Alumnus plays for charity

Rain glittered in front of bright spotlights while IU students clapped and bobbed their heads to the loud music in the backyard of the new fraternity Phi Kappa Sigma. On Tuesday night, the fraternity and the Alpha Xi Delta sorority hosted a benefit for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society by inviting several bands to play. This was the first concert ever thrown during Men's Rush Week at IU.\nBands and singers who took part included IU freshman Ryan Cook, DePauw University freshman Dave McMillin, a band tentatively named The Andy Long Experience and the long-awaited local celebrity Rich Hardesty.\n"This is the first big event we've planned," said sophomore Jon Anderson, who is in charge of public relations for Phi Kappa Sigma. "We hope to raise a couple thousand dollars." \nTickets for the event were $4 in advance and $5 at the door.\nThe fraternity approached Alpha Xi Delta to see if they could co-sponsor this event. The sorority readily agreed.\n"It's for a good cause and we always want to help out," said philanthropy chair Jenny Sung, a junior.\nThe Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is the fraternity's national philanthropy.\nBefore the show, Rich Hardesty, a '92 IU graduate, arrived at the fraternity in a rush, and plopped down in a chair with a sigh. Originally from LaPorte, Ind., Hardesty attended IU and graduated with a degree in business marketing. He said he was excited about playing in Bloomington once again.\n"The first thing I was told was that it was to raise money," Hardesty said. "I wanted to help."\nHardesty also played for Phi Kappa Sigma at Purdue University for years and jumped at the opportunity to do the same at IU.\n"It's also hard to turn down the opportunity to play for an underage crowd," Hardesty said. "It's hard to turn that down. And the fact that it was the first concert in history during rush week made it even better." \nHardesty will play at Kilroys Sports Bar Wednesday night.\nEarly in the evening, with rain drizzling over the small crowd, Cook stepped up to the microphone as the first act of the evening. He quickly obtained the attention of those who were present as he strummed his guitar and began to sing. Despite the weather, friends in the crowd huddled under multicolored umbrellas and enjoyed the show.\nMeanwhile, behind the scenes, the rest of the bands and crew, including Hardesty, anxiously kept their eyes on the sky, hoping the rain would let up. \n"It's just too bad the weather couldn't cooperate," Anderson said. "It's for such a good cause."\nA few more students trickled in as McMillin took the stage, and the rain started to come down a little harder. McMillin was able to get a helping hand to hold an umbrella while he played, and the crowd did not seem to mind as a few of them laughed and danced to the music.\nMcMillin, who released a CD this past June, said he loves to play in Bloomington and plans to return in October to play at Woodlawn Field.\n"I like to be able to share my talent with others while I help out at the same time," McMillin said. "Plus Bloomington is just awesome."\nWhen asked if he was excited about playing for the crowd, McMillin responded with a laugh, "I'm always pumped," he said.\nAs the daylight faded, the multicolored spotlights went on, and the crowd began to grow despite the dreary weather. The Andy Long Experience, a cover band, began to prep, removing protectant garbage bags off their equipment and tuning their instruments. The band consists of lead guitarist Andy Long, lead singer Kaitlin Kovach, drummer Dave Sippel, keyboardist Julian Sundby (who plays the "outrageous hammond B3"), Frank Horning, guitarist Josh Fulkerson and Joel Strait. Fulkerson, a fraternity brother, offered his band to play at the event.\n"This is a big thing for us," Long said. \nThe band was energetic and anxious to perform as they laughed and joked before the show.\nAs the band began to play, the crowd began to dance and sing along to well-known songs such as "Can't Touch This," by MC Hammer and "I'm a Believer," by the Beatles.\n"The rain hasn't dampened anyone's spirits," said fraternity Assistant Vice President Dave Zuidema. "We're still having a hell of a time"