Interview: Kutmasta Kurt

Introducing: Kutmasta Kurt

The always busy Kutmasta Kurt has been doing things nonstop for a while.
Kurt had been DJing in the Bay Area since the mid-'80s, getting his start as a teenager on a Santa Cruz community radio station. In 1988, he moved on to the Stanford University college station, and also mixed live at parties around the University of California-Santa Cruz campus.
Had a moment to catch up with him on different topics from fortune cookies to dolphins to films. Enjoy.

How are you doing today?

pretty good, thanks. how are you doing today?

If you’re in a restaurant and opened a fortune cookie, what would your fortune read?

好運是你的，您有巨型陰莖!

If you had to be an animal, what would it be and why?

prob a dolphin. looks like they have a lot of fun. oh accept for when they end up in our tuna fish sandwiches...well every tunafish sandwich has a little dolphin it in.

When you have time to do any reading, what books or blogs do you find amusing?

i just read the weaponless warriors by richard kim. blog wise i read my 2 yr old neices blog and i'll be checking out this one now too.

Where did you get the most interesting mixtape at and what was it?

when i was just in kanazawa. this funky cassette called kutmasta kurt instrumental: love the way you kut! i never had anyone give me a mixtape of my own stuff!

What about the futuristic sounding space beats?

they aren't futuristic anymore, space is now retro, like the 90's. besides they landed on the moon in the 60's, so what's so futuristic about space anyways? i think space beats are either for ravers who take too many drugs, or people like me who like retro sci-fi from the 70's like the tv show lost in space.

Do you find that Polka has a future with Hip Hop artists and why?

any kinda music can be flipped if the right person gets a hold of it. i sampled an old mexican song for motion man and flipped it for the song "pablito's way", but the roots of that music is really from polka. so no offense meant to the fans of that classic style of mexican music, but you are already fans of polka too, you just didn't know it. sorta like how you're automatically fans of mc hammer if you're fans of the blackeyed peas.

Did you ever get into Go-Go music from D.C. ?

yeah, drop the bomb on the white folks too! i wish i had more of it, but i have a little collection with some of the best ones, like let's get small, in the mix, and of course pump me up. the best go go record i have is from philly and it's called scratchin to the funk by dr funkenstien (dj cash money) where he's cutting the fuck out of all of those records on the 1's & 2's.

Who are the Funky Redneck backing band and cowgirl dancers?

i'm accepting tryouts now, b/c my current dancers the dallas cowgirls, are about to go back to cheering when the nfl season starts again soon.

maybe i can get the raiderettes, they have nothing to cheer for anyways.

How was it to work with the Butthole Surfers on a remix? Still keep in touch with Gibby?

i saw gibby last year in the uk, and he was too busy jocking keith, he didn't even say much to me...but he was drunk off his ass, so i understand.

btw i don't even know if that remix was ever released...have you heard it?

Any other bands that you worked with or toured with that you found interesting? I heard that you did some stuff with the Faint?

the faint were cool peeps to tour with...what up todd fink? it was also interesting to tour with RHCP, they are legends, and total characters, especially frushante. i had fun hanging out with them. one day we took a tour bus to a strip club in houston after the gig, and chris rock and rick rubin joined us. keith missed out on that one.

What is the concept of Dr. Dooom 2 and what was it like to create it?

the concept is a crazy dude from the projects going jeffry dhamer on dr octagon and the spoiled trust fund kids who call themselves music critics (and never bought a n album).

creating it was fun, it was a chance to get out my iller sounding tracks and push keith in the vocal booth to work a harder then he's used to. i make him work when we make albums, he hates me for it at the time and thanks me for it when it's all done.

What is the process that you use to create your concepts for albums or remixes?

i drink some of my grandaddy's moonshine, and then i get out the gut bucket and start to pluck it.

Do you have any future projects that you are working on?

yeah the funkyredneck sings album.

Any thoughts about collaborations with other producers?

haven't done it very often. usually more by circumstance. usually up and coming producers approach me, i'd rather work with more established producers for a change. maybe phil specter would like to collab? oh wait is he in jail or something?

Going through heavy touring and all, what’s the most random interesting situation that you been in with all your time spent on the road?

jeez louise, life on the road just isn't always that interesting..at least to me. but one thing i remember was when we had a bunch of dudes on a big tour bus together, no one was cleaning up the messes they made, so the driver got fed up and called a groupie chic he knew (from a previous tour) and she flew in to ride with us and clean the bus for us. oh and btw she got banged by pretty much everyone (accept me), yes i have standards...she was missing some teeth and was on all sorts of substances.

What’s your favorite place to visit in the globe?

on tour it's thailand. for leisure, prob bonaire.

What was some of your favorite music videos from the past when growing up?

thriller, and buffalo gals.

What are some films that you are currently liking and why?

the cats of mirkatani, b/c it shows that even an old dude in his 80's can still get down with is art wether homless, or previously put into a concentration camp for years.

Do you find that some of the films that you watch have an influence on your production work?

maybe they can inspire me in certain ways. it's prob more subliminal then overt. i think a good film seeps into your cells then expresses it's self after being mutated by your body's own unique way it's process input. so i could go see a funny horror flick and then years later it's effect might show it's self a little in the way i made the dr dooom2 album...but it might not be obvious to others..maybe i won't even recognize or notice it myself.

Any thoughts about working on contributing to film soundtracks and if so what kind of films?

the title track for grandma's boy was fun, although i heard the film flopped.

other then that i'm looking to do more, so to the music supervisors reading, get at me, i'm into all types of films, especially horror and comedy's.

What is or who is your favorite film monster character?

the tall man (angus scrimm): boooooyyyyyyy!

More info on Kutmasta Kurt can be found at:

www.myspace.com/kutmastakurt
www.threshrecs.com/