Anthony Barszczewski is looking to bring club-like parties to Athens through his business, Good Taste Productions.
When Anthony Barszczewski came to Athens, he didn’t want to wait around for somebody else to bring the best artist or event to town, so he took matters into his own hands.
Barszczewski, a sophomore studying sociology, runs a startup production and promotions business that he calls Good Taste Productions.
“(My business) kind of encompasses two things: the technical side of things, like making sure we get audio and lighting there, getting them at good prices, getting staging, and it even carries over to booking the artist and even like putting the media out and the advertising,” Barszczewski said. “We’re kind of doing it all in one.”
Through his events, Barszczewski said he wants to bring more of a club scene to Athens, something which he said is currently lacking.
“It’s something Athens has been wanting for a long time,” Barszczewski said.
Barszczewski said he got his start in the event planning business at Ohio University about a year ago, when he held a club night event at Habibi’s. More recently, he partnered with Mose Denton, or Mo, as people like to call him, who recently opened a boutique and event space, Venue of Dreams, on Stimson Avenue.
Denton, an OU alumnus and CEO/owner of 24.7 Dreams, said he first met Barszczewski when approached by him earlier this semester about hosting a party.
“I had this place, so I decided to rock with them for some exposure with me as well as to help him,” Denton said.
Barszczewski called his first big event of this semester Eclipse, which he held at Denton’s space. He estimated that between 700 and 800 people were there throughout the night, and Denton estimated that up to 350 were in the venue at one time.
The event featured local artists such as Ghost Owl and Before.Common.Era, according to the flyer on Twitter.
Andres Rivera, a freshman studying applied nutrition, said he heard about the event through Twitter several days beforehand and was interested in the club-like environment and a space to dance.
“When (students) go out and drink, they want to dance, so you see them dancing in bars, which is not a scene for dancing really,” Rivera said. “Instead of that, we can have an area where it’s specifically designed to allow people to dance, there’s enough space for them to dance, there’s good music at all time to dance, and it’s just a better environment.”
Rivera said he stayed until the event ended at 3 a.m. and estimated that even at that point, there were still 200 to 300 people in the venue.
Admission required a $5 cover, which Barszczewski said covered the expenses of artists, labor and the cost of the venue. The event was BYOB.
The event was sponsored by Sech’s, a drink created by two OU students, and the Columbus-based app ANO (Another Night Out), which shows events happening around in a certain area.
Mason Estep, co-founder of Sech’s and a student in OU’s specialized studies program, said he was impressed with Barszczewski's ambition and promised that at any event he hosted, there would be Sech’s.
“We couldn't have been happier with the event, or Anthony's emerging ability to throw Ohio University's largest, most exciting parties that we've ever seen,” Estep said about Eclipse.
Barszczewski said he views the event planning process as collaborative and works with different groups to establish a budget. While he doesn't charge a specific rate for his services, Barszczewski said he is trying to build a base of clients and to get his name out there.
As for his plans for later this spring, Barszczewski said his business will have a presence at Palmer Place Fest, bringing the stage, security barriers, lighting and artists.
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Barszczewski said though Twitter promotions and word of mouth helps bring a crowd to an event, the end product is what makes the difference.
“If you bring them a good product, if you build it, they will come,” Barszczewski said.
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