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Oct 02 2020

TO WHERE I AM NOW

It was filthy weather today, rain, wind, everyone but me was wrapped in anoraks, windjammers, macs, raincoats, their heads covered, framing faces that made them look like characters from Alice in Wonderland. I was in shorts, a shirt loose over a T-shirt, waistcoat (vest in American) – I suppose (I guess in American) that I don’t feel the cold as readily as a lot of other humans and I’m not scared of the rain – I grew up in the north of England. I’m more scared of the sun. In Australia I’d be woken by the sun pouring into the bedroom at 7AM, eventually forced to get up, you’d go into the kitchen, open the fridge (refrigerator in American) and realise there was no oat/soya milk for cereal. That would mean a trip to the shops but you wouldn’t want to walk down there without suntan cream. So you’d plaster it on your arms, neck and face, legs, ears and head out. By the time you got to the shops the suntan cream was melting, by the time you got back to the house you were wet, a hot and sticky mess and ready for the second shower of the day, it’s 9AM. I was never a sun seeker, I was always a sun escaper, sitting on a beach seemed like an excuse for sand to get everywhere, you’d find it in crevices that you didn’t know you had. I have no problem with countries with hot climates, except for the hot climate.

By the skin of our teeth! From tomorrow, Saturday, anyone travelling to the UK from Turkey has to self-isolate for 14 days. So Ahad got into England just in time. We were talking about him coming later but I predicted this would happen so when this short window opened up we got him here. Now we are eight songs in with five to go before he leaves on Monday morning. When he’s gone, Dare and I will work on backing vocals, piano, trumpets, Andalusian yak horn and Venusian double Truuben Sxyz. Then it’s mix time! It’s such a trip seeing a record evolve from an idea through all the stages to the finished item, getting real vocals onto finished guitar, bass and drums. It sets the songs alight, shows the future, excites the senses as you edge towards the finish line.

When I went to pasty land today I saw an old man walking in the rain. He must have been in his late seventies or early eighties. He was dressed in an old man’s suit but coatless. He had that awful look of imminent death on his face, the confusion of not knowing whether it was better to live or to die. He shuffled his feet, the soles of his shoes never leaving the ground and the steps were so small it was almost as if he was stationary. It was that terrible realisation that life was hard and only death could fix it. I saw the future and wondered about how I would feel if my body was collapsing and my mind was weakening and yet I was hanging onto life, hanging onto memories and the people who loved me now. I thought about which of my favourite artist’s albums would I not be around to hear – I’m not going to make it to FKA Twigs 12th album, I hope I make her third.

I picked up some CDs from the charity store today for no money – a T.Rex triple CD collection, a Bowie double CD collection, a double Doors Best Of, Lenny Kravitz’s Greatest Hits – it was as if the person that had donated their CD collection to the store had never bought a CD of an actual album by any of these artists, as if the Greatest Hits were enough. I suppose that modern-day listening/streaming would be perfect for a person like this, no bothering with all those unnecessary tracks that weren’t on the radio, all those album tracks that weren’t singles, superfluous to requirements. Deep catalogue not really the point, except that Spotify gives you both – if you want it.

Olivia and I watched Californians In Space (my name for Star Trek: Enterprise) over dinner and we marvelled at T’Pol’s lips, Malcolm’s accent and the scary aliens that were actually scary and weird in this episode (Silent Enemy). The script seems designed less for those of us that want fascinating aliens and more for people who want to see good strong relationships with shipmates. That’s why I never really managed to get through Deep Space Nine, even the aliens seemed like they were working through self-help book guidance, learning the importance of loyalty, friendship and supporting your fellow lizard-like neighbour (neighbor in American).

Music today took me to guitarist extraordinaire Allan Holdsworth and three albums and an EP, Velvet Darkness (1976), I.O.U. (1982), the Road Games EP (1983) and Metal Fatigue (1985). It’s more Jazz Fusion but there are some vocals on Road Games from Jack Bruce. Personally, I prefer all the tracks on these records that have no vocals. Apparently, the first album was released without his permission and allegedly he didn’t like the EP. Despite playing with Gong, Soft Machine, Tempest, Nucleus, Jean-Luc Ponty, Bill Bruford and many more, gaining massive credibility with his peers, when he died in 2017 he was broke and his family had to do a crowdfunding campaign to pay his funeral bills. A sad end for a magnificent musician.

Song Of The Daze

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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