The Loop

Bill takes on Kellyanne

RIT president Bill Destler is not going out quietly. Bill, who is slated to retire in June after serving as president since 2007, is playing his own tune—literally.

Bill unveiled his new song, “Alternative Facts,” dedicated to presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway, last week at his concert to open RIT’s Freeze Fest 2017. 

He introduced it with the self-deprecating line, “I just wrote this song, so I don’t know it and I can’t play it. But nevertheless, I’m going to try to sing it.”

Here is the start of the song:

Do you think the world is round, do you think that down is down?

Do you believe that certain things are true?

Do you think that red is red, that Mr. Flintstone’s name is Fred?

Well if you do then I have news for you.

If I say it quite enough, I can claim the strangest stuff

And in the end some will buy my point of view

Even though it isn’t so, even though it’s just an act

I can make it true as alternative fact.

You get the idea. And Bill adds in some funny references to the Berlin Wall, rhinos and Elvis, among others.

Bill is a singer/songwriter, guitar player, banjo player and mandolin player—and, as reported in last week’s edition of the Loop, an undefeated college women’s basketball coach.

A live recording of “Alternative Facts” can be seen on Bill’s YouTube Channel.

Food truckin’

Food truck aficionados will find more to love at this year’s State Fair.

State officials announced last week its Taste NY Food Truck Competition will expand to two days. The competition to find the best entree served by food truck chefs and made with New York grown and produced ingredients is slated for Sept. 2-3.

A pair of competitors from the Rochester and Finger Lakes region were champions last year.

Silo Food Truck of Ovid, Seneca County, snagged the Judges’ Choice award for its Telekinetic Fried Chicken, a fried drumstick over a slaw flavored with peach and raspberry and purple sticky rice. In addition, the Meatball Cup from the Meatball Truck in Rochester won the People’s Choice. More than 2,500 fairgoers voted in the competition.

Katie Foley, co-owner of Silo Food Truck, says the company sold some 1,200 samples to enthusiastic patrons.

“We are looking forward to the two-day competition this coming year and are already working on our new submission,” she says. “Being recognized at the state level has given us more opportunity locally and has helped us expand into larger festivals across the East Coast. It’s been quite the feather in our cap.” 

Michelle Yancey of the Meatball Truck says, “We are looking forward to defending our title in 2017. It’s always great to be among the enthusiasm of the crowd and longstanding traditions of the New York State Fair.”

Send tips, rumors, inside information or strange tales for the Loop to Managing Editor Mike Dickinson at m[email protected].

2/24/2017 (c) 2017 Rochester Business Journal. To obtain permission to reprint this article, call 585-546-8303 or email [email protected].