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Feb 18 2020

TO WHERE I AM NOW

I saw a hearse today, oh boy. Olivia’s parents’ house is close to a graveyard, but I rarely see hearses. When I do I feel confronted with death, whether there is a coffin inside or not. When the hearse has passed its passenger on to the afterlife and drives back to base empty, it seems even sadder than when it’s on the way to the graveyard. Its job is done, the morticians are still dressed for the burial, but it’s all over, just a stray petal left forlorn on the flat metal bed of the vehicle. The ritual of death doesn’t get any easier for the West, even though so many people believe in God and in heaven. You’d think that faith in God and belief in the afterlife would be enough to quell the tears. Religion allows an opt out clause in death, it’s the atheists that really lose someone when they die, there is no reprieve, no clouds with angels, no pearly gates, no reincarnations.

Olivia went to Düsseldorf today to pick up her Swedish passport, she left at some ungodly hour and was done before midday. Siv was gone to Frankfurt sometime after 5AM and Olivia hitched a lift to the station with Gerd. There is no public transport in this small village, no shops, a restaurant yes and a very noisy church, but that’s it. So when she was ready to return, she planned to take the train as far as she could and hitchhike the rest of the way. So I decided to go meet here, walk down the hill through the forest and back with her along a windy path over streams and past fallen trees with all the leaves of the autumn scattered and still collected as a brown covering over the pathway. Between the house and the forest there was a cold snap in the air, it was essential to wrap up, but by the time you were descending down the hill in the thick of the trees, the chill had gone, the wind subsided and a warm silence ensued.

There wasn’t much sign of life on the way down, a blackbird, a blue tit, just the creaking of the occasional branch, the whirr of the cars on the nearby road and the trickle of the stream heading down to the small waterfall at the foot of the hill. It took me half an hour to get down there, avoiding some muddy sections and taking pictures of knotted tree trunks and bright green moss. I got down to the road and after a couple of minutes I saw Olivia walking up the hill. I turned around and we walked back up through the forest together, this time climbing, exerting some energy making our way back to the house. More creaking, an invisible bird flying out of a bush, but mainly only the sound of our feet on the leaves and the squishing of mud, the trees bemused by our presence and our conversation. I undid my coat until the top of the hill, where the wind was up and suddenly a shrieking hawk was flapping above the trees, fighting the wind. We arrived at the house just satisfied with the idea of a walk in the forest. In the coming months we might not get too much of a chance for something so serene.

Although the tour is over, there’s so much to do, not just reading and writing, buying records and watching the Champions League. I just listened to Anekdoten’s Nucleus album, that we will be performing live in Canada. Phew! These days everything is about preparation, planning things way in advance, otherwise nothing happens. When you think of what it takes from the writing of an album to the release, or the writing of the songs to performing them live, it’s a rather long and detailed process beyond the actual inspiration. Revisiting songs from the past is also a challenge. So, next is lots of listening and rehearsals for Anekdoten, changing the FB headers and booking the travel, whilst playing and writing new songs in the studio with the Noctorum project, MOAT and Space Summit. Without Olivia behind the scenes this would be nigh on impossible – and then there’s her musicianship. There’s Stephen at the label, Shauna the promo queen and all those other people around us that help so much with fan pages (Judy) and spreading the word. We are entering another phase. Here we go.

Written by Marty Willson-Piper · Categorized: Blog

Missing

This is my stolen 1965 Rickenbacker 12-string, serial number EB157. If there's any chance of this guitar coming back to me before I go to meet my maker, then that would be wonderful. Please contact me if you have any information.

11209512_1669022976719710_7288437867089763325_n

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Thanks to The Wernickis for a little glimpse into Thanks to The Wernickis for a little glimpse into their new New Mexico listening space 🌵 #nightjar #schoolkidsrecords
Redeyed lad of the lowlands 🎵 📷 @oliviaelek Redeyed lad of the lowlands 🎵

📷 @oliviaelektra 

#danelectro #danelectrobass #redeyerecords #pleasantrylane #pleasantrylanestudio
You usually don’t spend the day in the studio an You usually don’t spend the day in the studio and the night at a gig but if you put the studio next to the gig then there’s a greater chance. So @salimnourallah did just that, he put the gig and the studio next to each other and made it possible for me to spend the day recording and the evening playing live 🎵

📷 @drewliophoto 

#galacticheadquarters #happinessarecordlabel #pleasantrylanestudio #salimnourallah #oliviawillsonpiper
TO WHERE I AM NOW A visit in the studio today fro TO WHERE I AM NOW

A visit in the studio today from old mate Mark Burgess from The Chameleons who has been hanging in Texas recently. I was thinking about the two of us growing up in the northwest of England and all these years later finding ourselves in such an unlikely spot together. We fixed a few issues in the universe and I carried on recording some guitars until Mark had to leave. Mark had played at the Galactic Headquarters next to the studio this year as Olivia and I had four years ago and this reminded me to remind myself to remind everyone to remind their friends that we will be playing there with Salim on Saturday, New Year’s Eve, for the ultimate in intimate performance. You can get tickets here (follow link below).

CONTINUE READING: https://martywillson-piper.com/2022/12/to-where-i-am-now-1045

KEEP IN TOUCH: https://linktr.ee/mwillsonpiper

📷 @salimnourallah 

#markburgess #thechameleons #chameleonsvox #pleasantrylanestudio #happinessarecordlabel #martywillsonpiper #oliviawillsonpiper #moatband
📷 @argirgirl 📷 @argirgirl
TO WHERE I AM NOW Sadness manifested in a buildin TO WHERE I AM NOW

Sadness manifested in a building, today we went to visit Paisley Park. Prince built Paisley Park in Chanhassen, about twenty minutes southwest of Minneapolis. It opened in 1987 and he recorded his later albums there. Apart from Prince, REM also recorded and mixed Out Of Time there, recording Kate Pearson’s vocal on Shiny Happy People vocal. Madonna had Prince play guitar on three songs from Like A Prayer and the two co-wrote Love Song, finishing it remotely due to Madonna not being able to stand the cold weather and the rather desolate location of the studio. Of course, there are things around but it’s not in the city and it’s not in the countryside, it’s in a suburb, no distractions, just what Prince wanted.

CONTINUE READING: https://martywillson-piper.com/2022/12/to-where-i-am-now-1032

KEEP IN TOUCH: https://linktr.ee/mwillsonpiper

📷 @argirgirl 

#paisleypark #prince
Marty & Pablo! 📷 Rod MacQuarrie Marty & Pablo!

📷 Rod MacQuarrie
At last, a proper door stop. 📷 @judgeschamber At last, a proper door stop.

📷 @judgeschamber 

#grammysitting 👵
🌵 Texas Acoustic Dates 🌵 31 December - DALL 🌵 Texas Acoustic Dates 🌵

31 December - DALLAS
7 January - CELINA
12 January - HOUSTON
14 January - AUSTIN
15 January - SAN ANTONIO

With @salimnourallah and @joereyesmusic

More info here: https://mailchi.mp/e47ede06acd6/texas-acoustic-dates
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Songwriting & Guitar Guidance with Marty Willson-Piper
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"These are awesome sessions that I highly recommend for guitar players of all levels. Very informative, frank discussions on everything related to guitar and music in general. Definitely a must for anyone pursuing songwriting."
(Stephen G., VA, USA)

"Marty knows how to bypass scales and get to the heart of feel and timing. His musical knowledge spans multiple cultures and genres. Perhaps most importantly, Marty is a cool dude. I highly recommend his guitar guidance." (Jed B., MN, USA)

"Ok, so you’re sitting in your home and Marty is across the world but is actually right here teaching you how to play guitar and write songs. He is a delight to talk to and he is your teacher, meaning he wants to see you get something out of his lessons. You know he’s paying attention and wants to steer you in the right direction. I am so grateful and humbled that he offers his time in this manner. This is an amazing opportunity for anyone who admires anything from his enormous body of work. How often do you get to learn from somebody that inspired you in the first place? Amazing." (Ann S., CA, USA)

Missing

This is my stolen 1965 Rickenbacker 12-string, serial number EB157. If there’s any chance of this guitar coming back to me before I go to meet my maker, then that would be wonderful. Please contact me if you have any information.

11209512_1669022976719710_7288437867089763325_n

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