Over Easy Creative to leave Gainesville after final show

Creator of Over Easy Creative, Les Voss, is “big easy” bound the first week of May.

But he is not packing his bags and driving to New Orleans until after his final show from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. April 14 at High Dive.

Over Easy Creative, a Gainesville production company that specializes in electronic music and art events, will present Levitation Jones and Jon Shuttleworth “Parrotice”, a musical exhibition of everything from “underground dubstep and future bass” to “hybrid hip-hop beats,” according to the event page. Electronic production company Lucid Nightlife will also co-present the event.

Pat Lavery, the facility and events manager of High Dive, said Voss has wanted to bring Levitation Jones to his venue since they first met last year.

“So I’m sure this will be a big going-away party,” Lavery said.

The two have been working closely since fall 2017, but in that short time Lavery said their collaborations have definitely impacted the local entertainment scene.

High Dive’s “intimate, laid-back setting” was a natural fit with Over Easy, he said, and now the partnership is not one to be easily replaced.

“Over Easy has been producing a couple events a month with us, so I hope that someone else will step up and fill the void in the EDM space in our venue,” he said.

Voss, 25, said he sees leaving Gainesville as an opportunity for up-and-coming young artists to seize the stage while the clean slate of a new city calls his name.

The start of Voss’ journey happened five years ago by accident.

“There was never an idea of starting a whole company out of it,” he said.

But when Voss and his team starting pulling off regular fests at The Jam, a Gainesville venue that closed in May 2016, the Gainesville community was excited for more.

So Voss left school with a year left in his event management degree, and Over Easy Events was born.

Before he knew it, the company was doing two or three parties a week and promoting big events around town.

“But it was tough getting all of that art together and keeping it fresh and different,” he said.

It was especially tough because what sets the company apart is being more than just an artist on a stage, he said. They are about creating an experience-driven performance.

“We’re more of the vibe curator,” he said.

That’s when the company officially became “Over Easy Creative,” he said. The name represents a time of refocus for the group.

“Funny enough, I didn’t even come up with it,” he said.

Charlie Bilsker, a long-time friend of Voss and motivator of the company, had originally thought of the name and gave him the idea.

“He sent me the name and I was like, ‘Damn, this is awesome,’” he said.

Along the way people have come and gone, riding the wake of Over Easy’s unpredictably, from co-founder and finance major Arthur Leforestier to UF law graduate Max Christiansen and all of the other creative minds who have contributed along the way. But now, Voss said it is essentially a one-man show as he prepares to move the company to New Orleans.

Inspired by a last-minute trip to New Orleans’ BUKU Music + Art Project, Voss sees the future of his company moving West and chasing the setting sun.

“I feel like I’ve kind of done what I can for Gainesville, and now it’s time to go and let someone that’s younger give it a shot, too,” he said.

With the motto "Hear.See.Feel.," Over Easy Creative has consistently created holistic music events for the past five years.