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Soundcheck

Thursday, May 17, 2007
  • (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20918261@N00/500376036/" target="_blank">b.frahm</a>/flickr)
    (b.frahm/flickr)

    Raising the Ice Cream Bar

    Move over, "Pop Goes the Weasel." A local musician wants to replace the tinny songs we hear blasting from ice-cream trucks all summer long. Today on the show, we’ll find out if cool-treat vendors are giving him a warm welcome. Plus, the New Orleans indie-rock band Rotary Downs performs live in our studio.

Songs for Ice Cream Trucks

Like it or not, ice-cream trucks provide the soundtrack to summer for city dwellers. Unfortunately, most trucks seem to play a single song over and over again. We talk to Brooklyn-based musician Michael Hearst about his plight to convince vendors to use songs from his new album Songs for Ice Cream Trucks. We also speak to an artist who's holding a competition for new riffs on an old tune.

"Songs for Ice Cream Trucks" web site
Ice Cream Headache Song Competition
Michael Hearst's ice cream cart video

Rotary Downs

Indie rockers Rotary Downs may not sound like they're from New Orleans, but the seven-year-old group stuck by their local music scene during tough times after Hurricane Katrina. Fresh from a performance at New Orleans' Jazzfest, the band talks about their latest album, Chained to the Chariot, and performs live in our studio.

Rotary Downs web site
Rotary Downs on MySpace

Introducing our Video Contest

Soundcheck

John Schaefer gives the lowdown on Soundcheck's music video challenge with the Fiery Furnaces.

In Studio: Matisyahu

Soundcheck

Hasidic star Matisyahu joins Soundcheck to play "One Day" live in studio.

In Studio: Los Amigos Invisibles

Soundcheck

The Venezuelan funk-rock band "Los Amigos Invisibles" was discovered by David Byrne in a Manhattan record shop. They perform live on Soundcheck.

In Studio: Angel Deradoorian

Soundcheck

The 22-year-old multi-instrumentalist performs live in our studio.

Cucu Diamantes Performs Amor Cronico

Soundcheck

Cucu Diamantes went from a tough childhood in Havana, Cuba, to an art school in Rome to underground New York City, where she co-founded the Latin alternative band Yerba Buena.

In Studio: The Decemberists

The Portland, Ore., band's latest album, "The Hazards of Love," is a concept album with a mythological flair. They joined Soundcheck to play live for a studio audience in WNYC's Greene Space.

Sound Off

Soundcheck

Throughout May, Soundcheck presents “Sound Off” a Friday series on the many aspects of noise in music and our lives. The series -- which coincides with “Better Hearing and Speech Month” -- looks at issues like New York’s noisiest neighborhoods, the latest research on iPods and hearing loss, and what happens when noise becomes a musical ingredient.