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Dec 12 2021

TO WHERE I AM NOW

Going to bed at 4.15 AM and getting up at 8.15 AM is always a hoot. When the alarm goes off it wakes you from a deep sleep, a place you don’t want to leave, a cocoon, a place of beautiful dreams, flying over the pyramids, swimming in a warm tropical sea, seeing Gentle Giant live in 1973, then suddenly halfway through A Cry For Everyone just as Kerry Minnear is about to tell you what the unfathomable count is into the second instrumental section, you’re wrenched into a cold dark room with an awful high-pitched bleeping – incessant, brain searing, slicing the grey matter with a beautiful serrated Mongolian bread knife, you’re half still in exotic dreamworld, half awake in hell.

So I dragged myself out of bed as the second alarm went off and crawled on all four paws into the kitchen. Reaching the kitchen counter I felt for the kettle and switched it on with a claw, hoping it had water in it. I lay on the floor, the cold tiles on my naked back – it was then that I realised I was still in bed and got up properly, heading to the fridge for a cold papaya, using my human hands and my real legs. It was 8.15 AM and I had a sesh with Arktik Lake Tony at 8.30 AM, I never do seshes this early but I had my booster shot today at 10.32 AM somewhere in Porto, a drive away. Tony and I and the band are making progress on the next Arktik Lake songs and I didn’t want to break the weekly routine and as I had to get up at some ungodly hour anyway it didn’t really matter what time it was, I actually considered not going to bed. So sitting there at the computer, I skyped Tony, he had no sound and I had no camera – of course, it couldn’t happen at 6 PM, it had to happen now. I have this problem with my iMac that when I restart, it often doesn’t restart with the camera functioning. Soooo frustrating. It either appears somehow later by itself or I have to go into Utilities then Terminal and then write in some crazy message in a box…’sudo kill’ something or other. Aggghhh.

We spoke about the songs, where we were at and what we need to do, when we need to do it, will I have my amps from England? Everything is a work in progress as I settle into a new studio life in Porto. I ran into the shower and Olivia and I were out of the door into Ariel and on the way to the Regimento de Transmissões where my booster appointment was happening. It was a beautiful warm day and we followed the sat nav till we pulled into the car park. Lots of people filling in forms and we were soon in a queue. Olivia came with me because she was allowed to, otherwise, she’ll be sitting in the car. It came to my turn and the woman asked me (in English) if I had Covid. Olivia thinks it was lost in translation and she was actually asking me have I had Covid. Then she asked me if I wanted a flu shot, too. Sure, why not? So I had a flu shot in my left arm and a Pfizer booster in my right. Thirteen hours later, I feel absolutely fine, just a little tired from only getting four hours of sleep.

After the shot which was at some kind of Portuguese army base with what looked like anti-aircraft guns as decoration on a training ground (there’s nothing like a weapon of war to brighten up the training ground), we decided to drive to Foz, to see the sea but first I took some pics of some pampas grasses with the sun shining on them, making them glow and look like Star Trek plants. We parked across the road from the roaring Atlantic Ocean, the waves were huge, crashing against the shore and there was thick sea mist that brought visibility down substantially. There was no horizon and after taking some pics it soon got cold, so we came home to watch Hamilton lose spectacularly to Verstappen and Higgins lose spectacularly to Brecel. Fans will know what I’m talking about.

I also had two more seshes, one with John in Brooklyn and then Paul in New Orleans. By early evening I was weary and dinner led to Swedish lessons today and writing this. I am soooo yawning and ready for bed much earlier than usual for obvious reasons.

Music today has been The War On Drugs‘ latest album I Don’t Live Here Anymore (2021) which lives in some weird twilight zone between rock, indie and commercial music with machines, organics, thoughtful songs, catchy songs – I hear drum machines, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, soft sensitive songs, uptempo soaring songs and I can’t decide if it’s indie-inspired by rock or rock-inspired by indie or pop-inspired by contemporary commercial accessible music but I like it, the guy’s a good songwriter, knows a good tune, has a sensitive side, he seems to really know what he wants as he perplexes with the style. It flows nice ’n’ easy, it’s mellow yet has tension, I would hope that these uptempo songs really take off live whilst closing your eyes and swinging yourself away to others. I bet he loves Dylan too.

This is main man Adam Granduciel’s fifth album. The third album Lost in the Dream (2014) was a big seller when I worked at Pet Sounds in Stockholm. The fourth album, A Deeper Understanding (2017) won the Best Rock Album Grammy. It’s strange because it is and isn’t a rock album, lots of drum machines but somehow it works in this context, I’m not sure why – clever manipulation of the organic and the electronic I guess.

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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Rockin' the MOAT t-shirt next to the real deal! #m Rockin' the MOAT t-shirt next to the real deal! #moatband #poisonstream 🤘🏰

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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.

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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 🎵

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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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"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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