UNDERGOROUND punk band Ice Cream have performed more than 30 shows in two years yet all the band members are teenagers. But when Time out saw the band on the stage at the Woodstock Underground Festival held recently in the Excel Tower, we found a band far more mature than their years would suggest, despite their young looks and uniforms. Time out had a chat with lead singer Yan Lay backstage after the performance.
Timeout: Tell us about your band, Ice Cream boy.
Yan Lay: I’m the vocal and lead guitarist Yan Lay. Ice cream have been together since 2006 although there have been some band member changes. Drummer Lin Htet and I are the original members. The other two are second lead guitarist Beik Thar and the bass guitarist Yeyint. Yeyint is the youngest and is only 12-years old.
He’s really cool!
Yeah, he’s very impressive. We are very proud to have a band mate who can play skillfully at his age. It’s funny that the bass guitar is too big for him to carry. And it is really hard for him to press the big strings with his tiny fingers. But he tries very hard. We can’t deny that he is one of the reasons we are getting more publicity.
Most of the underground bands have preposterous names, why did you choose ‘Ice Cream’?
We wanted to give a name concerned with food so we chose Ice Cream because we love eating ice cream. Some people say it sounds childish. But we love it because it’s innocent.
As a junior punk band, how do you find the under-ground music scene?
The number of bands is increasing. It means that the music develops and is still alive even though rock music has slowly faded with the boom in hip hop over recent years. There is more support to develop underground music.
While most of the teenagers were rapping, how did you stick with the rock genre?
I listened to some rap but I think it’s generic. My elders love rock and I do too. But Lin Htet is strange. His father and brothers are famous traditional drum players. He can also play traditional drums. After he learnt drums at Gitameit Music Centre, he became a drummer. He is very talented.
In your opinion, why don’t under-ground music-ians get the same accept-ance that Hip Hop artists do?
It’s up to the listener. Most people don’t like metal songs. Although people accept Ice Cream as a punk band, we know we are not a real punk band in inter-national terms. Some of our songs are pop.
Most of the under-ground bands here do not last long. Why do you think this is?
In the underground scene, most players join other bands as section players. Some follow the fame leaving their original band. Some bands end because they lack players. We have also faced similar situa-tions and our band nearly broke up. To endure, the import-ant thing is unity. None of us like section playing though we haven’t forbidden each other to do it.
Why do you love underground music?
It’s free. It’s free for the lyrics, the beats and the clothes.
Only a few of you appear in public, why?
It’s up to the particular band. Some don’t want the publicity and they don’t want to be overly commercial, which they think they must avoid in the pursuit of artistic freedom. Some are only content making music. Some are deeply concerned with artistic temperament and think their music is too strong for other people to accept. Some don’t have the chance to show their work in public even though they want to.
I heard that you are trying to break out from the underground?
So far, we have participated in three group albums and now want to show our work more. So we are trying to release our first album with the help of producer Ko Kyar Pauk from Big Bag band. All the recordings are finished. But we aren’t sure when we will release it.
Is there an album name yet?
Yes, we’ve already named it.
What’s the name?
Hey, it’s very hush-hush. We can’t tell you now.
