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Jun 22 2022

TO WHERE I AM NOW

What a day. We were up early getting a lift into the city from Tony, weaving through the early morning traffic and dropping us off at 9.30 AM in the city. I could have actually done with a little more sleep before heading out early for a mega day. Why was it a mega day? Although another trip to Red Eye to see Nick and the lads, Michael, Matt, and ask Nick if that vinyl Floyd Pompeii bootleg was important, it was where we were going next that was special (the bootleg’s audio was dodgy).

From Red Eye, we walked down to Circular Quay, Wharf 6, and waited. We were checking off something on Olivia’s bucket list, whale watching. The boat arrived on a choppy sea and we headed out of the harbour. A Canadian crew member announced over the tannoy that there was a 2-4 metre swell and we could rebook for another day when the seas were flatter if we wished. Olivia and I are notoriously bad seafarers and perhaps we should have taken the Canadian’s advice. Olivia was terribly sick the whole voyage. I hung on and had almost moments but managed to cling to the side of the boat, close my eyes and when I opened take solace in the sight of humpback whales cruising along with us. Don’t worry, Olivia saw them too, before needing the bucket from her list.

Back in port we sat on the quay in the sun, Olivia lay down and we decided to take the train to Newtown before the rush hour. The trip had been three hours so we had a bit of time to get a cup of tea and a soup in a cafe before we came to Wynyard station. There we caught the train to Newtown and on arrival walked straight to Egg Records to see Baz. It’s been ten years since Egg and Red Eye, places I used to regularly frequent and I’m happy to say they are still there with familiar faces after all this time and perhaps most worryingly after the pandemic wiped out so many people’s businesses.

At Egg, I bought an Australian copy of The Tremeloes‘ Here Comes My Baby 1967 (the album, not the song) and an English copy of Mountain’s Flowers Of Evil (1971). We record collector types, we buy records we already have if they are on a different label. One man’s sad but true is another man’s kool detail. I’m on an ‘I need new T-shirts’ quest at the moment so I also bought a Doors L.A. Woman shirt. Olivia liked it so much she bought one too, we made a pact there and then never to wear them on the same day. At Red Eye last week I bought a Red Eye T-shirt, so that’s two, I’ll see what else I can find whilst I’m here. Extra Large is the size of the day, I may be fit but I’m 64. Like with Nick we talked to Baz for ages about music and the universe before heading into the thick of the Newtown shops to find some dinner.

From there we went to the Enmore Theatre to see Steve Hackett. On the way down the street, we ran into drummer Craig Blundell who we have both met before, me with Anekdoten’s Nicklas at a Steven Wilson gig in Stockholm and Olivia at the festival she hosts, Night Of The Prog (with King Crimson’s David Cross) at Loreley, Germany (Olivia got us tickets for tonight). We met Tony outside and in the foyer, I ran into some familiar faces, Julian who is a teacher but I met him 100 years ago as a photographer as I remember, he had a front-row seat. I ran into sessioneer Rohan and some old lovely fans who have been to many of my gigs including seeing Olivia and me in London at the Betsey Trotwood. I saw the singer from the ex-band and said hello, an old classic Genesis fan like me I wasn’t surprised to see him there because Hackett was playing Seconds Out, not a particular favourite (although there’s Supper’s Ready) but also Selling England By The Pound, one of the classic albums of the mid-seventies.

The gig had lots of highs and a few moments where they strayed off the path to show their virtuosity, in the middle of I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) they went on an excursion way beyond the designated trip to Epping Forest and ended up in Great Yarmouth and had to do a U-turn, eventually getting back on the A11 with only mild damage, sand in the car, sea salt on the windscreen before finding themselves firmly back in the last verse where it might have been better for them to have stayed all along. We know they are great musicians, I see that in the songs, they don’t need to show me but then they want to show us their skills and watching a drum solo, such a thing of the past, it seems to please the audience as well as them and that’s fine.

Tony kindly gave Rohan a lift home and when we arrived back at Tony’s house we promptly went to bed. Too much to take it all in, tired after a long day out. So this morning I’m clear-headed and writing, awake and back to working on the Arktik Lake project. Today we aren’t in Jim Moginie’s studio, we are going to Manly to DC’s house to comp guitar solos and do some guide vocals, get an overall shape of the guitars, see what we’ve done in the last two weeks before heading back into Oceanic to do lead vocals, backing vocals, violin and whatever else we need. That’s it.

Music today has been, you guessed it, Genesis – Selling England By The Pound (1973). Take note of the album cover, a painting by Betty Swanwick called The Dream, originally without the lawnmower, Swanwick was known for her London Transport posters of the thirties and forties.

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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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
Marty & Pablo! 📷 Rod MacQuarrie Marty & Pablo!

📷 Rod MacQuarrie
At last, a proper door stop. 📷 @judgeschamber At last, a proper door stop.

📷 @judgeschamber 

#grammysitting 👵
🌵 Texas Acoustic Dates 🌵 31 December - DALL 🌵 Texas Acoustic Dates 🌵

31 December - DALLAS
7 January - CELINA
12 January - HOUSTON
14 January - AUSTIN
15 January - SAN ANTONIO

With @salimnourallah and @joereyesmusic

More info here: https://mailchi.mp/e47ede06acd6/texas-acoustic-dates
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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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