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Oct 18 2022

TO WHERE I AM NOW

Strangely, clouds and pouring rain in Porto in October still don’t seem to add up to it being cold. We went out for an exciting accountant’s meeting and despite seeing the grey monsters gathering in the sky (that’s the clouds, not the accountants), it didn’t seem that winter clothes would be necessary and even when the wind got up and small droplets fell as a warning for worst to come, there were no clothing regrets. We came out of the house as the marauding 14-year-olds were coming out of school so we crossed over to the freer side of the street until it was safe. We stopped off for a quick takeaway coffee and then headed to Dance Planet to buy a mini-jack to RCA lead so I could plug my iMac straight into my stereo, it was my second attempt to have this option (the first lead didn’t work with the format of the plugs). I want to be able to hear my sessioneers’ music on different speakers. There’s no standard for sound, people listen in many different ways and it helps you decide what works best by having different setups. In a perfect world, we would have a car parked in the front room so we could hear what it sounded like on the car stereo without leaving the room.

We have lovely accountants, friendly, huggy, warm people, welcome to Portugal. They help us through the complex labyrinth that is the tax system and after a long meeting they hugged us goodbye and sent us off with posh umbrellas left behind by richer clients than us. We were close to Porto’s biggest music store Ludimusic. I didn’t even know it existed until Olivia told me it was close and we should go and check it out. On the way, we passed one of those expensive-looking health food stores where the shop assistants are dressed the same as the people in the pharmacy. We braved entering and saw that there was a small bakery by the entrance. Two quality home-baked croissants later we were buying expensive veggie sausages and I convinced myself that one packet was two meals so it didn’t seem too exorbitant. We made it to the music store and there staring back at me through the window was swimming buddy and drummer Pedro who’d just told me last trip to the pool that he worked in a music store and was quitting soon. I just randomly walked into his world.

Inside, Olivia managed to purchase the strange lower octave violin strings for her aptly named cellolin (they’re not cheap, 89€) while I perused the hundreds of new guitars. I don’t usually go for a new guitar but I was drawn to an Epiphone SG that captured my attention because of the tremolo bar assembly. It was around 500€, and it seemed like a good price, I tried it, it felt like a new guitar but it seemed to stay in tune pretty well after some tremolo bar action. In the olden days, it seemed that you were either buying a pricey guitar or a bad guitar. In those days buying a Gibson or a Fender was serious money, now you can buy a decent Fender at a ridiculously low price, of course, it’s not quite Dave Gilmour’s recently sold #0001 Strat ($1.875 million) but it’s a great start if you are strapped for cash. I also tried a Gretsch baritone guitar, I need a baritone guitar (keep on telling yourself you need a baritone guitar).

We walked back past Miguel’s record store as we were in the area and I succumbed to two Holger Czukay albums, Rome Remains Rome (1987) and Radio Wave Surfer (1991), an early Portuguese copy of Aqualung (1971), Gentle Giant’s The Missing Piece (1977) and last but not least a lovely French copy of In The Wake Of Poseidon (1970) on Philips with an unusual glossy cover. These different versions are treasures for the archive.

Music today has been the latest release by The Big Moon, Here Is Everything (2022), as recommended by my mate Biggles, good choice bro, I really like it.

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

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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 

#paisleypark #prince
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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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