Rock and rolling down your street

Serenading the streets of Los Angeles with a horn that honks like a mariachi band, the LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions)-sponsored Karaoke Ice project adds a new twist to the mini-trend of ice cream trucks as mobile performance venues. Following in the tire tracks of a local dub reggae ice cream truck and Leyla Safai’s rolling stage, Hearts Challenger, comes Lucci, a pastel truck that will begin roaming Los Angeles today. Using free Popsicles as bait, residents will be encouraged to jump on a makeshift stage and sing a karaoke tune.

“Ice cream trucks needed a better soundtrack and karaoke singers needed a broader audience,” says Marina Zurkow, who created the idea with fellow artists Nancy Nowacek and Katie Salen. Lucci’s carefully curated playlist features tinklepop versions of 21 songs that include Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” Outkast’s “Hey Ya!” and the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated.”

Guiding singers through the process is Remedios the Squirrel Cub, who serves as the interface and MC for Karaoke Ice. “The conceit is that Lucci and Remedios are avatars who have escaped from the computer world,” Zurkow explains.

Partnering with community organizations, Lucci and Remedios will traverse the city over two weekends, no doubt reducing swarms of adults to childlike glee. Yet another reason to never grow up.

--

The Karaoke Ice tour, Today to Monday; Sept. 6 to 9, various locations. Find the full list at www.artleak.org/current.html#karaoke ice. Free. Hear and practice songs by clicking on www.myspace .com/karaokeice