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Mar 03 2023

TO WHERE I AM NOW

So Olivia and I are walking along the South Bank, the Thames on the left, Shakespeare’s Globe, the National Theatre and all the hoo-hah of that part of London on the right. Originally the plan was train to Waterloo, tube to Leicester Square, see if there were any half-price theatre tickets, Chinatown for Olivia’s taiyaki and then the London Eye and the Tower Of London before seeing a play. Well, although we did half of those things, the lovely chance meeting of Heyday producer Peter Walsh, his wife Kate, and stepbrother and wife Gary and Marisa – who live in Portugal – changed our plans somewhat.

I just can’t arrive at Waterloo Station without singing Waterloo Sunset, it didn’t really occur to me to sing Waterloo by ABBA despite seeing the posters for the ABBA show with avatars which does actually leave me intrigued, getting a ticket for that show is another issue, not just the cost but the availability. Who knew that avatars could capture a human’s attention so thoroughly? Tube to Leicester Square is easy from Waterloo and the ticket office is right there near the exit at the beginning of the square. The man behind the counter told us that half-price tickets were more likely Monday/Tuesday, not Friday night. We bought two tickets anyway for a play at the Gielgud Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue, not too bad price-wise.

From there to Chinatown for Olivia’s taiyaki and back on the train to Waterloo and the London Eye. It’s a slow-moving circle of pods that give you something of a view over London and the Thames. I did it years ago but Olivia hadn’t, she went to buy tickets and came out of the ticket office and said, “I’m not sure about the price – £53 fast track, £40 for the queue”. My mouth fell open and my jaw crashed to the ground, “Screw that”. We walked along the Thames for free.

We were on the way to the Tower Of London, a place neither of us had been, it was a bit of a long walk but it was along the river and there was lots going on, there must have been 100 school kids outside The Globe. We stopped for a quick coffee and carried on towards Tower Bridge and the legendary Tower. Time was flying by but we thought we could just make it for the last hour and before we went to see the play at 7 PM. Then it all changed.

We were walking along and a voice said, “Marty,” it was Peter Walsh. I recognised him immediately. “Pete,” wow, really? I hadn’t seen him in years. Pete of course produced Heyday at Studios 301 in Sydney in 1985. It was so cool to see him, meet his wife Kate and then stepbrother Gary and his wife Marisa who was Brazilian – they live near Lisbon. Then Olivia found out that Kate played the cello, so that was it. We were running late for the Tower anyway and Pete invited us to join them for…wait for it…cocktails at the Heron Tower. Unable to refuse we went with them. Pete told me he knew I was in London because he read it in my blog. “You read my blog?!” Apparently, he does, now and again. Great to see him and everyone and hopefully now we can keep in better touch after this chance meeting. The Heron bar was a trip, trendy Wendy and just empty enough before the city dudes arrives, we found a seat, Pete bought the pricey cocktails (Thanks, Pete) and we admired the view, we chatted till 6 PM before we had to leave for the play.

We had to get from Liverpool Street to Tottenham Court Road and took the new posh Elizabeth Line, just two stops and with some pace made our way to the Dean Street exit through long bright freshly-painted tunnels. We rushed through Soho and came to the theatre queue as it was starting to move. What were we going to see? Matthew Modine as Atticus Finch in Harper Lee‘s To Kill A Mocking Bird. It was great, London theatre is great. Back to Waterloo, back to Biggles and Colleen’s in New Malden and bed, the day completely wore me out, I was asleep before you could say New Gold Dream.

Music today was the Peter Walsh-produced Simple Minds album New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84), of course, it was.

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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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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