amazing, everything from hip hop to funk to rock all played in style and mixed to party perfection, every track was met with audible crowd appreciation. We made sure we left with Get Up in hand – the CD was on heavy rotation for the entire trip.

The new mix Satisfaction Guaranteed dropped late last year and it’s super tasty so buy it, or else. I’m not usually one to push shit, but seriously, it’s worth a listen and is probably the best CD you’ve heard in ages.

Anyway, blah blah blah. In short Skratch Bastid is your new favourite DJ. Get used to it.

Let’s get this out of the way first – when was the last time you got the wig out?

On my last tour through Canada in November, I got the itch. I was playing in the isolated town of Prince George, BC, and when I pulled up to the venue I saw that Helix was playing the next night and I thought to myself: “This city needs the wig”. It was a hit.

What have you been doing lately?

I’ve been working on a bunch of mixes. Satisfaction Guaranteed was my last big mix, but I’ve got 2 other projects on the go. I’m working on a live project with a visual artist and an actor where all of the music and cues are set off by the DJ, scratched up, juggled and mixed. It’s a new approach, but I’m having fun with the new possibilities. My homie Rhek and I are working on a mix to coincide with a t-shirt release at Sharks + Hammers, too. I’ve also been stretching and flossing more, staying true to my New Year’s Resolutions.

Is there anything you can’t make sound good?

Yes, I’m sure, but there’s an angle for almost anything so I’m up for the challenge. Try me. I once took on the task of remixing the local Halifax news theme for “Live at 5″ in 20 minutes. It was successful, but I’m not sure I’ll ever ‘play it out’, per se.

Top 5 in your crate/HD at the minute:

Raekwon, Ghostface & Method Man – “Wu Ooh”; Mr. Scruff & Alice Russell – “Music Takes Me Up (Album Version)”; UGK – “Da Game Been Good To Me”; Santogold & Project Pat “Shove It (Remix); Scarface “Emeritus” (Album).

What if, God forbid, someone isn’t satisfied with your mix?

I say that it’s a money-back scenario to anyone I sell it to at shows. So far, no refunds have been issued. For internet complaints, you can reach me at my website and we can duke it out on e-mail.

You make nachos with love, a piece of cheese, guacamole and salsa on each chip. How do you make poutine?

As a post-New-Year’s New Year’s Resolution, I’ve sworn off poutine. That shit gives you a worse hangover than alcohol. Nachos are so much safer. But those fries, curds and gravy taste so damn good. I live one block from the greatest poutine in Quebec, and therefore the world, so I’ve never felt the need to give it a go myself. They’ve got over 15 different combinations of ingredients to turn the day-after into a gym day. I can’t compete with that.

What’s in your rider?

12 Heneikens, vodka, fruit, cashews, hummus & pita, and a bag of Skittles.

Can’t leave home without:

My M.O.P. “Ante Up” 12″. It looks like it’s been through 2 wars. It’s kind of a good luck charm, and definitely the song that I’ve played the most at my shows to this date.

Shout outs to:

Mayoress for letting me speak my piece then slide like grease, Rhek and Brand (through whom I linked with these cats), Brittany, my manager Mike D, Gordski, Pip Skid, Skittles, Noreaga (best vlogger on the internet), Bates, my recreational basketball team, my piano teacher, winter (GTFOH), and everyone out there on the internet reading this.

More Bastid here

*Yes, the internet allows me to make up my own words. Rap-mixing goes quite nicely along with rap-singing, rap-dancing and rap-painting.