Hard to believe. But world champion scratch pioneer Q-Bert's appearance at Saturday's Love Festival will mark his first time manning the turntables at the now nine-year-old annual outdoor DJ fest.

We caught up with the part-time Hawai'i resident by phone from his San Francisco Bay Area home. Stuff you may already know, and stuff you may not know about Q-Bert follows.

Real name: Richard Quitevis

Age: 38

Hometowns: San Francisco and Honolulu

Claims to fame: With Bay Area underground turntablist crew Invisibl Skratch Picklz in the early '90s, Q-Bert raised the profile of the DJ as performer and pioneered the idea of turntablism — mixing and scratching, in particular — as a skilled art form. Also with Skratch Picklz, won the Disco Mixing Club, or DMC, DJ World Championship competition three years in a row, 1992-94. (The crew's dominance prompted the DMC to ask it to abstain from future competitions.) Inducted solo into the DMC Hall of Fame in 1998. Has developed several scratch inventions for DJs including his own turntable. Continues to perform and teach the art of DJing through demonstrations, lectures and instructional DVDs.

Must-own Q-Bert on disc: "Invisibl Skratch Picklz vs. Da Klamz of Death" (1997), "Demolition Pumpkin Squeeze Music" (1994), "Wave Twisters" (1998).

Hawai'i ties: Q-Bert's father moved to Hilo from the Philippines at age 14 in the 1940s. "I have a lot of family (in Hawai'i) ... a lot of nephews and brothers ... on all the islands." Q-Bert grew up in San Francisco. "But we used to always stop by Hawai'i to hang out with relatives when we visited the Philippines. I've been going back and forth to Hawai'i pretty much my whole life."

Nights in Honolulu: Occasionally stops by the clubs. "But I like to go straight to the source — the DJs' houses — and trip off their music there. There's a lot of DJs on the island who are really talented." Recently collaborated with local hip-hop artist Tassho Pearce (aka Emirc) on the single "Room Service," available on iTunes.

Beginnings: Q-Bert began scratching in 1985, influenced by turntablists such as UTFO's Mixmaster Ice, Chris "The Glove" Taylor, Evil E, Cash Money and Jazzy Jeff. "These guys were pioneers. They had skills, originality, soul ... you name it. Scratching — playing a turntable like a musical instrument — was my main thing. It just sounded cool. And it always had something to do with breakdancing music and hip-hop music — types of music that were my main passion."

If Q-Bert had an iPod in 1985: In addition to the cats above, it would contain T la Rock, Mantronix, Kraftwerk, Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force's "Planet Rock" ... "a lot of electro stuff and stuff from Tommy Boy (Records)."

Life with Invisibl Skratch Picklz: Founded in 1989, the collective included Q-Bert, DJ Disk, DJ Flare, DJ Apollo, Mixmaster Mike, Yogafrog, D-Styles, A-Trak and Shortkut. "We just wanted to show something new, something different and something interesting with hip-hop, scratching and what we'd been working on for so many years. We were always trying to show that there were a lot of skills involved ... and let people know they could do a lot of stuff with turntables." The collective disbanded in 1999.

Still a vinyl purist: "When it comes to live performance (and) straight-up raw, hard-core scratching, it has to be vinyl. There's a slight delay with digital. ... The stuff I'm looking for is all from the '70s anyway — funk breaks, hits from the B-boy era of hip-hop." If Q-Bert can't find vinyl, he has his own discs made.

Friend of Jake: Q-Bert contributed a drum loop to a track on 'ukulele master and good friend Jake Shimabukuro's 2005 album "Dragon." Said Q-Bert, "He's been a good mentor to me. The way he plays (is) the way I want to on the turntable. He's technical. He's soulful. He has speed. He has grace. And he has a great knowledge of music. ... I hang out with him all the time when I'm in Hawai'i."

Future projects: Q-Bert is finishing work on a "video dictionary" called "Scratch-lopedia Break-tannica" of the world's best scratch turntablists, showing off their signature styles. "I've been working on it for about a year. A lot of DJs came by the house and showed us their weird scratches that no one else knows." After that? A possible recording project and tour with hip-hop mash-up master DJ Z-Trip.

Words to live by: "Make people happy, and it comes back to you."

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.