Published 2012-04-16T20:48:00Z”/>
Nicole Walker
With shows in large and small venues, colorful lighting and a showcasing of DJs, Epic Productions has taken over Chico.
As electronic music became a trend, Shawn Steele and Matthew Whitlock saw a need for a networking opportunity that could play the middleman to producing events in town.
In 2010, Whitlock, a communication design alumnus, and Steele, a senior recreation administration major with an event management option, took their passion for entertaining and event planning to another level with the founding of Epic Productions.
The joint venture formed a street team of close friends, and the company took off from there with weekly events that provide lighting, entertainment, a venue and promotion.
Basically, it is a group of DJs with sound and lighting equipment that came together, said Andy Fox, a street team member and senior majoring in communication design.
The founding partners began the company with their own funds, friends and connections. Steele previously worked with AS Live, which provided him with the education and practice to make events the student population would want to attend.
“People that work for us are really just in it for the music,” Steele said.
The company is known for their concert productions in Chico, but it is working toward expanding to the Bay Area and Sacramento while adding variety with lighting production gigs and renovations.
The name originated from a mixed tape titled “Epic Nights,” produced by Steele. The tape was never used, and “nights” was taken off to create Epic, Steele said.
In addition to electronic shows and lighting production, Epic is working to enter all aspects of music by incorporating events with bands of different genres.
Steve Aoki, Datsik, Dirtyphonics and Team No Sleep are a few artists Epic has collaborated with to produce such events. Admission for each show depends on the artist and how much it took the company to get them in town.
Along with new merchandise and expansions, Epic has a line-up of events for the end of the semester.
Things have moved quickly, said Ryan Grennan, a street team member and junior history major.
“It is kind of crazy,” he said. “We were like packing maybe 100 people into Peking, and now we’re selling out The Senator.”
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<strong>Nicole Walker can be reached at</strong>
<em>[email protected]</em>
