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Jan 24 2021

TO WHERE I AM NOW

Last night at 3 AM I went to bed, I was toast. The day had been long, up in the morning, shower, brekkie, rehearse, s/check, two shows and before the first one, I had my ‘eye distortion’ and had to lie down for half an hour, consequently starting the show late. So by the time I’d done French and written the blog and clocked that I had to be up in the morning for a sesh with Arctic Lake Tony – I was not just toast but burnt toast. I hit the pillow like a concrete slab hitting water from 1000 feet. I woke up 3 minutes before my alarm went off and seshed with Tony from 11 AM. After that, I thought perhaps I needed to check back into the sack and did so not getting up till 5 PM. Sometimes you just have to rest, recuperate. My fingers had been stinging the day before from holding down those 12 strings for so many songs and playing for such a long time with rehearsals, s/checks, and the actual gigs. You need to get tuned up in the hands, in the voice, so I’ll be spending the next week getting prepared for 3 shows next Saturday. After that what can we expect for shows? Travel restrictions and even then, US work visas now cost $5,000, work permits are needed now for UK residents to perform in Europe. We’ll see if my Portuguese residency will help with that. Add these costs to the uncertainty of the pandemic and the streaming taking away record sales and musician is looking like a pretty dodgy bet as a career choice. The idea that a brilliant artistic type might be able to spill his beautiful soul over the world is becoming less and less likely, unless he’s young, cashed up, and a dead cert – and then it’s unlikely it will work out. It’s a different world.

But music is a passion and we have the internet and the studio and the archive and the will. But with this year looking like it’s also going to be lost to the pandemic, I can only hope to stay creative and make something special out of this move to Portugal as we wait for life to come back to normal. Imagine being a waiter, low wage, relying on tips, and suddenly nothing and no relief in sight. Or a parent with the children at home needing to be looked after, educated, and reassured. Olivia and I have tickets to the US paid for and according to Lufthansa we have till the end of the week to decide when we want to use them – how can we know? They may decide to give us more time but these companies are waiting till the last minute, hedging their bets, it’s not really customer service when you have a ticket to New York that you can’t use and can’t plan for. We’ll see what happens this week.

So, we obviously didn’t make it out of the house today and they are telling us that Portugal is suffering badly with the virus, so perhaps best to stay in. It’s misty and rainy and everything is closed anyway. At least we can communicate with the world outside these walls, at least we can read and watch films and listen to music and the shops are still open and still have food. On that subject, it seems like Brexit is doing some fine damage in that department over there in England, add the virus, job loss, death, mental health, severe weather and it’s one big mess. The latest I heard was that the new strain is 30% more dangerous and I’m 63 this year. Where will it end? I think I need to be making up more fantasy stories, the staying in, the threat outside and everything closed doesn’t give to hopeful blogs.

On a lighter note, I did French today (day 234) and then we watched two episodes of Deep Space Nine over dinner. We’re all caught up with the other Star Treks and I’m all caught up with The Expanse and although people swear it’s the best sci-fi, I’m having a problem with the side story relationship between Naomi and Filip, sorry dedicated followers. What I really want to do is watch some black and white classics, some foreign movies from the sixties and seventies and some contemporary classics. Dear alien creator of the universe, please give me more time.

Music today comes from Brett Smiley, the American Glam R’n’R star that never was. Taken under the wing of Stones manager/producer Andrew Loog Oldham, Smiley was going to be huge but it never happened despite the fey delivery, the look, and the heavy hitters. He released one single, Va Va Voom in 1973 and performed the song Space Ace (the B-side) on the then-popular Russel Harty talk show. His only album Breathlessly Brett was shelved due to lack of interest. It was eventually released on RPM Records in 2003. Smiley died in 2015. If you are into Glam you need this for the great covers of Sedaka’s Solitaire and I Want To Hold Your Hand (Plus The Four Tops’ I Can’t Help Myself going into Over The Rainbow and ending with Sinatra’s Young At Heart) and the classics Space Ace and the single Va Va Voom. After it all fell apart he returned to the US and acted, played some low-key shows. I can’t believe I missed him, I’m sure he was playing somewhere in New York when I lived there in the early 2000s. Too late, RIP Brett, at least we have this one album. (Brett on discogs | Buy the album)

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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Bye bye, Oz! Okay, so I’d better go pack, we hav Bye bye, Oz! Okay, so I’d better go pack, we have to be up at 5.30 AM. And oh yes by the way, Olivia remembered at 11.41 PM that today was our six years anniversary together, haha 😍

📷 @tonyrumble
Triple Marty Triple Marty
OUT NOW 💪 Afridi/Willson-Piper present SISYPHU OUT NOW 💪

Afridi/Willson-Piper present SISYPHUS off their debut album In The End, The Birds Will Sing (2022, tba).

Available to stream via the usuals.

@ahadafridi @afridiwillsonpiper #ahadafridi #martywillsonpiper #intheendthebirdswillsing #thesessioneerseries #songwritingandguitarguidance
We can't decide what colour this Strat is... We can't decide what colour this Strat is...
Ambidextrous Comping 🎸 #arktiklake Ambidextrous Comping 🎸 #arktiklake
Star Tracking 🖖 #arktiklake #oceanicstudiobroo Star Tracking 🖖

#arktiklake #oceanicstudiobrookvale
In autumn 2018 I went to Nashville, Tennessee, to In autumn 2018 I went to Nashville, Tennessee, to work with Salim Nourallah and his band, Richard on keys, Joe on guitars, Jason on bass and drums, and John on drums and bass and in a co-production role with Salim and as a fifth member of his band. After Nashville we retired to Dallas where all but Joe live (he lives in San Antonio) and worked on overdubs, mixing was next…then the pandemic hit. Finally, the album is now mixed and will be released in early 2023 but before that, we have the See You In Marfa EP from those sessions released yesterday on Bandcamp:

www.palosantotx.bandcamp.com/album/see-you-in-marfa-ep

A CD is also available and streaming will be from August 19th. The lead track on the EP is Hold On To The Night, complete with a video featuring an animated yours truly and co-written (a bit) by me: https://youtu.be/GhUk-MDm1VQ

This whimsical video was done by an Australian videographer/musician, Jordan Thompson.

#salimnourallah #martywillsonpiper #holdontothenight #seeyouinmarfa #seeyouinmarfaep #anuclearwinter #jordanthompson #rickenbacker
Are we at home here or what? #lardocelar #garagea Are we at home here or what?

#lardocelar #garageandstage #jazzbirthday
Many years from now... ✨ #handymen Many years from now... ✨

#handymen
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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

MARTY WILLSON-PIPER © 2022 - Front Page Images by Hajo Müller