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Feb 22 2020

TO WHERE I AM NOW

Driving in the German twilight, on the right, the high Rhine, on the left the grapevines for the sweet wine that’s made in this region. We are listening to one of Gerd’s CDs in the car, Sonny Terry, blind bluesy singer and harmonica player, singing songs with titles like Pepperheaded Woman and I Ain’t Gonna Be Your Dog Anymore. It made me think how different eras see it all their own way. I thought of The Stooges and Iggy singing, I Wanna Be Your Dog. I’ve been catching up on a few of the albums that I bought recently since the tour ended, Paul Brett’s Sage and Hokus Pokus today. If you’re interested you can always go see the playlist:

In Deep Playlist 2020

Although the waters have receded somewhat the Rhine is still very high. You can see the line where the water reached at its peak but below it, the bottom of the trees are still underwater.

Canada geese preen themselves on the shoreline. Gulls are floating on the surface of the river, a chilly breeze leaves ripples on the driving current. The brown-hued Egyptian geese waddle in the grass near the footpath and cormorants perch themselves on half-submerged branches and fallen tree trunks. The barges still slowly crawl backwards and forwards between Switzerland and The Netherlands with their industrial cargos and national flags, the captain’s car parked at the stern of the ship (How do they get them on and off?). There’s something peculiar about the steady serenity of the slow paced boats with their rugged exterior and heavy cargo. How do they even float? How can a gargantuan craft be so silent and go about its industry so calmly?

There’s a certain way we like to drive back to the house from the shops, around a bend that is so exquisitely engineered that you hardly have to move the steering wheel. I wonder if it is in fact a perfect circle and we are in an eternal loop, unaware of our repeated ecstasy. But this time we came out of the bend to a large piece of metal lying across the road, too late to avoid it, we drove over it with a double clunk. It was like something had fallen off another car, hard to imagine here in Germany, Vorsprung durch Technik!

I played Clannad’s first album from 1973 today and Olivia recognized a couple of the traditional songs from her Irish music book for the violin. So she picked up her mandolin (that she has had no time to learn or practice) and started reading the music and playing the tunes on an instrument she doesn’t know. Impressive. She spent most of the day studying three different languages, Swedish, Portuguese and Indonesian while I watched football. Ha ha. As I said, impressive. But then we both caught up on two episodes of Picard and learned some Romulan. Impressive.

My Anekdoten bandmate Nicklas confirmed that he and his partner will definitely be coming down to Penzance on March 18th. We have a chemistry as guitar players together. It doesn’t happen with everyone you play with but it does with him. Different styles that somehow compliment easily. I never imagined I could play with a band as complex as Anekdoten, but somehow my approach to the guitar and percussion fits in with the music and the musicians, Nicklas, Jan Erik, Pete and Anna Sofi, amazing musicians – all of them. The way they effortlessly execute this difficult music and how it affects a certain audience so completely is an intriguing experience. How is music like this written? It is quite literally music from another world and it’s a privilege for an alien like me to be invited to dinner.

I’ve been told that my involvement in various different projects distracts and confuses people. I think each project brings something fresh to the next project and having different roles is inspiring to me. Surely just being the keyboard player in Bon Jovi would be boring after a while. But I suppose the money is good, the audiences are huge, the percs vast, the luxury travel, imagine the records I could buy and the building to put them in! That’s it, I’m joining Bon Jovi! Not sure what I would do? Perhaps be the translator for the Romulan tour?

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.

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Rockin' the MOAT t-shirt next to the real deal! #m Rockin' the MOAT t-shirt next to the real deal! #moatband #poisonstream 🤘🏰

T-Shirt Design by Reid Wilson
Photo by @oliviaelektra 

#schoolkidsrecords #nikoröhlcke #wellscathedral
Peter Walsh and I getting down at the Heron Tower Peter Walsh and I getting down at the Heron Tower disco 🕺🏻 #heyday
Soundchecking at Birmingham Symphony Hall, 10th Fe Soundchecking at Birmingham Symphony Hall, 10th February, 2001. All About Eve supporting Fairport Convention.

📷 by @derektimbrell
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

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📷 @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

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📷 @argirgirl 

#paisleypark #prince
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In Deep Music Archive

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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