• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Bands & Projects
    • Marty Willson-Piper
    • Marty & Olivia
    • Noctorum
    • MOAT
    • Atlantæum Flood
    • Anekdoten
      • How I Joined Anekdoten
    • The Church
      • Sleeve Notes
    • All About Eve
  • Discography
  • Gear
  • Talking
  • Lyrics
    • SOLO ALBUMS
      • In Reflection
      • Art Attack
      • Rhyme
      • Spirit Level
      • Hanging Out In Heaven
      • Nightjar
    • NOCTORUM
      • Sparks Lane
      • Offer The Light
      • Honey Mink Forever
      • The Afterlife
    • MOAT
      • Moat
      • Poison Stream
    • Seeing Stars
  • Sleeve Notes
    • Of Skins And Heart
    • The Blurred Crusade
    • Seance
    • Heyday
    • Starfish
    • Gold Afternoon Fix
    • Priest = Aura
  • Bandcamp

Marty Willson-Piper

The official home of Marty Willson-Piper

  • News
  • Blog
  • Shows
  • Songwriting & Guitar Guidance
  • In Deep Music Archive
  • Contact

Mar 01 2021

TO WHERE I AM NOW

In 2018 Anekdoten played in Rome and as Olivia was involved in a classical concert/rehearsals in Germany at the time I decided to stay for three extra days when the band had gone back to Stockholm. It was a fascinating trip walking around the living museum that is Rome. I visited the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and St Peter’s Square – and some record stores. I met Corrado there, a native, he follows the music I make and was a perfect guide at night as to where to wander and eat. I met his family and some friends and a jolly time was had by all. The reason I mention this is because at one point we were driving along and he pointed out of the window and said nonchalantly, “That’s where Julius Caesar was murdered”. It struck me as something so historically important that I had become unsure if it was fact or fiction, it has reached mythological status. Then there’s Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar and I always remember the line from Caesar’s soothsayer, “Beware the ides of March” and that is why I bring this up because today is the 1st March, so look out!

In reality, the streets of Porto were rather normal today. It was cloudy, not raining, colder but there seemed to be more people out. Olivia went to send packages out at the post office which is proving to be a rather tedious and time-consuming process and is ridiculously complex – she can’t send everything at once. I went to the computer store to pay for my USB speaker output and buy printer ink and was talking to João about the frustration of being in such an amazing place with all the facilities closed down. He told me, Hey, it’s the same for us and we’re used to having it like that. I checked daily cases today and it was 781 for 28th February, it was 16,500 for 28th January. We are in week 7 of lockdown and it looks like there will be at least another two weeks left before places start to open up, could be longer. I still have to find the swimming pool. João told me that the vaccine was coming and that the government had ordered 37 million shots so that they could help other Portuguese-associated countries like Angola as well as Cape Verde and themselves. When will the vaccine hit men over 60 in Porto?

I spoke to Salim tonight in Dallas, he’s been going through it with the recent Texas disaster and we tried our best to encourage each other to believe in a light at the end of the tunnel. I had a sesh today with Craig in Atlanta and after sessioneer Doug commented yesterday about how punctual I am – I was 8 minutes late. The reason – everything happened at once, Olivia had a Portuguese lesson, I was coming back from the shops and the main reason, Fernando from the local music shop was bringing back the Spanish guitar that Olivia bought from a girl on the expat page. He restrung it with the nylon strings but was unable to fix the body that looks like someone trod on it – but, he said that this, a Paco Castillo, was a 900 euro guitar, Olivia paid 40 euros for it.

I got news today that my studio monitors are on the way from Germany so I can get a real idea of what music sounds like. At the moment I have some computer speakers that also came from the expat page and cost 10 euros that have no bass and a Bose slab that is too boomy – they aren’t really cutting it. I need to be able to hear my music, sessioneers’ music, and records through speakers that have some quality, or more to the point some accuracy so that I can hear what the band were thinking their sound should be when they made their record. Of course, this is an age-old problem because everyone’s system is different, speakers, amps, buds, headphones, and even the rooms people listen to music in make the music sound different – and then there’s the phone.

Last but not least I woke up feeling terrible today, that’s why I wrote it at the end of the mail because now I feel OK.

Music today was Sweet Dreams: The Anthology (1992) by Roy Buchanan, one of the great Blues players whose tone and touch was inimitable. He played a Fender Telecaster and it sang. If you don’t know who he is, he also played on The Stones’ album Black and Blue (1975) and was called “the Best Unknown Guitarist in the world”. This album is for fans as it has live, rare, and best of tracks but new investigators should go for his self-titled album (1972), Second Album (1973) and That’s What I’m Here For (1973). Buchanan died at age 48 after being arrested over a domestic dispute and was found the next morning hanging from his own shirt in his cell, his death was classed as suicide and the conclusion has been disputed.

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

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

  • spotify
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • youtube

Liking the blog?

Tour Dates

Instagram

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

KEEP IN TOUCH: https://linktr.ee/mwillsonpiper

📷 @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

KEEP IN TOUCH: https://linktr.ee/mwillsonpiper

📷 @argirgirl 

#paisleypark #prince
Marty & Pablo! 📷 Rod MacQuarrie Marty & Pablo!

📷 Rod MacQuarrie
At last, a proper door stop. 📷 @judgeschamber At last, a proper door stop.

📷 @judgeschamber 

#grammysitting 👵
🌵 Texas Acoustic Dates 🌵 31 December - DALL 🌵 Texas Acoustic Dates 🌵

31 December - DALLAS
7 January - CELINA
12 January - HOUSTON
14 January - AUSTIN
15 January - SAN ANTONIO

With @salimnourallah and @joereyesmusic

More info here: https://mailchi.mp/e47ede06acd6/texas-acoustic-dates
Doors & Delays 🎸 @workshop21_guitarclinic #the Doors & Delays 🎸

@workshop21_guitarclinic #thedoors #fenderstratocaster #fenderhotroddeville #nashtelecaster #rickenbacker
Load More… Follow on Instagram

Mailing List

In Deep Music Archive

Songwriting & Guitar Guidance with Marty Willson-Piper
ORDER HERE

"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 © 2023 - Front Page Images by Hajo Müller