IN SPIN ZONE WITH SOUL BANK TELLER STANDS OUT AS DISC JOCKEY.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

CANYON COUNTRY - Mild-mannered bank teller by day, 25-year-old E.J. Fojas can scratch, flow and break beats with the best disc jockeys after hours.

``I'm just focusing on music and making the stuff sound good, no matter the genre you're into,'' said Fojas, also known as ``E-Jay'' behind the turntables.

The hip-hop DJ from Canyon Country emerged from some 3,000 nationwide to compete as one of eight finalists in the seventh annual Guitar Center Spin-Off to be held Saturday in Los Angeles. Besides bragging rights, the prizes for victory will include a 2005 Scion xB, digital turntables and mobile phones for the winner and crew.

``I'm in awe of being in it,'' Fojas said. ``But at the same time, you just go up there for the adrenaline, and you go with the flow. You can only prepare so much, it's all about what you do there.''

Fojas, who mostly spins discs of early 1990s hip-hop artists, including NWA and Digable Planets, said he first touched a turntable when he was 11 and growing up in San Jose. He began competing in DJ battles in 1997, and he performs with his crew Evolution DJs.

``My brother was DJ-ing before me,'' he said. ``He was a mobile DJ. When he wasn't home, I would just mess around on the turntables. He caught me, and I started DJ-ing with him.

``We still work with each other. He doesn't DJ as much anymore, but he's still there - basically like helping me out. If I'm doing a routine, if it doesn't sound good, he'll help me out, just like everybody else in my crew.''

There's no single way to a tight set. Fojas compares the process with writing an essay.

``You have your intro, climax and the conclusion,'' he said. ``Within five minutes, you want to have the different change-ups like that.

``It depends on the person, too. If you're doing a five-minute routine, you want everything to sound like one whole song, instead of individual songs in a set. It's all about making everything flow.''

And it takes more than raw skills to make it, Fojas said.

``You can have the technique, but if you don't have the soul in there (it fails),'' he said. ``You want to have something you're proud of.

``It's being able to cater to more than just the crowd. It's what you want to spin as well. You don't want to spin something you actually don't like. You want to have fun with what you're doing. You want to love it.''

The Guitar Center Spin-Off grand finals will be at the Wiltern LG in Los Angeles. The event also will feature performances by hip-hop stars Common and Talib Kweli, Madlib and DIPLO.

Twenty percent of the proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Jam Master Jay Foundation, a nonprofit group dedicated to supporting music education and named after the late founding member of legendary rap group Run DMC.

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Disc jockey E.J. Fojas of Canyon Country puts together five minutes of playing time with a goal: ``You want to love it.''

(2) E.J. Fojas of Canyon Country knows the techniques of a disc jockey, but to stand out takes soul, he says.

David Crane/Staff Photographer