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Nov 06 2020

TO WHERE I AM NOW

So much for Bonfire Night! It seems it was pretty much cancelled due to the lockdown. I remember as a kid we had a bonfire in our garden. We lived in the countryside between Marple Bridge and Glossop, east of Manchester and on the way to the Pennines. We had the classic accoutrements, the guy, the parkin, the treacle toffee, the fireworks, the sparklers, and the bonfire itself. It might take some time to explain what these things are and if you’re not from the British Isles you might not even know what Bonfire Night is. I’ll start with the cake (priorities). I love this cake, it’s hard to find down south or outside of England.

Parkin: “A traditional sponge cake from Northern England flavoured with syrupy molasses, oatmeal and ginger”. I love parkin.

Treacle Toffee: “A hard, brittle toffee that tastes very strongly of black treacle (molasses)”. This is probably why some of my teeth are missing.

The Guy: “A guy was made out of old rags, filled either with paper or straw and placed in a pushchair or a wheelbarrow, you would either place him in front of a shop or knock on neighbours’ doors, chanting ‘Penny For The Guy’. This was to help to fund buying fireworks for the annual family or local community bonfire show. The guy would then be put on the bonfire for the crowd to watch him burn”. Brutal!

Fireworks: “To mark the anniversary of the discovery of a plot organised by Catholic conspirators to blow up the Houses Of Parliament in London in 1605, fireworks are set off to symbolise the gun powder plot that was foiled. The leader was called Guy Fawkes.”

Sparklers: I think we all know what sparklers are, what I remember is the smell after they burned out, that, and making patterns in the air.

The Bonfire: “Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators placed 36 barrels of gunpowder in the cellars of the Houses Of Parliament in an attempt to blow up the protestant King James I and his ministers and have the country revert back to Catholicism. One of their members wrote a letter to a friend who worked in the building, telling him to stay away on November 5th. The letter found its way into the hands of the authorities and the plot was foiled. The plotters were all captured and executed. The bonfire symbolises all the aspects of the plot, the flames that never were and the burning of the guy”.

I’m not sure if those of you that have been reading this for a while are going to be able to cope with the next thing I tell you. I’d been up to Dare’s house and on the way down to the studio I walked down Causeway Head to pick up a cauliflower from the greengrocer’s and make my daily visit to pasty land (except Sundays!). As I was walking down, my head nearly spun off my shoulders, the belt shop was open! Inside, an old man was sitting fixing something on his bench. I couldn’t believe it, I went in and asked him if he could fix my belt and when he was closing? He said, of course, he could fix it and I had time to get back there with my belt that has been broken for 6 months! So I went and fetched it from the studio and he fixed it in 4 minutes and he charged me 4 pounds. So now all my troubles in the world are gone! I can die happy!

Music today is inspired by the shock news that Ken Hensley from Uriah Heep has died aged 75. It’s just a couple of months after the death of drummer Lee Kerslake. This was the first band that I saw. I was 15, it was at Liverpool Stadium in 1973 (I think). Only one member, guitarist Mick Box, of that lineup survives. Gary Thain – bassist, Dave Byron – lead singer, Lee Kerslake – drums, Ken Hensley – organ and guitar, have all gone. Byron was dead of liver disease at 38, Thain died of a heroin overdose aged 27. Kerslake died of cancer aged 73. They were one of the most hated bands outside their fans (along with ELP). I’ve seen them a couple of times since, once in Sydney a few years ago where I got to meet Mick Box who was super nice and once in Stockholm relatively recently where The Zombies supported them (believe it or not). So tonight I thought I’d play their most famous album, Demons and Wizards, and relive one of the great Rock albums that only the fans will ever love. It was the first album with the new rhythm section of Thain and Kerslake replacing original bassist Paul Newton and ex Cressida drummer Iain Clark and featured one of their most celebrated songs, Easy Livin’ (Colosseum’s bassist Mark Clarke was briefly in the band and was also on this album). I just wish people would stop dying this year.

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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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

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📷 @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

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📷 @argirgirl 

#paisleypark #prince
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At last, a proper door stop. 📷 @judgeschamber At last, a proper door stop.

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🌵 Texas Acoustic Dates 🌵 31 December - DALL 🌵 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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