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Dec 23 2020

TO WHERE I AM NOW

Christmas and last minute shopping as we try to figure out where the shops are. We don’t really know where anything is and as we moved three days ago we are in a new neighbourhood we aren’t yet familiar with the shops around us. So we are taking long trips to a health food store we found four subway stops away. Apparently, across the bridge in Gaia, there is El Corte Inglés (The English Style, A Spanish department store) that sells lots of veggie products, we haven’t even got to Gaia yet, it’s just one subway stop from where we were staying in Ribeira before we moved into our flat. So we bought a printer, a toaster, a plugboard, a phone charger, a US to Portuguese adaptor plug. But finding music stores, record stores or clothes stores has only been what we have stumbled upon. Restaurants are out of the picture because of Covid as are music venues, museums, libraries, gyms, swimming pools, and anywhere else you might be spending your time. Imagine being here when we know all the sweet spots and when most all is well.

So today we went to where we know and bought paper for the printer (we forgot yesterday), and other bits and pieces. I took some pics on the way as the light was fading, there’s a picture of an amazing building on every block, whether it be in ruin or just beautiful. One of the great things about living in the centre of town is a ten-minute walk – buy what you need, drop it all off at home and then straight out again to the parts of town where the less corporate shops might be, the independently owned health food store, and the international supermarket where the Quorn products live. We have started to navigate the subway and the ticket machine. It’s not obvious how the tickets work, how the machine works, how the language works. We got some help from an official in one of the stations and we’re getting there, but we are still at the stage where when we come to catching the train we have to solve a puzzle. Then there are the trains themselves, which line, which direction but once you are on the train and keeping your eyes open for your stop it’s the same as being on any subway anywhere in the world. There was one thing today – we got on the train at our station, Marquês, went two stops, got off at Trindade and then went two more stations to Carolina Michaelis, to exit the station we had to walk across the tracks (look left, look right), I can’t remember where I’ve ever done that in an underground network before.

I’m finding my Spanish is suddenly helpful here. I was told don’t speak Spanish to the Portuguese, they don’t like it and they think that you think that they are Spanish speaking. BUT, for those that have no English, I can communicate better in this as a language they are familiar with, or at least it has a lot of similar words. So now I ask, Spanish or English?

I need to learn Portuguese, restart Spanish, continue with French, practice, and learn more Swedish and consider German as it is my wife’s mother tongue. I need to be thirty, not sixty.

Christmas Eve is the day Olivia opens prezzies, after dinner, later in the day as do the Swedes, whereas in England it’s all about Christmas morning. In my family, there was a pillowcase at the end of my bed and in the morning you’d wake up and it would be full of awkward lumps. We never put presents around the tree although I have some kind of memory of putting some of them under the tree afterward so everyone could see what you got. Tricky if it was your first car, not that such a thing happened to me, I still don’t drive, and getting a vehicle into the pillowcase could be difficult.

Music today has been all about silence.

Songs Of The Daze

 

Album 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.

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Rockin' the MOAT t-shirt next to the real deal! #m Rockin' the MOAT t-shirt next to the real deal! #moatband #poisonstream 🤘🏰

T-Shirt Design by Reid Wilson
Photo by @oliviaelektra 

#schoolkidsrecords #nikoröhlcke #wellscathedral
Peter Walsh and I getting down at the Heron Tower Peter Walsh and I getting down at the Heron Tower disco 🕺🏻 #heyday
Soundchecking at Birmingham Symphony Hall, 10th Fe Soundchecking at Birmingham Symphony Hall, 10th February, 2001. All About Eve supporting Fairport Convention.

📷 by @derektimbrell
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

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📷 @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

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📷 @argirgirl 

#paisleypark #prince
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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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