Some people are still talking about mash-ups as if the idea of mixing two unrelated tunes together with software to make an altogether new track wasn't yesterday's news, but hip-hop turntable maestro DJ Z-Trip was way ahead of the curve when he released his genre-busting collaboration with DJ P titled 'Uneasy Listening, Volume One' four years ago. But instead of using computers to blend songs by artists as diverse as Christina Aguilera, the Beastie Boys, Metallica, Madonna and Glen Campbell, the two DJs work their magic the old-fashioned way: with records, turntables and impeccable mixing skills.

Z-Trip's often sold-out solo DJ sets bring hip hop, classic rock, metal, drum 'n' bass and pop together in an entertaining and eminently danceable collision, but his latest venture brings him away from the creative blends that have been his claim to fame. His Hollywood Records debut 'Shifting Gears' is true to its title, featuring the turntablist as both songwriter and beat maker on original if still sample-derived material. The artist formerly known as Zach Sciacca talked about his early musical development and how his first album took shape in this interview with KTVU.com.

KTVU.com: What was your entry into hip hop? Early on you were living somewhere in New York, right?

DJ Z-Trip: I was in Queens. It was sort of a cross between Queens and Arizona, in Phoenix. I was born in New York and then moved to Arizona, then my parents got a divorce so I was sort of between both places. And I would get really exposed to hip hop in New York. It started out with graffiti more than anything. I was painting and that lent itself to me sitting at home and drawing a lot and turning on the radio. So they used to have these mix shows on Friday and Saturday night called the Master Mixes; one was on WBLS with Mr. Magic and Marley Marl…and then the other one was with Red Alert. Both of them were on at the same time, so it was sort of a drag since you had to set up two tape recorders in the house and record both of them for three hours to make sure you could get all the music. I would do that and then go back to Arizona and you couldn't find any of that music anywhere. So I would end up buying a lot of the music I would hear in New York off these cassettes at the record stores there and then I'd bring them back to Arizona. So I had the sickest records and people would realize I had those records and used to ask me to come and play. Literally, it was like "Hey, play some of your music at this house party we're doing." And that turned into "Hmmm, let me buy some turntables." Before I knew it, a crate of records turned into five crates of records turned into me DJing at house parties all the time. And then a couple of weddings, then a couple of nightclubs, then a couple of other nightclubs...So it happened in a very organic manner, but I never thought in a million years that this is what I'd be doing. It just kept working and it's really crazy how it all unfolded.

KTVU.com: You also played drums as a kid. How long were you doing that and with what sort of instruction? Was it back when they were actually offering music in schools?

DJ Z-Trip: Yeah, a little bit. I took music in school for a little, but oddly enough I ended up not liking what they were teaching. It was mostly this really rudimentary, basic stuff and I was already past that. I was like "I can play these drums. I don't need to play "Mary Had A Little Lamb;" I'm trying to play "Funky Drummer!'" I'm hearing all this really incredible stuff and trying to duplicate it. "Moby Dick! Can you guys teach me to play "Moby Dick?" And they couldn't, so I ended up sort of bailing out. And I was still into music in school, but band in school meant you had to play at the football games and marching stuff. More advance band was better, but to go through that whole process was just lame. So I just ended up doing my own thing. As far as drums I just took it upon myself to learn how to do it. And I still play from time to time now. I recently bought another drum set; I hadn't really had them around for like ten or fifteen years. I'm stoked to have them again…

KTVU.com: How did your experience with drums affect your development as a DJ? Some people would argue that a DJ is just a different kind of drummer…

DJ Z-Trip: Yeah, I'm using other people's drum patterns and playing them the way I'd play them. It definitely helped. Anything that helps you home in on rhythm and cadence and timing is also going to help. All of that. Even how you implement speech or any sort of crowd reaction [with DJing], its all based around the beats. Early on, it's sort of like the basics and your basic understanding of rhythm, and drums are the best way to get to that. It's funny -- you sit down to play a beat and a lot of people who can play drums have the hardest time doing the simplest beat and making it funky because that's the hardest thing to do. To have a lot of space between hits…It's the same thing with DJing; a lot of people get up there and they just want to scratch. It's like they just want to drum roll for an hour. That's the equivalent of it. But if you know when and where to do the right drum rolls, you're going to come off way cooler than the next guy. So it taught me a lot about how to spin records.

KTVU.com: Was there any single old-school hip-hop DJ you were hearing back in Queens that you'd single out as an influence or your favorite?

DJ Z-Trip: I think Marley Marl, definitely. Red Alert too. Those guys were some of my favorites growing up. But after a while I started hearing other records with other DJs from other towns and I started to realize "Wow, Philly's really got an ill DJ scene!" I started gravitating towards Jazzy Jeff, and this guy Too Tuff from Tuff Crew and Steady B's DJ…all these different guys who were all cats from out of town. And then you had Mr. Mixx down in Miami and each guy had his own sound. And it still went on; eventually you had San Francisco become like a Mecca for scratch DJs. You had Qbert and Disk and Mixmaster Mike. And everybody had their own regional sound.

And that's the thing I miss when it comes to DJs; there are very few guys nowadays who have their own sound and stick to being different. I guess that's not even just to say about DJs but about music in general. So much of it is becoming the same sort of homogenized sound.

KTVU.com: Staying in your own compartment… DJ Z-Trip: Yeah. And that was the whole point of this record and of calling it 'Shifting Gears.' Everyone had me pigeonholed as this mash-up guy. And if you just got on board over the last couple of years, that's all you're going to know. But I've been doing this for years and in many different capacities. I wanted people to know that there was way more depth to what I do beyond…whatever…mixing Kansas over a breakbeat. I wanted people to know it was deeper. And I think that needs to happen with a lot of artists. They need to push boundaries and do things that are unexpected. Honestly, the fans want it. Anyone who is a fan of music is going to want that. I can say being a fan of music I'm tired. I'm burnt out on a lot of people just doing the same thing over and over. Not that many people reinvent themselves or try new things. It sort of goes against what music should be there to do: to keep evolving.

KTVU.com: To get into the album, it kicks off with a couple of songs -- "Listen to the DJ" with Soup from Jurassic 5 and "All About the Music" featuring original Bronx MC legend Whipper Whip of the Fantastic 5 -- in a style that's been neglected for a long time and that's fast rap. I don't think you could put a gun to the head of a lot of these mush-mouthed thugs and get them to rap over anything faster than 85 or 90 beats a minute. They just couldn't do it. It seems like there's a resurgence of some underground artists like yourself or Jurassic 5 putting out songs that recall the kinds of tunes that Big Daddy Kane and Rakim did in the late '80s and early '90s. Do you think there's a movement to bring that style back?

DJ Z-Trip: I think there's definitely an awareness of that. Some of my favorite rap music is fast rap, and the messed up thing is if I want to hear that style of music or I want to play something like that, I'm always having to play something from '88, though there's a handful of people doing it now that you can get away with. It's funny; I've always noticed when I look in my record crate at a party and I start playing faster stuff, the current hits just goes out the window. A lot of people just aren't doing that sound anymore, and it's a shame. I mean, people want to hear it. It's not like all of a sudden fast music just sucks! I don't get it. And if you're a DJ and you're playing for a crowd and people want to dance, it's really hard to dance to a lot of the tracks that are out now. They're so slow...they're really meant to ride to. You go to shows and you see a lot people standing around...you can't really move to it.

KTVU.com: You can kinda slouch to it...

DJ Z-Trip: Yeah, pretty much. You can slouch and look hard to it. What the hell?

KTVU.com: A couple of things about "Take Two Copies" struck me as unusual. First, the tempo change is pretty out there. The only other relatively recent hip hop tune I can think of that did that is "Ghetto Musick" by OutKast...

DJ Z-Trip: Those guys are a good example of pushing boundaries. My hat's off to them. And they got a quadruple-million platinum record because they did that. And the fans get it. That's the thing, man. You hand that in to different record label, someone who hasn't been working with them and nurturing them and they're going to be like: "No. We don't like it. It doesn't fit." And that's a shame. I did the same thing with my record. I try my hardest to push things like that: fast and slow songs, a ballad, a funny song, a mental song, an old-school hip-hop track, a track about war... in order to give the listener something that is diverse and goes everywhere. And a lot of artists just aren't doing that. Some of the best records are the ones where people were like "This could totally flop," and then, oddly enough, gets embraced and championed because people who love music want it and need it. They're not getting it on the radio and they're not getting it on TV. They're not getting it anywhere except from the artists who will take the music and push it. And I think people will gravitate towards it and find it. And you have to. If you're a lover of music, you go into every record store you can and you're putting on your hat and you're digging. Whether it's for CDs or records or even on the internet, you're always looking for something that satisfies your palate. And you know when you're getting hit with mediocrity. And there's a lot of it out there.

KTVU.com: Another interesting thing is how "Take Two Copies" incorporates the Jethro Tull song. Usually if you're going to sample a song, you're going to build a tune around it. In this case, it struck me that how you brought the Tull track at the end sort of emulated your DJ style -- hinting at it before finally bringing it in full on, kind of like a punchline. Is that how the song developed?

DJ Z-Trip: Yeah, it was definitely like that. But the thing is, you've got to understand that this whole album was about me trying not to give in to any of that. And it was hard, because that's what I do and that's what I've been known to do. So when I did the song, I didn't bring the vocals in until the end because that was the whole design. The Jethro Tull riff doesn't even come in until halfway through the song. So I needed to throw this curveball at people and not just go chorus-hook-chorus-hook, the standard practice, you know? I thought: "Let's go fast, then switch to half time; let's not have any chorus at all. None... And we'll go into the next verse, and you know what? We'll throw the vocals in at the end, cut a bit and be done. Sounds good to me. Sound good to you? Cool."

And it was designed to be as unorthodox as possible because that way when you hear it, you're going to be like "I don't where this is going. It's all over the place. What the hell?" And you're going to find yourself wanting to rewind and study it and break it down to accept it. And I think that needs to happen more -- way more -- in music these days. That was me taking everything that I've learned as far as song structure and what would work and throw it out and do what feels the best. And I think when you make feel good music, you end up winning because it just connects and people get to it. And, oddly enough, that's one of those songs where everybody stops and goes "Whoa, I wasn't expecting this." And that makes me feel really good.

KTVU.com: "Changes" [featuring L.A. rap legend Aceyalone and Oakland-based vocalist Mystic] hit me as one of the best hip-hop ballads to come out in ages. It doesn't come off as corny; instead it's heartfelt and really works on all levels. I was wondering what the gestation of that song was and if you were thinking about who might be well suited for it before you made it?

DJ Z-Trip: Sort of. I knew I wanted to do something with Mystic and I definitely wanted to do something with Aceyalone. And Acey, we could have gone anywhere with him because he's super versatile. With Mystic, I was originally going to have her rapping on the record, but it just ended up...I wanted it to be a guy-girl response, but it ended up where it just worked when he rapped and she sang. And I felt each person's pain in that. The funny thing is I didn't sit down and say, "OK guys, write this kind of song." It just all came together. [The beat] has a very melancholy sound, but they ended up taking it down a path that I was really happy with because it retained the feeling I wanted it to have. When you put it on, I wanted it to evoke a bit of a feeling of loss and not really knowing why or where or how. And, man, they both nailed it. That is one of my favorite songs off the record, 'cause it's a love song but it's at 103 beats-per-minute, so you can still bust it. It's not the standard R&B song; it's very real and coming from two people who are very real. Any love song that says "I was a b-boy/She was a good girl"... anytime you can hear "b-boy" in a love ballad, I can relate for sure.

KTVU.com: I imagine the live show is going to be distinctly different from the kind of DJ sets audiences have gotten used to. Is it with the same set up you've been using as far as executing songs?

DJ Z-Trip: Totally new set up. Totally new tricks. I'm actually rehearsing all this week, and I've got lots of new stuff. I don't want to give away anything, but I'm doing things I've never done before. It's a lot of pressure, because I'm trying to live up to higher standards, but its coming together really well. I'm really proud of it.

KTVU.com: With all of the MC tunes on the album, are you going to be travelling with someone to cover the vocals? I figure for the Bay Area a few of those people who are on it live already here anyway...

DJ Z-Trip: Yeah, a couple of MCs are coming on the road, but I'm changing them up and trying not to keep the same guys for every show, so it keeps me on my toes.

KTVU.com: Let's see if I can squeeze in just a couple quick ones before you have to go. If you're out at a club and not working, what do you listen for in a DJ? What grabs your attention?

DJ Z-Trip: Originality and creativity and taking chances. That always catches my ear. And anytime somebody can know when not to do something, and know the right selection to bring to the show. All of those things are very huge factors. And so many people are carbon copies of the next guy these days, and they're all playing the same music, so anytime a guy will go in and play a b-side because they really love that song, I think that's what I'm looking for. Because then I can connect to the DJ through what he's playing versus him trying to connect me with a song that he thinks I'll like.

KTVU.com: Have you ever heard something that somebody else dropped that you thought "That's genius! I've got to use that and incorporate it in what I do..."?

DJ Z-Trip: Well, that's the thing. I'll hear it and think "That's genius! I wish I'd done that!" And that's all you can do. It's really hard to take something you've heard and build on it these days, because everything is very personalized. There are certain mixes and things that I can't really touch because other cats sort of own that. And I'd sort of like to think that I'm the same way, where people would follow me and go "I can't really rock that Janis Joplin, 'cause he really murdered that."

KTVU.com: When you're listening to music in everyday circumstances, are you always attuned with the DJ ear where you can't help but think what would mix or blend with what you hear? You can't turn that off, can you?

DJ Z-Trip: Oh God, I'm sitting down to dinner and something comes over the speakers and I stop what I'm talking about and my ear just gravitates towards it. Once you have the sampling ear, I think you have it for life...

KTVU.com: A lot of DJs are known for the rarity of the tracks they're playing or for discovering songs and breaking songs to their audience. Much of what you've done in the past has been more about taking familiar music and well-known songs and putting them in a totally different context. So what are you looking for specifically when you're digging for records?

DJ Z-Trip: I'm always looking for something that the next guy wouldn't play and I'm always looking on how I can flip that and make it happen in a way that makes the other guy goe "Damn. I should have done that." And that's really hard. The other thing too is a lot of people go out and try to find these rare songs and when you think about it, the things that used to be the rarest and that people would have the hardest time finding because they're scarce, people have played them so much that they're not really rare anymore. So for me, I wanted to try a different angle, which was to play rock music in a certain way. At the time, it was rare for anyone to play rock records -- super familiar records -- but very rare to be played the way that I played them. So that was sort of my saying "Hey guys, I've got rarities too. Check this out. No one's ever heard this in this context, in this setting." And I ended up going that route.

But now, the same rules apply. So many people are mixing with rock records or mixing with whatever, so now it's become more about if I mix a rock record, how do I make that rock record into something that none of those dudes would have played? "Back in Black," "I Love Rock and Roll" and all that stuff, everyone plays that. But nobody's going to play a Jethro Tull song that's a b-side or an album cut, or some Yes song that's tucked away. How do I start flipping those songs that are still a step ahead of the next guy? And that's proven to be a little harder. It was easier when you could get away with playing the rock hits, because no one was doing it. Now everyone is playing the hits, so that makes it a bit harder. But that's why I keep moving forward.