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Jan 23 2023

TO WHERE I AM NOW

The problem with being on the road is that you get in at 2 AM and the hotel wants you out by 11 AM (unless you need to leave earlier to reach the next show). Say you get to bed by 3 AM, if you’re lucky, and you have to be up by 9.30 AM at the latest, in time to miss breakfast and with only six and a half hours of sleep night after night. Could be worse, I’m not complaining, I could be in a war zone, but the only thing that keeps you healthy apart from proper food, is proper sleep, something to combat the long days of travelling, the hours and hours at the venue from soundcheck to encore, meet and greet, to the hotel lobby, and then there’s your washing. Heaven forbid you get sick. It was easier in your twenties, I’m 65 this year and I find myself collapsing into bed rather than jumping into it. We have 13 shows in a row in England in March, less travel time between cities helps but I still like to do a language lesson, write the blog every day, visit record and bookstores and eat properly as well as sleep to preserve my voice because when you do this you spend two hours singing and at least two hours talking and you need to be doing both, as well as concentrating on words, tuning and delivery whilst quipping your way through the introductions. Luckily playing the guitar just happens.

We were out of the Maryland hotel between 11 and 11.30AM and yes, they called from reception to remind us to vacate the room. Next door there was a garage but as we pulled in to refuel I noticed I was missing an earring, the one sessioneer Fred gave me as I’d lost one somewhere in Porto. Coincidentally I noticed it was gone as I was speaking to Fred on the phone. I went back to the hotel while Olivia filled up and there it was on the bathroom floor. We were now ready to leave and happy to be driving in the light without the rain pouring down. But another issue has come up. We don’t have an ‘EZpass’ to get through tolls and some toll roads don’t take cash or card, so we can’t use them – New Jersey Turnpike, yes, I-95 toll sections, no. Consequently, hours are piled onto our drive time as well as strange routes all around the houses, down narrow country lanes and through Mrs Johnson’s back garden.

We met sessioneer NJ Brian hours late at Guitar Center in Cherry Hill. I was going to buy a Taylor 12-string that had been shipped from another store. I tried it and I didn’t like it, it also had no case. I also tried a Guild but the problem is that none of these guitars are set up to play. The first thing you do when you buy a guitar is give it to a luthier and he hands you back the guitar set up to your specs, intonated, new strings, the string gauges you want, the action height. None of these things are included in the price. You have to have a vision, experience and a lot of knowledge to know that the instrument you are buying is the right one for you because your ears and your hands aren’t experiencing the best version of what you hold in your hands. In the end, Brian said I could use his Takamine 12-string, it’s set up, I like it. I will admit that an amazing guitar does talk to you even if it’s sick.

We exchanged guitars in the car park, Brian got his two 12-strings, the Takamine and the Taylor that he’d lent me, he also took my Seagull to look after it whilst I’m not in the US. Taking guitars across the seas on multiple planes isn’t the best idea, so I have guitars here. It’s harder (more like impossible) to do with the electrics and the amps because of the costs to duplicate everything. We said goodbye and drove north, it was dark now but not raining and we were on a Turnpike with no trucks. Nothing is worse than being sandwiched by 18-wheelers at speed in bad weather. If you slow down it’s even more dangerous, you have to keep up with the traffic flow. We decided that we need an SUV for the height and visibility, not a saloon car that feels vulnerable amongst the monsters.

On this trip we had managed to meet quite a few sessioneers but not Chris who lives in New Jersey, this was our chance, we had a car and were on our way back to Jersey City and so we went via his house in Bloomfield for a cup of tea. Great to meet, stoopid to think we nearly didn’t when he was actually the nearest to us. We had to rush out to get the car back before 11.30 PM and we wound our way through the Jersey streets until we were back where we started. We parked and got an Uber back to Jeanne’s, what a relief, we weren’t dead.

Music today has been UFO‘s No Heavy Petting because it’s just got a reissue with extra tracks and for all the dodgy issues with these NWOBHM records that the indie intellectuals like to expose, I like a bit of dry-as-a-bone seventies Schenker guitar. The title with its Hipgnosis cover, comes from a sign in the English swimming baths in the seventies. It reminded me of the time I went swimming in a pool in Glasgow whilst on tour with AAE that said, “No Nude Showering”.

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 

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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.

CONTINUE READING: https://martywillson-piper.com/2022/12/to-where-i-am-now-1032

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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.

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#grammysitting 👵
🌵 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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