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Monolith Interview - Scratch Track

by Adam Schragin
August 29, 2008 - 8:00am

Scratch Track are a duo out of Kansas City, Missouri, featuring DJ Lee on vocals, beatboxing, and Jason Hamlin providing added instrumentation in the form of guitar, and occasionally harmonica and more. The substantive blend of hip-hop, rap, and bluesy rock makes for an atypical jog across genres that have earned Scratch Track a worldwide audience – especially here in the States, where you can find the duo playing at your local college. DJ Lee and Hamlin emailed with MadeLoud about inspirations, touring, and their own University experiences.

ML: So what started as three college friends hanging out in making music is now a career in earnest for the two of you. If you weren't doing this, for what career path would your educations have prepared you?

DJ Lee: My college degree was in vocal music. I could be teaching elementary music or I could be leading music at a church. But I'd most likely be a middle school boys P.E. coach. Probably something like that. Some type of teacher or leader, I would think.

Jason Hamlin: I majored in music and minored in management. I think I've always wanted to do music, but if I didn't, I think I would be a mechanic of some kind. I love motorcycles and old cars, so maybe that.

ML: With an acoustic/hip-hop hybrid, obviously a few crossover acts come to mind. Do you find comparisons with, say, Everlast, or LL Cool J circa unplugged to be accurate, or do you consider yourself closer to a different set of influences?

Lee: Wow. Everlast? Never heard that one before. I think our influences are so broad and wide - from gospel and oldies to hip hop to metal. So I think people say we sound like Dave Matthews meets Gym Class Heroes meets Seal meets The Roots. I personally thinks it’s more like Gnarls Barkley meets The White Stripes with a tiny bit of Beck thrown in for flavor.

Hamlin: Our influences come from a wide range of artists. Pantera to
Beck to Jay-Z to The White Stripes to Sixteen Horsepower to Outkast, etc. I believe that is why we have a somewhat interesting sound and we do not have to worry about writing outside of the box.

ML: For a while you guys were based in Martha's Vineyard. Apparently that place can be very isolating, but also a fruitful place to collaborate and create. Tell us about those days.

Lee: The Vineyard was dark days in my memory. A lot of hard work and finding yourself as a young adult. I definitely felt alone at times on that island. :)

Hamlin: The Vineyard was amazing. The Ocean. The silence. The air. Everything. We were away from the fast pace of life that everyone gets into these days. We had time to stop and live without commercial nonsense. No McDonalds, no 24-hour drive-through, nothing open past 10 o'clock really...we could plug ourselves into the music much more easily with no distractions.

ML: Scratch Track has a lot of stake in booking college shows. What is it about college-age audiences that you think makes them respond so well to your music?

Lee: Our music comes at a different angle than just about everything else out there, but it’s very accessible. College-aged people seem to be the most likely to try new things and try new music. We hope to be the new music in everyone's life. :)

Scratch Track just played the Hansen Festival in Okinawa. How was that whole experience?

Lee: Okinawa was amazing. Beautiful place with great people. The Hansen Festival was on a United States marine base ,and marines and their families were very responsive to what we were doing.

Hamlin: It was tropical. I could go on a vacation there, get a tan, drink some margaritas and be very happy. The festival was also pretty amazing. Thousands of troops. It was a great time. We appreciate our men and women who serve our country and we wanted to give something back to them.

ML: Your group has shared the stage with acts that include metal legends Living Colour to the surprisingly retro Crash Test Dummies, who I didn't realize were still together. Tell us a little about some of those shows. Who was most impressive?

Lee: Wow. We've shared the stage with a bunch of artists. Jurassic 5 was very impressive when we played with them four years ago. And Erykah Badu put on an insanely good show as well.

ML: What are your thoughts on playing at Monolith?

Lee: It’s an a honor to be a part of the Monolith festival. We're really excited about this opportunity.

Hamlin: I can't wait to play. Lots of amazing bands.

ML: Who are you hoping to see during the festival?

Lee: I'd love to check out Superdrag’s set. I've heard a lot about them. And I can't go anywhere now days without hearing about Atmosphere. So I'm hoping to see his set and hear what everyone is talking about.

Hamlin: I've wanted to see Atmosphere forever. Hopefully we can catch that show. I also want to see TV On The Radio. People have told us we sound a bit like them...hmmm...

ML: Your group is going to definitely stick out on the acoustic stage. Are you familiar, or do you consider yourself stylistically close with any of the other bands performing?

Lee: From what I can gather, we kinda stick out like a sore thumb. :)

Hamlin: I don't wanna sound like every other artist, but you should hear our band. We’re pretty rad.

Scratch Track performs Monolith at 5:15 on Saturday, September 13th.

- Adam Schragin

You may republish this article if you link back to this original.

Photo thanks: Chad Riley

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