Tuesday nights at the Middle East in Cambridge have become no less of a stranger to the Boston dance music community as other well known imprints, such as Make It New, Utopia Sundays, Hearthrob, and Elements. Hosted in the slightly more intimate upstairs space, Throwed has become a weeknight go-to spot for college students, twenty-somethings, and fans of electro and indie music over the past two years. With a great deal of youthful energy in a cozy locale, coupled with a top quality sound system with experienced engineers who know what the hell they’re doing (and know the difference between tailoring sound for a band vs. a DJ), Throwed isn’t going anywhere. Or is it?

I had a chance to catch up with founding member and promoter Eric Marcelino about the future of Throwed. While staying true to the location, the night is actually moving, but only in regards to the day of the week: it’s moving to Thursday. Personally I think many will rejoice in this fact as it’s a much more practical night of the week to go out (especially for those working full time and who have to focus on their day gigs during the week).

One of the biggest complaints in Boston is that many proclaim there are a lack of dance music based events that happen on the weekend, yet an over-abundance of parties on weeknights. A contributing factor to this is possibly the city’s policy on 18-and-over nights, which is much stricter on Fridays and Saturdays. “There are currently barely any 18 and over weekend events in Boston” Eric states. “Bar sales at clubs are much higher on 21 and over nights on the weekends, plain and simple. What could we do to change this? Get the licensing board to ease up and allow more clubs to do 18 and over events.” Thursday nights appear to be the best balance between being close enough to the weekend while still being friendly to those who are still underage.

The younger demographic has been an important ingredient in Throwed’s endurance in 2008 and 2009. “We cater our events towards the younger crowd by putting on 18 and over events and promoting to college aged students” said Eric. “The younger kids are the ones that go ape-shit, the ones that really bring a wild energy to my parties. It is true that many 25-35 year olds don’t want to go to events with younger people, but if you bring the proper talent then they will come as well.”

Eric brings up a very good point here that people’s tastes in music tend to solidify and mature over time, but someone who is in their late-twenties and even older can still be influenced into attending these events if the right act is playing. Their preferences become a bit more select as their tastes evolve and free time for them becomes more scarce with every passing year. So it’s essential that college students help fuel events like Throwed, as older crowds are not always a guarantee at all, weeknight or weekend.

“I think that since dance music is so much bigger than it was five years ago, it IS crucial (that nights like Throwed be 18-and-over)” Eric boldly asserts. “Kids need somewhere to go to dance to their favorite music and a venue to see their favorite DJ’s at!”

Speaking of DJ’s, Eric and fellow resident Jay Kennison (Jay-K) have become familiar faces in the local scene, both from their work on the decks and OFF them, making events like these happen and easily becoming the “favorite DJ’s” of many kids around town as their experience in working the crowd grows with each passing gig. Eric, who also goes by E-Marce, had some intersting insight on the state of the DJ scene today, especially from a technology standpoint.

“Personally as a DJ I use Serato Scratch”, Eric discusses. “I used to use vinyl, but could no longer afford $12 import singles. Tommie Sunshine turned me onto Serato 4 years ago when we DJ’d at a party in Boston together. It was the best change I’ve ever made as a DJ!”

In regards to how many jocks utilize Serato to their advantage, Marcelino shares the opinion of many other seasoned DJ’s out there. “I am personally anti-any program that automatically beatmatch for you. I will not book anyone for Throwed who uses internal mode beatmatching programs. Everyone who owns one of those (auto-beatmatching) programs and a $100 MIDI controller now think they are a DJ, and I feel that it’s just not fair to those of us who practiced hard and had to pay our dues”.

While the night continues to bring in a good deal of fresh talent, both locally and from around the country, there is no doubt that Eric keeps his ears open for the next big talent and trend, instead of just taking the surefire route of booking a DJ or act who will guarantee a crowd, but someone who everyone has seen time and time again. In regards to individual producers to watch out for in 2010, here is who Eric has been closely paying attention to: Wolfgang Gartner, B.Rich, Kids at the Bar, Bird Peterson, Dangerous Muse, Mighty Fools, Designer Drugs, Jack Beats, and Autoerotique. (Oh yeah, a few of these acts will be playing the upcoming Together festival!)

As Throwed kicks off it’s first Thursday night this week, I wish them the best of luck on their new night (but same familiar home, right across the street from the inviting lights and wood paneling of Hi-Fi Pizza, a place that just seems so wrong to eat at in theory but has some of the best drunk food money can buy!)