• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Bands & Projects
    • Marty Willson-Piper
    • Marty & Olivia
    • Noctorum
    • MOAT
    • Atlantæum Flood
    • Anekdoten
      • How I Joined Anekdoten
    • The Church
      • Sleeve Notes
    • All About Eve
  • Discography
  • Gear
  • Talking
  • Lyrics
    • SOLO ALBUMS
      • In Reflection
      • Art Attack
      • Rhyme
      • Spirit Level
      • Hanging Out In Heaven
      • Nightjar
    • NOCTORUM
      • Sparks Lane
      • Offer The Light
      • Honey Mink Forever
      • The Afterlife
    • MOAT
      • Moat
      • Poison Stream
    • Seeing Stars
  • Sleeve Notes
    • Of Skins And Heart
    • The Blurred Crusade
    • Seance
    • Heyday
    • Starfish
    • Gold Afternoon Fix
    • Priest = Aura
  • Bandcamp

Marty Willson-Piper

The official home of Marty Willson-Piper

  • News
  • Blog
  • Shows
  • Songwriting & Guitar Guidance
  • In Deep Music Archive
  • Contact

Dec 21 2021

TO WHERE I AM NOW

An excursion into pure fantasy today as we woke up and realised we live in Portugal and were on our way to Braga tonight to experience one of history’s great classical fantasies, Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker (1892). But first, a reality trip to the post office to see why our second package from Michel in France hasn’t arrived. He has a notification saying attempted delivery but we have no slip – classic. Unfortunately, there’s one horrible bloke at the post office and as the numbers were spinning around for which window was next, we got him, as usual, he was unhelpful and we left none the wiser, bursting the bubble of how nice people are here (but we already knew about him). On average we’re ahead but it just takes one miserable bar steward to bring you down. Still, the nice lady in the glasses shop put a screw in my cheap sunglasses and the nice lady in the Chinese shop sold me some weird batteries for my tuner. All these practical things before we hit fantasy land. Next, Olivia waited in a queue with Lufthansa about changing our US air ticket – again. This time to December next year, who knows how long we’ll have to wait to travel there again, so we are stretching it out as long as possible to give ourselves a chance of it actually happening. Crystal ball anyone?

It was dark when we left, it was sometime after 6.30 PM so rush hour was still ongoing but it’s only 45 minutes to Portugal’s third city. We wound our way around the access roads that threw us out onto one freeway, then another. At one point we drove past a passenger van with the engine literally engulfed in flames. A group of dazed-looking men behind it on the hard shoulder wondering what to do. Is it going to blow up? An uneventful continuation of the journey, unable to see what was happening on either side of the freeway but we soon saw the lights of Braga and were heading towards the Altice Forum concert hall. We were early and pulled into a massive empty car park next to the building and without much trouble found a place nearby to eat quickly, and be back for the ballet which began at 9 PM.

The concert hall was a large modern building exclusively built to support the arts. It was sold out and we had seats downstairs on the last row but luckily the two seats next to me remained empty throughout the performance. Unfortunately, the girl in front of me kept holding up her phone for snapshots of the stage through the performance, I get it, it was a gorgeous set but what about settling into the mood? I give up with the phone talkers at gigs, the phone talkers and texters in the cinema, the phone raisers at the ballet are even worse considering the aesthetics of such an evening.

The ballet was about two hours long with an intermission, it was beautiful. The company were the Russian Classical Ballet. It wasn’t so much the sets, a painted backdrop hanging down, but the performance, the costumes, the colours – it was a victory of beauty and technique. Talk about dedication, passion, discipline. The dancers were gymnasts with sophisticated poise, they floated around the stage like happy butterflies in this explosion of colour and fantasy. The music was recorded and I was wondering what if the tape broke, the computer died, the digital feed got a glitch? I’ve always loved going to the ballet and I have now seen all three of Tchaikovsky’s ballets – the other two being Swan Lake (1876) and Sleeping Beauty (1889).

Music today was Cocteau Twin’s Treasure (1984), although I was listening to Garlands (1982) and Head Over Heels (1983), I played Treasure to death. For some reason, I have a strong memory of listening to it on headphones as I walked down the country lane in the Welsh village (Capel Seion) where my parents had retired. I’m not sure why the memory is so vivid except perhaps for the contrast between sheep, the rolling green hills and nature and the sometimes abrasive drum machines and ultra-effected guitars. But then there’s Liz Fraser’s gorgeous voice, her fantasy lyrics and titles. Allegedly band members Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde didn’t like it but I did, I love the ethereal in contrast to the machines, a tank in the mist.

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

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

  • spotify
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • youtube

Liking the blog?

Tour Dates

Instagram

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

KEEP IN TOUCH: https://linktr.ee/mwillsonpiper

📷 @argirgirl 

#paisleypark #prince
Load More… Follow on Instagram

Mailing List

In Deep Music Archive

Songwriting & Guitar Guidance with Marty Willson-Piper
ORDER HERE

"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

MARTY WILLSON-PIPER © 2023 - Front Page Images by Hajo Müller