DJ Z-Trip – What’s In Your DJ Bag?

NAMM is great place to see the latest gear but its also the only spot where you can rub shoulders with a lot of world class artists. This year we caught up with the respected turntablist rocker, Z-trip, to see what he had in his dj bag. Although mr. trip was slightly reluctant to spill all his goods out on the table, he was more than happy to share some sage advice for younger djs around the globe.

check out our first “whats in your bag” with MSTRKRFT

2010bagdjinterviewnammZ-trip
Comments (24)
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  • Sir

    personally I hate it when people call me sir i am 31 by the way . i would rather dude our man freaking anything almost … not trying to be negative but no sir unless i am being waited at some fancy resturant.

  • Anthony Jacobs

    Maybe the man just didn’t want to reveal his green room stash? ;o)

  • Ronnie Dilan

    didn’t have much in his bag huh! but i guess he doesn’t really need much when you can drop mad skills on the deck’s and give the kids some useful words to remember.

  • DJ Lady Lane

    ….Beginner to Novice, it’s all in how you take it…I loved what Z-Trip said..
    many people SAY it, but Few HEAR what he Means….Thanks Ean!

  • Ean Golden

    I was also disappointed that he didn’t show more gear- but thats how the cookie crumbles so to speak. To try and get something good out of the video I asked a few “general” questions- which while not being tech based could provide a lot of value for readers of all experience levels including myself. Sometimes we all get lost in the technology and forget about the soul part.

  • Rolfski

    I wasn’t impressed at all about this interview to be honest. Not really informative if you ask me.

    What DJ Z-Trip actually was showing about what’s in his bag was close to zero. For this “What’s in your bag” topic series to give any useful insight one should really have DJ’s actually completely empty their bags on a table or stop doing this series at all. Not showing the whole picture actually generates more curiosity then it helps DJTT readers imo.

    Also the advise he was giving is, although totally true, thé generic cliché advise that literally every single established DJ/artist has been giving for the past ten years: go for your heart and develop your own style.

    To summarize this article: Nice but hardly informative except for the really, really beginner dj’s if you ask me.

  • Anthony Jacobs

    I’m a musical soul having a human experience!!! =o)

    Z-Trip has been one of my favorite DJ’s for a while and a major inspiration back when I was mashing it up in the top 40 clubs in Vancouver. I’ve always liked him because of his passion and soul that shines through his shows.

    Thanks for sharing this fun talk with the man.

  • Sarasin

    [quote comment=”26287″]Cool, well that was a nice surprise! Dj Z-Trip on Techtools! didn’t see that coming. The man is spot on about Technical shit, a 15min solo of the aargh sound doesn’t really have much appeal at a party, Z-trip often keeps it basic/ish via baby scratch’s, stabs, transforms and chirps, cutting back and forth thru an accapela chorus to great effect. I’m a 13 year practicing complete and utter scratch geek at heart & I can watch the invisible scratch pickles for hours. But when it comes down to it, the more technical side of scratching should be left for battles/scratch shows. Z-Trips sets are always entertaining, different and most importantly fun. It’s very hard not to smile listening to some of the very random things he shoe horns in to a mix.[/quote]

    Well said!

    Knowing all the technical stuff will not get you there alone!
    Sure….for showing off in routines etc….its perfect.

    But when playing a set to a crowd, its def OTT!

    Never knew who this guy was…..looking into that right now.
    He impressed me with his answer. My kinda DJ.

    🙂

  • Sarasin

    +1000 on the Funk\Soul.

    Close your eyes….get into your zone\Jedi Powers…rock out!

    This is the ONLY way to REALLY be an artist when DJing.

    All other music artists get to a place where you close your eyes and just DO IT.
    Its 2nd nature.

    There is no better feeling.

    If you can get to that in the DJ area….man….its the only way to fly!

    🙂

  • Double DutchDj

    Cool, well that was a nice surprise! Dj Z-Trip on Techtools! didn’t see that coming. The man is spot on about Technical shit, a 15min solo of the aargh sound doesn’t really have much appeal at a party, Z-trip often keeps it basic/ish via baby scratch’s, stabs, transforms and chirps, cutting back and forth thru an accapela chorus to great effect. I’m a 13 year practicing complete and utter scratch geek at heart & I can watch the invisible scratch pickles for hours. But when it comes down to it, the more technical side of scratching should be left for battles/scratch shows. Z-Trips sets are always entertaining, different and most importantly fun. It’s very hard not to smile listening to some of the very random things he shoe horns in to a mix.

  • Bing Bong

    [quote comment=”26280″]Speaking of bags, my Technics record bag has seen better days. Anyone have any recommendations? I typically carry the following with other stuff thrown in as needed:
    *2 x SL1 LPs
    *2 x carts
    *2 x carts/spares
    *1 x SL1 box
    *1 x laptop 15″
    *1 x Akai Mini KB (as needed)
    *1 x Akai Mini Drum (as needed)
    *backup CD book – 30 CDs
    *thumb drive
    *headphones
    *spare mic (you never know)

    Thanks.[/quote]

    Great bag, I carry almost the same stuff.

    http://www.headlinerbags.com/collection_stashpack.html

  • DJ Banyon

    Your dj bag should also have your soul in it! also, i love that he said “funk”. so perfectly explained in such short terms. can’t wait for more of these.

  • kilbot

    Great stuff DJTT! the vids are much more watchable and informative than any others i’ve ever seen from such shows.
    thank you. and looking forward to more updates 😀

  • duerr

    that video was illustrious

  • Klark Kent

    Speaking of bags, my Technics record bag has seen better days. Anyone have any recommendations? I typically carry the following with other stuff thrown in as needed:
    *2 x SL1 LPs
    *2 x carts
    *2 x carts/spares
    *1 x SL1 box
    *1 x laptop 15″
    *1 x Akai Mini KB (as needed)
    *1 x Akai Mini Drum (as needed)
    *backup CD book – 30 CDs
    *thumb drive
    *headphones
    *spare mic (you never know)

    Thanks.

  • Anonymous

    I love how what started here as a simple “what do you bring to your shows to rock the party” ended up illustrating into this ideologic lesson on something more than the superficial elements of dj’n. & a new respect for Z-Trip is born.

  • ss714ss

    sup Ean great videos what do u think about the SERATO 2.0 update and the brigde… and do you see NI doing something similar in the future..

  • seemartinbreak

    just wanted to say sorry if that came off the wrong way Ean!
    just remembered about the big THREE O.
    It must have been hectic… is that how its spelled??/
    well ‘hectic’ weekend and i hope you had fun!
    i caught the videos and they are looking great.
    im very interested in the new korg product
    thanks again

  • gstylenyc

    hey ean,

    speaking of namm coverage of new stuff, any word/video on your demo of the 3.0 mappings for Traktor Scratch Pro? and what about the official release dates for the mappings and new vci-100 overlays?

    yes, slightly anxious for both here. : )

  • Jeditekk

    Z-Trip is right on about having the soul to do what we do. Tap into that Jedi power. Love it!

  • Monkeybiz

    Hey, I still use the same M-Audio bag. Fits my VCI-300 nicely.

  • Ean Golden

    [quote comment=”26271″]Video doesn’t work

    What happened to the 4 day coverage??
    Techtools came up very short…
    I checked the site several times throughout the weekend to find nothing new :/

    Hopefully soon[/quote]

    Sorry we didn’t provide more coverage over the weekend but walking around and shooting for 10 hours all day and then editing for 4 just was not possible. We have 4 of our 7 namm videos up on youtube now:

    http://www.youtube.com/user/eangolden#p/u

    and I will be posting all videos + detailed info on the top products tuesday night.

  • Seemartinbreak

    Video doesn’t work

    What happened to the 4 day coverage??
    Techtools came up very short…
    I checked the site several times throughout the weekend to find nothing new :/

    Hopefully soon

  • janzak

    I’m loving how excited Ean looks all the time, he’s so cute!! <3