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Feb 13 2021

TO WHERE I AM NOW

A strange trip to the centre of the universe (the supermarket) today. Halfway there, approaching the traffic lights, dog dirt on the pavement, I jumped to avoid it and landed right next to two dismounted police motorcyclists, a man and a woman. The cross light was on green as we went to cross, the motorcycle clothing clad uniformed lady said something to me in Portuguese. I responded that I didn’t speak Portuguese and took a step back. Were we in trouble for being out during lockdown? Were we going to have to explain what two foreigners were doing running around the streets jumping over dog dirt at the height of a pandemic? Did I have my approved residency papers with me to accompany my passport? No, I didn’t. I did have my passport though for this very situation. Both officers were armed with handguns on their hips and for all the travelling I’ve done in the world and all the places I’ve been, I’m still English and seeing guns on uniformed hips still freaks me out. As I approached the two officers, the crossing light changed to red. So we were standing next to them as she prepared to speak to me in English. She looked at me with a very serious and stern look on her face, her partner standing upright beside her and she said: “It means you’re going to get a lot of money if you step in it”. They then exchanged words with each other in Portuguese, threw their legs over their futuristic motorbikes and rode off.

After this fascinating exchange that had me confused as to whether I was in trouble or going to be rich, we continued on our trip and found ourselves in a street we’d only been in once at twilight on return from the fascinating, mythical supermarket. This time I could take photographs, I had the light but I didn’t really have the time so I told Olivia to go ahead in case I didn’t make it for the last entry. In fact, I did make it but happily sneaking in the last minute with a camera full of images. Yes, more doors and shapes, colours, odd angles, beautiful houses, tiled blocks, derelict edifices with swinging paint-peeled wooden shutters. There’s so much of this in Porto, some buildings roofless, others with concrete built into the doors and windows to stop people getting in, probably for their own safety. The colours are different to England, what is it about Southern Europe, South America and all the Latino countries that celebrate colour in the kitchens (Frida Kahlo), on their outside walls and window frames? Why is middle Europe so dull? Why do car parks have to be grey concrete, why do flyovers and bridges have to be grey concrete that starts to collect dirt and damp patches, dirty streaks and horrible stains? Why can’t they mix a powder blue into the concrete, a mild pink or even a dangerous deep red, forest green or daffodil yellow? The dour white men at the top have no imaginations, that’s why.

My man Mohamad in London helped me get Catalina onto my computer today so I could download Logic. But I thought I’d update GarageBand first on my new operating system…guess what I couldn’t because it needs an even later OS than I have and apparently my 2012/13 can’t take it. Why can’t they just make it easier, why has a company like Apple who cares so much about design and aesthetics, attracting artists to their wares, not support them afterwards with their make-old-computers-obsolete policy? Must I always buy a new car, can I no longer have a 1968 Citroen DS? Must I always buy a new guitar? Can I not have a 1960 Rickenbacker? Must I always read from a screen, should I no longer read from the pages of a book? Perhaps I don’t need to ever go out, I can see trees and sea and sky and animals and mountains and flowers and canyons and rivers on my computer screen, why do I need the real thing?

Still, after hours and hours of trying to work out why I couldn’t download Logic, I found an error in the address of the Apple ID and it finally worked but not after hours and hours of trying two different Apple IDs that I have, one not working at all with no explanation except that I initially registered it in America, don’t people move to different countries in Apple land? So now I’m faced with Logic Pro and no idea how to use it, tutorials here we come and we’ll see. It’s supposed to be a tool to capture your creative ideas, not a system to solve the oxygen problem on the moon or getting quickly to Mars. Let’s see if I can figure out how to simply record a song, chords, lyric, voice, a simple bass and lead with a drumbeat that isn’t Hip Hop-inspired or designed to raze the walls of Caernarvon Castle.

Music today has been the two great odd records by ex Talk Talk bassist Paul Webb and his Rustin Man project. Odd, accessible, arty, sometimes Bowiesque, as if Bowie were 130 years old, sometimes Wyattesque but always interesting. A strange musical history that has brought him to these two fascinating albums, Drift Code (2019) and Clockdust (2020). One other album under the Rustin Man moniker, Out Of Season, was released in 2002, a collaboration with Beth Gibbons from Portishead.

Before that he and Talk Talk drummer Lee Harris had formed .O.rang and released Herd Of Instinct and the Spoor EP in 1994 and Fields and Waves in 1996. Before that Webb played bass with Talk Talk who released five albums between 1982-1991 and we all know about that.

Although Webb did raise his head in 2007 to produce the James Yorkston album, The Year Of The Leopard, and Belgian oddity Dez Mona’s Hilfe Kommt (“help is coming”) in 2009, Webb has kept a rather low profile until these last two albums in two years, let’s see if another one appears in 2021, let’s hope so, highly recommended – if you like this kind of thing.

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.

11209512_1669022976719710_7288437867089763325_n

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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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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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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 🎵

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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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#markburgess #thechameleons #chameleonsvox #pleasantrylanestudio #happinessarecordlabel #martywillsonpiper #oliviawillsonpiper #moatband
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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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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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