Soon after Coachella I hopped on a flight to New York to pitch an Ice Cream Man TV show. Actually, it was more of an introductory meeting but it was opportunity I wasnt going to let pass by.
Before I arrived I contacted my friend, Michael Hearst who makes the music I play from Bessie, the ice cream truck. I figured if I was gonna head into a serious meeting, I better have some ice cream and some tunes to go along with it. Michael and I met up in front of the building about 10 minutes before the meeting to briefly discuss our strategy. I had a recently purchased shoulder sling full of ice cream and he had his melodica. As we rode the elevator up we both put on paper ice cream man hats then marched into the main office. We gave away a few treats near the receptionists desk then headed into the conference room. During our meeting we all ate some ice cream and talked about different options and ideas of how to tie in free ice cream with a TV show that also had more components to keep people entertained. Then Michael had some time to pitch his new CD, Songs for Ice Cream Trucks, and plug the idea that hed be able to help with any music if an Ice Cream Man show did actually come about.
After the meeting Michael and I met outside and he said he had to get running to make an ice cream pushcart for his Songs for Ice Cream Trucks concert he was putting on a couple nights later. After a trip to Coney Island, Kate and I got hopped off the train around Park Slope and headed to Barbes to catch their first performance. Come to think of it, there prolly hasnt been another live concert of just ice cream truck music before…..ever. We headed next door to Colson Patisserie to check out the ice cream selection then posted up in the small room/performance space at Barbes to find out exactly what these songs were going to sound like live.
As Michael entered the venue he had his pushcart in tow and was handing out free cream. We lucked out and got some hazelnut which hit the spot. They performed most of the tracks from the CD and I still think my favorite is Where do ice cream trucks go in the winter? Its perfect to play from the ice cream truck, and sounds just as good live. Ice Cream Yo was super grooving and, at the end of the set, most of the kids in the audience came up in their ice cream hats to sing along for the finale. The glockenspiel, tuba, keyboard combo was the perfect mix to keep the energy high and people entertained.
Check out Songs for Ice Cream Trucks and you can also watch this cool video of Michael making his ice cream cart for the festivities.
You can also try to check out the New York Times article on Michael (which I happed to be quoted in).
The Official CD Release show is this weekend, May 26th, at Housing Works Bookstore at 7:30 if youd like to attend. There will be free ice cream courtesy of 5 Boroughs Ice Cream.
