Rise and shine: Meet the new faces of Boston nightlife

by Heather Bouzan, 10-19-2007

THINK YOU know everyone there is to know in Boston nightlife? Think again. These days there’s a new crop of people moving upwards through the nightlife ranks, sending the invites, perfecting the playlists, creating the cocktails, and holding court at the hottest events and venues in town. Make note of the 10 names that follow; if our predictions are right, they’ll be the ones driving our city’s post-sunset hours for years to come.

Tanner Ross, DJ/producer
Ears that know a little something about underground techno and house perk up when they hear tracks produced by Tanner Ross, a local DJ/producer who moved here from New Jersey three years ago to study synthesis at Berklee. Since then, Ross has caught the attention of some of the most respected music labels in his genre — including dirtybird, Freerange, Mothership, and Odori — and has released touted remixes of Claude VonStroke’s “Who’s Afraid of Detroit” and Blaze’s “Lovelee Dae” while also finding time to do some video-game sound design and production. Ross maintains that right now he’s still trying to focus on school, but like it or not, the opportunities are calling. These days, he spins locally at venues such as the Enormous Room and maintains a monthly residency at APT in New York. It’s anybody’s guess where Ross will be in five years, and even he won’t wager an answer: “It really depends on where my music takes me.” We can only imagine how far that might be.

Katie Conway, general manager of Reiss
She might take her Jack Daniel’s and head for the nearest dive bar when she gets off work, but Katie Conway is a bigger part of local nightlife than most probably realize. As general manager of Newbury Street’s Reiss, Conway handles everything from staffing and merchandising to planning events — including in-store parties to celebrate a new collection and fashion shows at local nightspots such as 28 Degrees and Mantra — all after only four years in the retail business. And any scenester who comes to Conway looking for the perfect evening attire has landed in the right place: Reiss stocks glam cocktail dresses and sexy Ts, skinny cords and swanky one-button suits. Where you will find this totally driven fashionista when she’s looking to dress up? Drinking wine at Stephanie’s, enjoying live jazz at the Beehive, or lingering with friends over dinner at a great local restaurant.

John and Paul Mansfield,
co-owners/managing partners of Boston Valet
When you’re as well known in the city as brothers John and Paul Mansfield, it’s tough to go out without getting recognized. In fact, the co-owners and managing partners of Boston Valet have found that if they’re spotted standing outside a bar or restaurant, people automatically assume they’re involved with the venue and ask for help getting in or scoring a table. And even if it’s their night off, they’ll make a few calls and, as if by magic, that table will appear. The brothers have branched out since launching Boston Valet in 1996: Paul is now VIP services manager for the Estate and Suite Boston, and the two are in the process of launching Trinity Lifestyle, which will provide a wide range of high-end concierge, valet, and livery services. The Mansfields can also see themselves opening a boutique restaurant/lounge in the not-too-distant future (they operated Leather District hotspot Trio from 2000 to 2004).

Doug Epstein, executive vice president of sales for Horizon Beverage
The party doesn’t start until the liquor guys make their delivery. So says Doug Epstein, who, while overseeing Horizon Beverage’s sales throughout New England, keeps his finger on the pulse of local nightlife. And Epstein does more than just bring in new products: he helps with development and promotion, facilitates sponsorships and marketing partnerships, and educates the city’s bar staffs on how to create the hottest new cocktails. (Where do you think the mojito would be without guys like him?) If you catch Epstein on a night out, you’ll find him drinking bourbon on the rocks with a splash of water — top-shelf brands only. After all, he says, what other luxury product only costs $10 for the best of the best?
 

Dimitra Tsourianis, general manager
of Alibi at the Liberty Hotel
Within five minutes of meeting her, you get the feeling that Dimitra Tsourianis can hang with any type of crowd. The general manager who helped open super-chic lounge Alibi at the Liberty Hotel has been in the business for eight years, working at such diverse venues as the Big Easy, the Park Plaza Hotel, B&G Oysters, and, most recently, OM. Her drinks of choice are Krug Rosé and Heineken, and while she’d love to open a Champagne bar (she finds the bubbly stuff both “magical” and “romantic”), she says she’s currently in search of the perfect dive bar for recreational purposes. Tsourianis is also taking creative-writing classes at Harvard’s Extension School. We love that the woman running the place is the kind of person we’d want sitting next to us on a barstool — and we think that bodes well for her future success in the business.

Eli Goldstein and Charles Levine, DJs Soul Clap
You won’t find Soul Clap DJ duo Eli Goldstein and Charles Levine patronizing any old nightspot. The two local boys (Levine’s from Brookline, Goldstein’s a Cantabrigan), weaned on MIT tunnel parties and techno nights at Axis, are regulars at progressive venues such as Phoenix Landing, Middlesex, and the Good Life, as well as at events such as Dancing on the Charles (which they co-founded with Marz Entertainment), Hearthrob, and Thunderdome, and they’ll have a new residency at RumBa at the end of the month. They’re out “eight nights” per week, but they “only do underground nightlife. It’s gotta be all about great music, cool people, and sweaty dance floors.” Levine and Goldstein are wholly determined to turn the Boston scene into something that’s all about cutting-edge music and quality DJs. And these two have the determination, creativity, vision, and sense of humor to do it.

Solonje “Solie” Burnett,
founder and president of Eilos Events
It’s one thing to be a club promoter, backing up the burly guy who’s checking the guest list and shouting orders about dress codes and cover charges at the poor partygoers waiting in line. But Solie Burnett, founder and president of Eilos Events, has carved out a more unique niche in Boston nightlife. Sure, she partners with venues for weekly events, pitches special-event ideas, creates e-flyers, and helps get bodies in the door, but when the party starts, you’ll find her in the middle of the crowd, “leading by example” and enjoying her festivities to the fullest. Burnett, who has a day job fundraising for the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, has rounded out the Eilos team with a diverse group of women — hailing from as far away as Jamaica, Russia, South Korea, and Hong Kong — who help her promote events like Flow Fridays at Mantra and “Party Like a Rock Star” Saturdays at Aria. We can’t wait for her to open her own place; she dreams of “something Studio 54-ish.”

Max Buccini, account manager at Regan Communications Group
If only the First Lady could see him now. Max Buccini, account manager for some of the city’s swankiest restaurant and nightlife clients at Regan Communications, got his start as a White House press intern for Laura Bush, but soon realized that his calling involved a different kind of “party line.” He’s worked with such local establishments as Coda Bar & Kitchen, Mantra, Bonfire, 33 Restaurant & Lounge, and Salvatore’s, planning events, fielding media inquiries, and advising on promotional moves and community relations — though a great deal of his business is done over cocktails (his is a vodka tonic) at various events. But whether he’s working the room at a big-ticket benefit or perched on a barstool at favorite haunts Mistral, Stella, or 28 Degrees, Buccini is consistently one of the most gregarious, outrageous, and in-the-know people in the room. And in five years or so? He expects to be director of PR for a major brand, to own his own agency, or to be writing a book about his life. He’ll be just 28.

Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli, assistant bar manager of Eastern Standard
Ask Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli, assistant bar manager at Eastern Standard, to wow you with a cocktail like you’ve never tasted before, and he’ll happily oblige. Protégé of Eastern Standard’s esteemed bar manager Jackson Cannon and nephew of East Coast Grill’s Chris Schlesinger, Schlesinger-Guidelli has a top-notch teacher, great genes, and, judging from the masterpieces that slide out of his shaker, the talent to back them both up. He’s a bona fide scholar of his craft, a true appreciator of both the history of the cocktail and the way that history melds with modern innovations in mixology. What draws him to the job, though, is more than just the art of a great drink; it’s the people he serves, whether sports fans in for a pre-Fenway beer or “cocktailians,” as he calls them, looking to try something new.

Christopher Tocchio and Kristian Deyesso, managing partners of Church
They’re like a superhero duo: Christopher Tocchio and Kristian Deyesso are total opposites when it comes to their strengths, but combine them and they get the job done. The guys are partners in Church, a watering hole, restaurant, and live-music venue that opened near Fenway earlier this month. Deyesso, a designer by trade, is the creative half of the equation, shaping the look and feel of the place, while Tocchio handles the business side of things. They met years ago when both worked for Deyesso’s father, a partner in Bricco and Faneuil Hall’s Trattoria Il Panino. They reconnected for this venture and hope to open more concepts together in the future, and while their personalities differ, the two are similar when it comes to the important stuff: their love for the social aspects of their profession, their hope that Church will grow into its role as a creative melting pot, and their plans to enhance the underlying social fabric of this city. @

[Photos by Joel Veak]

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