The Finale

It had been a while since the First Class team had hosted an under 21 club event. Our network was a little outdated, as many of our regular patrons were attending college. Due to the city of Boston becoming very strict on underage club parties, the First Class team decided to throw down for our underage network one last time.

The Finale was hosted at Mantra, where we hosted a Chic Rendezvous months earlier. We signed MTV's DJ G-Bello to DJ the event, along with First Class DJ's Matt Hurley and Mike Nelson. The up and coming group "AER" and rapper "Jay Bird"were signed to perform as well.

David Von Mering & Carter Schulz (AER)

Jay Bird

It was about 30 minutes before Jay Bird was supposed to perform (opening for AER), and Derek realized that there was a problem with the microphones. Only one cordless mic was working for the upstairs sound system. Mantra management failed to fix the problem, so Jay Bird & AER were unable to perform. It was refreshing to see many new faces at the Finale. The party was a good way to end our under-21 journey. Stay tuned for First Class concerts..

First Class employees Derek, Katie, & MTV's DJ G-Bello

First Class' Bobby GQ & DerekB with little brother

ENVY

The First Class team wanted to throw a large scale party. Darius & Derek browsed Boston's venues, looking for a location to transform into a nightclub. They finally arrived at the Epi-Center in Boston, a venue that Derek had DJ'd at in the past. The Epi-Center is a large art studio commonly rented out for Weddings, Mitzvahs, Proms, and Sweet 16's.

Epi-Center, Boston

The capacity of the venue (1,000) was large enough to throw the party Derek was envisioning. Derek's vision was creating a party which resembled a warehouse rave that commonly happens in New York City. These parties are underground, out of the public eye - making them completely insane. Darius & Derek signed the contract to lease the venue for November 28th 2009. One year earlier, on November 22nd, Derek had hosted Throwdown, his first party ever.

The First Class team ended up leasing about 30 movers (club/concert lights) for the event. Having that many lights made their cultivated nightclub the best lit venue in the entire city of Boston that night. We brought in the best sound equipment available, furniture, & of course First Class dancers ; )

DJ Derek The Prince

MTV's DJ G-Bello

Derek Brisson - DJ G-Bello - MC/DJ Logic

MTV's DJ G-Bello, DJ Matt Hurley, & DJ Mike Nelson ripped up the decks. You can't forget about MC/DJ Logic on the microphone! We had a packed house that night, lighting was fantastic, and the energy was great.

Crowd Outside ENVY

A Chic Rendezvous

On May 2nd we hosted A Chic Rendezvous at Club Mantra on Temple St.  Mantra is an interesting venue because it used to be a bank! It contains a main dance floor surrounded by leather couches, an enormous bar, a Tiki VIP lounge, a downstairs and an upstairs lounge. Downstairs in the lounge we had PG Productions DJing mainstream and underground Hip-Hop. DJ Derek The Prince was upstairs in the main room spinnin' mostly Hip-Hop with a little House thrown in. Derek, from  Providence RI, has DJ'd multiple First Class events and always keeps the crowd moving from start to finish. Bassma Sayeh was there representing First Class T.V. as usual.

Bassma Sayeh, First Class Reporter (Left)

                                                     Darius & Derek

Paparazzi taught us that some people, especially males, don't come to our parties in a First Class ensemble! Sweat pants and a red sox tee shirts...seriously fellas? With that being said, Darius and Derek felt the urge to host a party with the theme of glamour, wealth and style. The party was hosted at Club Mantra which was more than appropriate because Mantra is a very upscale venue. We made the dress code clear and everyone followed. The dress code was button down shirts and kakis or jeans for males and dresses for females. 

There was a raffle that contained prizes such as Metro Park and Nordstrom giftcards as well as X-BOX 360's. Hor'deuvres and soft drinks were catered all night along with free Red Bulls from 6-8. Best of all, the energy of the party was fantastic. The main dance floor was packed the entire night and the lounges were filled as well. 

                                                             Winner of X-BOX 360

Valentines Day Bash

Only a week after Paparazzi, we hosted the "Valentines Day Bash" at Rise nightclub on Stuart St. We decided to host this event because we got so much amazing feedback and we could tell that everyone was hungry for another event as soon as possible.

Rise is a very appropriate venue for Valentines day because it is small and intimate. Rise consists of a dance floor and two lounges. The energy of our party was so electric that the lounge quickly transformed from a place to rest and talk, to another crazy dance area. With the best light show and sound system in Boston hands down, First Class parties at Rise are always intense.
                                                                

DJ E-Devious (left) was on the 1's and 2's that night, and all would agree that he tore it up. The Valentines Day Bash marked First Class' second, and Derek's third sold-out U-21 event.

                                                                       Darius & Derek

PAPARAZZi: Off To A BIG Start

First Class Entertainment and its newest asset Derek Brisson hosted "Paparazzi - A Red Carpet Affair" on February 7th 2009, at Boston's biggest, most notorious nightclub, Roxy. The event sold out weeks in advance, reaching Roxy's capacity of over 1,000 patrons. DJ Derek The Prince was in the DJ booth spinning House Music and DJ Incredible J-Stylez was by his side spinning the hottest in Hip-Hop and R&B. You also can't forget about the 4 gorgeous dancers on stage! 

First Class flew in MTV's own, Donnie Klang. Donnie is signed with P-Diddy under Bad Boy Records. He has been on MTV's Making The Band Since Season 1. He performed his hit songs and took pictures with the V.I.P. clients. Donnie even brought a birthday girl on stage and sang "happy birthday" to her in front of the whole party...lucky girl. 

But even before Donnie Klang performed, Darius & Derek suprised the crowd with a performance from MTV's "Status Quo" from the show "Americans Next Best Dance Crew". The crowd was astonished when the crew took the stage because nobody was expecting them to be there! The crowd went absolutely nuts. First Class Entertainment will be hosting more events with performances and even concerts in the near future. 

The Birth of Boston's Under-21 Club Scene

In November of 2008, Derek Brisson hosted Boston's first Under-21 club event, Throwdown '08. The event took place at Clubs Rumor/Venu on Warrenton St. Downstairs there was a hip-hop DJ from Boston's Mike FM and upstairs was a local Boston DJ spinning House Music/Electro. The club reached its capacity of 1,000 people 45 minutes into the event. After the bouncers shut the doors there was a 300 person mob loitering outside the club who didn't get in. The crowd was so massive that the Police department showed up to escort the crowd off of the small one-way street safely.

Throwdown raised $26,000 in profit and was donated to the Genocide Intervention Network. Kids across Massachusetts raved about the party and blasted Derek with messages and emails asking if and when another Under-21 party would ever happen again. This made Derek realize even more that these parties must continue in Boston. 

Derek joined First Class Entertainment and helped create the Under-21 branch as well as FIRST-CLASS TV. Derek became the Under-21 event coordinator and head promoter. Derek and Darius Gregory (C.E.O. of FCE) knew that topping Throwdown would be difficult, but all would agree that Paparazzi, Derek and Darius' first event together, did just that.