Culture
OU’s Brick City Records Showcase Headed to The Union April 20
By: Emily Votaw
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Some years ago, Jack Hentosh was restocking La Croix cases at his hometown Marc’s, where he worked throughout high school. Hentosh admits that he has always struggled with naming things, including his various musical projects.
Something about the vaguely vaporwave, airbrushed aesthetic and the dancing tropical colors of the cans must have clicked with Hentosh – because it was then that he decided to make the moniker of his next act “Croix.”
It wouldn’t be until the December of his freshman year at Ohio University in 2014 that the northeast Ohio native would take on the title fulltime, crafting adventurous electronic soundscapes under the name. Over the past two years, Hentosh has received over 100k Spotify plays for his track “Need You Forever w/EGZOD,” over one million plays for his “Twenty One Pilots -The Judge Remix,” and more than three million plays total across all streaming platforms.
April 20, Croix will be one of four artists to take part in the annual Brick City Records showcase at The Union, which will feature accomplished indie rockers Clubhouse, synth pop hero Sarah Skinner, and alternative electro-rockers Personal Public.
All three bands consist of Ohio University students who were taken on by Brick City Records, Ohio University’s School of Media Arts and Studies premiere recording studio. The studio works as a capstone class for various media students interested in pursuing recording or music industry studies in a professional capacity.
Initially, when Hentosh came to Athens, he was studying both music production and accounting, although he dropped the accounting major when he decided to pursue Croix headlong.
“The media school has made quite a big impact on me, so far as how I spend my time,” said Hentosh, who described his endeavors creative and entreprenial in equal parts. “In 2017, social media is everything, and so is the marketing side of things.”
Hentosh has just released This Is Not, a new EP that was entirely recorded by Brick City. In the making of it, he was given free reign to utilize a number of vocalists, none of which had ever worked with electronic music before.
“I was given the opportunity to guide the vocalists a little bit, and even though some people might have found it annoying to work with people who didn’t have experience making a particular type of music, I found it to be a fun challenge – an opportunity to make something interesting,” said Hentosh.
“I think Brick City Records might be the most incredible experience one could have if they’re a student studying the music industry,” said Hentosh. “If you are serious about working in the music industry, there is just no reason why you shouldn’t take that course.”
Doors for the showcase open at 9 p.m., and tickets are $5 for +21, $8 for under 21.