On Being as Hot as Blazers . . . : Rock ‘n’ Rollers, Who Play in Long Beach Tonight, Come by Their Music and Popularity Honestly

The Blazers’ Ruben Guaderrama, all 5-foot-5 of him, is bopping about center stage with his guitar. By his sides loom the hulking figures of guitarist Manuel Gonzales andbassist Lee Stuart, each of whom would seem to look more at home in a wrestling ring.

Dwarfed by these twin towers, the amiable Guaderrama flashes an infectious smile, finishes up an enthusiastically unpretty guitar solo and lets go with a scream of pure joy into the microphone. This, ladies and gentleman, is rock ‘n’ roll.

The Blazers, who play tonight at the Long Beach Museum of Art, are musical throwbacks in the best sense. Their sound is a raging tangle of roots, a sumptuous mix of rockabilly, R & B, blues, hillbilly and Hispanic folk traditions, and they play it hard.

Unlike many other groups of their ilk who overplay the roots card and come off as self-conscious and phony, the Blazers come to their music naturally. They need no black-leather jackets, gravity-defying pompadours or retro-jive stage patter to recapture the sound--and more importantly, the spirit--of an era when rock ‘n’ roll still meant something.

They’re not musical virtuosos and don’t pretend to be. Pretty-boys they definitely are not. The vocals are ragged but right. And if you go to a Blazers show and don’t find yourself smiling and ready to dance all night, then you better check your pulse ‘cause in the immortal words of Louis Jordan: “Jack, you’re dead.”

Natives of East Los Angeles--which brought you such combustible acts as Cannibal and the Headhunters, Thee Midnighters and more recently Los Lobos--the Blazers are middle-aged guys with teen-age attitudes who haven’t forgotten where they came from or why they first picked up their axes in the first place.

“When we were kids and we saw the Beatles on TV, everyone went nuts,” Guaderrama recalled during a recent phone interview. “Before that, I dug a lot of the doo-wop and rhythm & blues from the ‘50s. I’ve got two older brothers, and they’d always be listening to Dion and the Belmonts, Chuck Berry and all that.

“My mom had an extensive collection of records of all the Mexican artists, so I was hearing different things all around me. I’d turn on the TV and there’d be this country-Western guitar player and he’s burning, you know? All of these things kind of fell into place. It was like, ‘I’ve got to learn how to do all of this!’ ”

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The Blazers’ second album, “East Side Soul,” just released by Rounder Records, is a screaming showcase for these various influences. Back in the fold is drummer Mando Goss who was replaced temporarily by Ruben Gonzalez for the recording of “Short Fuse,” the group’s debut in 1994.

The group’s nucleus is the songwriting/singing/guitar-playing duo of Guaderrama and Manuel Gonzales, both 42, who grew up together and have been in a musical partnership for more than 20 years.

“Manuel and I have known each other since high school,” said Guaderrama. “We’d been trying to put together a group like this since ’70 or ’71. Lee and Mando came into the picture around ’88. Lee’s been in here ever since, and Mando left for a little while but he came back. He loves us too much.”

Guaderrama and Gonzales also were schoolmates with members of Los Lobos, the most successful and respected group to emerge from East L.A.

“We grew up in the same neighborhood,” Guaderrama said. “In high school, we were always in bands, together and apart. Manuel used to be in a band with [Los Lobos’] David Hidalgo. There was always a group of musicians who hung out together and knew each other. If I wasn’t gigging, I’d call somebody up and say ‘where you playing?’

“There was always someplace to go. You could always find a place to sit in and jam. I don’t want to use the word ‘gang’--it was more like a group--but we were always together.”

Both Blazers’ albums were produced by Los Lobos’ Cesar Rosas, whose unobtrusive record-’em-like-they-sound approach goes a long way toward capturing the essence of the band--although the Blazers remain an act that must be seen live to be appreciated fully.

“Cesar’s real good,” Guaderrama said. “He provides an objective ear, he keeps everything in line and he gets it done quickly, so we don’t have to spend too much time thinking about it.”

Feet firmly on the ground, playing 200-plus dates a year, the Blazers bring the music back to its basic, essential blue-collar roots. “Growing up and learning how to play in the folk tradition, whether it be Mexican folk music, rock ‘n’ roll, blues--the universal theme is always there,” Guaderrama said. “Man/woman relationships, how to survive, overcoming the obstacles, how to celebrate . . . that’s what I look for in our music.”

* The Blazers play tonight at the Long Beach Museum of Art, 2300 Ocean Blvd., Long Beach. Candye Kane and the Swingin’ Armadillos open at 7. $11 for non-members, $8 for members and seniors. Children under 12 free. (310) 439-2119.