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Jan 28 2023

TO WHERE I AM NOW

Arriving at 7.20 AM in Germany not knowing yet that we had lost Tom Verlaine. We’d left Jeanne’s hospitality and all our New York friends behind till the next time and taken an Uber to Newark airport. Jeanne had mentioned that she’d read that only 6% of Uber drivers get tipped (because it’s not a cash payment). I asked our driver what percentage Uber takes from the fare. Shockingly he told me 35%. So they lose a lot to the company and don’t get many tips, good to know, tip them when you get home. The plane was a new Lufthansa-acquired Dreamliner, one always hopes that they’ve given the new models a good run, the 737 saga was freaky. All was well on the flight, we arrived in Frankfurt and we sailed through passport control with my new Portuguese residency card. They told me I could stay in the Schengen area as long as I wanted with this card, so consequently, I received no German entry stamp in my British passport and was treated as an EU citizen. It feels like a privilege after all those Brits that have lost the right to live in Europe as they had been doing untroubled for years. Olivia’s dad picked us up at the airport and we were soon driving to Olivia’s 1000-year-old village in the Rhineland, quite a contrast to the last few days in New York.

We arrived at Olivia’s childhood village and Olivia’s mum had prepared a mega breakfast for us with endless choices of cereals, oat milk, avocado, cheese, bread, croissant, veggie ham, camembert, toast, tea, juice. We ate and chatted for a while and then decided at 11.30 AM that we should hit the sack, goodnight. We didn’t get up till 7 PM and now comes the fight with jet lag. We came down and Olivia cooked some food, we chatted again with Gerd and Siv until they went to bed and we were wide awake, left with the news of Tom Verlaine’s death to mourn. I wrote all about my experiences and reminisces with Tom and that took up the rest of the night.

We have to carry on optimistic even when our heroes leave us because mortality sits further forward in your mind when you reach your sixties and you need to think of the end of your life as an opportunity to consolidate all your thoughts, take advantage of all your experiences and present them back to the world in some useful form. What one man considers useful of course might not be another’s version. Oscar Wilde famously said “All art is quite useless” but he was being witty and pedantic. Bringing music to people is rather useful I think but perhaps not as much as being a nurse.

We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is quite useless.

From tomorrow I’ll be starting with sessions again as the 24/7 of the US is done. We will be here in Germany till Friday, 3rd February. So please be in touch if you want to sesh on, but be quick for a time, I’m expecting to be quite busy with seshes over the coming weeks before our UK tour starts.

Music today has been Tom Verlaine’s second solo album Dreamtime (1981). More classic angular and unique guitar.

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 🤘🏰

T-Shirt Design by Reid Wilson
Photo by @oliviaelektra 

#schoolkidsrecords #nikoröhlcke #wellscathedral
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

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
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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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