other resources: message board | web site

The Boom Boom Room is a haven for house in Chicago, and Raphael Rodrigez -- aka DJ Lego -- is the resident who's kept it pumping out since 1992. If you can't make it there in person, Lego's pulled together an upbeat mix CD to give you a taste of what you're missing. Lego's Sounds From The Boom Boom Room set draws heavily on house music's roots in funk and disco. What you get is rich house beats, sweet soul vocals, swinging saxaphone, flirtatious funky flutes, and all the elements of a flavorful house music cocktail from the old school. Scared-to-dance types need not apply.

A Chicago native from the Latino community of Logan Square, Lego was inspired by fabled house DJs such as Frankie Knuckles and Farley "Jackmaster" Funk to get behind the decks and let his own passion for house flow. At 19, he was already playing clubs, and in '95 he was given a shot at remixing a Ralphi Rosario track. In '97, "Take Me Up," another Rosario remix, featuring vocalist Donna Blakely, was an international hit, showing up on the domestic and international dance charts. He's kept the vinyl output up since then with releases like The Mad Flava EP on Afterhours (in heavy rotation across Europe, most notably in France).

Lego's work as a remixer and an artist in his own right shows up on Sounds From The Boom Boom Room, where he flexes his funk muscles and fires up a Latin-tinged house party that screams out for samba dancing and celebration. If you listen carefully, you'll surely hear the room go boom.