The Vermont Review

Experimental Reasoning: An Interview with DJ
Logic
By Brian L. Knight
When talking in his book Hip Hop America, author Nelson
George writes about the DJs role in the development of Afro-American music culture.
George believes that in terms of "creating new notes, new chords and new harmonies
", DJs do not serve the purpose of enhancing the Afro-American musical tradition.
This argument is supported by a DJs use of "prerecorded" sounds, which to
some critics, refutes the concept of originality. This is argument is only one take on the
debate as George continues "However, if that tradition (Djing) means embracing new
sounds, bending found technology to the creators will in search of new forms of
rhythm made to inspire and please listeners, well than sampling is as black as the
blues."
Although DJ Logic is less of traditional sampler, in terms of borrowing well known
riffs and melodies, he is a sampler in the terms described by George. The New York City
native has redefined the turntables role in creating grooves. Logic started his
musical career by playing in Eye in Eye, a participating band in Vernon Reids Black
Rock Coalition. Through his friendship with Reid and their mutual passion for creating
different music, DJ Logic was immersed in the New York City experimental underground music
scene. Also known as the "Knitting Factory scene", this music covered all
spectrums of music with names like John Zorn, Mark Ribot, Briggan Krause, Elliott Sharp
and Medeski, Martin and Wood taking existing musical forms and adding new and bizarre
twists.
DJ Logic shared the same musical passion but with a non traditional instrument. How was
a DJ with the same vision to fit in this mold? At first, it seemed that turntables were
simply regulated to the booths at dance floors and had no real role in a band environment.
As hip-hop continued to tentacle like permeation of all music forms from New
Orleans jazz to hard core rap; the role of the DJ as an improviser became more apparent.
In mainstream music circles of the 1990s, bands like Sugar Ray and Limp Bizkit employ a
full time DJs. In the jazzier circles, Englands US3 combined hip-hop sampling and
grooves with the works of the Blue Note Records roster. But just as "mainstream
jazz" had avant-garde counterparts in Albert Ayler, Sam Rivers and Cecil Taylor, so
did "mainstream hip-hop". Enter DJ Logic, who is the rhythm king of the hip-hop
turntables. DJ Logic focuses less attention of the content of an individual record for he
sees the textured values of a record/sample. Just like Miles Davis during his Bitches Brew
era, the emphasis is not any individual sound but rather the groove created by a sound
collective.
DJ Logic recently rose to national prominence through his association with the
experimental-jazz-funk trio of Medeski, Martin and Wood. After showing up some of the
trios "Shack parties," DJ Logic became a "fourth member" and has
appeared on one EP, a full length album (Combistication) and countless tours. Due to M,
M&W's respect in both hard core jazz circles and hippie-havens from Greenwich Village
to Haight Ashbury, DJ Logic has sat with every type of band ranging from Deep Banana
Blackouts funk jams to vibist Bill Wares far out jazz explorations. Since
then, DJ Logic honed his search for the perfect vibe. This quest has reached a first major
installment with his recording Project Logic. Joined by Bill Ware, Mark Ribot, Briggan
Krause, Vernon Reid, Medeski, Martin and Wood and many others, Project Logic is
veritable whos-who of the NYC underground.
The Bronx born DJ Logic is taking his vibe on the road and that is where we caught him
before a concert in Washington D.C.
Vermont Review: First question: What is your real name?
DJ Logic: My name is Jason Kibler
VR: How did you get the name DJ Logic?
DJL: The Logic name developed when I was in this band Eye in Eye, an alternative rock
band. At the time, I was trying to come up with a DJ name. I couldnt go as DJ Jason
or anything like that. We decided to find something that stood out, me and a singer in the
group. We looked through a couple of dictionaries and some magazines. We came upon Logic
and thought it sounded great.
VR: Was guitarist Vernon Reid associated with Eye in Eye?
DJL: No. That was with Melvin Gibbs, DK Dyson, Gary Paulson, Ritchie Harrison. Living
Color came out before us.
VR: Were Eye and Eye and Living Color both members of the Black Rock Coalition?
DJL: Yeah. The same time that Living Color was blowing up, we were the next band right
behind them. We got signed by the same A&R.
VR: Were you playing the same type of music, a hard driving rock?
DJL: It was more funk and alternative. We went with a lot of different routes. Which I
liked, because a lot of people were new to the DJ thing. We were kind of developing. We
were on tour with the Psychedelic Furs, and Body Count. We were trying to define ourselves
in the whole music category. We released one album called Eye in Eye and we released one
single from the album called "Venus in Furs". I was with the band since I was
fourteen. At the time there were no DJs at the time doing what I was doing.
VR: What was some of the first types of music that you were exposed to?
DJL: I was exposed to jazz, R&B, funk and hip-hop.
VR: Who were some of your first jazz influences?
DJL: I was listening to Miles, Grover Washington, Eddie Harris. Further down, when I
was doing jazz instrumental improv gigs, I got into Sun Ra.
VR: How did you first get involved with being a DJ?
DJL: Going to parties, like the Zulu Nation Anniversary Hip-Hop parties. I used to go
there and I was amazed by how the DJ was having the crowds dance and move. The DJs were
switching up beats and stuff like that and I said I wanted to be a DJ. I was also always
listening and taping hip-hop on the radio. One day, my parents gave me a turntable for
Christmas. It wasnt the expensive turntables, it was the cheap one. I worked my way
around that until I got some expensive ones.
VR: Who were some of those DJs that you saw?
DJL: African Bambatta, Africa Islam, DJ Flash, Red Alert.
VR: What are those guys doing these days?
DJL: They still doing their thing. Africa Islam is in LA doing his thing with Ice T.
African Bambatta is still going. When I was in Japan, I saw that he was coming over to
play. Red Alert is still Djing on the radio. Some of them got put in Hall of Fame for
spinning and djing for so long. They started hip-hop and all of that.
VR: First naïve question. Did you use regular turntables for Djing or are they
specifically designed?
DJL: Back then. They were just some cheap turntables JVCs. I had to put a penny
on table in order to make them stop jumping and scratching. I was young and just starting
out with a new band. I was just trying to find my way around. Today, I have the Technics
1200. All the DJs have that turntable, or all the DJs should have. It has been around a
long time.
VR: Can I play my Grateful Dead records on it?
DJL: (laughing) Of course.
VR: What were some of the first records that you bought?
DJL: It was a lot of jazz records. After playing in bands and learning a lot from other
musicians, they would give me some advice on some records to go out and listen to. I was
going out after rock records, funk records, jazz records. Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, Ohio
Players, Pink Floyd, Can, Billy Cobham, Gary Bartz, all of the Sun Ra stuff, all the Miles
Davis stuff, all of Eddie Harris. The list goes on and on because I have a lot of records.
VR: Do you use those records for Djing?
DJL: Yeah. Some records I just listen to get ideas from or to just spin at a party.
VR: How long is the life expectancy of a record that you DJ with?
DJL: Well, I try to get two records. They could last for a long time as long as I
dont scratch it that much. If I am playing it, it will last time. If I am scratching
it, it will wear and tear. Its just like wearing sneakers.
VR: Some say that a lot of the great Blue Note funky stuff from the 1960s and 1970s
like the works of guitarist Grant Green have become rare because the DJs grabbed hold of
them and scratched them up.
DJL: Totally. That is why you have to buy two copies. When I go shopping, I always
getting something that I already have at home. I always get any extra copy.
VR: Do you listen to any CDs?
DJL: Yeah I listen to CDs but my vinyl collection is much bigger.
VR: Jumping ahead to your new album, Project Logic. It sounds great. It is a cast of
many people.
DJL: I am so happy that all those cats came together. It is my first record. With these
musicians, we did a little thing here and there on somebody elses records, and we
all stayed in touch. When the time came around, they were all able to come down and do
something on my records which was great.
VR: With so many people, did it take a while to record?
DJL: It took about two weeks. It was just trying to match the right musicians with good
vibes. We came up with some nice music. It was mostly improv and some of the stuff, we
started with some ideas and the musicians played them out for me.
VR: One of the more interesting instruments on the album is Christina Wheeler playing
the theremin on the tune "Eyes Open but Dead". What was it like working with
that instrument?
DJL: It was great. I knew about the theremin but when I did a record with Vernon Reid,
he had Christina do something on his record, which was celled Mistaken Identity. I
had an idea that I would want to her to come down and do something for me when I had a
record. She also sings. She sang on "Abyss", the song with Teo Macero.
VR: Teo Macero, who is best known for producing Miles Daviss albums with Columbia
Records, plays the horn on your album. How did you meet up with Macero?
DJL: I met him through Vernon Reid and we had a good time talking to each other and
became good friends. We kept in touch and I have done stuff for him on other projects. He
came through to do this thing for me, which is great.
VR: Growing up listening to Miles Davis, it must have been like working with a hero.
DJL: Totally. I was listening to him tell all his stories about Miles. It was great. It
was like a little kid listening to his grandfather. He is like a kid too. Hes got a
nice vibe. He is a loving person.
VR: I am going to name some of the people whoop appear on your album. Could you comment
on some of them. Bassist Melvin Gibbs?
DJL: I have been with him since Eye in Eye days. We just developed a brother vibe
thing. He also produced the record.
VR: Drummer Skoota Warner?
DJL: I have known him since the Eye in Eye days too for a long time. Its
like a family. (laughter) Everybody knows me since I was little.
VR: I guess that John Medeski, Billy Martin and Chris Wood would be your new family?
DJL: Totally. Totally. Totally. I met those guys when I was doing something for Vernon.
At the time, I never heard any of their music but they loved what I was doing with Vernon.
We exchanged numbers and when the time came around for us to get together at their Shack
parties, when the Shack Man album came out, I came down and did a whole performance with
them. Things just grew and developed from there.
VR: It seems like Vernon Reid has been a lynchpin throughout your career?
DJL: Over the years, he has seen how interested I was in music. We have a close bond
with each other. We love doing things differently. Making different types of music
doing different things, creatively wise.
VR: Guitarist Mark Ribot?
DJL: Mark is an interesting cat too. (laughter). I met him at the Knitting Factory
doing improv gigs and stuff like that. I asked him to do the record and he was more than
happy to.
VR: Vibist Bill Ware?
DJL: I met him at the Knitting Factory too. In fact, everybody I met at the Knitting
Factory. We were all doing improv and we all developed a relationship and kept in touch.
VR: Heres someone you probably did not meet there: How about Fuzz from Deep
Banana Blackout?
DJL: I met Fuzz at Wetlands. They heard about me with Medeski, Martin and Wood and they
asked me if I wanted to come down and jam with them. I came down, checked them out and
worked my way into the mix.
VR: You have a lot of great musicians in the studio. Who are you bringing with you out
on the road with you?
DJL: My band consists of Melvin Gibbs, Casey Benjamin, who also played on the record.
He is an up and coming young jazz musicians. He plays saxophone and keyboards. The
drummer, who is out of St. Louis, is Leon Lamont. A guitarist by the name of Scott Hardy
he also produced on the records and engineered MMW. I would like to have all the
guests who played on the record to perform as well. Since we are the opening band, we have
to build like that.
VR: It sounds like you have played in lots of different environments.
DJL: I have been exposed to a whole lot of different things from hip-hop to
jungle, jazz, rock, trance, house. Everything that is spun. My resume is very big. I have
been all over the world, which is great experience too.
VR: Do you have any free time?
DJL: Yeah, I have some free time, but right now I am promoting my record, staying on
top of the business, talking to you. Just moving place to place. I have a busy schedule
right now.
VR: Just as US3 combined hip-hop and mainstream jazz, it sound like you combine hip-hop
with the avant-garde elements of jazz?
DJL: I want to try something different as we go into the new century. I want to come
and stand out with something different a new type of music. I want show musicians
and DJs that they can take it to a new who level.
VR: Anybody out there that you would like to play with that you havent with?
DJL: Yeah, a couple of people. I wished I could have played with Miles. I would like to
do some stuff with ZZ Top
Phish. I would like to do anything with
somebody who is creatively driven and who wants to do something experimental.
Project Logic is a phenomenal CD with lots of great grooves and an superb supporting
cast. As far as debut albums, it is one of the more impressive. Ckeck out
more of DJ Logic at www.djlogic.com/