WILD CARDS’ SHUFFLE

“If you get yourself stuck in a rut, that’s it,” says Adrian Remijio, 26, of the Wild Cards. “Everybody thinks you’re one thing and if they like it they’re not going to accept anything else from you.”

And for the Cypress-based Wild Cards, the “anything else” is clearly what it’s all about. With a genre-bending sound the flows freely through swing, soul, jazz, funk and even a touch of rockabilly, the band is clearly playing by its own set of rules.

Yet despite the distinctive blend, the group still occasionally encounters crowds that insist on judging the Wild Cards on face value only.

“We just did a show and as soon as we walked up, people said, ‘homeboys,’ ” recalls Remijio, shaking his head. “Then I knew we were going to have a hard time.”

“People also yell ‘Los Lobos,’ ” adds Kent Wilson, 32, the group’s non-performing lyricist. “People expect one thing because they’re Latin. We get compared to Los Lobos in just about every review, and if they were all white, nobody would ever say that. It has nothing to do with them.”

Indeed, the band’s Latin heritage (which ranges from Mexican to Puerto Rican) has little to do with the Wild Cards’ style. When the group formed three years ago, rockabilly was the original base. At the time, Remijio and drummer Jesse Sotelo were the only ones with any professional experience, mainly in top 40 bands in Orange County, and they had no intention of getting into a new group. But after a couple of practice sessions with guitarist Jesse Reyes, the little brother of an old girlfriend, and bassist Johnnie Frias, Remijio changed his mind.

“This is the first original band I’ve ever been in and also the first band of my own,” says Remijio, who writes most of the Wild Cards’ music. “We started out doing the rockabilly thing. It was the ‘in’ thing and I guess we jumped on the old bandwagon, but I knew deep down it wasn’t me. By the time I got into it I was already looking ahead.”

The result is a mixture of swing ‘n’ soul originals delivered with a jazzy upbeat tempo that evokes images of dance bands of the ‘40s--four crazy cats with wide colorful ties, high baggy pants, and a crisp technique as sharp as their clothes.

The infectious groove that the Wild Cards lay down has attracted some high-powered assistance in the production of the band’s demo recordings. The most recent effort brought in Robert Margouleff (producer for Devo and Oingo Boingo) for a session at Stevie Wonder’s Crystal Studios, complete with the Wonderlove horn section.

Although the band has won respect on the local scene, it has yet to venture beyond Southern California. Since everyone works, getting a tour together is difficult. Still, a trip to New York is being planned.

“A lot of bands tell me, ‘Hey, go on the road and make some money!’ ” says Remijio. “I just laugh. If you want to make some money, go get a job ! That’s not what it’s all about. You’ve got to get out there and let people see you. If it’s a good gig and we’re only going to get $100, who cares? We’ll do it for free just to play the place.”

And with the success of such jazz-tinged acts as Sade and Sting, Remijio feels that the time is right.

“Our music is more upbeat and danceable whereas Sade is more kicked back,” he says. “(Her success) shows that it’s going to come. People are starting to accept it.”