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Mar 10 2020

TO WHERE I AM NOW

In the studio today with Dare, working on new Noctorum songs. A couple of years ago Dare bought a lovely Gibson ES 345 from the early sixties. That is to say he purchased a time machine on eBay (one lady user, low mileage), then transported himself back to the early sixties to buy the guitar brand new. So the last couple of studio sessions I have been mainly playing bass and concentrating on the words. Our original plan was to make a rhythm track, I’d write a bass line and then we’d both play guitar to find the song. It hasn’t quite worked out like that, it rarely does. But with me luxuriating on the studio couch pen in hand, book in lap, imagining other worlds, dark secrets and mind-blowing concepts, Dare has been quietly (or noisily) engaging his really quite special guitar and coming up with chords and guitar parts.

I love the magic process of writing songs, sometimes you build them in sections, other times the whole idea falls out of you, the chords, the melody, the words. In a collaboration it’s like-minded souls piecing it all together. One of the great things about writing together (musically) is that sometimes one person has the vision and the other follows that train of thought and at other times it’s the other way around. The main thing is that you really have to trust each other, even if sometimes you lead each other down a dead end. Ha ha, I have to say we usually don’t.

It seems a little odd to be talking about the songs we are writing for the new Noctorum album when the new MOAT album Poison Stream is sitting on the runway, ready to go (the coming campaign notwithstanding). But writing songs or any type of regular creating has this rather annoying habit of moving onto the next thing, leaving behind what’s finished as soon as it’s done. Live we play our songs from all eras and that is a different process and has other levels of excitement and enthusiasm that comes from a different place. Wielding a guitar on stage through a whole lot of effects through a big amp and in turn through a powerful PA to a lot of willing listeners is a rather different thrill to sitting in a cosy room near a soft glowing lamp with a cup of tea, finding the perfect couplet for your poignant lyric.

The other fascinating thing about writing songs is that the muse appears at the oddest moments, sometimes when you are least equipped to receive. Waking up from a dream, hazy, confused, watching the idea slip backwards suddenly out of reach or sitting on a bus or anytime you have no pen or no recording device. You also know that you are not going to remember this flash of inspiration if you don’t capture it in the next 5 minutes. Some examples of flashes of ideas that I have had are when I wrote the Reptile riff, I just played it, the band looked up, I remember someone saying “What’s that?”, I said “I don’t know, I just made it up”. One thing led to another and the song was born. On Hanging Out In Heaven I wrote I Don’t Think So, words, chords, melody and arrangement as an improvisation straight to cassette. I think there’s many stories of classic, meaningful and famous songs written quickly.

Another thing I was thinking about today was how lyrics can either be deep and meaningful and appropriate or simple and apparently meaningless. Superstar by The Carpenters comes to mind, written by Leon Russell and Bonnie Bramlett (mainly) with the immortal chorus line “Don’t you remember you told me you loved me baby – baby, baby, baby, baby, Oh baby, I love you, I really do”. A song about a groupie, actually rather meaningful and lyrically appropriate. For all the stick the Blues gets, it is actually supposed to be the most heartachingly real expression of the tortured human soul. But you can say anything and not mean it, it doesn’t mean that someone else hadn’t bared his soul simply and DID mean it. Imagine if The Archies’ Sugar Sugar had been called Sartre Sartre (the first girl I kissed this song was playing, a more profound lyric may have changed the circumstances completely). One wonders if John Lennon had felt that the lyrics he wrote for Help! were a truer expression than say lyrics like I Am The Walrus and where would we all be if he hadn’t experimented with words (thanks Bob for that). I really admire those sixties teams like Bacharach and David and the lyricists and composers in the forties and fifties, working together whether it be for Sinatra or for the classic musicals.

I talked about Patti Smith the other day and how I love that she didn’t abandon her hero (Bob) when he was out of favour with the new wave that she was riding on. How many younger people that heard Patti Smith as a new artist, immediately went to investigate Dylan as a consequence? Morrissey might have been the other most important lyricist of the next era, that is Post Punk. But also running around Manchester way before him was the greatest Punk Poet of all, John Cooper-Clark, who let’s face it was not only literate like Dylan but also stole his wardrobe. Mark E. Smith anybody? I met him once but that’s another story. Back down in London Peter Perrett ticked all the boxes for me. I played with him once (that’s also another story). The Only Ones were my favourite band (Mike Kellie RIP). Then there’s those early Butler Rep words. Hm, I can feel a list coming on. Perhaps I should go back and listen to some of these records that heralded a new era in the seventies, Wire, John Foxx’s Ultravox, Magazine, and specifically listen to the words whilst being glad that with the help of the musicians, the collaborators that the lyricists had the vehicle for the great songs that you and I know and love.

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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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 🎵

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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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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.

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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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