Interview: The Ice Cream Truck

Talking with The Ice Cream Truck about the heaven and hell of doing events in Shanghai and going to jail because of an Armani coat.
Last updated: 2015-11-09
A hundred different events happen every day in Shanghai. Some get thrown together at the last moment, while others happen only after months of planning, chasing permits, dealing with suppliers, and trying to stay sane. One crew with five years of experience making events happen here is The Ice Cream Truck, also known as TICT. However you feel about them, you can't deny their hustle.

After five years of rooftop parties, warehouse raves, and corporate events for clients like Diesel and Wieden+Kennedy, TICT is in the middle of planning their biggest event ever, the Spring 2014 edition of their biannual two-day art/design/community jamboree known as DAFF. This happens Saturday and Sunday out at a old cement factory on the West Bund, an area home to the massive Long Museum and a really sweet climbing wall that I found while getting lost. Expect hundreds of artists and designers, live art by Chinese artists like Lu Yang, dozens of food and beverage vendors, DJs, and an after-party in a warehouse next door. And it's free.

I sat down with David Lin and Cynthia, the heads of TICT, at the cement factory where they've been sleeping and slaving away this week to find out why the hell anyone would want to throw events for a living in this city.

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SmSh: You've been doing events in Shanghai for a long time… Why? [laughs]


Dave: I don’t know…It's the worst thing to do in the country [laughs].

Cynthia: But at the same time the best thing to do, because you can only do it here. You can dream bigger here. Why do events? They're dynamic, they're always new. Doing the same thing every day of my life, I couldn't do it…



SmSh: That's why I'm sitting here talking to you…


Dave: It's the human experience. When this is all over, that's all you have – those memories and experiences, and the people you share that with. Fuck your cars and mansions, none of that means shit. We go through a lot though…[laughs]. I haven't slept in 48 hours.

Cynthia: It's so hard…it's a problem solving job. I really want my new business card to say "problem solver."

SmSh: What are the big challenges with doing events like this in China?


Cynthia: Suppliers.

Dave: There's a different standard of quality, in all honesty, compared to what we might be used to back home, as far as quality of products, workmanship, craftsmanship…The nuances of how you work with people here, what the protocols are here. It's very much part of the game, going back and forth, back and forth…back home you have a certain degree but it's pretty tame compared to here.

Cynthia: You better have baijiu and a pack of cigarettes with you.

Dave: Not in a corrupt, buyout kind of way.

Cynthia: Just protocol.

Dave: Business culture. They're used to it, for us we're always trying to adjust to it.

Cynthia: That's also an advantage because anything can happen. You fuck up your deadline? You need it for tomorrow? You can make it happen. In Spain, in the rest of the world, they're like "no, you wait for me until Monday when I'm back in my office and I have my coffee." Here you can make things happen.


The indoor portion of this year's DAFF location

SmSh: Shit is really last minute here. That's a challenge.


Dave: It's like that, but the mentality here is very ADD. People in Shanghai are used to so much information at such a fast pace; they don't have this anticipation and plan out. Back home you plan out festivals months in advance, you get your early-bird tickets, make your travel plans and accommodations, and you look forward to this event. Here there's just so much happening every single day of the week; people don't know what's happening two days ahead of time. It's lacking that kind of anticipation.

Cynthia: It's living today, right now.

Dave: Which, for most foreigners who do come here, they're like "ok I'm here for one year, I'm gonna fucking live crazy.." But if you're gonna be here for a few more years you need to learn how to balance that. That's the most difficult part, balancing the lifestyle out here and work. Our work and play is kind of the same thing..there's no clock-in clock-out.

Cynthia: Your work is your life. I think here it just becomes like that.

Dave: And that's what it takes to do it, dude. Our team…not everybody can do what these people can do.


Team TICT in Technicolor

Cynthia: If it was easy everyone would do it [laughs].

Dave: And that's the part that people really lack [understanding of] – what goes behind the scenes of an event to make it happen. People just think "oh you throw parties, whadda you guys do in the office? How many people work for you? You're just throwing parties right?" There's so much planning and preparation.

SmSh: But you do other stuff too right?


Dave: Sure. It's not a wise business venture, throwing parties…but it's better than a lot of other jobs. It's like, what else would you be doing? It's fun.

SmSh: Could you do this forever?


Dave: My body can't do this forever. We're so involved in every single process and decision. If we were able to take a step back from it, sure. And people do.

Cynthia: But right now it's still something we're doing with all our passion…and very personal. It's our community. So I think I can do it, but on another level.

Dave: Not being on the ground for every single thing. That you can only do for a couple good years before it starts to take it's toll on your body. But that's what I like doing – gathering people and entertaining. Not like, singing and dancing or slam poetry, but just trying to create an environment that people enjoy themselves and feel comfortable in. Getting people to enjoy life and have a good time.

SmSh: So at the end of the day DAFF is just people getting together having a good time?


Dave: That's all it is. Come down, meet new people. Really cool, interesting people. It's not just us – it's all the designers and everybody putting in 80-hour weeks trying to make it.



SmSh: A lot of people see something huge like DAFF and think "these guys are making a ton of loot." Is that true?


Dave: Do you wanna take a photo of us right now? That's probably your answer [Ed: Clearly not balling out of control].

SmSh: Do you have a butler?


Dave: Yeah, he's getting our macchiatos right now…

Cynthia: You couldn't be doing this if you're only looking for money.

Dave: Events don't just happen. People create these experiences down to every detail.

Cynthia: People don't see what's happening backstage. You go in a place like "what am I paying for?" Hang on, there is a stage, some music, you're paying for the DJs...

Dave: Chairs cost money, tables cost money, electricity costs money...

SmSh: Do you think Shanghai is less appreciative than other places?


Dave: In some ways, I think so. It all goes back to that hyper-excessive, really hedonistic lifestyle that people come to expect out of Shanghai. Anything and everything 1000% all of the time. People don't really take the time to stop and appreciate every little detail.

Cynthia: The pace…

Dave: In a slower pace, you have more time to see the details. Which we're not helping, because we're totally over-stimulating this dome this weekend. We need to put up warning signs for epileptics. This change has been very recent in the last year or two. If you look at bookings and international artists that come to Shanghai, a couple years ago there wasn't very many; like every couple weeks. Now it's pretty much every single weekend. It's good and bad.

Cynthia: And also knowledge. When you have knowledge about something you appreciate it.

SmSh: Sometimes I feel like there's so many different events going on, that people get less into one specific thing or scene. It's fragmented.


Dave: Until the rest of the population catches up, because there's a fucking billion people here.

SmSh: I feel like back home, the cab drivers would know Coachella but they don't know "DAFF" here yet.


Dave: "Ohhhh DAFFA!" Hopefully yeah, in a couple years. But it's happening.

SmSh: What are the top three most useful way to get people out to events? For example, email lists.


Dave: Number one, word of mouth. How many flyers do you see in a day? It doesn't do shit, unless it catches you visually first. But when a friend tells you, "dude do you know about this?" That's all it takes.

Cynthia: The way you make your event sound, according to the people you want to come.



Dave: Street team promotion. People are so focused on ROIs these days and how many impressions and views…those are pretty much meaningless compared to direct contact. And that's the thing about DAFF, one of the selling points for brands - this is direct contact with the audience.

SmSh: So, concept, word of mouth, and street team?


Cynthia: But also it's the strategy. What do you have different? Is it a rooftop party? You have open air, when was the last time you danced in the open air? If it's music, you have the DJ…if it's an event for a corporate brand, how much fun are you gonna have at that party?

SmSh: Interesting you didn't say social media.


Dave: Social media more than big advertising. If you walk down any major street here, you're fed thousands of brands in such a short amount of time. It's really that personal human connection.

Cynthia: Before, billboards were the best, now it's social media.

Dave: Because it has that personal element.

SmSh: What's the best event you've ever done?


Dave: I think this is gonna be it.

Cynthia: [laughs] I always wanna put my expectations down and then get surprised, but it could definitely be this one.

Dave: One that we experienced already, that first rooftop party at Atanu [back in 2010].


DJ Mau Mau, a member of TICT for many years, also DJing the after-party this year

Cynthia: That was the first one that gave birth to something. We go back, a lot, to that point. Like, this is actually something.

Dave: Specifically I remember Willy being there, like, "dude, Willy came out for the party…that's fucking awesome."

SmSh: Some might complain that TICT parties are just laowai getting crazy to house music, what do you say?


Cynthia: Hell yeah [laughs].

Dave: Since day one, the concept caught their attention, it was something that they were comfortable with.

SmSh: Definitely comfortable on a rooftop…


Dave: White people drinking on rooftops…what is it? There's rooftops all over the world. Shanghai – I don't know how many tens of thousands of rooftops there are. How many of them are being used to party and drink on? [In] New York, every single rooftop.

Cynthia: I embrace that very proudly. We are open to everyone. One of our goals is to promote music culture in China, so we're doing something that we believe in.

Dave: And we do have local followers. And it's something we always wanna work on, but we're a small group of people trying to make a big impact on a huge [place]…


SmSh: What's the worst thing that's ever happened at one of your events?


Cynthia: I could write books about this question…[laughs]

Dave: Mine is the jail night. We were doing the Ministry of Sound party at the warehouse. We had a coat check service, and this fucking angry American bro who lost his jacket called the cops…

Cynthia: The cops came, had no idea what was going on, just saw this big guy pointing at a Chinese guy.

Dave: So of course they racially profiled me. I'm the only one, the team was there, but they just did it the same way they hand the bill to the one Chinese dude at the table, so they just grabbed me, put me in a car, and took me away.

Cynthia: It's new for them too [the police], a whole warehouse party; everyone is going nuts, and this guy is pointing at a Chinese guy…and we had to talk it out with that guy and find some solution and then they let him go.

Dave: Everything costs money. It was an Armani coat or something…you probably should have gotten insurance on it.

Cynthia: Now it's funny.



SmSh: What advice do you have to new people who are thinking about doing events in Shanghai?


Dave: Be prepared to hustle, dude. I think lots of people get into it thinking "oh it's fun? I like doing this. Do what I love! Fuck yeah!" until they realize what it takes to make it happen. All the best, keep doing it. If you're good at it, you'll wanna keep doing it.

Cynthia: But you'll have to be strong…you'd better put some money into a Chinese course. That's what I would say. Chinese [language] is essential. And the whole cultural protocol; that can change the whole relationship with the supplier, how you treat him. Understand culture; spend a few years in China. Plan a few years just to get into "what is China?"

SmSh: Why do you love Shanghai enough to still be doing this year for five years?


Cynthia: You can make your dreams come true. There is no judgment and no rules.

SmSh: That's kinda fucked up how there's no rules sometimes…


Dave: I can only speak as a foreigner, but Shanghai is a really hard city. It's a love and hate kinda relationship with the city. It kicks many people's asses, and continues to.

Cynthia: Only the strong survive.

Dave: That's why, after doing it this long, you look at people like Archie at Split Works, like Michael Michael…

Cynthia: You have to have some cojones for this…



SmSh: Ok let's talk about DAFF, why did you choose the West Bund?


Cynthia: Because they're supporting and developing art in Shanghai as a mission. That's their goal, it's a new area, and instead of making it business, they're trying to contribute to the culture of the city and I think that's amazing.

Dave: They've been really great to deal with.

SmSh: Which district is it?


Cynthia: Xuhui

SmSh: And they're like, down with this?


Cynthia: Yeah, we asked if we could rent this place, and they said "What for? We want art." There's a rock climbing wall right there…

SmSh: Yeah I just did it. I got lost and climbed…


Dave: For us, every edition of DAFF we're trying to stay fresh and new.



Cynthia: No rain troubles at all here. It's indoor [with outdoor space too]. No nightmares for the organizers in that sense.

Dave: And again, it's also just the new spot. We were one of the earlier ones who started doing stuff at Wharf, then they started a lot more events there. And here, again, I think it's gonna be similar in many ways. Many people coming here for the first time, not knowing the venue…it's a really cool place.

SmSh: Even if you don't like the event you can just go outside.


Cynthia: It's difficult to impress people, and this venue is impressive.



SmSh: Last question – this is a big art and fashion event - is there a Shanghai style?


Cynthia: Really….? [laughs]. Definitely, for sure. In Shanghai there is no segregation of groups. Back home you have the punks, the hippies, the hipsters…Shanghai it's all together. And at the same time, not much judgement. So people go in pajamas.

Dave: Carefree…which can be good and bad. Eclectic. Anything goes.

Cynthia: It all flows into one -- casual and suit -- it all flows into one Shanghai style.

SmSh: Do you think this whole everyone being together thing is because it's mostly foreigners?


Dave: I think that's a big part, sure. But this is the melting pot where all these different groups interact. I think there's more interactions here, even compared to New York and shit.

Cynthia: This is the point of the world in Asia, in terms of quantity – just look at the ships going every day.

***

DAFF happens this Saturday and Sunday from 2pm–midnight in a cement factory on the West Bund. Expect a big gang of artists and designers, fashion shows, live art, music, food, and more. If you want to paint or draw, they've got you. And it's free. Happens rain or shine. More info and address right here.

[DAFF 2014 venue photography by Stacey Wei, TICT team photos by David Jumpa]

Venue Address and Taxi-Printout for DAFF 2014

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