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Jul 29 2022

TO WHERE I AM NOW

First day back in the swimming pool after two months on dry land. What a thrill to slide into the water, that strange soft stuff caressing your skin, whilst somewhere outside it’s wearing down a mountain. I started just walking in the water (not on the water, haha) from one end of the pool to the other. I wondered if I would still be able to swim a non-stop freestyle mile after two months away. I started and the first ten seemed to take forever, the next twenty an eternity and as I got into the second half my arms began turning to jelly. At fifty I was hallucinating and at sixty I was fading but I made it. Oddly I’m never out of breath. I waited a while and did some laps of breast stroke and back stroke just to send my arms spinning in another direction. I’m back but unfortunately, the pool is closing for the August summer holidays, bad timing, I’ll have to research other pools in town.

Strange getting back into the routine to not be able to continue in it. The psychedelic psupermarket is pretty much the same although I’ve been searching for the sugar-free section. Also, they seem to have swapped the fruit for the vegetables and the vegetables for the fruit, disconcerting, parallel universe. Now I can get back into the routine for veggie juices one day and smoothies next, psychedelic fruits like dragon fruit and custard apple won’t be on the agenda even though I’m in baking Southern Europe but the papayas are ripe and available. I think there’s something about living in a place like this that encourages a healthy lifestyle. But what is that? Is it the sunshine? The vibe of Southern Europe? Or am I just older and trying to stay alive.

Getting older doesn’t mean there’s less to do. After the swim, ravenous, I ate the first and quickest thing I could find before I collapsed. There was no time to juice carrots or slice strawberries, I ate like a starved animal. I was fighting time as I had four seshes in a row from 5.30 till midnight and I wanted to be prepared. Craig in Atlanta, Fred in Minneapolis, Mike in Chicago and Noel in Surrey, busy, talking, thinking, helping, at 12.30 my eyes closed shut and I was asleep.

Music today has been something that doesn’t usually get played, a comedy record. It’s in honour of the loss of the great Bernard Cribbins who died on Wednesday aged 93. He had two hits in 1962 with The Hole In The Ground (No.9), produced by George Martin and Right Said Fred (No.10), sound effects by producer George Martin. Here are the lyrics:

Hole In The Ground

[Verse 1]

There I was
A-digging this hole
A hole in the ground
So big and sort of round it was
There was I
Digging it deep
It was flat at the bottom
And the sides were steep
When along comes
This bloke in a bowler
Which he lifted and scratched his head
Well, he looked down the hole
Poor demented soul
And he said
“Do you mind if I make a suggestion?”

[Chorus]

Don’t dig there
Dig it elsewhere
You’re digging it round
And it ought to be square
The shape of it’s wrong
It’s much too long
And you can’t put a hole
Where a hole don’t belong

[Post-Chorus (spoken)]

I ask, what a liberty, eh?
Nearly bashed him right in the bowler

[Verse 2]

Well, there was I
Stood in me hole
Shovelling earth
For all that I was worth I was
There was him
Standing up there
So grand and official
With his nose in the air
So, I gave him
A look sort of sideways
And I leaned on
My shovel and sighed
Well, I lit me a fag
And having took a drag I replied:

[Chorus]

I just couldn’t bear
To dig it elsewhere
I’m digging it round
‘Cause I don’t want it square
And if you disagree
It doesn’t bother me
That’s the place where
The hole’s gonna be

[Verse 3]

Well, there we were
Discussing this hole
A hole in the ground
So big and sort of round it was
It’s not there now
The ground’s all flat
And beneath it is the bloke
In the bowler hat
And that’s that

Right Said Fred

“Right,” said Fred, “Both of us together
One each end and steady as we go.”
Tried to shift it, couldn’t even lift it
We was getting nowhere
And so we had a cuppa tea and
“Right,” said Fred, “Give a shout for Charlie.”
Up comes Charlie from the floor below
After strainin’, heavin’ and complainin’
We was getting nowhere
And so we had a cuppa tea
And Charlie had a think, and he thought we ought to take off all the handles
And the things wot held the candles
But it did no good, well I never thought it would
“All right,” said Fred, “Have to take the feet off
To get them feet off wouldn’t take a mo”
Took its feet off, even took the seat off
Should have got us somewhere but no!
So Fred said, “Let’s have another cuppa tea”
And we said, “right-o.”
“Alright,” said Fred, “Have to take the door off
Need more space to shift the so-and-so.”
Had bad twinges taking off the hinges
And it got us nowhere
And so we had a cuppa tea and
“Right,” said Fred, “Have to take the wall down
That there wall is gonna have to go.”
Took the wall down, even with it all down
We was getting nowhere
And so we had a cuppa tea
And Charlie had a think, and he said, “Look, Fred
I’ve got a sort of feelin’
If we remove the ceiling
With a rope or two we could drop the blighter through.”
“All right,” said Fred, climbing up a ladder
With his crowbar gave a mighty blow
Was he in trouble, half a ton of rubble landed on the top of his dome
So Charlie and me had another cuppa tea
And then we went home
I said to Charlie, “We’ll just have to leave it
Standing on the landing, that’s all
You see the trouble with Fred is, he’s too hasty
You’ll never get nowhere if you’re too hasty.”

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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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 🎵

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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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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.

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📷 @argirgirl 

#paisleypark #prince
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At last, a proper door stop. 📷 @judgeschamber At last, a proper door stop.

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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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