do it yourself
Eric Braem/Kansan
Clockwise from top left: Stevie Cruz screams into the mic in the miniscule basement practice room basement of his Lawrence home. Cruz is frontman of metal-core band The Esoteric. DJ Cruz cues up the next track on his dual CD player unit. Cruz spins 80s and current dance music for a packod La Tasca crowd every Thursday night at Neon. Cruz's equipment includes dual turntables, CD players and a Kaos mixer.
turning, creating, mix
Steve Cruz's passion for music keeps the tunes rocking through his life BY ERIC BRAEM
Behind the table
A finger depresses the large, rectangular button and the vinyl begins to rotate. Thirty-three-and-a-third revolutions per minute. His right hand moves over the turntable and pushes its lever down. The needle drops, causing a few clicks of static to pulse through the speakers. The beast is waking up. It jumps and its heartbeat races 120 beats per minute. The seats along the wall empty and the floor fills with torn shirts, frizzy hair and arms in the air. "Don't stop 'til you get enough." A little Michael Jackson always sets the party mood. For a few short hours, the world is Neon. It's '80s night at La Tasca, 943 Massachusetts St., and dancers are ready to kick off the first night of the
weekend: Thursday. Stevie Cruz is one of two men of the hour as he and Edwin "DJ Konsept" Morales spin retro favorites and attempt to mix in choice recent tracks as well.
The 25-year-old Lawrence resident has loved music forever, and with what would seem to be conflicting tastes, Cruz has developed a career in sound. As a disc
10 jayplay
thursday, november 6, 2003