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Mar 23 2022

TO WHERE I AM NOW

Getting out into the city hasn’t been something we have done that much since we have lived here mainly due to the pandemic. But tonight after Olivia had finished her Portuguese class and I had finished my Anekdoten rehearsal with Nicklas (via Skype) and Gerd had finished his Porto adventure mega-walk rest, we ventured out, the three of us, to a ramen restaurant in the centre of town on the other side of the great avenue that is Aliados. From there, on a warmish Wednesday we walked the ancient cobbled streets, down steep inclines past ruined and renovated buildings till eventually, we wound our way to the famous and atmospheric River Douro. At night the boardwalk is busy with a line of open-air restaurants, buskers and strolling tourists. Students sit together and gaze at Gaia on the other side of the river and all the illuminated signs of famous Port wines stand out amidst the silhouettes of darkened buildings.

The giant Dom Luís I bridge was commissioned and finished after five years of construction in 1886. It was designed by Théophile Seyrig, a German engineer and a student of Gustav Eiffel himself. It looms grand and mighty and has every new visitor to the promenade immediately reach for their camera. We walked one end to the other and sat on a bench and took it all in. People were coming and going, of all ages. There were some rowdy football fans from Turkey here for the game tomorrow against Portugal. The light shimmered on the black surface of the river, three ghostly seagulls flew close and landed on the water, settled and immediately flew away. It’s hard to imagine that we actually live here in this magical place.

A Spanish film crew, a cameraman and a journalist with a microphone were trying to record but seemed to be constantly interrupted by the Portuguese singer with a guitar from the restaurant opposite. They had the bridge as their backdrop, their subject matter unknown. Four of the girls from the student group stood up from the quayside, leaned a phone against a bag and from ten feet away pretended they were on a catwalk, none of them taking it seriously enough to conclude their plan on future viewing.

We took the subway to the restaurant, walked to the river and took a ‘Bolt’ home. A Bolt is like an Uber. It dropped us in between Olivia’s dad’s hotel and our front door, about 20 feet away from the ladies of the night, both of whom I didn’t recognise, it seems there are different shifts with different personnel for this location. Gerd sauntered past them down the hill as we went in the other direction. When I got in I ate again, one small bowl of ramen was never going to do me.

It was a happy new goggles day in the pool, no leaks and my usual non-stop mile and some extras had me run seventy lengths. One of the guys in the pool I’ve got to know a bit seems to be something of a known musician here in Portugal, Nuno Prata from a band called Ornatos Violeta. They made two albums in the nineties, critically acclaimed and successful. My other two swimming mates Hugo and Francisco were there too, when I’d swum my 64 freestyle, Francisco offered me congratulations, haha.

Music today has been a playlist of progressive rock songs generated automatically when my own playlist ended. Many classics stood out but I picked an album that doesn’t get much attention, Yes’s second album Time And A Word (1970). It opens rather strangely with a Richie Havens cover, No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed. But the song is also credited to Jerome Moross which must allude to the orchestral theme in the middle of the song. The orchestra appears here and there throughout the record, apparently, due to this and guitarist Peter Banks‘s discontent with it, he was sacked and replaced by Steve Howe who incidentally appears on the US cover art but didn’t play on the record. The UK cover art was deemed not appropriate for the US market, that old chestnut of nudity is rude, even in a surreal drawing. Another cover version on the album is Buffalo Springfield’s Everydays from the second album Again (1967) written by Stephen Stills, it’s something of an interpretation, to say the least. The track I heard on the playlist was Astral Traveller, listen to Chris Squire’s bass on this one, wow. The lineup also features Tony Kaye who was gone after their third album (The Yes Album, 1971) and Bill Bruford who eventually defected to King Crimson, Jon Anderson on vocals. Crossover classic, sixties to seventies jazzy orchestrated prog.

Music Of The Daze

Note: Steve Howe appears in all the videos although he didn’t play on any of the songs (it was Peter Banks). Spot the video where Chris Squire and Tony Kaye swap instruments.

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.

📷 by @derektimbrell
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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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#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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#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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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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