Ice Cream Man

Rodriguez is, by far, one of the coolest artists Ice Cream Man has exposed me to. The story behind his ascendancy to success is a fascinating tale alone. After recording a few albums in the 70’s that received little attention in America, Rodriguez gave up his career as a musician. However, over the following twenty years, those recorded tracks gained airplay in Australia, New Zealand, Rhodesia, and South America as the artist gained cult status. In fact, a re-released album of his went platinum in South Africa without his knowing. Rodriguez only learned of his popularity in 1998 when his daughter found a fan website devoted to him. Since then, he has returned to the music world and has been touring.

Ten years later, our gig at the Echoplex was one of two shows Rodriguez has played this side of the Mississippi in 20 years. The venue was flushed with young and old alike, and an actress milling around in the crowd provided the Hollywood touch.

While his music would definitely be characterized as classic rock – the guitar retaining the timbre of a more bluesy era – the layering and song structure may have certainly been before it’s time. His original recorded tracks combine flavors of The Mama’s and The Papa’s with the raspy, tongue in cheek bite of Bob Dylan, along with the additional soul of Motown. As for the current evolution of his live show, rather than adhering to a common pop structure, the composition builds and adds textures from eight musicians, (including three guitars, keyboard, drums, percussion, and two horns). Each tune’s melodic variation had me repeating, “This is the jam!” throughout the set. The live set Rodriguez paired the style of The Grateful Dead and the ingenuity of Deerhoof and Panda Bear, it blew my mind.

Many thanks to Kate at Light In The Attic and Mr. David Gooch. I feel as though I got to experience a music industry anomaly.