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Jan 01 2021

TO WHERE I AM NOW

As one last memory of Christmas and New Year, we were on our way past the Capela das Almas / de Santa Catarina – Church of Souls on Christmas Day and decided to take a look inside. We had passed by many times as it’s in the same street as where we live. It is decorated with beautiful blue and white Azulejo tiles painted with the lives of the saints. The 16,000 tiles were added in 1929 although the church was built in the 18th century. We ventured inside, there were pews of scattered followers listening to the words of the preacher at the back of the church in a pulpit surrounded by plexiglass, like the Popemobile. After a short period, they began to sing Silent Night in Portuguese (Noite Feliz) so I recorded a bit of it on my phone. We were there till the end of the service, it was an austere event, but the lack of people made me think of how all things change. The religion biz, the music biz, the taxi biz, the hotel biz, the fax biz, the telegram biz, welcome to the future.

https://martywillson-piper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Noite-Feliz.wav

Today we had a strange task, finding the house of a Chinese lady in the East so we could pick up the Hulusi and the toolbox she was selling. What is a Hulusi and how is it connected to a toolbox? Simply the lady was selling both and Olivia bought both items because the toolbox was so cheap (5 euros), as was the Hulusi (only 10 Euros). The word comes from ‘Hulu’ meaning gourd and ‘Si’ meaning silk and has a warm tone similar to a clarinet. Any excuse to have another weird instrument in the house.

I had a sesh with Noel in England at 7 PM but I decided to go with Olivia on this little jaunt to the East to get out of the house, breathe in some fresh air and see a part of town I hadn’t seen before. She had to be there at 5 PM. We took the subway there, we’re getting quite used to it now, how the tickets work, which train to take, where to change. It was quiet out there today, there were people around but a slightly chilly, rainy, New Year’s Day during a pandemic wasn’t exactly bringing joy to the streets. I took some more pics of old buildings, I think there will be old building pics in every blog because there are so many and they have such an atmosphere about them. Olivia was supposed to meet the lady at the main station for the exchange but she asked her to go to her house instead (it was near the station). I watched her walk up the street whilst I stayed and took photos of one particular disused building that must have been something important once. How did such grand buildings fall into such disrepair? There must have been a time here of great wealth and then a terrible downturn, I’m going to have to read up on my Portuguese history. On the way home, we got off at Bolhão, a station in town, and decided to walk instead of changing at Trindade and waiting for a sporadic New Year’s Day train. A bit more fresh air and an opportunity to take in more of this strange empty atmosphere that is the world right now. It started to rain but we never go out without an umbrella at this time of year – sporadic showers (like Penzance), except here I suppose it rains less in the summer, whereas in Penzance you never know.

Another mix from Ahad’s album came down the wires today, that’s six so far with seven to go. It being January 2021 I was reminded that the new MOAT record will be out this year (instead of next year) and that was a nice feeling. Although we have these records coming out, we can only see darkness at the moment when it comes to gigs. We’ve been trying to plan for them, booking way in advance but as any possible dates get closer, the situation in the world seems to be getting worse, not better. We have to rebook our US plane tickets before the end of January but who knows when the best time to go to the US will be? Perhaps Lufthansa will delay the bookings again till we get a better sense of the situation. The tragedy of all this seems to be, the more people travel to see their loved ones, the worse it gets.

Music today has been a trip through some late sixties and early to mid-seventies Folk groups. First the not so often mentioned Sandy Denny And The Strawbs recorded in Denmark in 1967 before they were noticed, then Tudor Lodge (1971), a real rarity which seems to be a mixture of Folk and Sixties harmony Sunshine Pop, quite a clash of life and death but lovely anyway. Then Spriguns with the magical title Revel, Weird and Wild (1976), their fourth album, starring Mandy Morton and produced by Steeleye Span’s Tim Hart. If you like Trees and Mellow Candle with a slightly more traditional folky sound then you might like this.

Music 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 🤘🏰

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Photo by @oliviaelektra 

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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.

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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 🎵

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#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 

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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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