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Jul 09 2021

TO WHERE I AM NOW

Ooh, jumping into that pool on a hot day after a brisk fifteen-minute walk, there’s nothing like it. A huge splash and I’m off, I’ve managed my usual three days of pool this week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, except this week I made 102 laps each visit, that’s 306 for the week, 300 swimming and six walking the length of the pool and back. One hour and twenty-five minutes each day. You may wonder what’s the appeal. Isn’t it boring? Well, no it isn’t, it’s a groove, it’s a rhythm, it’s like a chant. It’s like listening to Jaki Liebezeit, the flow, the pulse, it’s actually addictive as is exercise. Why? Because it releases endorphins apparently and that makes you feel good despite your body being weary. But as I have mentioned before, I just like the action of swimming, cutting through the water, propelled forward by technique and strength, getting the chance to feel like a fish.

I should have known that on this hot day the man with the belly would be out. I wonder does he take his belly to the park or does the belly take him? He’s always alone on the bench (surprise, surprise). What would you say to a man on a bench with a massive belly and his T-shirt pulled up? “Nice belly mate!” – “Yeah thanks, it takes some feeding though”. Worst of all there’s often a lot of teenage girls in the park showing their bellies too as is the fashion of the day and there’s quite a difference. I wonder if he thinks ‘if they can show theirs I can show mine’. And what about sunburn or at least the thought that just his belly will be tanned, a large brown lump bordered with white skin where the clothes began. The other thing is that the bench is the first one into the Marquês park so everyone walks past there and in front are some stone tables where people sit and eat and talk, so it’s hard to miss. It’s rather like an unusual pet.

Sando, the 22-year-old who can’t swim, was in the pool today and he looked like he was getting there, splashing around like he was almost drowning but moving forward and kind of staying afloat. His teacher was doing her usual barking but it seems to be working. It’s all about the time and effort you commit to a thing. Olivia is speaking Portuguese and it’s all about the time she spends on it but then you gotta be interested and she is. I was watching the tennis today after the swim, a small rest after the 102 laps, it was Djokovic vs Shapolvalov. Talk about effort and skill and dedication, commitment. These guys were incredible, the current king and the next generation slogging it out. But what about those that put this much effort in and still can’t make it to the top or get anywhere at all or were really good but chose another path? I thought about that when I was formulating the idea for the Songwriting & Guitar Guidance sessions. Not necessarily the effort people may have put in but the value of their work and their potential after choosing another direction in life. I also wasn’t thinking about teaching Van Halen solos or Beatles songs, sure, they can be examples of quality artists but it was more about developing your own style. This is the problem with learning the standard chops, it’s not sport, perfect technique along with passion might take you to the top but with music perfect technique doesn’t have to be the point. You can have no technique and lots of passion and do a better job than a trained apparent expert – that’s why we love it, it’s about something else. Sport also has poetry and magic, look at Roger Federer or Lionel Messi or Ronnie O’Sullivan or Maradona. But who in sport is Nick Cave or Syd Barrett or Mark E. Smith, it’s another kind of magic, a cerebral effort that doesn’t need stimulated endorphins from exercise. Drugs stimulate endorphins too and what great work we have experienced because of that.

Music today was Pierre Moerlen’s Gong and Downwind (1979), more unhip jazzy prog with Mike Oldfield on one track helping out Pierre for all his work on six or so Mike Oldfield albums. What an underrated guitar player Mike Oldfield is, so distinctive. There’s Mick Taylor again on a track, Steve Winwood is on a track and Hansford Rowe again on bass, brother Benoît Moerlen on vibes. I think it’s easier to write with mostly instrumental music playing, otherwise, I start listening to the lyrics. Great 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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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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📷 @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
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At last, a proper door stop. 📷 @judgeschamber At last, a proper door stop.

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🌵 Texas Acoustic Dates 🌵 31 December - DALL 🌵 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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