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Northern Star

Northern Illinois University’s student media since 1899

 

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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

Unlocking the mysteries behind books

By Mark Pietrowski | March 22, 2005

Nancy Adams grew up reading Nancy Drew novels and now regularly solves the Founders Memorial Library’s biggest mysteries - which books to buy and how to pay for them. Adams, a library technical assistant, has worked in the Founders Memorial Library’s...

Fantasy baseball keeps fans in the game

By Rachel Gorr | March 21, 2005

What’s more exciting than watching Paul Konerko hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth to win a big game? Making it your own accomplishment, of course. After decades of shouting at the television, man has found a way to feel more in control of America’s...

Sweeps searches for best Spring Break photo, entries due Wednesday

By Greg Feltes | March 21, 2005

How was your Spring Break? Fun? Exciting? Photogenic? Sweeps hopes so. We are now accepting digital or hard copy entries for our first-ever best Spring Break photo contest. Submissions will be judged on uniqueness, lighting, sharpness and wildness. Essentially,...

Let Jay-Z say it for you

By Chris Strupp | March 10, 2005

Wanting to go to bed, but having to go to the bathroom at 2 a.m. one day, I found that my shower was running. Thinking nothing of it, I go back downstairs to wait. To my surprise, the shower was not only occupied by my roommate but by his lady friend...

Jack Johnson: In Between Dreams

By Lindsey Rosati | March 10, 2005

Curl up in your closest hammock and watch out for the waves coming from the Oahu’s North Shore. Hawaiian Jack Johnson’s third album, "In Between Dreams," follows up the same elements introduced on his 2001 debut. The album is similar to his previous...

Have you Pimped your Ride ?

By Derek Wright | March 10, 2005

For the section’s March 31 cover story, WE is looking for students who have "pimped their rides." WE plans to feature a series of students or local residents who have spent countless hours and seemingly too much money altering their automobiles. WE...

Kings of Leon: Aha Shake Heartbreak

By Derek Wright | March 10, 2005

uccessful bands always have shticks. Whether it’s an image or a back story, acts that seize the public’s interest have a bit more to them than just great songs - regardless of how much it’s flaunted. Even bands like R.E.M., whose shtick was that...

“Be Cool”

By Marcus Leshock | March 10, 2005

In some distant bizarro world, "Be Cool" is a hilarious romp, propelled by an all-star cast of Hollywood legends. But here and now, "Be Cool" is as flat as the lifelines of a has-been/should-be cast. Picture a group of Hollywood suits sitting around a...

Artist of the Week

By Erin Wienke | March 10, 2005

Krod, a pop-punk quartet of two brothers and two friends, is guaranteed to make the crowd enjoy the show.

Eric Lindholm has been Krod’s drummer since the band formed almost three years ago. Matt Bensfield lays down bass, while his brother, Mark Bensfield plays guitar and adds vocals. Peter Tomeczko also plays guitar and sings.

The guys originally hail from Riverside and play most of their shows in the Chicago area. The band has hundreds of inside jokes. Their long-lasting friendship has had a positive influence on the way they work together. The guys have been putting the finishing touches on their first full-length album, to be released in February.

Krod credits some of its musical influences as Green Day, Blink 182, The Beatles, Brand New and Frank Sinatra. It also finds inspiration in local bands such as Split Habit. The older Bensfield, Matt, is listening to the “Secret Garden” soundtrack for an upcoming musical.

One of the most important things about Krod is its ability to write upbeat songs.

"It seems the current trend in music has been toward darker, heavier and pessimistic songs. We like to play music and have fun and want people to come and do the same with us," Lindholm said.

Their rambunctious stage presence and covers of oldies keeps crowds entertained and singing along.

When asked where the members of Krod see themselves in five years, Matt Bensfield said, "Still making music as a band that has developed since the early days of their musical career. That or in prison for indecent exposure."

For more information check out www.myspace.com/krod. or see them at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Holmes Student Center’s Diversions Lounge.

To be featured in the weekly Artist Of The Week column, contact [email protected].

Sports and music

By Kelly Johnson | March 10, 2005

How many people know who Gary Glitter is? Would you know if his hit song, "Rock and Roll (Part 2)," blared through the speakers leading into a timeout after the home basketball team nailed a three-point shot in the last few seconds of a game? If you are...

The Doves: The Storm

By Collin Quick | March 10, 2005

If Radiohead committed themselves to rock and put aside the experimentation, the sound they would emulate would be that of the Doves. Backed by guitar leads and snarling snare pops, the British trio reunite and return with a more mellow album than their...

The House to reopen for one night only

By Derek Wright | March 10, 2005

For one night only, The House, 263 E. Lincoln Highway, will reopen its doors. Kickstand Production, the company that booked events before the venue’s December 2004 closing, has rented the former bistro for Friday night. A show featuring Troubled Hubble,...