www.CostaRicaTicas.com

It was in 2000, about my fifth or sixth trip to CR. Took a DR chica to Jaco. It was my first time in Jaco. Had a rental car. Stayed at the BW. There actually was a Hooters there, on the ocean side of the main street. There was a pizza place on the ocean side of the street, on the northwest corner of the side street leading to the beach. Not far from the Beatle Bar. It was called Rio Oasis. Thirdworld...were you there then? Anyone remember it? Anyway, went there on a Friday night, and they had a band playing. I wasn't expecting much, and a group of Gringas were yelling for them to play Mustang Sally by Wilson Pickett. Why must every Gringa (or Gringo for that matter) over the age of 45 or so ask bands to play Mustang Sally!? I started yelling at the Gringas (and Gringos) that Mustang Sally sucked! They played it anyway. Then, they cut into an amazing cover of 'All Along the Watchtower' by Dylan/Hendrix. It was incredible! Awesome guitar work! What a surprise. Why do most Gringas/Gringos over the age of 45 or so always request bands to play Mustang Sally? It wasn't even Wilson Pickett's best song. Bilko...you guys don't play Mustang Sally do you

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"In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile, and the rest of us are phucked until we can put our acts together; not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely"...Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

Agree with you about "Mustang Sally". My later period fave is "99-1/2 (Just Won't Do)"; earlier period, I have to go with "I Found a Love". The reason MS is called for is because that's the only song of his they know (and it was his biggest hit). I am waiting for someone to call for Otis Clay's "Nickle and a Nail"--then I'll know I've found a kindred spirit. Or anything by OV Wright... Mr. Clay's Live in Japan is one of the best live records ever, regardless of genre--the man just storms in front of a crack band to adoring fans. Not to be missed.

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

GT are you in the Rum again?

Forgot to add coke to the rum?

Ron Zacapa '23' from Guatemala...what else?! Actually, I recently obtained a bottle of Zacapa Anniversario '30', made in 2006 (ordered it from Italy). $200 a bottle, but worth it if you appreciate fine rum. The Anniversario '30' was a very limited production run, and is now virtually impossible to obtain. The best rum in the world (even better than the Zacapa XO, and Demerara El Dorado Special Reserve ('15' or '21') from Guyana).

Regarding Wilson Pickett, he had two songs that were, in my opinion, better than Mustang Sally...'In the Midnight Hour' and 'Land of 1000 Dances'. I never could understand why so many bands covered MS. Maybe it is easier to play?

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"In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile, and the rest of us are phucked until we can put our acts together; not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely"...Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

Wicked Wicked Pickett had so many great songs as his 2-CD retrospective will show (that's where that Falcons song "I Found a Love" came to me from). I agree with Brother GT about his choices though.

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

PooNanny...Eating Me Out of House and Home

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The difference between a Sea Story and a Fairy Tale is that a Fairy Tale starts out 'Once Upon a Time..' and a Sea Story starts out 'This is no Shit...'

(export version only, some restrictions may apply, some assembly required, not valid where the sun don't shine...

if you live in the states of Poverty, Darkness or anywhere outside of The Blessings of Civilization Trust, Inc...other rules may apply)

We do not play Mustang Sally, so you're safe. Just a little note, some inside baseball stuff... There are a couple of reasons Mustang Sally has become the cliche it is now. Reason number one is that it is a simple song to play, a 12 bar blues but with a straight 8 feel, not a shuffle. The song never got higher than #19 in 1966. But over the years bands just getting together could add it to their song lists and not even have to rehearse it. Most modern 'blues' bands have song lists that are composed entirely of simple songs that require no rehearsal. Mustang Sally was not considered blues in it's day, rather, it was considered 'soul,' which was a totally separate genre. But it has been commandeered by what passes for blues bands nowadays, which usually means a bunch of middle aged white guys with a gigantic pedal board full of gimmicks and amplifiers that rattle your teeth and probably couldn't tell you what instrument Memphis Slim played.

Another reason for its popularity is that it can be turned into an 'audience participation' song, where drunks like your gringas can 'sing/shout' 'Ride, Sally Ride' back at the band, and feel like they are part of things.

The only thing less sophisticated than modern 'blues' players (in bars) is their audience.

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"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

Bawdy blues-singing Joe Poonanny, aka the God Father of the Chitlin' Circuit, came up in Birmingham, AL. His parents' house was across the street from a show bar, and he could look out his window and watch the drummer play, and aspired to do the same, especially after watching The Gene Krupa Story.

He practiced daily and played his first professional gig at 17. He drummed around for years but wanted something more substantial, so in 1975 he worked behind the scenes operating night clubs and managing bands, but quit in 1981, citing a dislike of the lifestyle.

Always the clown, Poonanny built a reputation by singing risqué, double entendre blues tales in clubs and cabarets but didn't record until 1993 when Waldoxy Records released Poonanny Be Still! It became a hot item in the South and several more followed, including The Grindin' Man, Ponyrider, and That Baby Ain't Black Enough! ~ Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide

Now, here is another posting about Poonanny

Black musicians pay a price to make their music accessible to the white world. The music of Poonanny is unique precisely because it's as far to the other extreme--inaccessibility--that you can get on record. [size=150]A linguist from the Northeast would need a Rosetta stone and a three-year fellowship to interpret "Poonanny Be Still." [/size]

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The difference between a Sea Story and a Fairy Tale is that a Fairy Tale starts out 'Once Upon a Time..' and a Sea Story starts out 'This is no Shit...'

(export version only, some restrictions may apply, some assembly required, not valid where the sun don't shine...

if you live in the states of Poverty, Darkness or anywhere outside of The Blessings of Civilization Trust, Inc...other rules may apply)

Watchu say, Muthafucka? He is South Mississippi guttural but the feeling sure comes through.
Malaco/Waldoxy is a Mississippi label that keeps that deep gospel/deep soul flame burning--look at Mel Waiter's latest for proof:
http://www.malaco.com/Catalog/list.php[color=#00BFFF][/color]

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

I have to agree with Buzzfl, what does this 10 year old story have to do with CR or ticas, other than it happened to happen in Jaco that time around (or perhaps it was prompted by the recent spate of gringa bashing)? Methinks you've been PUI (posting under the influence) again. Three strikes and we might have to suspend your CRT membership license.

But as long as you're going off topic, I suppose I can too. There are songs like that in every genre (and its audiences). My brother plays banjo (and a half a dozen other instruments) in a Bluegrass band and he grinds his teeth every time someone else in the audience requests "Dueling Banjos", "Orange Blossom Special", or "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" (whenever I go see him play I sometimes shout one of those out with a smirk on my face just to irritate him ). The vast masses, who generally are NOT very sophisticated (or at least not as sophisticated as all of us ), normally like to stick to just the things they know best and are most familiar and comfortable with (sort of like mongers ONLY going back to CR over and over and over again rather than attempting more "daring" monger destinations). Unfortunately, that means having to listen to requests for Mustang Sally, Dueling Banjos or the "greatest jazz" hits of Kenny G, Chuck Mangione or Michael Bolton. And, bringing it all back to Costa Rica Ticas, don't you think if you got a bunch of young chica bargirls together in front of a band or DJ that some of them would probably shout out requests for the most recent top 10 hit of the latest telenovela hunk turned pop star (or actually, lately more likely, gangsta turned reggaeton star)? This is not really even just a "stupid gringa" phenomenon.

Besides, don't be so snooty. What is really so bad about a band being asked to play a hackneyed old hit here and there mixed into a 20 song set, UNLESS PERHAPS you're one of the band members who are forced to play it night after night, or are one of the "afficionados" in the back of the room? The band is there to entertain the CROWD, not themselves and not the handful of purists who might be there. If playing a song or two that EVERYONE can participate in or sing along to is what it takes to help get that crowd energized, then isn't that part of the live music experience?

I heard a great black band can not remember the name play it at a car show and did a great job. I was in Panama City Beach last week and Lisa and Elusion from Montgomery Alabama another black band played it along with Brick House and others it sounded great. I like Mustang Sally. At our American Legion we have a hot bartender named Sherry so the band always plays Mustang Sherry. I went to a distillery this weekend in Tennessee called George Dickel so I recommend GT buy some George and maybe MS will sound better to you. OK Take Care , Uncle H.

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Always nice to wake up and see what will happen today

BALLER

As a former working musician, perhaps I can put this in a perspective mongers can appreciate. Most musicians enjoy playing music. Some prostitutes actually enjoy sex too. Imagine a prostitute who enjoys sex, but none of her customers want anything but blow jobs, or want to give golden showers. Would get pretty old, no? Playing Mustang Sally is as much fun (to many musicians) as always being on the giving end of oral sex. You would like to enjoy yourself a little too, not just wear out your tongue.

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"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

It might get pretty old, but as long as someone was PAYING you to do things you enjoy doing any way (and which some other people would even be happy to do for FREE), then you're not really in much of a position to complain about it if some of those things become somewhat routine. If you really don't like doing it so much or don't feel you're being paid enough to put up with a few routine requests, then maybe you should just try getting a regular job like most other people have to do, which usually aren't even that much fun either, and see how happy you'd be with that. Its a JOB, and like with nearly all JOBS (some more than others), that comes with tasks that are sometimes routine, mundane, tiring or just plain boring. Get over it and quit bitching. If you can earn a living playing music then you're probably a lot luckier than most.

Same thing applies to prostitutes, if they really hate giving blowjobs so much then they shouldn't complain about it. No one is forcing them to make their money that way. They should just get a job where they won't have to give any more boring old BJs. Then see how much (or little) they could earn doing those other jobs. That is one of the big reasons these usually uneducated and otherwise untalented gals get paid so well relative to other sorts of work they could do to make a living. Work is not supposed to be always fun. Some work is even less fun or desirable to do than others, and usually the compensation that has to be paid to get someone to do it reflects that. It certainly does when it comes to prostitution. Besides, if these prostitutes really enjoy sex so much as you say but are tired of giving boring old BJ's, then they could always just give away straight sex for free like everyone else has to do and get all the takers they want. Many of us may like to think we're pleasing them too, but when you get right down to it, the reason WE're paying THEM is so that THEY can please US, not the other way around.