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Dec 31 2022

TO WHERE I AM NOW

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 Salim 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. New Year’s Eve is always a conundrum as a non-drinker, curmudgeon, misery guts, introvert, misanthrope but as most people with a brain have discovered you don’t necessarily qualify for the latter because you indulge (or don’t indulge) in the former. Sadly a couple of indulgers did find their way to misery by overdoing the poison but just as many used the sauce to increase their revelling. One thing I must say, it’s unusual to be doing an acoustic gig on New Year’s Eve. The party hats and the party horn, aka, “party blower, party pipe, party elephant, party blowout, noisemaker, party whistle, party honker, ta-doo-dah, noise popper, birthday kazoo, whizzer, blow tickler, tongue kazoo, or party snake” don’t really work with a D minor and a thoughtful lyric.

Still, not everyone wants a rowdy New Year’s Eve, not everyone likes champagne even if they drink. Some folks prefer a calmer night rather than a death disco (that’s what I call the places to avoid on NYE). So on the one hand, playing is the perfect solution, no responsibility to go nuts, but then you become somewhat responsible for other people’s fun. But then if they are there to see you instead of the scintillating, cavorting, sequinned dance monster down the street, they may not be looking for too much outward euphoria. It might be more of a considered mental necessity, incorporating the need to go out on NYE, so as not to convince themselves that they are party poopers whilst also not needing whooping, screaming and kissing a stranger who has just vomited.

In the studio, we had all thought that we had completed Salim’s curated list of songs the day before, but lying in bed I realised that there was one everyone had forgotten. I hadn’t even thought that we were going to the studio the day of the gig, but we did anyway and that was the day we ticked off the last forgotten song. It was a bit of a tricky one, a bit of a stretch to sing and Kevin the engineer was a little worried that attempting the high chorus in this song might make it difficult singing at the gig a few hours later. It was all good, although the chorus in the song might need looking at next time we are working on this project (after sessioneer Minnesota Fred). For now, we have to put it to bed till we are done with the next project but the gig was unaffected by the studio effort and it was good to get the last song down before we moved on, semi-closure.

The humans arrived for this intimate New Year’s Eve night, dressed in alien space suits, sparkly metals unknown on the planet Earth, possibly not something generally seen at a show with violin and acoustic guitars, although the 12 strings are also rather sparkly. They arrived in reds and silvers, blacks and blues, mauves and bright whites, men and women, some couples, some singles and they proceeded to sit down in the laid-out chairs and choose their own music on the turntable that sat on the stage. It was something of a strange atmosphere because it was something of a different night for this time of year. They started to drink, they may have started before they arrived. Salim came on in his fantastic suit and sorted them out both exciting them and calming them down. I made myself scarce and noodled on Paul’s Gibson acoustic in the studio control room/dressing room – I’ll get to see Salim throughout Texas in the coming weeks.

When it was time for Olivia and me, there were some happily intoxicated, some sober, and some in another state that aren’t necessarily here in the USA or even on Earth, that’s what the humans do on NYE, they revel whilst contemplating the past and the future, crossing over from successes and disappointments of the previous 12 months to the potential successes and disappointments of the coming year, it’s an emotional time and it’s all tied up in that one evening, those few intense hours, it’s not really fair on the fragile humans.

Music today has been The Pointer Sisters‘ Jump: The Best Of The Pointer Sisters (1989) as today we lost Anita Pointer before the new year dawned. They had many hits (27 in the Billboard Top 100) with their pop, soul, R&B, including the Bruce Springsteen-penned Fire (1978). Hits with He’s So Shy (1980, originally written as He’s So Shy for Leo Sayer), Slowhand (1981) and many more followed, my personal favourite, Automatic (1985), sung by Ruth, the only surviving member of the trio (that also included June who died in 2006). Sister Bonnie left the band in 1977 and 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.

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

KEEP IN TOUCH: https://linktr.ee/mwillsonpiper

📷 @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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"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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