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Apr 01 2022

TO WHERE I AM NOW

Hot in the sun, cold in the shade, it must be April. In Olivia’s home village it’s snowing. It seems like April is capricious everywhere. But the fresh leaves stretch out towards the light and simultaneously hang down towards the ground as the trees and flowers release their seeds on the wind, all of it is necessary. The flies have arrived, the bigger ones that come with summer, no bees or wasps yet, just early flies, too early for their own good, seduced by a wisp of warmth. Flying in through open windows that were closed while they slept, now doorways into breeding grounds. The dusk bats must be getting excited at their spring food source, the swallows at twilight and the hiding spiders desperate after a long winter of damp starvation.

Yellow patches in the grass are turning green, the gardeners are about to get busy, mowing, weeding, nurturing, watering, planting. T-shirt sales will be up, flip flops, swimmers, suntan cream and ice cream, not to be confused. Small children are allowed out, hours of supervised fun in a plastic pool. Pop, fizzy, iced tea and beer flow into tall glasses and disappear into hot bodies to cool them down. It’s coming, slowly but definitely and this time there will be mingling, package holidays, foreign beaches, sand between the toes and red skin overcooked.

The welcome return of longed for crowds in exotic places that are only functioning when they are simultaneously being ruined by rowdy drunks and booming pizza parlours. The serenity of life without them is a death knell, despite the improvement of the silence. Postcards, sombreros, a fez, a beret and a Doncaster accent echoing down the boulevard. Hiring bikes, overeating, losing the sunglasses and questioning the water from the tap.

The sea laps against the shore and crashes against the jagged rocks on the island, the boat arrives and leaves twice a week, restocking and removing the revellers. There are dolphins here, whales, sharks and plastic cups disintegrated in the water. Garish short-sleeved shirts and outrageous bikinis holding in a year of unhealthy dinners. Arriving pale and returning burnt to a cinder, admiring that dark tanned local who knows when to be out and when to be in. There are encounters, there’s laughter and sorrow, regrets and relief.

At night the women in two and the men in three pieces of clothing and footwear, dancing to horrible songs. In the chalet an insect you’ve never seen before, larger, with more legs than usual, tentacles longer than the body and travelling faster than light in the dark, scurrying across the unnecessary flimsy sheet. Someone’s allergic to the giant mosquitos, ankles swelling up and scabbing. Outside the noise never stops from the night before’s exuberant guests and there’s an early start for the restocking of the businesses. Giant plastic bins of bottles tipped into rusty trucks, grinding their gears and reversing and beeping at 7 AM.

The last day arrives so fast, almost as fast as the wallet empties, the flight’s delayed and you board dressed for last night’s disco and arrive in Manchester or Hannover, shivering at the baggage carousel. Or, at the airport, you’ve lost your passport, missed the plane, can’t get to the consulate that’s in another town to explain your plight and can’t afford another five days whilst your paperwork is sorted. Or, you arrived and what you thought you bought was nothing like what you saw when you arrived. At least the hotel was built.

You come prepared with essential words memorised about food and trips but nobody understands your accent when you try to speak and the response is in English, destroying your fantasy that you can speak another language. You love dogs but outside your window, there’s howling all night for two weeks. It’s too hot to sleep in and you’re too tired to go out. Eventually, you give in and fry yourself on a sunbed. Yippee, spring is here and the summer is coming soon.

Music today has been the debut Anekdoten album Vemod (1993).

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

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

📷 @argirgirl 

#paisleypark #prince
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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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