As the end of the semester approaches, upperclassmen Music and Technology majors focus on their portfolios. The Stute asked three musicians about their work and plans for the future.
Chloe Crosnier is a junior who writes and produces original music, playing bass, guitar, and drums. She has dabbled in many areas of music throughout her life, from piano to choir to musical theatre, but didn’t originally consider it as a potential career. She found herself unhappy in her first path, so she transferred to Stevens for her sophomore year. “In just my first semester at Stevens, my confidence and ability skyrocketed,” she expressed. She specifically notes her classes in Electronic Music as key to helping her gain confidence as a producer. Crosnier says that Stevens’ environment helped foster her creativity and develop her musical career. She’s most influenced by the music of Billie Eilish, saying “I’m so inspired by her musical journey and success, as well as her style of performing. I think most of the music I make is pretty similar to her style, with my own twist.” She also appreciates the work of Tyler the Creator, Kali Uchis, and Charlie XCX. She has produced several songs in her time at Stevens, working towards a debut album as a senior thesis project. In the future, she hopes to be able to perform live and tour. Make sure to catch her at the end of semester celebration, “The Power of Stevens!”
Zack Berkowitz is a junior Music and Technology major and music producer. He started music by “playing around on Garageband” and progressed to Logic Pro making songs and beats under the name 622chaos. He explains the name by saying “622 because my birthday is June 22nd, and I like the word chaos because I feel that it suits my music well. It’s full of surprises and unpredictable.” He’s influenced by non-traditional genres such as hyperpop and experimental hip hop, citing artists SOPHIE, Charli XCX, A.G. Cook, Brockhampton, Death Grips, and JPEGMAFIA. 622chaos, however, is Berkowitz’s original sound, and he says that if he had to describe an artist that might sound similar to him, Kero Kero Bonito would be a good place to start. Berkowitz says the Audio Engineering Club and the other creative minds at Stevens help him in his musical career. He enjoys the open mic nights and music production classes, which expose him to “different genres, styles, and practices that I would have not been able to experience.” He also names his Davis Hall dorm room as his recording studio for his EP 622danger, which “was about some boy that didn’t want me but I was obsessed with. It was really depressing honestly.” In the future, he hopes to be employed. He describes his frustration in his pursuit of job opportunities, saying it’s likely he may need to explore fields outside of his major to pay for school. Music and Technology majors have the lowest career outcome rate according to the 2021 Career Outcome Report, with 35% of graduates seeking employment. Supporting Stevens artists by streaming their music and attending events can help them get a leg up when searching for jobs.
Alexander (AJ) Kasper is a graduating senior, President of the Audio Engineering Club, a guitarist, a bassist, an engineer, and a music producer. Starting guitar as a hobby at five years old, music across genres has always been a part of Kasper’s life. Now, he lends his talents to many NJ artists and other Music and Tech majors, playing for “Flourish,” “Behind the Curtain,” “Exit 114,” “Cool and Good,” “Beekeeper,” “Porchlight,” “Chris Nitti and the Dream Blunt Rotation,” and multiple senior thesis projects. Kasper draws inspiration from classic rock artists like The Who, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, and Jimi Hendrix. He admires each of them for different reasons “whether it was Pete Townshend’s songwriting ability, Jimmy Page’s mystique, the cosmic energy of Eddie Van Halen, or the pure definition of cool that was Hendrix.” Kasper has recorded three full-length projects at Stevens, Cool and Good’s 2020 record We Used to Talk About Pizza, Porchlight’s 2022 debut EP The Goods are Odd, and his thesis, a 16-song album.
Kasper says his biggest takeaway from recording at Stevens is “how to deal with things that don’t go according to plan…I have learned how to think outside the box and quickly adapt my plans to work around these things.” Kasper claims he has simple aspirations, “similar to any field: find a job, make money at it, and hopefully enjoy doing it.” He says he’d like to play Madison Square Garden and join the ranks of music legends like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Kurt Cobain. He and his many bands have several upcoming events: Chris Nitti and The Dream Blunt Rotation on April 23 at Ithaca College, Beekeeper on April 24 for Sigma Delta Tau’s buffet event, and April 30 at Techfest. He’d also like to encourage all interested to sign up for the May 6 closing jam hosted by the Audio Engineering Club.
Finally, as an update to a previous article on musicians at Stevens, Jack Piccirillo, Sam Sherwood, and Matt Vera will be touring with up-and-coming artist Mei Nine this summer. Their first show will be on May 8, and they express their excitement about this new opportunity. “All three of us are excited to showcase what we’ve learned,” Piccirillo says. “It’s exciting to be a part of this newly formed group and we can’t wait to be there as the artist grows and gains more of a following.”
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