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Nov 15 2022

TO WHERE I AM NOW

I opened the studio door today and outside sitting on the fence was a squirrel frozen still. I suppose this was a tactic to outwit the predator which in this case the squirrel perceived was me. I also didn’t move like perhaps a predator might playing the prey at its own game. I stood there still for some time to see who would crack first and it was the squirrel. But interestingly it wasn’t moving its body or running away it stayed absolutely stationary except for chewing, I suppose it had been in mid-chew when the door opened and considered that continuing to chew wasn’t going to be life-threatening. In the end, the squirrel won, still frozen, chewing with me returning indoors, outwitted.

Tricky day in the studio today building guitars, not literally building guitars but building guitar parts, ok not literally building guitar parts, haha. We now have all the dobro, the nylon, the acoustic 12, the acoustic 6, and the banjo so today was electric guitar day and we tried many different combinations of amps and guitars to find the right formula for a particular song. We had the Gibson Amp with the Fender Princeton, the Fender Deluxe with the Fender Champ and we had the Epiphone Casino with the flat-wound strings, the Japanese-painted Strat, and Brian’s Strat and his Les Paul. Sometimes it’s not obvious what the sound should be, you have to experiment and we did, concentrating on parts, playing them properly, inserting them into the track, and then discarding them as it became apparent that something else was needed, this is making records.

Brian has incredibly complete demos and we attempt to take all those ideas and parts and put them back into the song we are working on with an improved sound, replacing machines with real drums (Jason) and have David come in and play bass with Jason, locking into each other. Sometimes when all the demo’d guitar parts are down something else is still needed and we have to figure out what that is. It’s usually something building, something dynamic, something that ties the parts together, something that creates energy, excitement, or consolidates the feel, completes the arrangement.

Everything takes time, music like this isn’t three instruments, a ‘rockin’ vocal, and then move on. It’s intricate, complex building, it’s progressive and Brian has written guitar parts that he has to be able to play, luckily (for all our sakes and the budget) he is an accomplished guitar player and has the skills, but we still have to get all the parts down, double them sometimes, have safeties, sometimes we have to comp them together, sometimes we don’t. On top of all this, there are all the technical aspects of being in a real studio and Kevin and John are top engineers and know exactly what they are doing with vast knowledge and experience, we couldn’t do it without them.

Music today has been Bill Withers‘ classic, his debut, Just As I Am (1971). This is the album with the famous song Ain’t No Sunshine (count how many times he sings “I know”). This album also has Withers’ soul versions of Everbody’s Talkin’ and Let It Be and the appropriate song for Brian, Do It Good. Withers retired from music in 1985, making just one album in 45 years. He died in 2020.

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 🤘🏰

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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 🎵

📷 @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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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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