Don’t call him Hootie, call him a serious Xbox gamer

Cnet: Don’t deny it, you’ve derided the band name Hootie & the Blowfish.

Many think the name is silly so the lead singer–the guy everyone thinks is named Hootie–must be silly as well. Darius Rucker is in fact the singer’s name and he didn’t seem silly when we spoke on the phone last month. He seems friendly and fun loving and very interested in technology–specifically about videogames.

I’ll qualify that by noting he’s fun up to a point. When he’s playing EA Sports’ Madden NFL videogame, he likes to win and will get nasty if you try to sneak a peek at the plays he’s calling. He’s also serious when he discusses what EA can do to improve the game.

In a way, videogames are helping Rucker as he embarks on a new career as a country-music singer. He’s still a member of the Blowfish but his solo album, Learn to Live has sold over 370,000 copies and the single, Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It, has hit No.1 on the country charts. When he’s on the road, Rucker unwinds by playing nation-building games on his PC. Last month, Rucker’s interest in videogames paid off when he was named Microsoft’s Xbox "Artist of the Month."