Ice Cream Man

Coachella 2007 Review

Words by Ice Cream Man
Photos by CraSH, Crew, Gregor AKA "12-596" , Ice Cream Man, James Boo, Jeremiah Garcia, Matthias Ingimarsson, Michael Ivankay, Rachel Ballard

Every festival we give away ice cream at is different. This is the third year we've been to Coachella to sling cream and with a lot of hard work we were able to set a new record with almost 5000 ice creams gifted to hot folks on their way on in. We had a little help too because they added a third day this year which gave us even more opportunities.

What made this year so special was that we were working with Warner Brothers and White Stripes. Rob Jones, the White Stripes resident artist designed, some super cool custom boxes with penguins on them for the treats to go in and we set up a stereo to debut tracks from The White Stripes new album, Icky Thump that comes out June 19th. We were very honored to be given this opportunity and it was so great when White Stripes fans would come up to the truck then freak out once they realized they were listening to brand new tracks.

Before we left for Indio we had a box folding party and a bunch of the Ice Cream Crew came down to Long Beach to help assemble the boxes Jakprints made for us. The box folding was a bit tedious but we knew it was something we didn't want to have to worry about once we got down to the desert. Due to only having so much space on the truck, we had to load up Bessie with as much cream as possible then, once an ice cream was ordered, we put the treat into a box. On Friday I was doing this solo for a bit which made me all the more thankful when James and Steph jumped in and helped for the rest of the weekend.

Since we didn't have a confirmed parking spot, everyday started as an adventure. On the way into the parking lot we'd kick down ice cream to all the people directing traffic. We'd then try to find the best parking spot where everyone would be walking by.

If you're wondering why I haven't mentioned anything about the main part about the festival, the music, it's because I didn't get to see ONE band while down there. This was mostly by choice though. Goldenvoice was kind enough to give us tix and photo passes and when it came time to figure out who would use them for the day, I wanted to make sure everyone in the crew had an opportunity to go in. Plus, Anthem Magazine was throwing a party in Rancho Mirage and James and I decided to head over there to see what that was all about.

Last year we slang a bunch of cream when Anthem threw their party at one of Frank Sinatra's old houses. It was a great time but it didn't compare to their setup this year. This time around the property was probably twice as big with an extra large, not too gaudy, house right in the middle. Around the outside when dozens of grapefruit trees and lots of grass where there was a bouncy house, ping pong table, and other games. Around back was THE pool with waterfalls and in-pool bar. The DJ's did their thing just above everything and the free Budweisers and Tito's Vodka drinks flowed.

When we rolled up with Bessie we were greeted with open arms. We made our way up the driveway and got the perfect parking spot right out front. After slinging a few dozen treats, the people walking around eating their Strawberry Shortcakes and Raspberry Swirls were perfect advertisements to rally some troops. It felt like we were in the middle of a music video shoot. This wasn't just THE party of Coachella but the benchmark for the right way to do these things. The people that run Anthem are very down to earth and work hard to make sure it's not just a place for celebs and celeb wanna be's (even though someone informed me that I had given Lindsay Lohan ice cream) I was far happier to see the extended Flosstradamus crew (with Kid Sister and A Trak) and I'm still wondering if the rumor of Daft Punk being there was true. Thanks to Ron, the owner of the house, for allowing it all to take place.

Bessie was having some electrical issues which required her to not be driven at night so right before the sun was about to set we'd roll back to our house and work on getting everything set for the following day. It was a bit strange to be hanging out watching Animal Planet and looking at the clock and thinking about Manu Chao or Rage Against the Machine playing a few miles away. It was all cool though, we just grabbed a couple more Pacificos with limes and headed pool side to relax in the hot tub while recollecting about how fun it is to give away free ice cream and to make people happy. There's a ton of work surrounding each event but when you're in the swing of things and have a line of people all excited to get free ice cream, it makes it all worth while.

Thanks to Guitar Center, Levi's, Warner Brothers, Chloe from Press Here Publicity, and White Stripes for helping us to give away thousands of free ice creams. We're up to 85,000 on our way to half a million and it looks like this summer is shaping up to be quite an adventure.