ARCHIVE NEWS
MAY 26TH 2015 JOSEY RECORDS VINYL RELEASE
Dark clouds, strong winds and severe rain has been the forecast for most of Texas the past 3 weeks. We're NOT used to this. So in Dallas on this afternoon we were having a little record release party in the HUGE record store that is Josey Records (2821 LBJ Freeway #100). Although it hadn't rained all day, a few clouds were creeping up on us. We were confident we would have an awesome turn out, and oh man, Dallas sure knows how to support! Our TSL rep up in D-Town, V-Teq, once again came through with a great event. The 4 scratch set ups that were offered weren't enough for the dozens of Tablist that came out. Enfoe (Austin) went through his showcase like a seasoned vet. Offering up several different Juggle patterns and some massive cuts. DJ Protege (Austin) also showcased. He put together a well arranged set of some super funky Juggles and reminded us that having fun is the most important thing in being a Tablist. The Josey staff was an absolute pleasure to work with. Extremely friendly and humble, they offered us to come back anytime. We've been in the DFW area numerous times in the last year and we keep meeting new Tablist! Thank you all for introducing yourselves! Dallas is definitely a growing scene. They are hungry to network, learn, cut, showcase and grow. Keep it up Dallas. Look for each other. Support each other. Help each other and network with the entire state. As the night came to an end, Mother Nature won again. The rains came down pounding Dallas with some serious weather. Our team drove through a monsoon of wind, floods and lightning before we gave up and pulled over in Waco Texas where we met DJ Magnum. A solo Turntablist cutting in a local dive bar on a random Tuesday night. A really cool guy, he stated that he was the only Tablist that he knew of in that area. We stayed for a few cuts and then back on the road we were as the break in the rain gave us a chance to get out. Good times! Thank you Josey Records! We're happy with the turn out and support in Dallas!
MAY 25TH 2015 SCRATCHING: A BEGINNERS GUIDE
Turntablism today is a tricky thing. If you started in the 90's, about the only thing you had to worry about was what color Technics 1200 would look best next to your Vestax 05-Pro. What a 1-click Flare and Crab scratch were and which Dirt Style scratch record to use at the next session, Booger Breaks or Toasted Marshmello?
In 2015, new Turntablist have obstacles like Serato or Traktor? Dicers or nah? A Pioneer 1000 or a ReLoop turntable? A Rane 62 or a Z2....or a Rane 57 mk2...or a Pioneer DDJ controller? (Wait, what?!) Ultra Pitch vinyl or Time Coded vinyl? Innofade or don't? Raiden Fader or Frisk Fader? How to do a Cresent Lucky 7 scratch? What's a Prism scratch!? What do you mean hand control??! AHHHH!
It'll be ok new Tablist. We're here to help. Let's start all the way from the beginning. Scratching. Simple. Basic. Scratching. How about you all try and figure out which scratches you all should learn first. Texas Scratch League took a poll from seasoned Texas Tablist on which 3 scratches a beginner should think about perfecting before moving on to, let's say, the cross rhythm study of an O.G Chirp Flare. Here are the results:
Buck Rodgers - Chirp, Stab, Transform
Bounz - Baby, Stab, Transforms
Enfoe - Baby, Chirp, 2-click Flare
MixMash Potatoes - Baby, Cuts, Drag
Dopez - Chirp, Stab, Transform
Baby Jae - Baby, Stab, Transform
Protege - Chirp, Transform
Akshun Kid - Baby, Wiggles, Transform
Alfa Leone - Baby, Stab, Chirp
Mister Remix - Crab, Chirp, Transform
Skratch Daily - Baby, Stab, Transform
Rockwell - Baby, Stab, Transform
Gonz - Baby, Stab, Transform
Klean Cutt - Baby, Stab, Transform
A lot of great scratches offered and it looks like Baby, Transform and Stab scratches are the 3 most highly recommended scratches to learn first. So we made a little demo video for all of you that are new to scratching. This isn't a "how to" video. Just a little example of those 3 cuts.
Feel free to try these scratches in any variation. Practice daily. And just have fun with them. As far as what gear you should buy first? Well, that is for another day friends!
- Mister Remix (On his recommended 3 scratches)
"You can use those to combo other stuff and if you master those by themselves, you can flip them dope."
- Enfoe (On recommending the 2- click Flare)
"Probably the hardest, but once you get it going fast, everything else falls into place."
- Dopez (On using the fader for beginners)
"Fader techniques are crucial for a good foundation."
Texas Scratch League Presents:
Our new 10" Scratch Vinyl! Chicken Scratch! Side A is Ultra Pitched and Skipless! Side B is packed with so many useful scratch tools and skipless sentences! Pressed on all white vinyl.
ARCHIVE LEAGUE VIDEOS
MAY 19TH 2015 MEGA DJ CENTER VINYL RELEASE
Houston Texas! Home of the Houston Rockets. On this night the Rockets were playing The Golden State Warriors in game 1 of the Western Conference Finals and the buzz of the home team in the playoffs was felt at Mega DJ Center. TSL had a little shin dig all planned out for the release of our new 10" scratch record at the newly relocated and newly opened location. (3105 S. Shepard Drive) Of course the Tablist came out and supported. With showcases by Alfa Leone, DJ Kurupt, DJ Tums & Buck Rodgers, the energy was high. Everyone was in great spirits! Mega had the new Rane 57 mk2 in stock and heads were taking their turn at testing out the durability of the new mixer. Host, Mister Remix, kept the beats flowing and showcases moving along in a smooth, controlled manner. Mega announced their newly named "The Turntable Meet" cut session and reminded the crowd that this session would be featured on the third Tuesday of every month (7pm - 10pm). Another great time in Houston! Unfortunately for the home team, the Rockets took a loss in game 1. But that didn't affect anyone's appetite, as most of the session moved onto a late night dinner down the street. Thank you Mega DJ Center and Houston for your support! Until next time.....
APRIL 26TH 2015 AUSTIN REGIONAL DMC
It was a warm and humid Sunday afternoon in Austin Texas, as is the case this time of year around here. It's a good thing the Austin Regional DMC was indoors. The weather was slightly better inside of Empire Control Room (606 East. 7th Street). A few A/C vents and some fans helped keep the humidity at bay. If you've never been to a DMC, it goes a little something like this. There are 2 rounds in Regionals. Round 1 is a two minute qualifier. The "qualifier" allows all the competitors to showcase. Judges follow a point system and pick the Top 6 scored DJs to advance to the second round. The second round is the "end all, be all" and one winner is crowned champ. That champ moves on to the U.S Finals later in the summer. There were 11 entries in this year's Regional. Most from Texas. Some from as far away as Tennessee and Nevada. All 11 sounded great. But as the DMC goes, many will enter only 6 will pass. This year's judges were some serious names (Manilla Ice, Enfoe, DJ IFTW and MixMaster Mike). Those judges trimmed down the group to a mighty Top 6. Those final 6 brought enough fire to burn the city down! Ultimately only 3 can place. Those 3 were:
Dopez (1st | Austin)
Don Santos (2nd | Houston)
DJ Ivan (3rd | Dallas)
It was a grand time! Congratulations to these fellas and good luck to Dopez in U.S Finals! We want to thank everyone that supported Texas Turntablism on this day! Until next Regional!
Dopez
2015 Austin Regional DMC Champ
APRIL 19TH 2015 FORT WORTH PARTY
Sunday Funday in Forth Worth, Texas! A clear sky, 72 cool degrees and Foch Lounge (941 Foch Street). An indoor/outdoor patio style bar with a great drinks and an awesome staff. TSL was in town again, this time with an invite from Danny West and DJ NVS. The DFW Tablists came out and helped us celebrated the release of our 10" scratch record. We enjoyed some burgers on the grill, cold beers and a lot of cuts! It was so great to see familiar faces like Tums, John Styles, J. Sauvez, Rocko, Andres The DJ and our very TSL Reps, V-Teq & Rockwell. We also met a few new Tablist, Centrifik & D.J MJ, who came out a gave us a lot of love and picked up a few 10" TSL scratch record copies for themselves. It was a day filled with laughs, old Tablist stories and great times! We ended the party with conversations over a mountain of chili fries soaked in melted cheese and jalapenos, mmmmm. There are so many great people in the DFW area. Thank you all for everything! We appreciate it! We'll be in town again soon!
MARCH 18TH 2015 WEB LAUNCH
At this point in time, Texas Scratch League is only 2 years old. We're very proud of the work that we've done and offered to Texas Tablist. Our goal since day 1 is to give shine to the talent Texas has to offer in the way of Turntablism. The life a Turntablist is tough. They practice their cuts for endless hours. They build strength into their skill for years and at the end of it all, how will they showcase this talent? That's where Texas Scratch League comes in. On a daily basis we're building a platform for Texas Tablist to feature what they have learned and created as Turntable Artists. So building and offering a website as a hub, for Texas Tablist to be featured on, is our next offering to this great state. On March 18th 2015 the launch of TexasScratchLeague.com is happening. The very next day, March 19th, we're having a launch party during SXSW at The Market in Austin, Tx. Thank you in advance for all of your support, good vibes & positive motivation. We are truly humbled by the amount of positive comments, texts and emails that we have already received from great people and Turntablist from all over the world. We will continue to build this for the benefit of Texas Tablist for years to come!
NOVEMBER 18TH 2014 DJ Q-BERT (AUSTIN)
DJ Q-Bert. Just the name alone is legendary. He's offered so much to Turntablism over the years. Classic battles, videos, gear and the scratches! He never disappoints and he wasn't going start in Austin. TSL was honored to open up for the Scratch Legend at Holy Mountain in Austin, TX. Starting off with sets from Lalo 2Trill and Akshun Kid. These 2 fellas had the crowd buzzing with energy. Moving into Dopez and Enfoe's set. The well equipped scratch pair moved the fader in ways that made every Tablist in room wonder how they created those sounds. TSL Houston Reps, Mistr Remix and Rockwell pulled off a flawless and entertaining 10 minute routine. Leaving the stage with all cheers! Ending the Showcase was the newly formed team of Buck Rodgers and Swift Style. This dynamic duo seemed to be able to read each others mind when it came to the finger drumming. They put together a routine so well rounded and perfectly timed with cuts and live remixing, that it'll be talked about for years. Of course Q-Bert destroyed the show. Giving the crowd an hour of unblemished mixing and cuts. This was one for the history books! A BIG thank you to Table Manners Crew for having us. Hit us up at TXScratchleague@gmail.com for any info on upcoming events or how you can contibute to the movement!
OCTOBER 29TH 2014 CITY CUTS (DALLAS)
Hello Dallas! Texas Scratch League rep, DJ V-Teq, put together one massive event! Live at Sandaga 813, the Tablist community came out in droves! Great Showcases from Tums (DFW) and Scorpion (DFW) set the tempo for the entire night. The Mini Cut battle slots were filled quick! With Swift Style &Tums taking home those medals. An overall fun entertaining night. The entire DFW area really came alive with support in 2014! Thanks to that whole scene for getting behind TSL! Hit us up at TXScratchleague@gmail.com for any info on upcoming events or how you can contibute to the movement!
SEPTEMBER 25TH 2014 CITY CUTS (CORPUS CHRISTI)
Ahhh! The ocean, the food and the cuts! A big thank you to everyone that came out and supported this event! The good folks at Aria were extremely gracious and allowed us to host City Cuts in thier awesome multi-story club! TSL supporter DJ Swift Style provided extra viewing screens to allow the entire crowd to see all the action from any angle! 4 "scratch set ups" and one full set up provided the artillery for all the tablist to let loose on some vicious cuts. 2014 Summer InstaCuts Champ, Buck Rodgers and local legend, DJ Dragon showcased through out the night. Thank you Corpus! We can't wait to see you again!
AUGUST 26TH 2014 CITY CUTS (FORT WORTH)
Ohhhhh what a doozy! Fort Worth and the whole DFW area came out reppin' mega thick! 4 "scratch set ups" and 1 full set up made way for some extreme continuous cuts! Fort Worth was hungry for a session like this. Thank you all for supporting and thanks to Foch Lounge for allowing us to cut!
