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Jul 13 2021

TO WHERE I AM NOW

Exciting day today, the day of the Nissan Vanette! I was thrilled to know that our new vehicle is called a Vanette. A Vanette to a campervan is rather like what a maisonette is to a house. It’s definitely a van but with windows and curtains, it’s definitely a campervan but seems smaller than the legendary VW campervan, it has a bed but it’s no wider than a car. It’s like a large toy. It’s light blue and white like a bathroom and doesn’t seem to have a space for a spare tyre which I presume we will have to buy and put under the IKEA bed. But then we’ll need a jack and a lug wrench/tyre iron. It has storage on the roof and the people that we got it from gave us all their bits, cups and bowls and even the Bluetooth speakers. It has one of those super long gear sticks and a handbrake that you pull from below the dashboard. It’s a little flimsy, I wouldn’t want to be hit by a ten-ton truck. It’s 2.0 so has a little wumpf and hopefully, it will be just the right thing to tour around Europe and perfect for sleeping if we need to save some money on the road or find a nice campsite. All I need now is an EU passport because I’m not sure how my Portuguese residency works as a British citizen when it comes to playing gigs in other countries. We’ll see, but it’s become a major problem for British musicians who are no longer able to just drive over to the continent and play, and vice versa since Brexit. Great to have a vehicle and by the way, I don’t drive.

It was so strange to get up today with Olivia already gone, on her way to pick up the Vanette, it’s rare that she is up first. I went to the gym early and Pedro the intense scientific trainer was there. I was asking him about what it takes to lose belly fat and he showed me…yikes. I’m doing up to 300 lengths a week in the pool and two days a week in the gym but apparently, you need a different kind of exercise to lose stored fat. It’s actually fascinating. So today he set up four tasks for me to do, carrying a big weight, shaking a rope, going up a step and bouncing a large leather ball off the wall and lifting weights. But all at speed and twice around the course with very short breaks in between. It was extremely intensive and apparently is the only way. Unfortunately, his classes are postponed due to Covid and the whole pool and gym are closed in August so I won’t be getting my six-pack anytime soon. The gym is great for making you feel great, it’s just the spandex and the music that’s the problem.

As we had the Vanette which we have christened Ariel we went to the psychedelic psupermarket and stocked up on everything heavy, mainly water and any riffs that we heard whilst we were there. We managed to squeeze into a parking spot between two cars, one of which hadn’t parked in between the lines (tosser). We had to do this as we are too tall for their parking garage. A man approached me and seemed to want something from me to do with the parking, was it money? I’m not sure but he had no English and my Portuguese wasn’t going to help, I thought I could try Spanish but it looked like the conversation might have been a hassle anyway and in the end, he gave up. Having a vehicle presents all kinds of problems as well as conveniences, where do we park considering we live in the centre of a city? Olivia put a sign up in the hallway asking if anyone had a spot below our building and a fellow on our floor got in touch, 60 euros a month. Buy a car and you will find a way to spend money but we will now be able to drive south or to the mountains, get out of town and park overlooking the sea and listen to Fado as the waves crash against the shore.

Luckily Chris in New Jersey couldn’t do the sesh today, so I had more time to catch up which I’m slowly doing, if you are waiting to hear from me, I’m coming. Sesh with Jeff in Ohio, always a fascinating chat. Somewhere between all this, I hoovered, Olivia cooked, we watched Deep Space 9 as we ate and I even got a French lesson in. All I have to do now is everything else.

Music today was a super rarity, Norway’s Neptunes Empire (1971). It’s a sort of light sixties prog, sunshine pop as if it has one foot in the past and another in the future. It featured members of better-known obscure Norwegian band Junipher Green. Flutes, men and women singing, strings, piano, what’s not to like and it’s great if you like this kind of thing. Mellow baby might go well with our hippie van.

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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📷 @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
Doors & Delays 🎸 @workshop21_guitarclinic #the Doors & Delays 🎸

@workshop21_guitarclinic #thedoors #fenderstratocaster #fenderhotroddeville #nashtelecaster #rickenbacker
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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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