Keoki

El Salvador-born and Hawaii-raised, Keoki Franconi -- better known as "Superstar DJ Keoki" (or maybe better recognized as the That '70s Show character Fez played in the recent movie Party Monster) -- made his big splash in the Big Apple. His long, groundbreaking history includes spinning at Danceteria, residing behind the decks at the legendary Limelight, and currently, after a move back to New York from LA, hosting a weekly party called "The Too Far Gone" at the Sapphire Lounge.

While keeping busy behind the tables, Keoki has still found time in the past few years to throw his fair share of temper tantrums. Some of these are documented on Moonshine's 2002 DVD release American Massive, which chronicles various parts of the Moonshine Overamerica 2000 tour. According to Keoki's website, "musical differences" (or his most recent tantrum) made him switch from his eight-year label home at Moonshine to Cleopatra Records.

Since the move, Keoki has put out two discs; Kill the DJ is the second. This mash-up mix includes a variety of '80s and near-'80s favorites. While the mixing skills are mostly marginal, the record as a whole is a party-crowd pleaser with many recognizable and danceable tunes, such as Kiss' "I Was Made for Loving You," Joy Division's "She's Lost Control" and the Cure's "The Walk." None of these are sung by the original voices, yet they work. Dirty Sanchez also contributes a couple of tracks that throw some naughtiness and decadence into the mix. The disc is chock-full of decent stuff. Will Keoki devotees follow him unconditionally with his new sound on a new label? We'll see. But at least he's still trying to please clubbers.