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Mar 06 2020

TO WHERE I AM NOW

“Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine” – Those were the immortal lines uttered by Patti Smith on the first track of the debut album Horses, released in 1975 on Arista records. Some years later I was reading Camus’ Notebooks and came across the line “Maybe Christ died for somebody but not for me.”. This appears in Notebooks Volume 1, 1942-1951 (Volume 2 is 1935-1942). Smith has always talked about Rimbaud, Baudelaire, Jean Genet, Bob Dylan, but I can’t remember her mentioning Camus and it’s his line, in French of course. I’ve seen her live a mere eleven times, four times in one year. It helped being friends with drummer Jay Dee who played on Priest=Aura, but when I look back at my first experience of her it was in Manchester in the seventies. Dare was at Uni there and one of his room mates, Graham, turned me onto Horses. I remember it clear as day. I remember being in his room and him saying to me this is New Wave but American New Wave and handing me the cover. Tragically recently Ivan Kral has died, Richard Sohl has already gone, but Patti Smith lives on as poet, heroine and mentor. We listened to Horses tonight for the first time in a long time, it’s so familiar, I must have played it endlessly then. It’s the hippest album ever so I always enjoyed Allan Lanier from Blue Oyster Cult’s contribution (the band are mentioned on the cover). Lanier co-wrote Kimberly and Elegie and played guitar on the latter. It was the crossover period between generations, Punk annihilating Rock with spit, passion and anger, different clothes, different hair. I had no problem with a world where Patti Smith and Blue Oyster Cult literally danced arm in arm (Secret Treaties was one of my favourite albums when it came out) and despite her changing the life of Michael Stipe, activating Morrissey, PJ Harvey and Siouxsie Sioux she was able to associate herself with Allan Lanier as her partner and Bob Dylan as her most recent hero when a good portion of the rest were trying to pretend they didn’t exist and had no meaning.

I went to bed so late last night (hours admiring the sofa) and didn’t find my way into the day till late afternoon. Olivia and I went up to the leisure centre at around 5PM and I decided to swim. I did half a mile freestyle and then stretched and floated in the water. Weightlessness is one of the great underrated experiences and Olivia will be experiencing it soon because for Christmas I bought her a Float Tank session. It’s not anything I’ve done myself but as I swim often and Anekdoten have a song called Gravity that we play live, I’m aware. I hear it’s a rather bizarre and disconcerting experience, I can’t wait for Olivia’s review.

I had to try and make tonight a record filing evening, most people’s hell, my idea of perfection. Pottering, filing, listening to the library, comparing records I’ve bought with versions I already have, filling that missing space, experiencing the music for the first time or the 100th, admiring the cover art. I love it. Olivia working on something unknown in the room. The space is an aesthetic paradise, too. I have the skull shelf that you caught a glimpse of yesterday, but there is also the artefact window. Wonders of the world, trinkets and keepsakes, mementos and a collection of 23 lava lamps from all different eras and various shapes and sizes. You sink into this room, it wraps its arms around you and whispers softly into your ear or it shakes you into action, waking you up to some vibrant sound or revolutionary message.

Today’s been only music listening and we’ve had our usual eclectic mix of dishes. This morning we had Roísín Murphy and Billy Gibbons after each other. It’s like those wonderful bills in the sixties and seventies where the acts were completely different to each other and the audience were grateful. These days the whole experience has to be tuned to one station. Sha Na Na played at Woodstock, the hippies were entertained. When I was listening to Patti Smith today I thought what if Janis Joplin were on the same bill? What a night that would be. On the last tour I bought a copy of No Roses by Shirley Collins And The Albion Country Band, British Folk at its best. Donnie And Joe Emerson’s Light In The Attic release of Lost Recordings from 1979-1981 is an odd one. A father who built his sons a recording studio to be able to follow their interest in music without pressure from record labels. Then, a dodgy East German pressing of a Marmalade Greatest Hits where the music hasn’t been cut properly and the right side drops out of the speakers randomly. Today was also a day of Meet The Residents, their first album from 1974. I felt like the room needed something more experimental in it, tomorrow we may need guitar solos. Finishing with Iranian-born singer Azam Ali to round off the meal. It’s a studio day tomorrow, guitars and axing the futon bass could be a fascinating recording session.

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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