He Knows How to Mix It Up for Kids

Who would think that the energetic baroque-style music from Disneyland’s Main Street Electric Light Parade could ever be mixed with house music and make a crowd go nuts? DJ Cazel (a.k.a. Ruben Garcia) figured sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders at Slauson Middle School in Azusa would dig it, so he broke out the record during a recent seventh-period concert at the school. The youths instantly swarmed the stage like a mob, groovin’ to the music and pushing their hands up to the sky.

“I know what the kids like, and I try to play stuff they can get into,” says the La Puente 19-year-old. “I like to be creative and do things that are different from any other show.”

Cazel is spending a lot of time with kids these days, as he tours Southern California. From January through March, he’s performing at 20 schools to promote his album “Wicked Style” (Thump Records, 1998) and to give students who are making the grade a treat for their hard work.

Armed with 100 records, two turntables and an entourage from Power 106 FM, Cazel put on a show for 600 students while at Slauson. The hip-hop music master mixed loud, thumping music for an hour and the youths bebopped until the school bell rang.

“It’s been so neat to perform for the kids,” says Cazel, who was introduced to turntables when he was their age. “It’s a lot of fun.”