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Marty Willson-Piper

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Jun 04 2021

TO WHERE I AM NOW

Today I realised how hard it is to speak another language after completing 365 days, one full year, of doing French every day and I can tell you one thing – I don’t speak French. I know a lot of nouns, verbs, grammar and I can communicate, I can have a conversation at a simple level but when I hear French spoken I barely understand. The speed, the accent, it leaves me lost almost immediately. I can pick out words, I can sometimes catch half a sentence but overall I’m lost. It’s pretty frustrating and although I can speak more Swedish than French, take me to a region like Skåne in the southern part of the country and I’m also lost, I simply don’t understand the accent. Mind you I have trouble in parts of Scotland and the North East too.

Today I was walking to the pool and as I crossed the road into the Marquês park, I heard my name being called. It was Filipe one of the guys who regularly swims offering me a lift. I jumped in the car and we went off into the narrow winding streets of Porto. On the way, he said let’s stop for a quick coffee so we sat outside at a little neighbourhood café and had one of those short espressos. He told me that this was where he grew up, pointed out his house and also the apartment where his wife grew up, around the corner from him. Having always travelled and moved away from where I grew up in the north of England I can’t imagine what it is like to be in your sixties and still be frequenting the neighbourhoods of your youth. Filipe speaks very good English because he spent some time living in England but has returned to his roots. I live in Portugal, I have a German wife and part of my family is Swedish and I have lived in Stockholm, New York, Sydney and Porto, I won’t ever return beyond a visit to the place where it all began.

The chlorine really got me again today. I usually flush it out of my head in the shower but today I forgot and I’m sneezing all night, my nose is exploding. I have sympathy for those that suffer from pollen allergies, it must be something like this. Allergies are an odd thing because different people have different allergies. For example, I’m allergic to penicillin, not ideal but can you imagine being allergic to nuts? Some people are in danger of losing their life even if someone opened a bag of nuts in the same room. What is nature up to with that?

We’ve been working on the Space Summit artwork this week, changing things around, trying to get exactly what we want. Experimenting with fonts, the thickness of fonts, title placement, the CD booklet pictures, the credits, proofreading the lyrics and of course the front cover art which is small for CD but large for vinyl. It’s quite a job and it’s so important. Some album covers are just perfect and others not so, design dates, and although some designs are timeless, some designs, equally in fashion and in haircuts, are better forgotten. Priest=Aura is a classic but I remember getting the album cover back from the US for the first album and on the back was a woman’s hand with red nail polish holding a photograph of us, we hated that.

I watched a little tennis from Roland-Garros today and yesterday, that’s when I realised I don’t speak French. The exquisite style of tennis legend Roger Federer, effortless and at 39 he sailed through his game against Marin Čilić. At the end of the game he was interviewed in French, I listened, I tried, I didn’t understand much. In sport, like in music, there are some people who are just naturals, Federer, Ronnie O’Sullivan in snooker, Lionel Messi in football. It’s just a pleasure to see such skill and expertise at work. In music Jeff Beck does that with the guitar, Colin Blunstone with his voice, Bob Dylan with his lyrics, Jaki Liebezeit with his drums, Paul McCartney on the bass. It’s not just super skills, it’s the ideas, the aesthetics of it. When I swim, I obviously do it to get fit but I also want to be able to swim in a beautiful way, not splashing around like an elephant. I want to swim smoothly, I realise at 63 I’m probably not going to turn into a human-dolphin but part of the pleasure of swimming is the gentle glide through the water.

Music today is Hymn, the fourth track from this year’s RSD Drops release (June 12th), Noctorum’s Sparks Lane. It’s the first time on vinyl and very limited. Hymn is an anti-war song. I’ve only ever played it live once or twice I think, it needs a band but it has a rousing quality in the recorded version that I really like.

Song Of The Daze

HYMN

A thousand soldiers died upon the battlefield
Every single one I knew by name
And if all of them were buried they would touch the clouds
And as years go by we never heal the pain

I found a broken medal with a Latin bar
Something about glory and of God
And you could hear the wounded crying as the bombs came down
Only blood and ruin where we trod

So if you can’t back down
But you love your friends
You might want to find
A way to bring the killing to an end

There’s sisters losing brothers on every street
And somebody just has to break the chain
And if you can feel the agony of your enemy
Then you’ll know your fruitless journey is the same

And behind all of your teachings is an innocent
A face that is untarnished and awake
And if every generation passes hatred on
Then there won’t be anybody left to hate

So if you can’t back down
But you love your friends
You might want to find
A way to bring the killing to an end

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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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
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
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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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