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Dec 11 2022

TO WHERE I AM NOW

Last day in Chicago and a day off, although when you are a tourist there’s never a day off. I’ve mentioned before how much there is to do here and today we managed the tip of the prehistoric iceberg and went to visit Sue the T. Rex at Chicago’s Field Museum. The most complete T. Rex skeleton in the world, they have to keep the skull in a glass case nearby because it is so heavy and damaged on one side, the rest of the skeleton has a cast as a head. There are a lot of original dinosaurs in this museum and I was singing Dinosaur Girl to Olivia throughout the day (a song that doesn’t exist). At the museum, we met sessioneer Rod and his wife who is also called Sue, haha, but thankfully she had her real head.

We didn’t have that much time because for some reason the museums close at 5 PM. Who thinks of these things? Why close early on a Sunday when most people have an opportunity to visit and pay the probably much-needed $25 entrance fee. Of course, I live in a world where we go to bed late and we get up late, so I presume that they think that there’s been plenty of time for people to get there as they get up early, but wouldn’t those people like a lie in on a Sunday? We gave the dinosaurs as much attention as possible, took pics, and listened to a knowledgeable volunteer share his knowledge with us. How come the passionate, knowledgable guy has to be a volunteer and the members of staff who guard but know little about the exhibits get paid?

We didn’t have time for the aquarium even though our trip to Chicago has gone swimmingly. We wanted to get to the Art Institute and leaving Sue behind (the T. Rex, not Rod’s wife), we took an Uber. Olivia and I had taken a train and a bus to the Field Museum and enjoyed the reality of public transport in Chicago mostly because we only had to do it as tourists. I imagine that January in the windy city on the morning commute would be tough. I remember catching the bus to work in London and having to get off and walk past the traffic jam otherwise I’d be late.

We arrived at the Art Institute and ran up the steps heading for the famous Seurat, “Un Dimanche après-midi à l’Île de la Grande Jatte” and there it was, living up to its legend. An hour in a place as amazing as this is a crime against art but we did manage to see Grant Wood’s famous American Gothic, Edward Hopper’s, Nighthawks, as well as Picasso, Dalí, Tanguy, Monet, van Gogh, Miró, Kandinsky, Ernst, Man Ray, Duchamp, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Leonora Carrington. We also saw the Ivan Albright portrait of the corrupted Dorian Gray that was commissioned and used in the 1945 film. This is a place to spend a week, not an hour and between every painting painted by a famous artist known by the public, there was an amazing painting painted by someone I’d never heard of. It made me realise that an American tour should have at least three days off in every city, financed by a main show, early and late with two different sets and a house concert. Hmm, it’ll never work.

We walked with Rod and Sue to Union Station and saw them off. We sat in the grand hall for a while admiring the building itself and wondering about the Amish people who were waiting there and wondering how they reconciled catching a train, I realised that I’m completely ignorant of what their life philosophy actually is beyond a vague idea about not using modern technology. I read that the Mennonites evolving from the same original Swiss German routes and shun technology less could have been them. We left for ramen and ate in an empty Sunday night restaurant, it was one of the best ramen I’ve ever had. We walked to the Blue Line, changed onto the Brown Line, and ran into three young English girls and their Argentinian mate in the Seven-Eleven. A fun chat that carried onto the train before home beckoned and a sesh with Jed in Minneapolis which was quite odd in some way as I’ll be there tomorrow.

Music today has to be The Stranglers‘ Rattus Norvegicus (1977) as we just lost drummer Jet Black this week at the age of 84. This album was huge in the late seventies reaching No. 4 on the UK chart. The single Peaches reached No. 8 and was as famous for the bass line and bass sound as well as the lecherous delivery of the lyrics, and then there’s the spoken part: “Looks like I’m gonna be stuck here the whole summer, well what a bummer, I can think of a lot worse places to be, like down in the streets, or down in the sewer, or even on the end of a skewer.”

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).

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📷 @salimnourallah 

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📷 @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.

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📷 @argirgirl 

#paisleypark #prince
Marty & Pablo! 📷 Rod MacQuarrie Marty & Pablo!

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At last, a proper door stop. 📷 @judgeschamber At last, a proper door stop.

📷 @judgeschamber 

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🌵 Texas Acoustic Dates 🌵 31 December - DALL 🌵 Texas Acoustic Dates 🌵

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12 January - HOUSTON
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15 January - SAN ANTONIO

With @salimnourallah and @joereyesmusic

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

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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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