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His real name is Michael Schwartz. He was born in San Francisco, California. Mix Master Mike is of
German and Filipino descent. He first came to prominence upon winning the 1992 New Music
Seminar/Supermen Inc. DJ Battle for World Supremacy in New York City, becoming the first West
Coast DJ ever to do so. In the same year, his turntablism collective Rock Steady DJs won the DMC
World DJ Championships, establishing Mix Master Mike as one of the pre-eminent DJs in the
industry. This success was followed by triumph in the 1993 DMC Championships, this time as part
of a duo with DJ Qbert. ...read more
His real name is Michael Schwartz. He was born in San Francisco, California. Mix Master Mike is of
German and Filipino descent. He first came to prominence upon winning the 1992 New Music
Seminar/Supermen Inc. DJ Battle for World Supremacy in New York City, becoming the first West
Coast DJ ever to do so. In the same year, his turntablism collective Rock Steady DJs won the DMC
World DJ Championships, establishing Mix Master Mike as one of the pre-eminent DJs in the
industry. This success was followed by triumph in the 1993 DMC Championships, this time as part
of a duo with DJ Qbert.
Mix Master Mike and DJ Qbert subsequently founded the turntablist group, The Invisibl Skratch
Piklz with DJ Apollo.
Mix Master Mike's most high-profile work has been with hip-hop group the Beastie Boys, working on
the albums Hello Nasty (1998) and To The 5 Boroughs (2004). He also appears on the non-album
Beastie Boys single "Alive", which was released in 1999 in support of The Sounds of Science
retrospective anthology. Mix Master Mike is now effectively the Beastie Boys' resident DJ, replacing
DJ Hurricane, who was preceded by Doctor Dre (not to be confused with Dr. Dre) who replaced Rick
Rubin known as DJ Double R.
In 1994, after winning three consecutive DMC World Championships, it was rumored that Mix
Master Mike and Q-Bert were asked to retire from further competition, so as to avoid monopolizing
the title.[3] This claim is disputed by the DMC World Championship Website. After retiring from the
world of competition turntablism, Mix Master Mike and Qbert became judges for the 1995 DMC
Championships.
Mike has also helped fellow DJs produce their own albums, most notably, Wave Twisters, by DJ Q-
bert.
Mix Master Mike is known for his heavy-hitting bass and intricate scratch routines. Mike's solo
album Eye of the Cyklops won best electronic album in 2000 at the California music awards.
In 1995, he was honored with The Grandwizard Theodore lifetime achievement award from the
International Turntablist Federation. He has collaborated with artists such as Ozzy Osbourne,
Tommy Lee, Rob Zombie, Fela Kuti and Joss Stone, among others.
Mix Master Mike is often credited with inventing the Tweak Scratch. The scratch is performed by
moving the record back and forth while the platter is stopped. The inertia of the platter causes the
sounds to slow and drop in pitch in an unusual manner. He is also well known for the unusual
technique of using a wah-wah pedal, an effect most commonly used by guitarists, with his
turntables.
Mix Master Mike is featured as a secret character that can be obtained through a cheat code in the
2002 snowboarding game SSX Tricky. He also contributed the song "Patrol Knob" to the soundtrack
of the NTSC and PAL versions of the 2000 game Jet Grind Radio.
Mix Master Mike is one of 9 artists who participated in thetruth.com’s Remix Project, in which he
remixed the Sunny Side song “Tough Love”. « hide |
Similar Bands: D-Styles, Flare, DJ Qbert, Beastie Boys Contributors: couch,
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