“When Scratch DJ Academy put together a cool music education program that provides vacationers of all ages with a glimpse into the world of DJing,” says Stacy Payne, event manager at Gibson Brands. “They invited Stanton to supply gear for these classes so that students can learn new skills on some of the most advanced gear, featuring the latest technology in the industry, such as the SCS.4DJ USB Mixstation and STR8.150 Turntables. And, we’re honored to be part of this program.”
Co-founded in 2002 by the late Jam Master Jay of Run DMC, with locations in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago, Scratch DJ Academy has taught more than 500,000 students to DJ and produce. Their cruise program is a natural extension of the mentor-friendly learning environment, with hundreds of A-list DJ instructors heading up classes aboard some of the biggest names in the cruise ship business.
Jamie Keogh, Director of Scratch DJ Academy Miami, helped launch these cruise programs. “When we were putting the program together, we knew that Stanton products would be a great solution for our ship classes,” says Keogh. “We have a really short amount of time to teach these students, which is why we started using the SCS.4DJ USB Mixstation. It’s a huge help for us to have everything we need, including the mixer, decks, looping functions, effects and fuse, all in one device.”
One of the SCS.4DJ’s other top features is its internal processor combined with an easy-to-use LED screen for selecting tracks, which eliminates the need for a laptop connection. “In an age when the younger generation is becoming increasingly dependent on the latest technology, it’s refreshing to see how easily they adapt to using Stanton’s advanced equipment, like the SCS.4DJ,” Keogh continues. “It has a lot of other functions that definitely help give these students the best experience possible. It lets them load up their music instantly, so that they can immediately start having fun with their ideas.”
The SCS.4DJ USB Mixstation is the first fully-integrated solution capable of providing the functionality and performance demanded by today’s DJs and performers. The SCS.4DJ’s state-of-the-art processors remove the need for an external computer when performing, making it a complete digital DJ system. This fresh approach means a DJ can simply plug in a storage device and start mixing using the built-in decks, mixer and high-resolution color display.
While teens are most attracted to the Scratch DJ Academy’s cruise ship classes, they are open to aspiring DJs of all ages, and entire families can often be found getting in on the fun.
“I’ll drop a brand new song that the kids love, and I’ll mix it with a song that their Dad knows and loves, and it’s this great bonding experience to witness,” says Keogh. “Most people listen to music on the radio but never get to actually manipulate the music themselves, so it’s just this amazing thrill to help them learn. Plus, everyone’s on vacation, so the students usually come from pretty diverse backgrounds. It’s funny because I’ll have a kid from Alabama pick his favorite country song and then a kid from New York pick his favorite hip-hop track, and I’ll mix the songs into this really hilarious mash-up that gets everyone laughing and learning at the same time.”
After students successfully complete their training, Scratch DJ instructors award the graduates with keepsakes, such as Scratch DJ Academy dog tags and tee shirts, and, of course, a rocking graduation party aboard the cruise ship. During the party, all students receive certificates of completion and choose their official DJ names.
Since the cruise and resort programs launched, Scratch DJ Academy has exposed more than 15,000 interested students to Stanton equipment. “That’s what we love about this program,” says Payne. “By giving students of all ages the opportunity to learn to mix on Stanton gear, Scratch DJ Academy is helping Stanton and Gibson Pro Audio gain important insight into how the gear is being used, which in turn helps the companies alter and tweak future products based off real customer feedback.”
About Scratch DJ Academy
In 2002, Rob Principe and the late Jam Master Jay of Run DMC founded Scratch DJ Academy with the goal of lowering the barrier of entry to the art form of the DJ. Scratch’s historic first semester received media attention worldwide with instructors including Jam Master Jay, DJ Premier, A-trak, Evil Dee, and many more. Scratch DJ Academy went on to sell out every semester during its first year and eventually moved to a permanent location in New York City’s East Village. Over the next few years, Scratch opened additional locations in Los Angeles (2004), Miami (2005) and Chicago (2013), and expanded its course offering to include music production. Today, Scratch teaches over 50,000 people how to DJ annually through its physical locations and national tours. Scratch has taught students from all 50 states, 35 different countries, and is widely recognized as the world leader in DJ and music production education.
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