I got up early on Sunday and made my way back to Bessie in Williamsburg. When I got my morning coffee at Fabiane’s I pulled out my trusty oversized laptop to check my email. Unbeknownst to me, it was National Ice Cream Day. Whoa….if I didn’t give away ice cream on National Ice Cream Day, I’d surely be struck down by the ice cream gods.
It’s not that easy on a Sunday to randomly throw together a full-on cream sling. I made a couple phone calls and got the OK from Doug at JellyNYC to give away ice cream at the Second Pool Party with Dead Meadow, The Slip, Mobius Band, and Psychic Ills. Next I started calling all over New York City trying to track down dry ice. I found some on the upper west side but didn’t have time to pick up ice cream and get Bessie over there and back. I called up my New York sidekick, Briana, to see what she was up to. She happened to be just a few blocks away from the ice place and was down for helping out. (to be honest wit cha y’all, she’s given away more ice cream in NYC then I have, but let’s keep that on the down low). I headed over to Kool Man and put in a last minute order. It was HOT out so I doubled up on fruit pops and went heavy on the other popsicles.
Since this was last minute and we didn’t have a sponsor, we had to improvise. Part of the deal with JellyNYC was that we would set up an extra large donation bucket and put signs on the truck encouraging people to donate a bit for the ice cream and the pool parties, both of which are free. Briana and I made up some quick signs and the onslaught began. Last weekend we gave away 1500 ice creams and had a few boxes of Julie’s Organic Ice Cream Sandwiches left over. I decided to be a bit conservative this time around due to not having much money to front. I think the word was out about the free cream and the stock was dwindling faster than I expected.
I rounded up Alex and asked him if he knew anyone who had a car or truck I could borrow to do a quick resupply. The donation bin was filling up fast and I was confident we could easily turn a few hundred more pieces. He offered his Saab and I grabbed the key. As I mentioned before, it was hella hot outside. Once I got in and started the car, I realized that the windows didn’t roll down. I’m skilled enough in driving a stick to be comfortable behind most but, for some reason, this one was giving me problems. I ended up making it to Kool Man but not without being drenched in sweat.
Thankfully Estrella at Kool Man works long hours. It was around 5 and they were still there to take care of all my needs. I ordered just under half of the first order then reached into the bag of donations to grab a handful of cash. The total for the cream was $129.95 and I happened to grab $130. weird… By the time I got back the girls had given away about everything and the new stock didn’t last long before we were clean out. Damn….people in New York really like ice cream.
Oh, I’m completely forgetting the music here. I guess I didn’t have the luxury of rocking out as much as I would have liked. Psychic Ills were a rockin four piece with plenty of hints of pscyh (surprise) and space jamness. Mobius Band brought out the electronic side in us all and paired it with some pop to keep the heads a bobbin’. The Slip has been around for probably a decade yet has all of a sudden they’ve generated quite a buzz do to some praise by Jim James of My Morning Jacket. Their music crossed most rock oriented genre’s and their newest music has an indie edge which goes well with their mad jam skills. I’m pretty sure Dead Meadow are the kings of Stoner Rock. Well, maybe kings of mid tempo stoner rock. (Been diggin that new Comets on Fire record and that’s way stoney). I was hiding in the Gibson Bus talking to Wolf about how he had had a bad day (ask me about that some time) and counting my mad duckets at the beginning of Dead Meadow’s set. I dished the money counting over to Doug and took off to get my rock on. I ran out and did my part before realizing I hadn’t been on the slip ‘n slide yet. Ran over there and caught the last ride of the day while it was deflating. Damn shorts were wet til I went to sleep that night.
As I was leaving that night I ran into the Ice Cream Mafia AKA Mr.Softee. I was cornered leaving McCarren Pool and the soft serve truck gave me the look of “what chu doing here”. I tried to blow him off but he wasn’t having it. He said, “I paid $175,000 for this truck”. I was tempted to tell him Bessie originally cost me $1,200 but that might have just pissed him off more. Instead I said, “I don’t have any ice cream.” He doubted me then just kept giving me that look. Eventually I told him I had been at the pool and he apologized and drove off. The first thing I did was look at my clock and realized it was past ten on a Sunday night and this guy was still working his hood. Damn, that’s some dedication. Dropped off Bessie on Bedford then headed down to Pete’s Candy Store for a Yuengling and some bones. There’s another story here but it ain’t really fit for print and there aren’t any pics to back it up. Maybe ask the guy’s at Pete’s if you’re ever down there.
Right now I’m in a bar in the Lower East side listening to Led Zeppelin while typing this review. Could life really get any better? I’m betting it does
Thanks to Briana, Liz, Arianna, Kool Man, JellyNYC, and all the peeps who pitched in to cover the cost of ice cream. And, if you’re wondering, JellyNYC ended up with 32 bucks…
