The capital city of Massachusetts has never been known for its nightlife. That is, unless you count beer pong at the Sigma Phi Frat House, or bar crawls on Newbury Street. But, over the past few months, a certain red-haired DJ/producer with a penchant for throwing sweaty dance parties has been changing all that.

Thanks to a little help from his friends (i.e. the DJ crew Hearthrob, Sensitive Hand, Morgan Louis and Baltimoroder Julian Wadsworth, 24, better known in some cases by his adopted moniker Red Foxx, has been doing his part to motivate the masses. After landing a degree in Film and Audio from Emerson in just three years, the Norfolk, VA-native turned Roxbury, MA resident made his way onto the music scene. In addition to making waves with his recent remix of a track from The Teenagers, as well as producing Sluttt, he’s been causing a ruckus all over Beantown. Thus, he could also be considered the perfect tour guide. So we asked:

How would you describe Boston to someone who’s never been…
For all its pomp and fanfare of being the cradle of the American Revolution, it's basically a village where not much goes on. Fall through spring the city swells like an obese man in a pie-eating contest, only the pies are college students from across the globe. Unfortunately, at least 90% of them are either International brats who like tribal house, or Kansas bros who are on a first-name basis with "Bob" (Marley) and "Dave" (Matthews). With such a transient population it's hard for significant cultural events to really take hold, but the few of us who are forced to live here manage to make a handful of fun things happen.

Tell me about the parties you’ve thrown with Hearthrob?
The Hearthrob party itself started on a Tuesday at a pretty popular venue. There aren't a lot of comfortable nightlife destinations for those with adventurous tastes so we decided that even if it was a Tuesday, we have a perfect venue, so let’s just make it happen. We made a MySpace page, made video flyers, and basically alienated our jobs and families for the night. Fortunately, it all paid off and now we have lines up the block every time we throw it. It's still on Tuesdays.

What kind of tunes do you spin to drive the kids wild, and where’s the party held?
The music started with really standard party jams on the hiphop/disco/house end with as much electro as we could sneak in. Now we play almost all electro and house and we sneak in the party favorites. Basically we had to get the crowd to trust us, and once that happened, we could give them things they'd never heard and they'd be open to dance to it. So right now it’s a lot of our own edits, a lot of Switch/Sinden/Dubsided shit, some Baltimore club, some big room English/Swedish mafia electro-house that I guiltily can't get enough of, some house classics, a lot of French touch, and the occasional crunk bangers. The party is at Middlesex Lounge in Cambridge. Cambridge is like the Brooklyn of Boston except the cool kids don't look like they’re homeless.

Where can you be found partying the other nights of the week?
There are a couple of other good parties. We hang at the smaller venues, mostly all in Cambridge -- Zuzu, Enormous Room, other nights at Middlesex... Gentrification is a bitch here and the thriving art-loft scene of last summer is basically dead due to developers kicking everyone out. The Thunderdome monthly is always fun at the grimy Elk's Lodge, which is like the black Freemason organization. They rent out the place for hardcore shows and my boy Mistaker rents it and throws dirty sweaty parties, like DIY rave-style. Night swimming also in public fountains or the beach where my friend got gangrene from the water, that's always fun.

Is there a particular late-night grease-trap you frequent post-party?
Sushi in Chinatown is basically the best bet if it's in your agenda... there's mad spots for sushi and it's good. You always see friends and you can always order booze with secret code words till like 5 am.

What kind of code words?
Do cops read your blog? Cold Tea is classic. Or just a "pitcher." Like "yeah and one of those pitchers."

Only New York’s finest… once the sun rises, where do the cool kids go to shop, be it for clothes, kicks or the latest Ed Banger LP?
I personally like Stel's on Newbury for upscale shit... APC jeans, Spring Court sneakers... anytime you need something simple that fits like it was sewn for you, that’s the place. For streetwear, Bodega. Legendary spot, great buyers, it looks like a shitty convenience store in the front complete with RC cola and then the soda machine slides out to reveal a crispy boutique. All the dudes who work there are friends and really good people. Karmaloop has a store on Newbury too, more mainstream streetwear but they’re good people; I always stop by and read a magazine on the green couch, usually with an iced yerba mate from Espresso Royale up the street. Newbury Comics is the only record store I really stop into... All the kids work there and they always get what’s good. I couldn't find the new Gang Gang Dance DVD in that store once and I was looking everywhere until finally someone who worked there brought me to the "Hot New Release" section and it was right there next to the Young Jeezy album. It's that kind of place.

And if you’re going to opt for fine dining?
Well I'm not really into atmosphere, unless it's Fugakyu in Brookline, which has amazing sushi and looks like a setting from an Asian gangster flick. It’s 2 stories and really lavish and there's tons of dudes in suits with those headsets on and girls in kimonos and really thin aisles and Tatami rooms and you feel like any minute some dude is going to bust through the wall with double Desert Eagles shooting the place up. But for me it's food that matters, so that's why Petit Robert Bistro is my favorite. Very plain bistro decor, but the French cuisine will kick your ass. Escargot is so good, duck confit, the rabbit… everything is smothered in butter and salt and served with sausage and it's just the most savory food you've ever eaten. And the prices are good

And, last but not least, if you could shack up for a night at any hotel in the city, where would you choose?
I know XV Beacon is the hottest luxury boutique hotel. Also the Charlesmark is supposed to be good. I like the hotel bar at the Lenox though, City Bar. They have a good scotch menu and the whole thing has those RGB cycling lights so it feels like you are on acid because the color of the bar slowly keeps changing. If you are on a budget you can check Craigslist and rent apartments in the North End if you’re staying for 3 or more nights. It's like $80 or $90 a night and you are right in Little Italy, which has the best restaurants. Or you can sleep on my couch but I stay up really late and you’re the designated driver, ok?

~Alisa Gould-Simon