turntable maestro DJ Logic spins at The Music Hall

All kinds of new technology exist to help DJs diversify their sound. Unlike the old days, when DJs scratched vinyl records on a pair of turntable decks, software is now available to manufacture music straight through computers, making laptops the instrument of choice for many jockeys. 
 
But for DJ Logic, there’s nothing quite like the sound of raw vinyl. “I like the analog sound,” Logic said. “Sometimes I like a little snap, crackle and pop.”

A turntable pioneer who has revolutionized the field, Logic said he has tinkered with some of the newer technology, but he still prefers old-school methods. “I’ve been messing around with it, but I’m still using vinyl,” he said. “It’s just a transition. I’m not trying to be a dinosaur, but I just want to feel comfortable.”

Logic recently spoke to The Wire by phone while driving to a gig in Wisconsin. The following day, he was on a plane to Hawaii for three shows, including a slot at the Honolulu Music and Arts Festival on Halloween night. Logic will perform a solo show at The Music Hall in Portsmouth on Saturday, Nov. 15, beginning at 8:30 p.m.

Guests at the show will even have a chance to hop onstage and dance around. And that, after all, is Logic’s musical mission. “I like to see a little response, a head nodding or a foot tapping, even if the person can’t dance,” he said.

Since emerging in the Bronx in the early 1990s, DJ Logic has been a leader in elevating the art of disc jockeying, transforming turntablists from anonymous sideshow acts to revered musicians. Logic has garnered respect both as a session man and as a bandleader, knitting together a diverse spectrum of genres in his all-inclusive fusion of beats. Despite the chaotic array of components, it all winds up sounding, well, logical.

Born Jason Kibler, Logic started spinning records in the 1980s as the hip-hop movement was taking flight in New York. It started as a hobby, a way to amuse crowds at house parties in his neighborhood in the Bronx. At the time, very few DJs were taken seriously as musicians, and hardly any performed with full bands.

But Logic developed a new style, with “not too much scratching and stuff like that, but using the turntable like a percussion instrument or a keyboard, adding sounds and textures in the right places where it made sense,” he said.

In the early 1990s, Logic played in a rock band called Eye and I. One of his early mentors was former Living Colour front man Vernon Reid, with whom he would later form the experimental electronic group the Yohimbe Brothers. His interest in jazz, funk and soul also flourished, and everything he heard siphoned into his work on the turntables.

Having garnered a reputation as one of the most innovative turntablists in the New York underground, Logic was soon discovered by jazz trio Medeski Martin and Wood. He toured and recorded with MMW in the mid to late ’90s, helping to establish the definitive sound on their groundbreaking 1998 album, “Combustication.”

By that time, Logic was headlining shows at New York’s Knitting Factory and turning heads among audiences of all ages and genres. Not everyone was immediately receptive to the idea of a DJ headlining shows at a major venue, he said.
“I got a lot of faces from the older (people) in the jazz concerts. Some were like, ‘What? What is that?’” he said.

But Logic sees his use of turntables as being similar to the way early bluesmen used the washboard and gut bucket bass, improvising instruments out of appliances that were created for other purposes. “I think they’re all in the same family,” he said.

Logic’s work with MMW made him an artist in high demand. He has since collaborated with jazz greats like John Scofield and Christian McBride; rappers like Prince Paul and The Roots; and jam giants like Phish and moe. He has toured with Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Maroon 5 and John Mayer, to name but a fraction.

Logic has also earned high esteem as a solo artist. In the late 1990s, he launched Project Logic, a full band complete with guitar, bass, drums, keyboard and saxophone. It was probably the first DJ-led band ever to tour the nation, and the group still occasionally hits the road.

He has also released three solo albums on Ropeadope Records, including his most recent 2006 effort, “Zen of Logic.” The disc demonstrates Logic’s ability to weave together genres and implement retro sounds into forward-thinking music. For an irresistible example, visit www.myspace.com/projectlogic and listen to “Lapdance,” an eclectic platter of funky samples and soulful vocals that fuse past and future. 

These days, as always, DJ Logic is spinning his way through a dizzying number of projects. In between tours, he is busy working on a new solo album, slated for release in the spring of 2009. When not gigging or recording with his own band, he can often be found performing with The John Popper Project, alongside Blues Traveler front man and harmonica wiz Popper. He also continues to advance his accomplished career as a producer.

The DJ subculture that existed in the Bronx when Logic was growing up has since pervaded the mainstream. There are now almost as many aspiring musicians learning to manipulate turntables as there are taking guitar lessons, Logic said, and numerous clubs showcase live DJs seven nights a week. Some even incorporate visual elements to accompany the beats, while others include backing bands.

“Back in the day, I could walk into a guitar center or a music store and you’d never see a whole DJ section or nothing like that,” Logic said. “Now you go into the music store and you see a whole DJ section, and there’s a guitar section right next to it and a drum section right next to that. So, it’s good to see that.”

There are also more DJs than ever leading or accompanying full bands. Although Logic’s studio recordings sound complex, he said they’re not difficult to replicate in live settings. Like with any instrumentalist, the key is communicating with other musicians on stage and picking up on their sonic cues.

“It’s not too complicated. It’s just the timing and being able to listen to each other,” Logic said. “I’ve been in a lot of different settings where it’s comfortable. And I like a challenge, too. It’s always good. You always learn something new.”

At The Music Hall, Logic will perform alone, without a backing band. “I’ll be spinning some of my remixes and some of the stuff from my records, as well as some other records,” he said.

After close to two decades in the business, working as studio musician, live performer and record producer, Logic has had a rare bird’s eye view of the music industry. To him, this is an exciting time to be a musician. While dreams of signing giant contracts with major record labels may be out of reach for many DJs, artists are now able to promote themselves and be entrepreneurial, he said.

“It’s a great time to be independent,” Logic said. “Everybody can just put up a blog and speak back and forth and pass music around. I like that. It’s like going to the record store, in a way, but also the record store coming to you.”

Logic continues to explore the expansive realm of turntablism, converting the beats in his head into new musical innovations. He said his forthcoming record will be different from all his others, including “Zen of Logic” and its 2001 predecessor, “The Anomaly.” But while every record is different, they all share at least one common thread.

“All the different things I’ve done and all the different styles of music I’ve worked on, they’ve all been, like, logical,” he said.

DJ Logic’s show on Nov. 15 is part of The Event, a dance party to benefit The Music Hall. There will be a live and silent auction, with drinks and hors d’oeuvres available in the lobby. Tickets to the 21-plus event are $75, $60 for members. Doors open at 8 p.m. Call 603-436-2400 or visit www.themusichall.org or               www.djlogic.com.