Turntable2k Interview with Double K

Interview by: Mike G

Date: Cali Comm Tour October / November 2002

I can remember Frank coming to my house in high school, eating all my food, drinking all my Country Time, and giving me CDs quite vividly. He'd walk in and say "What's up brotha-man, I got some shit for you to check out" then he'd hand me a stack of CDs, and walk to my kitchen (when he would finally leave he'd say "Aight, stay black, peace"). It just so happened that on one of these occasions, People Under The Stairs' Next Step was mixed in the pile.

From day one I was hooked on PUTS. Next Step was always lurking in my CD case. And as the years went on Question in the Form of an Answer came out, The Cat 12" with 'Live at the Fishbucket Pt. 2' etc. Still, a PUTS CD never left the CD case. This year O.S.T. hit the shelves and again my mind was blown. From the sickly dance groove 'Hang Loose' to the head swaying 'Montego Slay' you're paying attention beginning to end.

With that said, naturally I'd track down Thes One and Double K for an interview, and the Cali Comm 2002 tour was the perfect opportunity. After a delayed sound check and rousing conversation with Mista Sinista (I see this guy everywhere) I was ready for the interview. The only problem was, Thes and Double weren't and disappeared back stage. The show started and I figured I was out of luck, thankfully I ran into Thes who told me "after the show man, sorry we didn't get it done before, shit was just...hectic."

The show was great, Thes and Double K rocked it hard. Thes playing the drum machine live, Double K running back and forth between the turntables and the mic, even some jive talkin' and even jive-r dancin'. Finally, the crowd clears out, and Double K and myself sit down in a booth. Thes walks over with Double's record bag, Double says "are my headphones in there?" Thes looks up, "shit" runs to the stage, and comes back with Double K's headphones. At which point Thes disappeared again, "Alright" I said, "I guess I'll just ask you all the questions." So here it is, my interview with People Under The Stairs, well, one of the People Under the Stairs.

Well alright, how much shit talking has 'The Double K Show' brought on?
Double K: It hasn't brought up any shit talking, I mean, no one has said anything to me. I don't know what's goin' on in the other circles. Shit, it ain't brought up no shit talking. I've heard a lot of people say they like it, which I'm proud of. That's the reason why I made it. Just to express myself as a DJ.

Outside of the work that you and Thes One do as People Under the Stairs. What has been your favorite side project?
Double K: I'd say the Ugly Duckling sampler tape that we did, 'Big Bank Take Little Bank'.

With K. Jackson
Double K: Yeah, with K. Jackson, I had a lot of fun doing that. Ugly Duckling, those are our folks right there. We just had a really good time making that. So I'd have to say that one right there.

Where is K. Jackson?
Double K: Man, that foo K. Jackson got locked up. You know what I'm sayin'? He got locked up, we're gonna keep all the reasons unknown (laughs). Lets just say bad business on tour.

Aside from the people on this Cali Comm tour, what artists do you respect musically?
Double K: Me personally, Double K, as far as current hiphop, I like my peoples Unspoken Heard, you know, El De Sensei. Definitely Del Tha Funky Homosapien, when that guy speaks, I'm listening. But me, I listen to P-Funk all day. But when its time for some rap I put on some good stuff, and that's the stuff I'm diggin.

What are you favorite drums?
Double K: Man, funky drums...

No, I mean like...
Double K: Oh, you mean like off an old record?

Right.
Double K: Man, there's a couple, but 2 right now, there's a song called 'Dog Gone' by Love. An old rock group, there's a break in the middle of the song that just breaks down to the funkiest shit. And then, of course, 'Do That Stuff' by Parliament, you know what I'm sayin? The beginning drum break right there is some funky shit.

Since you guys have been together for a pretty decent amount of time, have there been any name changes over the years? Or did you just start out as People Under The Stairs?
Double K: Yeah, that was the first name we went by. The first song we recorded was, yeah, we were always People Under The Stairs.

What about you personally?
Double K: Man, I had a gang of groups comin' up back in the day. We had...uh...first off it was Funky Chaos, that was one of them. Then D&D, Down & Dangerous, REM, me and my partnas man, growin' up we had some ill ass names...The Individuals, we were crazy man, we had names...(laughs) that's funny right there man.

Thanks to, whoever, the whole "digging" "record shopping" whatever you want to call it scene has exploded recently. How do you feel about that? Do you think everyone's interest is genuine?
Double K: Ok, me personally, Double K, I would say that it's exploded definitely because of what people are following, and not that they know what they're actually doing. Collecting this music, this is part of our past right here. This is something I grew up on. When I see that any old Joe Blow can get on the internet and say that such and such sampled that, "I'm gonna own it, and have respect from this circle", I think that's bullshit. Because I'm not gonna pay no big amount of money for anything like that. I'll get it eventually. My peoples and everybody else's ancestors made that. It goes a whole lot deeper, that's how I look at it. It's definitely bullshit, but to each his own man, to each his own, do what you gotta do. Music is music, it's for everybody. If you ask Thes that, you'd still be getting an answer (laughs).

All of this stuff with Madlib, O-Dub all that, what was the deal with all that? I heard so much stuff about the comment about a loop digger, and then the comment about O-Dub...
Double K: Well, I said nothing about Madlib, this is coming straight from Mike, Double K, himself, I dig the loop digga, Madlib. That wasn't me expressing myself on that track. However, I did say something about Oliver Wang the journalist. I can explain that. As a B-Boy growing up in Los Angeles, I was taught, if someone disses you, you diss them back. And I seen that dude wasn't really diggin' us, and used our name out of context in a magazine one time. So I was writing rhymes one night and put him in it. Once we recorded the song I didn't take it out. He expressed himself about what he thought about People Under The Stairs, I expressed myself about what I thought about him. I'm not tryin' to start no beef. That's it, you know, you wanna talk lets talk. I'm a grown man.

How does recording everything in Thes' bedroom affect the feel of the music?
Double K: You don't have to worry about, you know, studio time, you don't have to worry about what anybody says. When you have an engineer recording your album, they have power. When you're in the studio they can sit there and be doing something you don't even want. Where, me and Thes, we're in his room, the way we want it to sound, we're doing it. Total control basically. It's the best way to do it, it's the best way to make music. Do it all yourself.

The drum machine you guys had up there, I've never seen that before.
Double K: Yeah, that's the Maestro Rhythm King.

With that said, what is your favorite piece of equipment to use when you're just screwing around? Just for fun?
Double K: Screwing around? Man, my turntables, when it comes to just screwing around, but when it comes to making a track, the SP1200 is very fun, because you gotta really work to get a beat going. I got an MPC2000 with hella time in it, but I can do whatever I want, with the SP you gotta really get creative. That's the one right there that'll make you really sit down and get into a track.

Favorite Nintendo game.
Double K: (pauses) Contra.

Contra? Do you know the code for 30 lives?
Double K: Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start

It's actually B A B A
Double K: Wait a minute! Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A B A Start. Alright, 2 B A's, excuse me, excuse me.

Select Start
Double K: Nah! Just a start, just a start!

You used to play alone?
Double K: Actually, yeah I did. My cousin Omar used to come through sometimes though. But for sure Contra, cos' I got hella good at it. Goin' up and down the levels, you know what I mean?

Over the course of the 3 albums there has been a few references to your parents, more specifically Thes mentions his father, is it safe to say that your father was the musical influence for you?
Double K: Both man, my pops and my mother. My pops was a drummer, bass player, keyboardist, he sang, he was massive in the 70's. And my mom, she just played hella good music around the house when she was cleaning up and doing whatever. I got more reggae from her, the blues you know? But pops had the Parliament, Earth Wind and Fire, Kool and the Gang, so I was surrounded by both ways. But pops put it in my blood, cos' he was a drummer, and that's where I'm at.

What's his name?
Double K: Michael Turner Senior, man. They call him Tony, middle name Anthony.

For Double K, what's changed since 'Next Step'?
Double K: I'm on the road man. I'm seeing everything. I'm going all around the United States, all around Europe. All around the continents, I'm getting to see the people that are hearing my music. Since the 'Next Step' we were just putting it out ourselves, then we got hooked up with OM records, and they put it out, and gave us the opportunity to be here. A lots changed man, bad relationships with ladies. Never home man! Never home (laughs).

With all the traveling on this tour have you done any record shopping?
Double K: Actually I got some records in New Orleans, some P-Funk records that came out in 89', B-sides, like different versions of songs that were on their normal albums. It was a compilation that came out in 89. That was it, man most of the time we just try to get some sleep and eat. Smoke and hang out.

The tour seems pretty brutal, the dates are practically one after another.
Double K: It's wicked man, but you can't ask for nothin' else.