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Jul 11 2021

TO WHERE I AM NOW

Crestfallen, the tears are flowing in England tonight as they lost the European Championship final on penalties. Italy had two saved, England had two saved and one hit the post. This unfortunate ending to a game was only recently introduced after the drawing of lots and flipping a coin seemed more absurd and a replay logistically impractical, especially in a major competition. But one wonders about the glory of winning and the despair of second place when the margins are so small. It’s the same with The Oscars, no one remembers the nominations, only the winners. Why are we so obsessed with coming first when second place is also a massive achievement? Also, it’s not always the best team that wins, circumstances and luck could mean the deserved winners come in second. Then there’s cheating to win, look at Lance Armstrong who eventually was found out but on the subject of strong arms who can forget Maradona’s hand of God? There’s a couple of interesting links here, one about the history of penalties and the other about how drawing lots and coin tosses led to the current system.

It wasn’t just the football final today it was also the Wimbledon men’s final. Djokovic reached his 20th grand slam title equalling Federer and Nadal beating Berrettini, another Italian, three sets to one. It’s another case of the winner takes all the accolades. What about the beaten semi-finalists and quarter-finalists and all those talented qualifiers. We live in a world of glorious winners and forgotten losers despite the skills, the effort or what was deserved and this loss might be one of those losers’ last chances only lost by a one-second lapse of concentration. These epic battles between sportsmen are an invigorating watch and often nerve-wracking. Why do we put ourselves through this and why are people so elated or destroyed by the results, especially in football? Those poor humans torturing themselves over a game, the aliens never quite understood the passion for your team.

I had an earlier than usual wake up today as I had a sesh with Arktik Lake Tony in Sydney. We have been listening to new band tracks and discussing the release of the vinyl EP that will be coming soon. As I will be singing these songs we have to spend time discussing keys and capo positions because as we worked out on the MOAT – Poison Stream album, paying attention to where your voice sounds best makes a big difference. I suppose if you are Freddie Mercury you can sing anything and if you are Leonard Cohen your range is limited but that’s the style and it works. In a world with the extremes of Syd Barrett to Barbra Streisand, it’s whatever works!

After the tennis and before the football I had a sesh with Brian in Florida and we were talking about the imagination. If you look out to see on a clear day, you may see a blue sky and blue water and nothing else, you could mistakenly think there’s nothing to see, there’s nothing there. But then you have to use your imagination, see the line of the horizon and the curvature of the Earth – you are actually looking at the wondrous universe. Then perhaps a small wisp of cloud, a cormorant diving or A Flock Of Seagulls (haha). A fishing boat returning to port or even if there is nothing, there’s still the wonder of the sea, the waves lapping against the shore, the strands of seaweed wavering below the surface, the smell of the salt air. We are surrounded by amazing things even if it seems like there’s nothing to see.

I didn’t get to go out today with the sporting events and the seshes but Olivia managed a trip to the psychedelic psupermarket before its early Covid closing but then I was thinking how the supermarkets in England, Lidl, Tesco, Morrisons, close at 4 o’clock on a Sunday anyway. Why do they do that? Is it for religion? Surely, if most people work in the week, Sunday is the day when everything should be open all day through to the evening. It’s like voting, shouldn’t it be always on the weekend because that’s when most people can do it, why would you have voting on a Tuesday like they do in America? Isn’t the world weird? Especially things that seem to be normal.

Music today was in celebration of England and The Beatles won 3-0 with Rubber Soul (1965), Help! (1965) and Beatles For Sale (1964).

Song Of The Daze

“The ‘Help!’ single sold much better than the two before it: ‘I Feel Fine’ and ‘Ticket To Ride’. But there were still a lot of fans who didn’t like ‘Help!’ They said, ‘Ah, The Beatles are dropping us. This isn’t as good as ‘A Hard Day’s Night’.’ So you can’t win. Trying to please everybody is impossible – if you did that, you’d end up in the middle with nobody liking you.” – John, 1970 ⁠

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 🤘🏰

T-Shirt Design by Reid Wilson
Photo by @oliviaelektra 

#schoolkidsrecords #nikoröhlcke #wellscathedral
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.

📷 by @derektimbrell
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
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In Deep Music Archive

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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