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Marty Willson-Piper

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Apr 26 2020

TO WHERE I AM NOW

Waking up feeling better and getting into the studio to cure all ills with music. That’s what music is supposed to do, heal. But it seems that music affects people differently, some people hear the beat, others the bass, the words or the melody, the players’ skills, the singer’s voice. Others hear the production and then there’s those that just want to dance. Drug enhancement, praising the higher powers, ritual, lifts/elevators, restaurants and bars, some loud, some soft. Groove, political vehicle, sending the kids to sleep, birth, seduction, however you use it, treasure it, it’s a gift to everyone. Today in the studio was mystery day. Space Summit Track 9, the basic guitars, electric and acoustic, drums, bass, lead vocals, backing vocals, all done and yet nowhere near finished. I’ve been asked before ‘how do you know when it’s finished?’. The answer is, when you are satisfied that your dissatisfaction cannot be satisfied. But seriously, a song knows when it’s done, even if you don’t.

Today was interesting because we knew we weren’t done but we also didn’t know what we wanted. There was a small idea on the demo, but the song was a long way from the guitar finish line. This is why you have different guitars, different amps, different effects and this is why having your own unique equipment serves you well. I may have to explain. The internet, music programs, digital effects’ companies release things called plug-ins. Millions of created sounds by thousands of companies allowing you to capture the sound you want for your composition – without leaving your desk. The problem with that is that these sounds, samples, plug-ins, are available to everybody. Of course, people use them differently, manipulate them differently, disguise them completely by blending them with other sounds. This is amazing, it makes the possibilities endless for home recording, or any kind of recording. BUT, what we mostly use here is a collection of unique analogue instruments. Guitars sound different to each other even if they are actually the same instrument. For example my sixties Rickenbacker 12 string sounds completely different to my eighties Rickenbacker 12 string despite them both being Rickenbacker 12 strings. My Fenders, ’59 Jazz, ’77 Strat, 2017 Nash Tele are worlds apart and my Fender seventies 6 string bass, ’68 Hagström 8 string bass, sixties Hofner bass and my hybrid seventies/eighties Rickenbacker bass are the difference between butter, cheese, milk and yoghurt.

Finding the right part for a song might not be as simple as plugging in your favourite guitar. The guitar collection is an armoury of possibilities. Today that library of unique sounds became available for us to experiment with ideas to enhance the song, bring it to life, put the icing on the cake. The later model black Rickenbacker 12 string was perfect, adding the other Rickenbacker as a double track was superfluous, we had to try it to know. The Nash Tele through the Electro Harmonix Tremolo pedal was perfect and Dare’s 1961 Gibson 345 with wah wah and then the older Electro Harmonix Big Muff that I found in a junk shop in Portland was exactly what the song needed. All this through a 1962 Vox AC30 with modular bass and treble tone controls in the back casing of the amp. Generic sounds, average guitars and digital effects could not have done this. It might have been different but working with these original instruments is another world. After all this Olivia sang some backing vocals, robots sing too but it’s not quite the same.

Music on the stereo today has been a trip into the obscure, starting with 1969 and Mind Garage. The net tells me that is the first Christian Rock record although you’d never know it. It sounds like records did in 1969, musically and lyrically. It’s not blatant worship like those American eighties metal bands like Stryper, Soldiers Under Command (1985) was a little, let’s say routine. Apparently Mind Garage made the ground-breaking move of playing Rock music live in church with their Electric Liturgy. Nobody had done that before. Without explanation the band disappeared after one album. The Fleshtones cite them as an influence. Another fascinating fact is that Fleshtones guitarist Keith Streng’s partner Katarina had me babysit her cat, Gorm, when I lived in Stockholm.

I followed Mind Garage with an even bigger obscurity. Mirkwood formed in Dover in 1971 and only made this one album released in a limited edition of 99 copies. This reissue is even hard to find. I bought it at a market stall in New Jersey one sunny afternoon. It’s a Rock album from 1973 that needed recording with a better engineer, but has some neat fuzzy guitars. The second track on side one, Love’s Glass Of Sunshine, steals directly from Deep Purple’s Child In Time, including the crescendo for the lead solo. Presuming Child In Time (1970) came first, which the chronology shows. The fascinating fact for this album is that after the original drummer left he was replaced by Topper Headon who joined, wait for it – The Clash.

Not too difficult to follow this obscurity, because I have the Grannie album! They were formed in the late sixties and made this one album in 1971, again only 100 were made. I found this reissue (probably a bootleg) in Italy, when I was there playing at a festival close to Milan with Anekdoten. It’s a great Prog Rock album. Highly recommended, but hard to find and pricey even as a reissue.

Mad River were from Ohio, formed in 1966. They moved to San Francisco and released their debut album in 1968. You have to get used to Lawrence Hammond’s vocals on this one, rather like you do with Pavlov’s Dog, but once you do, then it’s another forgotten classic from the era.

Song Of The Day today is No One There from Nightjar (2008) in honour of the bands that didn’t get past their first or second album.

 

No One There

The pale sun leaves weaker shadows
As daylight wanes and gives in to the dark (dark dark dark)
People hurry into buildings for secret meetings
As the gates close in the park (park park park)

Behind the curtains silhouettes are disembodied
Dancing in the frame (frame frame frame)
And with all the conversations over
The quiet freezes like they never came (came came came)

Pull me up from deep inside this pillow
Feathers soft I lay my head in sorrow
There’s caverns dark and then there’s eyes that stare
And I hear fingers snapping but there’s no one there

Once upon a time with all the world before me
I moved toward the sun (sun sun sun)
But all that brightness, left me sightless
Made it hard to see where I had gone (gone gone gone)

And finally the simple questions
Turned into the ones you shouldn’t ask (ask ask ask)
And still the sharks have fools believing
As all forget the troubles in the past (past past past)

But fear is just an ugly face, who cannot
Win…unless you choose surrendering
Your value drops if you let go
You must hold on
The game is short but the lie is long

Oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh

Pull me up from deep inside this pillow
Feathers soft I lay my head in sorrow
There’s caverns dark and then there’s eyes that stare
And I hear fingers snapping but there’s no one there

(Willson-Piper)
Nightjar (2008)

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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"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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