After a few dirty looks came and went, I had to ask. "Is there a problem?"

"I told you it was semi-formal. I left it on your answering machine," she explained.

"I didn't know. Sorry."

My friend and I were severely underdressed for the occasion, but we had a valid excuse. When a hip-hop deejay throws a
party, should you make purchases at The Men's Warehouse prior to attending? Not usually, but this was well, not usual. It's not
every deejay who can attract hundreds of overdressed well wishers to the ballroom of the San Francisco Hyatt for a record
release party and press conference. Of course, DJ Q-Bert of the famed Invisibl Skratch Piklz isn't every deejay. In fact, he isn't
really a deejay; he's a turntablist. And with that term being overused to describe any aspiring scratchmaster who happens to
own top of the line 1200's and a mixer with more buttons than Big Pun's dress shirt, it's Q-Bert who more than validates the
word's existence.

Although it's only recently that turntablism has found itself waiting in popular music's on deck circle, The San Francisco Bay
Area's Invisibl Skratch Piklz have taken a proactive approach to getting to the plate. By forming their own company in 1997
and keeping most of their mix tapes, records and videos in-house, their objective is to elevate the art form while reaping the
benefits financially.

From the press kits to the Champagne to the stage lights and giant video screen, the creators of the newly formed Galactic
Butthair Records (ISP's indie label) were determined to shed stereotypes and propel Q-Bert's debut solo album Wave
Twisters: Episode 7 Million - Sonic Wars Within the Protons into mainstream success. The party was not held in a smoky club
or subterranean location, but in a hardcore hip-hop wasteland: a luxury hotel. This event was formal for a reason; ISP and
Q-Bert are ready to take the new genre of scratch music to the next level without hype or help from a major label.

28 year old Richard Quitevis AKA DJ Q-Bert is the world's most talented turntablist. Tell him and he'll probably just swing his
head from side to side. But watch him for only a few moments- with his fluid movements and boundless scratching styles and
even a novice will understand that the turntable has at least one true virtuoso.

His storied history is well documented. There's the collaborations with Dr. Octagon and Bill Laswell. There's the DMC World
Championships and the subsequent forced retirement of the Piklz from that competition for what the DMC called being "too
intimidating" to prospective competitors. There's the performances on virtually every continent, sharing skills with dedicated fans
from Toronto to Lebanon ("The buildings there were like Swiss Cheese," Q-Bert recalls.) And there's that "legend in his own
time" thing.

This night has been years in the making; 13 to be exact as he first started mixing records in 1985. His parents arranged for
violin and piano lessons back then, but both were abandoned within a few weeks. Turntables called the young Q-Bert and he
soon hooked up with Mix Master Mike, who taught him the art of the scratch. After imitating Mike's moves, Q-Bert was
forced to create on his own when Mike moved to Sacramento. During this time, he realized the instrument's unlimited sound
variations by imagining himself battling deejays from other planets. And why not? Who on this planet would take on the Piklz?

Showing their support at the party were a who's who of turntablists. Shortkut, D-Styles, Apollo, Flare, Rhettmatic, Havik, Vin
Roc, A-Trak, Peanut Butter Wolf , Cut Chemist, and a host of others. The affair was also an opportunity to view the first part
of a music video for the song "Sneak Attack" from the album. It proved to be a futuristic and humorous, Japanamation
influenced sci-fi odyssey that must be seen to comprehend.

The current roster of Piklz features Q-Bert, Mix Master Mike (his stint as the Beastie Boy's deejay kept him away from the
party), Shortkut, D-Styles and behind the scenes administrator/future turntable wizard Yogafrog.

The press conference held prior to the celebration provided a rare opportunity to hear Q-Bert answer questions directly-not
the typical bizarre and spacey responses he and Mix Master Mike are infamous (or famous) for. Yogafrog and ISP
co-manager Tiffany Deang joined Q-Bert at the podium to chime in because most often, Q-Bert allows his hands to do the
talking. What follows are some highlights from the Q & A (all responses are from Q-Bert, unless noted otherwise):

Who is featured on the album?

(Yogafrog)There are small contributions from Vin Roc, Shortkut, Mike, Flare. (Q-Bert) There's this really crazy guitarist, Buckethead, when you see him scratching (with his guitar) it's crazy…he really digs turntables.

Who would you pay to see spin outside of the Piklz?

Pay? (everyone laughs)

Who would you sneak in to see perform?

A-Trak, Develop. I'd probably sneak in to all the crews, the X-Men, Beat Junkies, Allies, 5th Platoon, Empire DJ's, Beatknuckles from Japan, Turnstyles from Canada, Space Travelers. I'd sneak in for any of them.

Are there any artists out there you want to work with?

Biz Markie. I like him. He's really funny.

How about being Filipino. Has it helped or hindered you in hip-hop circles?

It's never been an issue. We were never trying to be the best Filipino deejays out there. We were just trying to be the best period…It's music, like I always say, music for everyone.

I've never seen any turntablist have a press conference. How does all this make you feel?

We are doing our best to get the art out there to the masses. There's a lot of people who don't really know about it. It's kind of sad, so I'm really happy that we can keep spreading the art.

At what point did you feel that being a deejay could be your identity and your way to earn a living?

I think when we started the company in February of '97. (Yogafrog) If you want to talk about a long time ago, it was just something we loved. I remember we were getting paid like $200 and there was like 12 people in the group and everyone was hungry after that. We never had any money.

What did you do before you were scratching?

I was like a telephone…I was like (places hand to ear and mouth like a telephone), "Hi, can you watch this TV show and I'll call you back and we can talk about it?"

Is there truth to the rumor that due to some accident in the 80s, you were wrapped up for a year and practiced, practiced?

Have you heard of Bo Jackson? I have the same injury as him. So when I was recovering, I'd stay home and practice all day. It was in '89. I read that Jimi Hendrix was a big science fiction fan…Is that the basis of having the outer space encounters or kind of taking it to a different level? Yeah. When I was learning how to deejay, I was learning from all these deejays. I was like, "Oh wow" you know, Mix Master Mike has the coolest stuff, let me go over to his house and learn something from him. And so he moved and I had no one to learn from. So I'd imagine, "Who's the best deejay in outer space deejays?" So I'd think about that and I'd come up with all these ideas, so that really helped me. Still to this day, I'm trying to go on the Internet and, "Deejays from outer space…I wonder if there is any, I want to see some."

Yogafrog, are you going to come out and start scratching?

(Yogafrog) I guess so. I'm in training. I want to do it right; I want to sound totally different. Everyone sounds a certain way; I want to sound original. D-Styles and Q-Bert, those are the two best deejays in the world and if I can get my own original sound…I'm learning from the best here, so we'll see what happens.

Have you gotten any requests from mainstream artists to work with you?

(Yogafrog) I know Wyclef asked Shortkut about two years ago. Mix Master Mike with Korn and with Beastie Boys.

Why the name Galactic Butt Hair Records?

(Yogafrog) We literally just picked three different words and put them together. Galactic-Butthair-Records. Yeah,
no…actually, this is the main reason: Say we got a Grammy and we're "All right!" and Q-Bert won a Grammy, right?…If Q got a Grammy or something, wouldn't it be the neatest thing in the world, when he gets up there, "And now DJ Q-Bert from Galactic Butt Hair Records!"

What happened with Asphodel Records?

(Yogafrog) Well Mike's with them. The Asphodel thing, there was no way to get all the whole group together. Shortkut's busy touring, Mike's with the Beastie Boys, we were working on video projects and Q's working on solo music production stuff. Everyone's just on their own thing.

Advice for aspiring turntablists?

Practice and practice, and then practice again. Then get your hands on as much scratch video as you can. As much sound. As much recorded stuff. Get professional help-hang out with deejays you know that can cut well.

What would you consider to be a success after the release of this album?

To me being successful would be if everyone got to hear it and stuff would branch out with it. Like people would listen to one thing and, "Oooh, I can make a sound off that little piece, you know…And then people will hear something else and they'll come with that other style. The progression of it all.

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Q-Bert didn't perform that night, but as it turned out, he didn't have to. As the night drew to a close, those who remained were given an ISP goodie bag in the form of informal, but mind-blowing sets by two World Champion DJ's. First, ITF Champ VinRoc beat-juggled two pieces of vinyl into oblivion. Next it was former DMC Champ A-Trak drawing oohs and aahhs out of his fellow turntablists by furiously flipping his favorite break. The vocals on that track shouted "Last Night Changed it All," and it was evident that for turntablism's future, this night may have done just that.