John Brim - Ice Cream Man
Some of my interactions with my musical heroes over the years were, on the surface very special, and still others were unexpectedly hilarious. Such was the case with John Brim, who some of you will remember as the author of the song Ice Cream Man, made famous by Van Halen. But I think of John Brim in terms of 1950s Chicago blues. To me he was right there with all those great Chicago players making unbelievably great music.
My brief interaction with John Brim involved going to a show of his at Harper's Ferry in Allston. He was in town with the band I knew formerly as Big Jack Johnson's band. He had just released a recording on the Tone-Coll label, owned by my friend Rosy Rosenblatt. (Ice Cream Man, Tone Cool 1994). On the same night that he played at Harpers Ferry, over at the House of Blues Billy Boy Arnold was onstage with Willie "Big Eyes" Smith; Calvin "Fuzz" Jones; Hubert Sumlin and David Maxwell. Rosy, knowing that I knew the staff at HOB asked if I wouldn't mind taking the band, along with John Brim over so that he could see his old friends. Um, yeah I can do that.....
For most of the trip John didn't speak a word. While I was concentrating on driving (while secretly freaking that John was in the van) my friend Greg Sarni was making small talk. Greg asked the band if they had dined on any seafood while they were here. At some point during the conversation Greg spoke of how he learned the hard way that he was allergic to shellfish, describing the nervousness he felt when his throat became restricted. From the backseat I heard a loud laugh out of Mr Brim,
The real joy for me, that night came as we topped the staircase leading up to the bandstand at the Cambridge House of Blues. The moment Billy Boy's eyes made contact with John Brim he flashed a huge grin, and turned to the other members of the band to alert them of John's presence. It quickly became obvious to me that John was the big man here; the upper classman.
And the ensuing reunion made for a fantastic night!
My brief interaction with John Brim involved going to a show of his at Harper's Ferry in Allston. He was in town with the band I knew formerly as Big Jack Johnson's band. He had just released a recording on the Tone-Coll label, owned by my friend Rosy Rosenblatt. (Ice Cream Man, Tone Cool 1994). On the same night that he played at Harpers Ferry, over at the House of Blues Billy Boy Arnold was onstage with Willie "Big Eyes" Smith; Calvin "Fuzz" Jones; Hubert Sumlin and David Maxwell. Rosy, knowing that I knew the staff at HOB asked if I wouldn't mind taking the band, along with John Brim over so that he could see his old friends. Um, yeah I can do that.....
For most of the trip John didn't speak a word. While I was concentrating on driving (while secretly freaking that John was in the van) my friend Greg Sarni was making small talk. Greg asked the band if they had dined on any seafood while they were here. At some point during the conversation Greg spoke of how he learned the hard way that he was allergic to shellfish, describing the nervousness he felt when his throat became restricted. From the backseat I heard a loud laugh out of Mr Brim,
The real joy for me, that night came as we topped the staircase leading up to the bandstand at the Cambridge House of Blues. The moment Billy Boy's eyes made contact with John Brim he flashed a huge grin, and turned to the other members of the band to alert them of John's presence. It quickly became obvious to me that John was the big man here; the upper classman.
And the ensuing reunion made for a fantastic night!