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The fifty-buck tip list

I doubt Plumbers enjoy digging other people's poop out of clogged pipes, but that's what they get paid for.
Musicians get paid for playing songs people want to hear. Sometimes it is as disgusting as digging poop out of pipes, but that's what we get paid for.

Okay. If there were ever a signature worthy post, this is it.
 
I get paid to entertain , not feed my ego. If someone requests it and we can play it , we play it. I've been doing this now for a little over 50 years so yeah , there are a lot of songs that I have played ad-nausium.
I've never played Mustang Sally when it didn't go over. The only time the song sucks is when some lazy d'bags play some half-@$$ version because they are too lazy to revisit the original or think up a good arrangement. Go listen to Wilson Pickett rock Mustang Sally and tell me it doesn't rock. Most of the people whining about it couldn't hold a candle to the Wilson Pickett arrangement on the best day they ever had.

Now get off of my lawn before I start playing Mustang Sally!!!!
 
I've never played Mustang Sally when it didn't go over. The only time the song sucks is when some lazy d'bags play some half-@$$ version because they are too lazy to revisit the original or think up a good arrangement. Go listen to Wilson Pickett rock Mustang Sally and tell me it doesn't rock. Most of the people whining about it couldn't hold a candle to the Wilson Pickett arrangement on the best day they ever had.

Now get off of my lawn before I start playing Mustang Sally!!!!
Wilson Pickett's version is great, but I prefer The Commitments version.
 
Here's the thing about Mustang Sally that gets me. I have NO IDEA how every bar cover band in the universe has been beholden to play it, because, wait a second, I've almost never heard it outside of being played by a cover band in a bar! Seriously, I listen to the variety station, the classic rock station, sometimes the satellite ones, and I've heard the actual recording of MS maybe 2-3x in my whole life.

I think it's a sham, like a pyramid-scheme of musos trying to get other musos to play that song. Like one big chain-letter, or a bet nobody's ever won.
 
Here's the thing about Mustang Sally that gets me. I have NO IDEA how every bar cover band in the universe has been beholden to play it, because, wait a second, I've almost never heard it outside of being played by a cover band in a bar! Seriously, I listen to the variety station, the classic rock station, sometimes the satellite ones, and I've heard the actual recording of MS maybe 2-3x in my whole life.

I think it's a sham, like a pyramid-scheme of musos trying to get other musos to play that song. Like one big chain-letter, or a bet nobody's ever won.

I think Mustang Sally is more R&B than a classic rock station would play, as is say "Dock of the Bay," although I've heard Dock of the Bay more often on radio, just not on classic rock.

I don't think I realized Mustang Sally's status as cover-band kryptonite until reading internet forums about it, but funnily, after reading a thread complaining about it, I went to a friend's house party with a band in the backyard (unusual treat, friends rarely have bands). The bass player was her neighbor - bunch of 40-50-ish guys playing covers and using this as a tune-up gig. They were pretty tight actually. And the first song they launched into - "Mustang Sally." It was hilarious, but there was no way I could have explained to anyone why. BTW, the partygoers, nearly all of whom were born after it was a hit, liked it. So there. It's a good song. I just don't have any idea why it's iconic.
 
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The calls for Freebird can be stifled in a live band karaoke situation, really fast. Just find the wiseacre doing it the loudest or most frequently, and tell them, on mic, that they are being brought right to the front of the line, as the next guest vocalist. We only had to do this twice, in the 3-year history of my involvement with the live band karaoke project. One of the two unfortunates took his medicine like a man, and soldiered through a sloppy rendition. The second unfortunate has obviously traveled in places renowned for corruption. He promptly deposited a pair of $20 bills in our tip jar. This prompted our MC to "overrule" the policy, with no band member objections.
 
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Here's the thing about Mustang Sally that gets me. I have NO IDEA how every bar cover band in the universe has been beholden to play it, because, wait a second, I've almost never heard it outside of being played by a cover band in a bar!
i've noticed that too! i don't think it was even that big a hit when it came out.

sort of like some old movies and TV shows that never took off until they started showing up in reruns.
 
i've noticed that too! i don't think it was even that big a hit when it came out.

sort of like some old movies and TV shows that never took off until they started showing up in reruns.

Right? I don't remember hearing it much at all growing up. Then suddenly in the early 90s it was everywhere. I think The Commitments movie and beer commercials probably had something to do with it.
 
How can you possibly be a surf-rock band without Wipeout? :eek:
It is like the iconic Surf-Rock song.
Now, if you tell me you don't do Pipeline, I will classify you as Rockabilly. :smug:

Here's a Pipeline from a few years ago. It's the only surf song we do and I love playing it. (Please excuse the shorts on stage. It was a 90 degree day. It was also the last time I've worn shorts on stage regardless of the temperature :thumbsup: )

*Note the call-out for Freebird at the end of Pipeline. It was politely ignored. :laugh:


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Here's a Pipeline from a few years ago. It's the only surf song we do and I love playing it. (Please excuse the shorts on stage. It was a 90 degree day. It was also the last time I've worn shorts on stage regardless of the temperature :thumbsup: )

*Note the call-out for Freebird at the end of Pipeline. It was politely ignored. :laugh:


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Good. Well, I didn't get to see the video, just got the audio. It said an error had occurred. I think it has something to do with bass players wearing shorts.
 
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It said an error had occurred. I think it has something to do with bass players wearing shorts.

*sigh* In this digital age of social media an innocent faux pas from the past and the associated ramifications will follow you forever. :oops:

However I am proud to say I learned my lesson and have been fully rehabilitated. We played a park show last summer in 102 degree heat... and I wore long pants! :)
 
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...Man, if being branded as rockabilly meant we'd finally get free rein to play "Walk Like a Camel" by Southern Culture on the Skids, I'd happily be first in line. :)

What? No "Dirt Track Date" or "Daddy Was a Preacher And Momma Was Go-Go Girl"? I was in a straight country band and one day i pulled up to practice with daddy was a preacher on the car stereo. The BL head it and asked for a copy of the disc. Next time we got together he insisted we open our show with daddy was a preacher.

I'd love to do this one as well, but i've had no luck yet getting a band to want to play it.

 
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It's like when I worked at the campus radio station back in college (yeah - WAY back when they had records...). Some guys were proud that they played "serious" music to educate the listeners. Maybe their girlfriend listened to their shows. I played what people wanted to hear, and had a lot of listeners. It's not about ego - it's about entertainment. To quote Ray Davies "Give the People What They Want".
i must listen to that now, its been awhile....great album.