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Jun 24 2022

TO WHERE I AM NOW

Back into the guitar comping Friday, it’s a long process of listening through performances and picking the best one, the most appropriate one, and which microphones work best on which amps. These details are what explains how long things take. For example, I’m playing through two amps simultaneously fed from an effects rack (Ibanez UE 405) that has two outputs. Each amp has two microphones and each microphone sounds different and whichever mic we choose to listen to sounds different to the one next to it. So we have many choices of sound depending on the combination of microphones. Then there’s the guitar, the effects pedals you may be using and any added effect from the computer including EQ which we also have on the mixing desk, and in the case of Jim Moginie’s mixing desk, an old Neve which enhances the sound. My point, sometimes it’s not quite as simple as switch on an amp, put a mic in front of it, play and record it.

Manly winter looks pretty summery to me despite it not being baking hot. Surfers, suntanned people sunbathing, it’s always people with tans getting a tan like it’s always people with short hair getting their hair cut. It’s a really beautiful place, with fantastic fig trees with incredible sci-fi trunks, exotic plants, palm trees and apart from the occasional dead bandicoot, the usual population of Australia’s exotic wildlife. You can see why people come out here and just fall in love with it although it seems like it’s become really expensive. Portugal is a much cheaper compromise if you are trying to escape Northern European winters.

The last couple of days I’ve been getting migraine eye distortion. It’s so frustrating. It’s not so bad that I can’t operate but it’s 25 minutes of half blindness and dancing diamonds that move across my eyes and leave my skull full of damp sawdust. I don’t even bother telling people when it’s happening anymore because I can still operate, it’s not like the old days.

I finished in the studio today at 11 PM, 9 hours with a short french fries break, I brought my own dinner today. DC came and got me this morning and we went via the local coffee shop where the woman won’t look at you. I’d hate for her to be a witness in a crime. Lawyer: “Madam can you confirm the suspect who walked into your establishment was wearing a yellow clown outfit and a bright blue parrot-shaped hat and carrying a machine gun, singing I Should Be So Lucky?” Girl in the coffee shop: “I didn’t notice.”

After the studio, I took an Uber back to Tony’s and arrived in time to do an interview with an old institution, Voice Of America, established in 1942 and broadcasting in 47 languages. Salim and I spoke for nearly an hour on Zoom to Lehka. We’ll let you know when it will be broadcast. But it’s about Salim’s latest See You In Marfa EP, the first physical release from our Nashville sessions, the album, A Nuclear Winter, will be released early next year.

To bed and blog in the morning, just too tired to do it after all this action. Music today has been Uriah Heep’s …Very ‘Eavy …Very ‘Umble, one of the most maligned bands in music history and the first band I saw, I was lucky enough not to succumb to being cool because of them. The other day when we were in the Enmore Theatre, I remembered seeing them there a few years ago. I met guitarist Mick Box after the show, super nice man. I think he even autographed something, the US album cover of VEVU, he seemed quite shocked to see it. Bowie’s Ziggy period bass player Trevor Bolder was in Uriah Heep for years before he died aged 62. I saw them in the seventies in Liverpool with bass player Gary Thain from New Zealand, he had chalk on his guitar to stop his fingers from slipping…I suppose. He’s a member of the 27 club after a heroin overdose. Original lead singer Dave Byron was dead at 38 after a life of abuse. They are still around today. Although without the keyboardist and original member Ken Hensley who died recently (2020) aged 75. Drummer Lee Kerslake was not on this album but played on subsequent important Heep records, along with Hensley he was in the band when I saw them, he also died in 2020 aged 73 (he played with Ozzy in the eighties). Nigel Olsson, long-time Elton John drummer, played on two songs on this album. Alex Napier played most of the drums, Keith Baker played on one song. Colin Wood played on a couple of songs as keyboard player. Paul Newton played bass. We saw them in Stockholm supported by The Zombies. Really? How did that work? That’s like eating pecan pie with onions.

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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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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Photo by @oliviaelektra 

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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
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 🎵

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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 🎵

📷 @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

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📷 @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

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📷 @argirgirl 

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In Deep Music Archive

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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