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Feb 23 2020

TO WHERE I AM NOW

There’s an ominous roar outside, the trees are bending silhouettes against an ever darkening sky. The street lamps extend over the street on long metal poles, moving the light backwards and forwards on the glossy wet tarmac. The other day it poured and blew like a hurricane for 15 minutes and then stopped unnaturally and completely. There’s two stationery cars hidden in the shadows and at the end of the street by the church someone is driving home. The village is otherwise deserted. The lights of early evening are still sparkling in the windows as people look for an excuse to stay awake, wishing for the morning and the brightness of daylight. It’s Rose Monday tomorrow and carnival in Western Germany is in full swing. All the revellers are praying for a rain and wind free day for the celebrations so the parade and the floats aren’t hindered as they were today, cancelled in parts of Cologne and Bonn. Many people are free from work tomorrow, but somehow a Sunday night never feels like a Saturday night despite the following day of leisure.

Everything is closed on Sunday in Germany, apart from the obvious, but the supermarkets are closed, so you can’t buy groceries. Garages are open, cafes, restaurants, but anything retail is closed. I suppose everyone’s at church. Hm? You are not allowed to mow your lawn in Germany on a Sunday. Whispering is allowed, but only quiet whispering. It’s mandatory rest. As recognition of the sabbath (that’s ‘the’ sabbath not Black Sabbath) has waned, Germany keeps up the tradition of Sunday being a day to slow down. It seems odd that the one day you are not at work you can’t get around your garden fixing all the things you couldn’t get to in the week because of work. Saturday is filled with the supermarket and other shopping – it takes all day. Out on Saturday night? Sunday night, well you’re back at work the next morning. How do people that lead a traditional 9-5 lifestyle ever get anything done? This is where the 4 day week comes in. Shop Saturday, fix and mow Sunday, rest Monday. Then there’s the holiday issue – it seems that in America there is no requirement to give employees any holidays at all, mostly they do, but you could work for 20 years in America and only get 10 days off plus public holidays. I wonder if this helps or hinders productivity? In my world, there are no holidays and no pension, no retirement and no job security, no guarantee of anything at all, but that’s the world of the self-employed in the field of creativity. Plus you can get lucky and can get very rich – or try so hard and get nowhere. Either way it’s worth the risk.

Gerd took a picture of the hole in the protective piece under the chassis (silent c in England) where we hit the piece of metal in the Citroen on the road yesterday. No serious damage to the workings of the car, but it’s why there’s bumper bars, you protect the body work with something in front of it and there’s something under there that protected the car underneath. These days cars seem to just crumple, I suppose that’s how they are made these days like so many things, built to bend but not to last.

The bell in the village just rang as it does all day and night. There’s something spooky about it. Something about it ringing when no one’s listening. It makes you wonder if there will come a time when no one hears it again, will we survive the bell or will it continue chiming after all living things have gone? There’s nothing more mysterious and atmospheric than a deserted village. The imagination runs riot, exploring a derelict house, a mansion with dirty windows and ripped curtains, cobwebs around the doors. Impressions of a life unknown, reliving the affect that life has had on inanimate objects. You see the vacant chair that was once occupied by a child every morning for years. The pots and pans still hang above the stove. You can hear the chatter that rang around the kitchen table in its most vibrant days. No ghosts, just shadows, distant voices and vague memories lost in time.

I’ve been hoping that I can get these ‘tour’ records back to the archive in two wheelie bags and our suitcases as we are on the train, so there’s not going to be a weight limit but we still have to haul them across Europe. It’s always a task and always worth it. Filing them away in the In Deep Music Archive whilst listening to some unlikely forgotten record or in turn a popular gem. I sometimes say to Olivia, no one in the world is listening to this album right now. As I write I’ve been listening to the Elvin Bishop Group debut from 1969 and Ben Sidran’s The Cat And The Hat from 1979, see what I mean? It’s not that they’re obscure, more just forgotten. The fans that liked them when they came out are dying out and I can’t see them being replaced by a new audience. Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, sure, but it’s not only limited pressings of unknown groups that fade into memory, it’s music that was once well known, drew a crowd, had a following. Times changed, it’s the way of things, but I am happy to preserve these treasures for someone, as yet unknown.

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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Bye bye, Oz! Okay, so I’d better go pack, we hav Bye bye, Oz! Okay, so I’d better go pack, we have to be up at 5.30 AM. And oh yes by the way, Olivia remembered at 11.41 PM that today was our six years anniversary together, haha 😍

📷 @tonyrumble
Triple Marty Triple Marty
OUT NOW 💪 Afridi/Willson-Piper present SISYPHU OUT NOW 💪

Afridi/Willson-Piper present SISYPHUS off their debut album In The End, The Birds Will Sing (2022, tba).

Available to stream via the usuals.

@ahadafridi @afridiwillsonpiper #ahadafridi #martywillsonpiper #intheendthebirdswillsing #thesessioneerseries #songwritingandguitarguidance
We can't decide what colour this Strat is... We can't decide what colour this Strat is...
Ambidextrous Comping 🎸 #arktiklake Ambidextrous Comping 🎸 #arktiklake
Star Tracking 🖖 #arktiklake #oceanicstudiobroo Star Tracking 🖖

#arktiklake #oceanicstudiobrookvale
In autumn 2018 I went to Nashville, Tennessee, to In autumn 2018 I went to Nashville, Tennessee, to work with Salim Nourallah and his band, Richard on keys, Joe on guitars, Jason on bass and drums, and John on drums and bass and in a co-production role with Salim and as a fifth member of his band. After Nashville we retired to Dallas where all but Joe live (he lives in San Antonio) and worked on overdubs, mixing was next…then the pandemic hit. Finally, the album is now mixed and will be released in early 2023 but before that, we have the See You In Marfa EP from those sessions released yesterday on Bandcamp:

www.palosantotx.bandcamp.com/album/see-you-in-marfa-ep

A CD is also available and streaming will be from August 19th. The lead track on the EP is Hold On To The Night, complete with a video featuring an animated yours truly and co-written (a bit) by me: https://youtu.be/GhUk-MDm1VQ

This whimsical video was done by an Australian videographer/musician, Jordan Thompson.

#salimnourallah #martywillsonpiper #holdontothenight #seeyouinmarfa #seeyouinmarfaep #anuclearwinter #jordanthompson #rickenbacker
Are we at home here or what? #lardocelar #garagea Are we at home here or what?

#lardocelar #garageandstage #jazzbirthday
Many years from now... ✨ #handymen Many years from now... ✨

#handymen
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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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