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Late afternoon, last Saturday of the month, the Whistle Stop, on the dance floor. You're catching your breath and wiping your brow after Lyn Collins concludes, "It takes two to make a thing go right," but just before Ray Charles brands you good lookin' and begs to know what you've got cookin'. Wondering who's to thank for slathering the sweet sounds of soul all over the middle of your weekend, you prop yourself up on your toes, peer into the DJ booth and find her amid a mess of the '60s and '70s finest soul and funk vinyl. That's when Claire Caraska, better known by the curt, unpresumptuous handle of DJ Claire, slaps on the Go-Go's and promises the Ramones, followed by a spot of bossa nova, lag not far behind.

"I'm not a Motown DJ," she makes you repeat after her, informing you that although her heart belongs to soul and funk, sticking to one genre is the most steadfast route to turntable boredom. This golden rule comes as just another notch on the belt she earned as a radio DJ during her days at UCSD's KSDT. Since then she's taken to performing on a monthly basis at the Whistle Stop for more than five years, along with the occasional set at the Casbah, Starlite, the Rosary Room, the Ken Club and Air Conditioned.

As if spreading the seeds of a soul revival around a town that's oversaturated with white Rastas and motionless dance floors wasn't enough to make you want to skip shaking her hand in lieu of a hug and buy her a beer, a bunny with a pancake balanced on its head inhabits her MySpace page.

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