MAS Magazine / 2 - 1 - 2008

www.masbakersfield.com February 1, 2008

Periodical Postage Paid

04 FFeebbrruuaarryy 11,, 22000088 MÁS

CONTENTST H I SW E E K

Mas Magazine (USPS 000-000) is a weekly publication of Mercado Nuevo LLC with main offices at 1522 18th Street

Bakersfield, CA 93301. Application to Mail at Periodicals Postage Rate is pending at Bakersfield, CA 93303. POST-

MASTER: Please send address changes to: Mercado Nuevo Publications PO Box 2344 Bakersfield, CA 93303. MÁS is

a new weekly magazine focused on Hispanic people, style, culture and issues in Kern County. MÁS is a publication

of Mercado Nuevo, LLC, a subsidiary of The Bakersfield Californian. For questions or for more information about MÁS

or other publications of Mercado Nuevo, contact us: Mercado Nuevo LLC P.O. Box 2344 Bakersfield, CA 93303; (661)

716-8640 www.mercadonuevocorp.com or www.masbakersfield.com. The Mas name and logo design are trade-

marks of Mercado Nuevo and cannot be used without the company’s permission.

Cover photo: LeMar j / Vestige Imagery

General ManagerOlivia Garcia

[email protected]

COVER STORY 10-13World-renowned DJ duo Eric and Nick Vidal back in town

COMMUNITY NEWS 5Assemblywoman Nicole Parra is looking for interns

RECIPE 6Cupcakes fun to make at home

THE LATINO VOTE 7Leonel Martinez on why Latino voters may tilt the election

PROPOSITION 92 8Prop 92 will place community colleges on stable financial footing

OPINION 9Columnist Maria Machuca on why Hillary has her vote

CLASSIFIEDS 16-19Buy, sell and hire

6

7

9

Volume 3, Issue 19

10-13

FEBRUARY ■ 1 ■ 2007

Did You Know?

Super Bowl XLII will be broad-cast in 30 different languages.Eleven languages will be fea-tured in live broadcasts origi-nating from University ofPhoenix Stadium, includingEnglish, Danish, Flemish,French, German, Hungarian,Italian, Japanese, MandarinChinese, Russian, Spanish andThai.

Source: The Sports Network

Bakersfield brothers/DJ team,

Eric & Nick Vidal, never gave

up on radio dreams

PHOTO BY LEMAR J

11FFeebbrruuaarryy 11,, 22000088MÁS

ife for The Baka Boyz has always been a freestylefamily affair.

Bakersfield born and raised, the world-renowned DJ duo of Eric and Nick Vidal has beenbreaking new ground in the nightclub, radio andmusic world since 1984.

Highly respected players ina music game crowded with

one-hit wonders, the brothershave grown up in a parallel uni-

verse as innovative music tastemakers and talented m’ijos to lov-ing parents Frank and Terry Vidal.

“They never forced us to do anything,” said Eric Vidal, 38, oftheir parents, who granted the boys a license to spin at a veryyoung age. “They kind of just let us thrive and do what we wantedto do.”

Like any normal teen, Eric at 15, and pre-teen Nick at 12, theVidal boys knew exactly what they wanted to do — have fun.

On weekends, the Vidal residence transformed into a virtualnightclub courtesy of their older brother Frank Jr., who hostedregular parties in the neighborhood.

As Frank Jr.’s parties grew in popularity, Frank and Terry’sstatus also rose.

Still too young to grasp the concept of what was about tobecome the blueprint to their future, Eric and Nick and the rest ofthe family, including sister Zina, were about to take the houseparty concept to the next level and open their own nightclub.

“My father’s business (San Joaquin Construction) was notdoing well at that moment, but we had a chunk of money saved,”said Nick. “He wanted to put his money into a 21-and-over club.”

Fittingly named Vidal’s, the club opened its doors in 1984 on

the corner of Union Avenue and California, the former site of theBakersfield Inn and famous “Bakersfield” street sign.

The venue came with an upstairs and downstairs room.Upstairs was to be for 21 & over, while downstairs was meant for16-and-over dancing.

“It was all family run,” said Nick. “My mom was at the doorand at the concession stand selling cokes and hot dogs, and mydad was everywhere, doing the sound and lights.”

The club light show and decor consisted of pure homemadeingenuity, courtesy of their father, who visited DJ equipmentshops for building ideas.

“We’d go to shops in L.A. and he’d see these lights and say,‘Well, I could make that!,’ and sure enough he would,” said Eric.“He’d take PVC pipe, punch holes in them and place Christmaslights in them to make his own fixtures, and even made a spinninglight ball out of a salad bowl.”

Let’s not forget the famous Vidal “fog machine.”“The light truss also doubled as the fog machine, and looked

like a spider on the roof,” laughed Eric. “People got excited whenwe used it, but the only problem was the (fog) residue. It wouldmake the floor slippery, and people would dance the paint off.”

Nick immediately became drawn to the excitement and temp-tation of the club’s atmosphere, courtesy of resident DJs Moses Aand Frankie Perez.

“Everywhere they DJ’d it was crazy,” remembered Nick of hisearly introduction to DJ culture. “Moses had the girls, the ciga-rette, the drink, and I was really attracted to that. At 2 a.m.,Moses would leave his DJ equipment at the club, and it would bejust me, security and my father. I would experiment with hookingit up.”

B Y M A T T M U Ñ O Z ■ M Á S S T A F F

T H E Y ( O U R P A R E N T S )

N E V E R F O R C E D U S

T O D O A N Y T H I N G .

T H E Y K I N D O F J U S T

L E T U S T H R I V E A N D

D O W H A T W E

W A N T E D T O D O .

— E R I C V I D A L

Continued on page 12

12 FFeebbrruuaarryy 11,, 22000088 MÁS

His father soon began to nurture young Nick’s interest duringhis sixth grade year at Leo G. Pauley Elementary School in Bak-ersfield. It wasn’t long before he took over DJ duties on Fridayand Saturday nights at the club.

When news spread of a young wunderkind DJ from Bakers-field, the dance club became more popular than ever, even book-ing rock bands during the week, like then unknowns Red HotChili Peppers and L.A. punkers Black Flag.

Eric, who also began to take turns on the turntables, remem-bers the ethnic audience make-up and music of the mid-’80sVidal’s soundtrack.

“The people were mainly white and Latin,” he said. “We wereplaying Depeche Mode, Madonna, Divine, Frankie Goes To Hol-lywood. We started out with that, but then got introduced to thehigh-energy, disco / Florentine Gardens scene sound from L.A. —Dead or Alive, Tapps, L.A. Dream Team, songs like ‘Mandolay’and ‘Sussudio.’”

While the success of the all-ages club was on a roll, theprogress upstairs began to slow. Once the rent went up, the huntwas on for a new club.

In the meantime, Eric and Nick continued performing any-where they were welcome, including swap meets, Armory hallsand the Delano winery.

Eventually finding a location off Easton Drive (behind CircuitCity), the Vidals proceeded with caution.

“I remember staying at my aunt’s house so we could work andget our stuff together,” said Eric. “We persevered and made itthrough that time.”

DJ Sid Perry from Bakersfield, who also began spinning along-side the Vidals during that time, became a creative force withinthe operation. Now a trio, they dubbed themselves “Sly, Slick andWicked.” Complete with two floors, including a balcony forpatrons to look down on the dance floor, the venue was ahead ofits time.

The club closed a year later in ’88, but the memories were plen-tiful.

“We booked Expose, Flock of Seagulls, and Connie,” fondlyremembered Nick of the high-caliber acts from back in the day.

While the popularity of the freestyle, dance sounds of the ’80sbegan to wane, rap and hip-hop music began to become the musicof choice for young, urban crowds.

Enter the age of hip-hop culture.Back to mobile DJng as ‘ENV’ Productions, the Vidal’s decided

to end their nightclub days and turn to the airwaves to furtherenhance their reputations in the city.

While at South High School, the boys got their own mix show onformer KYLD 1350 AM in Bakersfield on Friday and Saturday

COURTESY PHOTOS

Right: Terry Vidal

Below: Nick, father Frank, and EricVidal inside the KKXX FM Bakers-field studio in 1991.

Continued from page 11

PHOTO BY LEMAR J


nights from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. The showwas an instant hit with fans of the clubsand cruisers who packed Chester Avenuedowntown every weekend.

The show lasted five months, butunfortunately did not lead to another gig— at first.

By this time, the brothers were ontheir own in the DJ world, sellingrecords and bringing income back tohelp the family. Dad went back to con-struction.

Taking a cue from friend and peerTony G, who also owned a record store inL.A., they decided to forge into unknownterritory.

A part-time producer and beat maker,Tony G introduced the Vidals to the art ofmusic making. Not by playing other peo-ple’s records, but making their own.

“We figured if they weren’t going to letus DJ on the radio, we’re going to createour own music so they have to play us,”explained Nick. “Eric bought an SB12drum machine, and once we had somecool tracks to show off, we started gettinggigs.”

In 1991, KKXX FM in Bakersfielddecided to give the Vidals their own Sat-urday night mix show, eventually mak-ing them the station’s music directors.

That didn’t keep them from makingoriginal beats in their off-time.

Working with rappers Ice Cube andThe Pharcyde, their reputation grew.

“We were managed by Buzz ToneManagement, who was putting out

records by Cypress Hill, House of Pain,and Rage Against The Machine,” saidEric. “Then we started working at Power106 FM in L.A.”

Looking to break into the L.A. market,the two took the midnight to 2 a.m. shiftwith their first show, “Friday NightFlavas,” as The Baker Boyz, a name playon their hometown of Bakersfield, cour-tesy of Latin rapper, ALT.

“We were staying at ALT’s house in ElMonte,” remembered Nick. “We walkinto a room where he’s with some bud-dies drinking and playing cards, andALT goes, ‘Hey guys, it’s the BakerBoys!’ Me and Eric look at each otherwith our eyes wide open, and go ‘Word!’”

Picking up on the lingo of hip-hop,they soon changed the “Baker” to“Baka,” and “Boys” to “Boyz.”

The popularity of the “Flavas” showmade appearances by up-and-comingstars an essential part of making it inbusiness. Artists like P. Diddy, BiggieSmalls, and a then unknown rapper bythe name of Marshall Mathers, akaEminem, all made a point to stop by.

After eight months of buzzing in late-night with live, on-air mixing, theirbiggest and best opportunity came in1993, when the Power 106 FM MorningShow with The Baka Boyz hit the air.

Power 106, which was evolving from adance station to hip-hop powerhouse,gave the Vidals a platform that wouldsolidify them as industry stars and make

PHOTO BY J-LOVE

Welcome to Miami: The Baka Boyz pose inside the WMIB studios in Miami, Florida in 2003.

The Baka Boyz past and present. Keep up withthe Baka Boyz at their official Web site: www.thebakaboyz.com

Continued on page 19


their show a top ratings-getter in Los Angeles for six strong years. Inaddition to a respectable amount of money, they were also the subject of aTV show pilot, aptly titled “The Baka Boyz.” It never went beyond pilot,but makes for a good story.

Funny, fast and full of improv comedy skills, the yin and yang balanceof the Vidal brothers kept listeners on their toes during the traffic-jammed L.A. mornings.

“If we laugh, we knew somebody else would be laughing,” added Eric.Now a force to be dealt with, their rise to the top of the hip-hop radio

pantheon hit a crack in the groove when the station ran a controversialbillboard campaign featuring the two DJs sitting on toilets, pizza boxeson their laps, and the phrase “Two Phat Mexicans” emblazoned acrossthe top of the signs.

Another comedic play on words, the term “phat” in the hip-hop vernac-ular signifies approval. But the duo came under fire by L.A. Latino lead-ers and some in Hollywood who didn’t get the joke.

“People picketed us and caused a fuss for awhile, but the promotionwas great,” laughed Nick.

From 1999 to 2001, it was back to work and breaking new ground in dif-ferent cities like San Francisco (KMEL), Miami (WMIB), even opening aBakersfield record store for DJs (Cali Kings).

With more experience than many of their contemporaries, and at thetop their craft, the Vidals were reminded of the fragility of life away fromthe spotlight.

By the end of 2001, the people responsible for teaching them the mostimportant lessons in life — their parents, Frank and Terry — becamesuddenly ill. Taking a break from radio, the brothers returned home toBakersfield to help.

Both parents passed away within three months of each other in 2002.“We were very lucky to have them as parents,” said Eric. “They always

liked being around us.”Today, The Baka Boyz name continues to expand its musical reach

throughout the country, with more radio stations adding their highly suc-cessful “Hip-Hop Master Mix” radio show to programming schedules in2008.

Nick is now married with four children, and owns residences in bothFlorida and Los Angeles. Eric resides in Sherman Oaks, Calif., with hisdogs and a vast library of video games designed for self-prescribed“stress relief.”

Currently broadcasting their morning show to San Diego’s Blazin’ 98FM seven days a week out of Burbank, Calif., The Baka Boyz remains afreestyle family affair.

Continued from page 13

COURTESY PHOTO

Good Morning L.A.: The Baka Boyz, Eric and Nick, with rapper Busta Rhymes andDJ C-Minus at the Power 106 FM studio in Los Angeles, Calif. in 1997.

Documents

MAS Magazine / 2 - 1 - 2008