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Nov 30 2022

TO WHERE I AM NOW

One minute you’re waking up in Texas, the next minute you’re waking up in Georgia. Walking out of your front door onto an unknown street is always exciting and on this trip, we are in a place for longer than a day, it’s not like a tour where you leave before you’ve arrived. Sesssioneer Craig picked me up and we drove to his studio space (under a music and record store) to pick up some microphones. This is where he creates the music and because of the location he was able to ask the music shop owner if he could borrow some guitars for the three days I am here. What a result! A fifties Les Paul, a sixties Strat, a seventies Jazzmaster, and a reissue of the classic white SG-shaped three-pickup Les Paul that you might have seen being played by Glen Buxton from Alice Cooper.

The studio is behind a railway yard in an old building that was once a grocery store but looks like it must have been some kind of railway storehouse before that and actually incorporates a railway transport pod as the control room which sits above the live room which has a high ceiling. In the control room a Grammy Award for the studio owner Ben Allen who mixed and engineered the Gnarls Barclay album, St. Elsewhere (2006). Gold and platinum records on the wall for Lil’ Kim, Kaiser Chiefs, and trillion-selling records I’ve never heard of. I now live in a world where contemporary success is almost completely off my radar.

At the studio, another Ben engineering and Keegan assisting. Ben is Swiss and would later be speaking German with Olivia. In the live room, they had a whole lot of amps set up, plus Craig’s guitars and the posh guitars. Effects pedals galore and I set about plugging into all of them to see what they sounded like, trying different combinations of guitar and amp. The best amp was a 1966 Fender Vibralux which was streets ahead of any other amp in there. New amps make the sound louder, old amps give you a sound coloured by the quality of the amp. It’s the same with the guitars, it’s the character you are after, not just amplified sound.

After we had a setup using a selection of pedals and a stereo sound with the Vibralux and a new Vox I went into the control room and sat on the couch away from the racket to play on the tracks. I used Craig’s Gretsch, the Buxton Gibson, and the Jazzmaster. I tried the Les Paul which is an amazing guitar but it sounded a little dark. That was the day. Holly came around with coffee, Olivia walked to the studio from the hotel and afterward, we went to a late bar that was still open where we had vegan chicken nuggets and fries in a basket, living it up in Atlanta.

Terribly sad to hear that Christine McVie has left us aged 79. It’s just two days since I was talking about her here in relation to the record she made with Lindsey Buckingham in 2017 that was intended to be the latest Fleetwood Mac album. McVie, originally the keyboard player in blues boomers Chicken Shack released a solo album under her maiden name Christine Perfect in 1970. RIP.

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 🎵

📷 @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

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
Doors & Delays 🎸 @workshop21_guitarclinic #the Doors & Delays 🎸

@workshop21_guitarclinic #thedoors #fenderstratocaster #fenderhotroddeville #nashtelecaster #rickenbacker
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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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