Posted on 08.31.2006 @ 20:37:27 PDT
by
djblade311
By Caryn Rousseau
Associated Press
CHICAGO – AvantDe Price had his routine down and his first live
audience was ready for him. One problem – the 3-year-old DJ-to-be
couldn’t reach his turntables.
"We had him stand on a piano bench, and he did his thing," says his dad, DJ Johnny Price. "People just went crazy."
That was two years ago at a music store in Beaverton, Ore., where the
Price family used to live. These days AvantDe’s alter-ego is DJ A-Kidd,
an act so popular that he performs live on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue,
national radio shows and is the opening act for professional DJ
competitions.
Where did he learn the skills? One day his dad, a professional DJ, left
his turntables to grab another record. Price heard scratching coming
from the next room and found AvantDe had climbed up and was moving the
records back and forth on his own.
"He was trying to copy dad," his mom, Victoria Price, says.
Johnny Price started teaching his son the craft on their at-home
turntable set up. Soon AvantDe was turning out complex DJ skills – beat
juggles, turntable drums and pick-and-drops. His dad helped him
choreograph a 15-minute routine that has AvantDe rotate 38 records he
organizes himself. To help there are green, yellow and red pieces of
tape on each record so AvantDe knows where to drop the needle. His
favorite songs: "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and "ABC" by The Jackson Five.
Asap asked AvantDe to describe his routine.
His answer: "I’m scratching and doing tones, and I’m breaking it down.
You pat the record three times, and then you juggle it two times and do
the same thing over and over," AvantDe says.
He likes to practice about an hour a day.
Seem like a lot for a 5-year-old? His parents agree.
In the Prices’ mind, AvantDe’s lifestyle is a little more Nickelodeon and a little less Grandmaster Flash.
They have rules, and they’re sticking to them. AvantDe has to be home
before 9 p.m. If he’s going to be on a radio show, he has to stay in
the green room until producers are ready for him. And all the songs he
uses have to be clean, Dad says – no swear words allowed.
"That’s why he’s the opening act, so he can go home and go to bed," Victoria Price said.
He’s 5 years old. He doesn’t have the attention span."
