Concrete masonry unit

A concrete masonry unit (CMU) – also called hollow block, concrete brick, concrete block, cement block, besser block, breeze block and cinder block – is a large rectangular block used in building construction.

Composition

Concrete blocks are made from cast concrete, e.g. Portland cement and aggregate, usually sand and fine gravel for high-density blocks. Lower density blocks may use industrial wastes as an aggregate. Lightweight blocks can also be produced using aerated concrete.

Nomenclature

Those that use cinders (fly ash or bottom ash) are called cinder blocks in Canada, the US and New Zealand, breeze blocks (breeze is a synonym of ash) in the UK and New Zealand, and hollow blocks in the Philippines. In Australia they are also known as besser blocks or besser bricks, because the American-based Besser Company is a major supplier of concrete-block-making machinery. Clinker blocks use clinker as aggregate. In non-technical usage, the terms cinder block and breeze block are often generalized to cover all of these varieties.

Cinder Block (musician)

Cinder Block (born Cindy Morgan, May 13, 1961) is an American punk rock vocalist and visual artist. Cinder sang for Fat Wreck Chords band, Tilt from 1992 to 2001.

She sang with all-girl band Fabulous Disaster for a short time. She would then go on to form the hardcore punk band, Retching Red.

Her lyrics typically focus on left wing political themes and other irreverent topics.

She was married to Jeffrey Bischoff, former Tilt guitarist, with whom she co-founded a licensing and merchandising store, Cinder Block Inc. Cinder makes silkscreens and has been doing so for almost two decades. She also worked for Fabula magazine and Punk Rock Confidential. Cinder earned a BFA in Theatre from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

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