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(04/22/08 4:25am)
Residential Programs and Services, in conjunction with Volunteers in Sustainability, rolled out the fifth annual “End of the Year Collection” program April 14.\nThe program, which runs until the end of move-out on May 3, simultaneously helps divert excess trash from landfills and gives back to the local community, said RPS Director for Environmental Operations Steve Akers. Students can put non-perishable food items, clothing, furniture and school supplies they wish to donate in bins in any of the 11 residence halls. Items students donate will be funneled through local charity organizations such as Backstreet Missions, the Hoosier Hills Food Bank, Rhino’s Music Center, Teacher’s Warehouse and ReStore, said Volunteers in Sustainability coordinator Vanessa Caruso.\n“When students think about making Bloomington their home, this is their chance to return the favor,” Akers said. “Items they don’t want to take back home they can give to the community. It’s a philanthropy effort.”\nAkers started the project five years ago after local residents began complaining about the excessive amount of waste students produced during move-out. The amount of items students donate has increased every year since the start of the program. Last year, 30 truckloads of clothing and furniture were donated, as well as 25 to 30 55-gallon barrels of nonperishable food, Akers said.\n“This End of the Year Collection, we are cutting into (landfill waste) by 40 percent,” Akers estimated.\nThe most commonly donated items are clothing and non-perishable food items. Appliances and furniture will mostly likely get donated as move-out day gets closer, Akers said. If a student wishes to donate a big furniture item, such as a sofa, the student should go to the center desk of his or her residence hall to inquire about a pick-up time for the item. A truck will come by to pick it up free of charge, Akers said.\nSophomore Ashley Carter, who lives in Collins, said she was not aware of the collection program but has a box of clothes and purses that needs to be donated.\n“(The program) saves me a trip to Goodwill,” she said.\nStudents who do not live in the residence halls are also encouraged to donate unwanted items.\n“The less we send as a community to a landfill, the better we are,” Akers said.
(04/21/08 5:07am)
Fifteen bands representing diverse musical genres from hip-hop to indie jazz invaded Dunn Meadow Saturday for the 23rd annual WIUX Culture Shock. \nThe free music festival featured two stages in two tents. Festivalgoers watched a set in one tent, while a band set up in the other. The result was constant music. The tents were 40 by 40 feet and 40 by 60 feet, said WIUX special events director Jon Coombs. Show opener Impure Jazz played for a half-full tent at noon, but by the time headliners The Dodos and Beach House took the stage at 8:55 p.m. and 9:45 p.m., respectively, the tents were overflowing with people, Coombs said. \nCoombs was relieved that everything went so smoothly, especially after some last-minute power problems on Friday. Renting a generator solved the power problem, but weather predictions called for thunderstorms all day Saturday. It rained lightly for “maybe an hour,” Coombs said.\n“We couldn’t have asked for anything better,” he said. “(The weather) was gorgeous, and all the bands showed up on time.”\nIU senior Olaolu Jegede was at the festival for the better part of the day, and said the Chicago Afrobeat Project was a highlight of his festival experience.\nAfrobeat music originated in Nigeria, Chicago Afrobeat Project percussionist Danjuma Gaskin said. He described his music as “a mixture of traditional Nigerian rhythms fused with North American funk.” Nigerians also used the music as a platform for political beliefs, Gaskin said, and the band’s song “March of the Uninsured” was written in the same vein.\n“They stay true to Afrobeat,” Jegede said.\nGaskin said the band is fond of playing on college campuses because of the high-energy crowds. The band did a drum workshop on campus earlier this year.\nWIUX station manager Craig Shank enjoyed the whole show and said hip-hop artist Blueprint “stole the show” with his 6:45 p.m. set. Blueprint, the 33-year-old “old school” rapper, was the only artist representing hip-hop at this year’s festival. He enjoyed his time in Bloomington, he said while signing CDs for fans after his set. \nMahjongg took the stage shortly after Blueprint.\nBetween Mahjongg and The Dodo’s set, senior Kraegan Graves sat on a blanket on the north side of Dunn Meadow. Graves enjoyed local act Good Luck the most but was looking forward to The Dodos. Graves watched the entire festival.\n“Jon Coombs did a great job mixing it up with the bands,” he said.\nCoombs said his goal this year was to live up to the festival name and get as many diverse acts on the bill as possible.\n“We had jazz, hip-hop, world and electric (music),” he said. “I hope eventually we will have even more styles.”
(04/16/08 4:30pm)
Blueprint might be the hardest working fixture of underground hip-hop. After nearly a decade in the rap game, it’s way past due for the Columbus, Ohio, rapper/producer to make a Clipse-like crossover from the darling of hip-hop heads to powerhouse indie outfit.
(04/09/08 4:39pm)
George Clooney’s third outing as a director, “Leatherheads,” returns to his love of period pieces and Hollywood throwbacks. This time, though, Clooney tries (too hard) for laughs in his weakest performance to date behind the camera.
(04/02/08 7:02pm)
With its trippy-electronic pop production and the infectious single “Crazy,” Gnarls Barkley’s St. Elsewhere was the album of the summer in 2006.
(03/19/08 6:07pm)
The third Dr. Seuss book to be turned into a feature-length film, “Horton Hears a Who!” is the most enjoyable to date.
(03/05/08 6:40pm)
Last spring break, in a small village in the Dominican Republic, IU junior Tim Gross awoke to rays of sun flooding into his open-air dormitory room.
(03/03/08 2:29am)
The state senate voted 26-21 Wednesday on a bill that will allow establishments with liquor licenses to offer pull-tabs and other low-stakes gambling games to their patrons. This vote comes on the heels of Indiana state legislatures voting to allow slot machines at horse tracks last year.\nTwo versions of the bill have been approved by the state senate. The differences between the two bills will be ironed out in a conference committee before the governor signs it into law, said Indiana State Senator Mike Delph, R-Carmel. Delph voted against the bill.\n“Indiana is addicted to gambling and needs to go into rehab,” Delph said.\nA pull-tab is a small gaming piece constructed of paper and imprinted with concealed numbers or symbols, according to the North American Gaming Regulators Association and the Whole World Lottery Guide. A player pulls the tab to reveal the number or symbol on the inside. A player wins if the number or symbol matches what is designated a winner by the manufacturer.\nAccording to the bill, HB 1153, retailers are required to maintain accurate records of all finances of the retailer’s gambling operation. Total payout for one type of gambling game may not exceed $5,000, and the payout percentage must be stated on the ticket.\nMoney allocated from pull-tabs by the state may be used for any lawful purpose.\nYogi’s Grill and Bar manager Chris Karl said he wouldn’t mind patrons coming into his bar to gamble. Depending on how the pull-tab legislation is structured, he would sell the gaming pieces from a vending machine in a section of his restaurant designated 21 and over.\nKarl said he would allow any kind of gambling in his restaurant if gaming is ever legalized by the state. He said the pull-tab bill is a step in that direction.\n“This will quickly turn into electronic pull-tabs,” he said. “And then perhaps video slots in the bar area.”\nDelph believes Indiana has started down a slippery slope.\n“Last year slot machines, this year pull-tabs, next year, who knows what?” Delph said. “Greed has no boundaries.”
(02/07/08 5:00am)
When folksinger Carrie Newcomer discovered her authentic Hoosier voice, she felt more comfortable with her writing and singing. The voice, which Newcomer describes as "a polite firebrand" is showcased on her 10th studio album The Geography of Light. It was recorded at Bloomington's AirTime Recording Studio.\n"(I) may be saying things that are radical, powerful and authentic but there is a certain kind of good-heartedness to it," Newcomer said.\nCarrie Newcomer will be performing her country-folk style of music Feb. 9 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. The show is a CD-release concert for The Geography of Light.\nNewcomer is currently on a nationwide tour that encompasses New York and Boston, among other cities.\nNewcomer is originally from Elkhart, Ind., but she moved to Bloomington in 1990 to be close to her ailing mother. Nearly two decades later, Newcomer still lives in Bloomington, and said the community inspires much of her work. \nHer song "Geodes" off Geography of Light is an example of how her music is inspired by Bloomington and Southern Indiana. \n"Around here we throw geodes in our gardens / They're as common as the rain or corn silk in July / Unpretentious browns and greys the stain of Indiana Clay."\n"('Geodes') is a statement of faith for me," Newcomer said. "Geodes are such a wonderful metaphor, and they're so commonplace here in Southern Indiana," she said.\n"They look like funky brown rocks from the outside, and then there's this amazing, sparkling center to them." \nNewcomer writes about other topics as well in her newest album, such as modern Internet connections. \nThe final track "Don't Push Send" is a deliberate departure from the album's stripped-down, slow-tempo songs. It features many strings and a sing-along beat. The song was inspired by stories Newcomer heard on the road about e-mail messaging gone awry. She said we are living in a world where we are easily connected to the Internet but at the same time more isolated from people than ever. \nThe song chronicles men and women who send e-mails in either aggravated or inebriated states of mind and the consequences that follow. \nThrough popular demand by her fans, the song has spurned the Web site dontpushsend.com that will be up later this month, Newcomer said. On the site, fans can download the song for free and post embarrassing e-mails they have either sent or received.\nThe goal of the Web site is to present the simple idea that "human beings are funny," Newcomer said. \nAfter a dozen albums in the last 15 years, Newcomer is a veteran writer and storyteller. She is involved in creative-writing workshops on college campuses such as Duke and Harvard and also conducted a workshop at an Indiana women's correctional facility. But she said she will always be an artist and songwriter before a teacher.\n"A song has to unfold in a very elegant way," Newcomer said. "It needs to be powerful, poetic and condensed. Something about that format makes me happy." \nBefore her tour begins, Newcomer reflected on herself and her growth as an artist.\n"What I find as an artist and a person, when I pay attention, when I peel back the layers of all these distractions and I get down to what really matters, that's where my life happens, that's where my art happens and that's where I see miracles," Newcomer said.
(01/24/08 5:00am)
From Bloomington to the Fox reality show "The Next Great American Band" to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, Dot Dot Dot is taking its glam-drenched sound all over the country. \nSubsequently, rumors about Dot Dot Dot have been flying rampant: The Chicago-based quintet's founder and guitarist/lead singer Adam Blair may or may not possess both sexes' sets of reproductive organs, drummer Stephan Konkhe was allegedly in the band Menudo while guitarist Rose was purchased by the band. Michael, the keyboardist, might have 12 fingers, and bassist Little Lisa could be the world lightweight kickboxing champion. \nBlair embraces the rumors; he made them up himself. Leaking disinformation to the media has become somewhat of a pastime for him and the band, a hobby that started when they told a reporter a little fib about a big fake lawsuit that resulted in the name Dot Dot Dot. \n"When they (the rumors) stop, that's when I am going to be worried," Blair said, seemingly providing commentary on what it takes to stay relevant in the media nowadays.\nDot Dot Dot has not been an official band for more than 10 months, but in that short time, it has put out an eight-song self-titled album, played countless gigs around the country and spent two-and-a-half months on the Fox reality show "The Next Great American Band." \nNow, eight weeks after finishing fifth on the show, Dot Dot Dot is playing two back-to-back shows in Bloomington, the city where the idea to audition for "The Next Great American Band" was hatched. \nWhen Dot Dot Dot was in Bloomington last April, it shot an audition tape in its Motel 6 hotel room between shows at the Bluebird and Jake's.\n"We were totally improvising," Blair said. "Everything (from the tape) they show on TV is just us messing around."
(01/17/08 5:00am)
A man in an oversized trench coat was quietly reading a book in one of the booths Monday, Jan. 7 at The Bluebird Nightclub. It was 20 minutes before the start of karaoke night and the bar was nearly empty, but soon the bar was buzzing with would-be superstars. The man in the trench coat marked the page he was reading with a ticket stub from an American Idol tryout and made his way to the stage.\nFox brought karaoke singers from across the country into our living rooms with the 7th season of "American Idol" Jan. 8, but the man in the trench coat, Bloomington resident John Hanson, wasn't watching.\nHanson said he drove to Philadelphia, Penn., to try out for this season's show. He thought it would be "the easiest way to get a record deal."\nHe didn't make it onto the show and said the judges were looking for a certain type of character when he tried out. He said many good singers who auditioned with him didn't make the cut either.\n"They were looking for freaks; anybody with a costume got in," Hanson said.\nHanson enjoys performing, and he doesn't need a costume or a ticket to get behind the microphone at the Bluebird.\nKaraoke night at the Bluebird is not just an event; every Monday night it's a different world where ordinary citizens can escape the confines of their day jobs and the real world if only for one song. Some sing to remember, some sing to forget.\n"This is my one-night-a-week affair from real life," said emcee Jason Groth.\nOne never knows what to expect in karaoke world. On that particular Monday, roughly 50 people were in the audience.\nBut Spynn, a 27-year-old Bloomington resident and karaoke-night regular who refused to divulge her real name, said she has sung to an at-capacity Bluebird audience at least once. Spynn said you have to be tough and outgoing to get on stage and "do your thing."\n"It's a real stage, a real sound system," Spynn said. "You can be a real star right here at the Bluebird."\nIt's clear Spynn has no trouble finding her toughness. Besides singing every Monday, Spynn is also a member of a hard-hitting, all-female Bloomington roller-derby team. \nSpynn has never been shy, either, and realized she wanted to be a singer when her parents took her to Union Station in Indianapolis to make a karaoke tape. She sang Whitney Houston's "Greatest Love of All" on the tape.\nTwenty years later at the Bluebird, Spynn was singing Dolly Parton's "Jolene." She hit every note, and when the song was over, she spun around in place, a move she used to punctuate all her performances that night. Spynn likes to perform '80s country songs, although she won't sing any new country or pop. \nShe occasionally will perform Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" to prevent other karaoke singers from performing less than perfect renditions.\n"Somebody's going to sing it, and I rather it not get butchered," Spynn said.\nSpynn may be able to prevent songs from being butchered at the Bluebird, but she can't stop Fox from airing some of America's worst singers on national television at the beginning of each season of "American Idol." \nHanson refuses to watch the singers who beat him out for this season of "American Idol," but he is content with his gig as a Monday-night superstar at the Bluebird. \nSinging on stage is like sharing an intimate experiences with others through song for Hanson.\n"Maybe they can take (those experiences) home with them and take them to heart later," Hanson said. "That's what it's all about: the magical art of music. I don't know any better way to put than that, man"
(01/10/08 5:00am)
The heroes came from all over Bloomington, braving the cold of the second official day of the winter season. They congregated in the back room of Bear's Place, a room most well-known for Comedy Caravan performances. But that night, it was the battleground for the "Guitar Hero 3" tournament.\nEvent organizer Dan Coleman said he created the tournament because he heard people boasting about their "Guitar Hero 3" skills everywhere he went. He wanted to give people like those a chance to put their money where their mouths are. \nContestants entered the tournament by paying $5 and picking what division they wanted to rock in: beginner, medium, hard, or expert. Contestants' names were then put into a pitcher and drawn randomly. Two players competed at a time on a song also selected randomly by Coleman. The player with the most points at the end of the song, which are based on the accuracy and deftness of hitting the notes, moved to the next round. The winner of the division took the money accumulated by the contestants. \nAfter the Play Station 2s were hooked up to the giant projection screen and players calibrated the whammy bars to get some last-minute practice, the tournament began. The beginner and hard divisions went first, followed by the medium then expert. \nCompetition heated up in the expert division as Bloomington residents Sara Pierpont and Matt Wissig performed "Take This Life," a song that, as the guitar hero screen stated, was "made famous by" Swedish death metal group In Flames. The contestants smashed the technicolor buttons on the guitar necks and tugged at the whammy sticks with chaotic precision. On screen, the green, red, yellow, blue and orange notes flew down at dizzying speeds. \nThe characters on stage in the video game fantastically and stylishly wailed the chords (with Wissig's character inexplicably levitating and floating around at one point) in stark contrast to the stiff, mechanical motions of their human controllers. Wissig even sat on a chair while he played, more closely resembling B.B. King in his latter days than Slash from the "Guitar Hero 3" television commercial.\nThe match between Pierpont and Wissig was close, and the audience cheered and jeered at the two contestants, as spectators would in any intense competition. \n"Chicks rule!" one bar goer shouted. \n"Only pussies play sitting down!" yelled another, sipping on a hipster-approved $1.50 bottle of Pabst Blue Ribbon. \nWissig was undaunted by the jeer, but stood up anyway. He went on to win this battle by 60,000 points due to his button-tapping agility and advanced to the championship round. The 23-year-old then went up against Joel Echelbarger to perform the Aerosmith truck-driver jam "Same Old Song and Dance." Wissig ultimately won the final round and the $30 grand prize. \nAfter winning the expert-division tournament, Wissig hung around with some buddies and shared his "Guitar Hero 3" insights, most notably about how playing drums for his band Ponyboy is a crucial part of his success in "Guitar Hero 3".\n"Drummers do good because they are used to rhythm. Strumming is like the high hats -- it's all about the timing."\nWissig converses more with his friends as the conversation drifts further from the topic of Guitar Hero 3. Although he is Bloomington's expert-division "Guitar Hero 3" champion, the game is seemingly not a center part of his life. \n"It's kind of dorky, but I'll take what I can get. When the students come back, I'll have more competition." \nThe next "Guitar Hero 3" tournament will be held Jan. 30 at Bear's Place.
(12/06/07 5:00am)
Two decades ago, rock professor Andy Hollinden was rummaging around his old office in the basement of the Music Addition when he came across an old, defunct typewriter under the sink in his bathroom. It was caked with decades of dirt and dust, and most people would have just tossed it in the nearest dumpster. But the man who keeps a sign reading "Will Profess for Food" in the trunk of his car had grander plans for the sad, ancient device. He cleaned it, spray painted it gold and etched the words "Trust Yourself" across the middle keys. \n"I want to spray paint everything gold," Hollinden said.\nSomeone's forgotten hunk of metal became Hollinden's "magic gold typewriter" and is displayed predominately on the cover of his fourth and latest album Trust Yourself.\n"It's the underlying theme of everything I say when I teach," Hollinden said of the only two words that can be typed on his golden typewriter.\nOn Thursday at the Bluebird, Hollinden will perform eight songs from Trust Yourself (the show will be the first time the album is made available to nonstudents) along with an hour-and-a-half set of classic rock covers. IU's other favorite rock professor Glenn Gass will join Hollinden and his band on stage for a few songs as well. While other music professors routinely perform concerts and recitals, this is the first time Hollinden has performed in 11 years -- and the first time in 16 years for Gass.\n"Two months ago, if you would have told me I was going to perform at all, I would have thought you were crazy," Hollinden said.
(11/29/07 5:00am)
After more than three years of waiting, The Dillinger Escape Plan is back with its new studio album Ire Works. It can go without saying that this album is well worth the long wait.\nDillinger always seems aware of what it is trying to accomplish. Its previous release Miss Machine presented listeners with the standard repertoire of polyrhythms, intense guitar lines and shrill vocals, but also included more straightforward, hard-core songs. Ire Works presents the same idea.\nFor the straightforward tunes, "Black Bubblegum" lacks the complexity that usually belongs in Dillinger's songs but is admittedly catchy. The vocal melodies and background glockenspiel are performed with perfection and are well-written, proving to any naysayers or dissenters that the members of Dillinger are learned artisans and can actually write music. "Milk Lizard," on the other hand, sounds like collaboration with Avenged Sevenfold and, once again, is simplistic in design.\nThe album is sprinkled with multiple instances of electronic and even drum-'n'-bass-sounding sections. The song "Dead As History" has electronic ambience in the background for the entirety of the song. "Sick on Sunday" offers an example of Dillinger's superb production skills and opens with its interpretation of drum 'n' bass music. The closing track "Mouth of Ghosts" is absolutely amazing, simply because it doesn't sound at all like a song Dillinger would have written. It seems like the kind of song that would be on a record by Bad Plus or some other rockin' jazz group. The song becomes complete with piano accompaniment, clave, shakers and excellent drumming. \nThat brings up a very important facet of Ire Works -- Dillinger has a new drummer, Gil Sharone. Former drummer Chris Pennie allegedly quit because of monetary issues that he felt Coheed and Cambria could ease. Ire Works quickly eliminates any doubt about Sharone's inability to live up to Pennie's legend. Sharone brings more groove to Dillinger, making the music flow better and seem less stiff.\nIre Works is worth every second of the three-year wait for its release. It offers many unexpected twists and turns and takes the listener through multiple music genres. It's astonishing, brilliant, complex and beautiful. That's right, The Dillinger Escape Plan is beautiful.
(11/27/07 4:00pm)
He’s crossed the Sahara, explored the ancient cities of Yemen, and was nearly trampled by an elephant.
(11/13/07 2:14am)
Brother Ali is a life-long fan of hip hop. What began as break dancing on street corners in the late ‘80s spawned three albums and a chance to tour with rap pioneer Rakim. Before performing Tuesday at The Bluebird as part of the “Hip-Hop Live Tour” with Ghostface Killah, Rakim and the Rhythm Roots Allstars, Brother Ali talked to the Indiana Daily Student via cell phone from his tour bus.
(11/13/07 2:03am)
To create hip-hop music live on stage without a DJ or a looped sample might be unorthodox, but Davey Chegwidden, band leader for the Rhythm Roots Allstars, does it every night of the “Hip-Hop Live!” tour. The 10-piece band, which will stop at 9 p.m. today at The Bluebird as part of the tour, provides a unique experience for concertgoers.\n“Ten guys moving around on stage creates energy with the crowd, energy in which we feed off, and, in turn, the MC feeds off as well,” Chegwidden said.\nToday’s show, featuring Ghostface Killah, Brother Ali and Rakim, will open with the Rhythm Roots Allstars playing a 30-minute set of original material. They will then be joined onstage by Brother Ali, followed by Ghostface Killah. Rap pioneer Rakim will close the show, for “a good two and a half hours of music,” Chegwidden said. \nBrother Ali said a live band at a hip-hop show makes everyone on stage work harder and that work ethic is reminiscent of the golden age of hip hop in the 1980s. To prepare for the tour, the “Hip-Hop Live!” MCs sent the Rhythm Roots Allstars their set lists. Chegwidden said they kept the songs as close to the original recordings as possible, but added their own interpretations when applicable. \n“I think (the MCs) like that it’s a little different,” he said. “We’ve played with a lot of MCs. They weren’t really sweating too much about the lack of a DJ.”\nBluebird promoter Aaron Estabrook said the venue brought the “Hip-Hop Live!” tour to Bloomington with a unique fan experience in mind. Estabrook said it’s rare for the hip-hop genre to have a live band backing the MCs.\n“This is one of the most anticipated shows at the Bluebird this year,” he said.\n“Hip Hop Live!” will start at 9 p.m. today. Tickets are $28 and can be purchased at The Bluebird box office or through Ticketmaster. This show is for ages 21 and up.
(11/08/07 5:00am)
The people have spoken. The best bartender in Bloomington is IU senior Elke Morgan, bartender extraordinaire at Kilroy's Bar and Grill.\n"She's a hard worker," fellow Kilroy's bartender and IU senior Meera Jogani said. "She keeps pushing herself to be better in everything she does."\nElke, whose hobbies include baby-sitting and scrap booking, works about 20 hours a week at Kilroy's. \nHer Tuesday shifts begin at midnight.\nTuesdays are big nights at Kilroy's. Its famous $2 Tuesdays drink specials give IU students a sound economic reason to hit the bars on an otherwise arbitrary school night. With Elke behind the bar, patrons get their drinks in no time. Juggling a dozen customers at once, Elke buzzes around like a bee, taking orders, pouring drinks, collecting tabs and tossing the occasional yellow birthday shirt into the sea of customers. \nWork is play for Elke, who is known to break into a little dance when things get too stressful. But tonight, Elke is all business, doing what she does better than anyone in Bloomington. Tomorrow, though, is Halloween, and Elke has the night off. Sitting in a booth at Kilroy's on the afternoon of Halloween, Elke plays the part of patron. Over a couple rounds of drinks, Elke reflects on bartending, lame pick-up lines and reality television.
(11/01/07 4:00am)
The Comedians of Comedy Tour takes the stage at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater on Tuesday, Nov. 6. The tour showcases Maria Bamford, Brian Posehn, Doug Benson and Patton Oswalt. Oswalt, who dreamed up the tour, talked to WEEKEND about the show, the movie "Ratatouille" and humored us with a fun little game of word association.
(10/26/07 12:25am)
The second of four scheduled high-profile hip hop shows at the Bluebird, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, will perform Friday night, with Texas rapper Devin the Dude opening for him.\nDel, who describes his rap flow as “angry aggressive,” promises a high-energy performance. Early in his career, Del said he wasn’t thinking about performing songs live when he created them, but now there is a synergy between the music he makes in the studio and that of which he performs to live audiences.\n“The live show is paramount,” Del said.\nDel began his hip-hop career in 1990 writing lyrics for his cousin Ice Cube’s rap group Da Lench Mob. He released his first solo album in 1991. Then came Hieroglyphics, a hip-hop super group. In 2001, Del co-wrote and rapped on the Gorillaz hit “Clint Eastwood.” His fifth studio album, “11th Hour”, will be coming out within the next year.\n“Get down on the ‘11th Hour,’” Del said. “It will be a dope album; I will perform a little bit (of it) when I get there.”\nDevin the Dude started recording solo albums in 1998 and has collaborated with Scarface, UGK, Jay-Z, Nas, Dr. Dre and the late DJ Screw. Fans of Devin appreciate his laid-back southern croon and his care-free delivery. Songs like “Doobie Ashtray” and “Sticky Green” are about recreational drug use. Devin the Dude released his fourth studio album, “Waiting to Inhale” earlier this year. \n“I get the energy from the audience and then I give it right back to them,” he said. “It’s a recycling of energy.”\nThe show starts at 10 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $15 and are still available at Ticketmaster and the Bluebird box office.
