Mustang Sally. The end of a year – great time for navel-gazing and doomed quests for self-improvement. When it comes to New Year's resolutions, I usually go with something easily attainable, such as striving to watch more television or swear more around kids.
But enough about me. This is for you, the local musician. Well, also me. Full disclosure: I play in approximately 1.3 bands, by which I mean one active band and another that does nothing, but never bothered to officially break up. So, after another year in the trenches, it's my pleasure to present my fourth-annual collection of suggested resolutions for participants in the Grand Rapids music scene.The list keeps growing (you may notice a few holdovers from previous years), but it's time to bid adieu to an old friend. With this year's list, I'm retiring, “Total Request Live”-style, the three-years-and-running No. 1 entry: “I will not cover 'Mustang Sally'.” I think we've all learned by now. If not, consider this your last reminder. But in recognition of the years we have spent together, I'm officially naming this column in that horribly ubiquitous song's honor.
When having our promo photo taken, we will avoid: brick-wall background; chain-link fence background/foreground; decayed urban setting; easily resolved game of “guess the singer”; standing on train tracks; standing knee-deep in water; everybody jumping into the air at the same time; everybody looking at the camera except one person; everybody looking in different directions; photographer lays on his/her back while band stands in a circle and peers down.