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Oct 20 2021

TO WHERE I AM NOW

Oh my, we made it home! It’s 6 AM and we’ve been travelling for two days, Olivia has crashed already after a massive drive and everything we brought is scattered all over the apartment. We used the boat to practice sleeping because standing up on the deck of a ship on a choppy sea is the worst. Lying down was the only solution and we combatted seasickness by turning the lights out and refusing to wake up. When we finally got off the boat we were hit by Spanish customs who charged us 500 euros tax for entering their country. Everything we had was personal belongings but they wouldn’t have it and we had to pay as did a whole lot of other people. You are at their mercy and you have to pray that you get off light. We were only in Spain because there’s no ferry to Porto, we were just driving through but they still hit us, we are EU residents in Portugal but any paperwork we had they told us wasn’t valid in Spain. One man who was entering Spain for a vintage sports car race had to pay 650 euros tax because he had a new set of tyres for the car he was racing. They told him if he didn’t want to pay he could get on the next ferry back to England. Shocking really.

Once we’d escaped the bureaucracy we headed south. We stopped for some fuel and in Spain there are attendants who fill your car for you. This friendly attendant was confused that we were in Spain with a Portuguese car and that Olivia was German and I was English. Trying to explain was little beyond my Spanish vocabulary but I did manage to tell him that, “vivimos en Porto” and “Olivia es mi esposa”. The customs men kept us for two and a half hours but once we had got going they had gone from our memory and we were admiring the countryside, the mountains, Spanish villas and giant clouds that stretched across the sky forming patterns and shapes that conjured up scenes from obscure unfinished paintings. As the sun set, they turned into glowing embers against darker backgrounds and twilight turned into darkness and a full glowing moon took over highlighting the clouds again this time in silver grey, the ashes of the day.

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Ariel stood up well to the task of bringing us from Porto to England and back again and for all those days, weeks shifting boxes and losing the edge of the packing tape, there were the days of seeing friends, visiting Stonehenge and Glastonbury Tor and the highlights of London enjoyed despite the seething masses. We were prepared for changing tyres and replacing headlight bulbs (which we did) but nothing of consequence went wrong, mechanically at least. Of course, having a heater and music would have been nice but surviving the journey intact was a relief. Olivia dealt with the difficulties of a left-hand drive car in England exceptionally well but Ariel easily ran out of steam on the hills and any truck we overtook downhill sailed past us when we were going uphill. But that’s ok by me, I don’t want to travel at high speeds anyway.

Now we’re home it’s a lovely feeling of familiarity but we’re so tired that we need to appreciate it with a clear head. Olivia has a cold and has woken up again and I’ve cooled down after we unpacked the van and seem to be wearing my scarf indoors. I’m looking forward to setting up my stereo but also hoping that the dream of the archive will be realised so home doesn’t become overwhelmed with instruments and wires, esoteric box sets and psychedelic posters because that’s what the In Deep Music Archive and studio will be for. But the problem of being a musician and a record collector is that the person that sits at home is the same person that works in the studio, writes songs and drinks Celestial Seasonings tea. Homelife and music life are completely interchangeable.

Music today has been Fresh Cream (1966), a soundtrack to writing tonight as I was thinking about the song Sleepy Time Time which it surely is. It was a co-write with Jack Bruce’s first wife Janet Godfrey, the things you find out when you’re asleep.

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.

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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

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

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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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