• 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

Apr 05 2022

TO WHERE I AM NOW

I got the news today that the Anekdoten show in Poznań, Poland on May 14th has been postponed, for obvious reasons. A pandemic that reached every corner of the world, and now a war in Europe, what’s next? Of course, much of the world has already been suffering drought, floods, famine, war and disease, here in Europe we’ve been avoiding the worst of these things, I wonder for how much longer. In the year and a half that we have been in Portugal, we have found it to be a peaceful place but it’s not paradise as Olivia’s violin teacher can attest. I saw there was another shooting in the US with six people dead in Sacramento. Where will it end, what can we expect in the coming years? I shudder to think.

In my cosy Portuguese life, I make music, I help people make music, and I try to stay fit and be grateful for it all. I left for the gym late and consequently caught the after-work crowd, usually, the gym is quite empty. It was tough today, sometimes it just is but that’s the price. The new light made a difference on the walk home. I got in and realised that Liverpool were playing Portugal tonight. They were in Lisbon in the quarter-finals of the Champions League against Benfica. Man City were at home against Atlético and that was the game I watched because the VPN wouldn’t do its job for the other game. The VPN is hit and miss, one day it works, the next it doesn’t but some broadcasts are more unreliable than others, tonight was a typically frustrating example of this.

Outside the window, the sun left red streaks in the sky as it slowly descended below the horizon. On the roof of the flats opposite the usual two seagulls sat waiting as they always do for the man who feeds them. They trust that he will return with food, they know that each day the window will open and they will be fed, consequently, they spend their whole lives on a corrugated iron roof, occasionally flying and circling and landing back where they started. They chase off other seagulls but they seem to put up with the pigeons. How do creatures survive in the wild? There must be days when there’s no food, days when there’s a lot of food and days when the food is bad food. When you see the pigeons pecking at the ground, are they actually finding small bits of food or are they just hoping?

Tonight I closed the shutters, drew the curtains and lit three large candles as well as tea lights that sit in the mouths of my collection of ornamental skulls. It was cold enough to need that plus some layers on top. But it is amazing that we live in a house with no heating, no double-glazing and with the occasional well-placed blanket can avoid the exorbitant heating bills that so many people are struggling to pay at the moment. We have a bar fire and two electric radiators but we don’t use them because they are so expensive and it’s simply not cold enough to justify the cost. This is one of the perks of living in a warmer climate.

Music today has been a band no one remembers, Heads Hands & Feet. They released three albums, their debut release (1970) was actually their second album as the label shelved their first album Home From Home, it was finally released in 1995. Their second, Tracks, was released in 1972 and their third, Old Soldiers Never Die, was released in 1973. In typical Spotify disregard, they have their third album catalogued as if the name of the band is the album title. So much money, so little attention to detail. If you were heading up an organisation that was trying to digitise and make available the history of music, wouldn’t you hire people who knew what they were doing? Hire people who knew the genres, knew the years, the history. There would be no point hiring me to catalogue the hip hop section, it seems the equivalent wrong person is in charge of Heads Hands & Feet. The ignorance of corporations is breathtaking in its scope.

Singer Tony Colton died in 2020. After Heads Hands & Feet, bass player Chas Hodges formed Chas & Dave and went on to have hits with his Cockney twang, a long way from the more American-influenced band. Chas & Dave had eight top 40 hits in the UK. Heads Hands & Feet also featured the much-respected session and sideman Albert Lee on guitar. Keyboard player Mike O’Neil died in 2013. The band are survived by drummer Pete Gavin and rhythm guitarist Ray Smith.

Music Of The Daze

In these videos, you can see the flexibility of the players, Chas on violin, Ray on bass and Albert singing. The country influence is huge and the playing is really fantastic, especially on the Beat-Club version of Country Boy. Influenced more by Buck Owens than the blues players of the day, Albert Lee’s guitar playing is something else.

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