[Harp-L] Mustang Sandwich - that guy

["samblancato" <samblancato@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I've run  into that guy a couple of times too.  In Fact, the last time I ran
into him, last summer, it was a woman - without any teeth.  She called out
for Mustang Sally and then later for Free Bird and kept yelling "rock and
ROLLLLLLLLL!"

Seriously though, I don't' have anything against Mustang Sally in and of
it's self; it's a good song and, yeah, it does get people out on the floor.

Here's why I hate to play it.  I want to play new things.  I want to play
stuff that never gets played in Pittsburgh because while I know Mustang
Sally is a great song I also know there is loads of material out there that
is just as good or better.  People who go to hear blues at jams are -and I
know I'm going to piss somebody off here- extremely conservative.  I don't
mean politically but musically.  I don't know how it is in other parts of
the country but here in Pittsburgh most people my age have been listening to
the same stuff since they were in their early twenties and are very
resistant to new stuff even if it's new old stuff.  Let me put it this way,
if you lived here and listened to local radio than you would believe that
The Who only had three hit songs and that Blues is Stevie Ray Vaughn or B.B.
King - both great guys to be sure but there is so much more.

There's this movie, The Big Night, about a couple of guys who have an
Italian restaurant.  The guy who does the cooking gets disgusted when people
keep coming in wanting spaghetti because he's an Italian from Italy  and he
knows the cuisine is so much more than that.  Well, I'm someone who plays
blues and I know how much more there is to it than a couple of over-played
old chestnuts.

Yes, Mustang Sally is a nice number and, yeah, I'll probably have to play it
many more times at a jam if I want to be up there playing.  But playing what
the audience wants is only half of the bargain; the other half is the
audience listening to what gives you joy to play.  When people call out for
Mustang Sally they're not just requesting a favorite song, they are (I
think) saying, "hey, stay in familiar territory because I can only listen to
what I've heard many times.  If I'm not familiar with what you're playing
I'm going to have to listen rather than just passively take it in which
takes work so- MUSTANG SALLY!"  Sure, you want to give the audience what
they want, that giant lactating breast of the familiar.  But if that's all
you did you'd go nuts.

In the opinions expressed above I might be just kidding - I'm not sure at
this time.

Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh