I HAVE a Zoom session with one of my fortnightly guitar students then get straight onto filming some stuff for Key to the Highway.
I seem to have become obsessed with doing something with this, despite it being a traditional number!
After a break for a Zoom chat with my pal Kevin about the video we’ve been working on and the release schedule for his next single, I finish filming my own stuff. Green screen and my mad hair don’t get on too good, so I’m trying a plain white background.
It works pretty good and I start messing with ideas on how to add some animated doodles. I also decide to do some artwork and put it out as a ‘below the radar’ single. Can’t do any harm.
Late afternoon we head into Glasgow for an event at the Scottish Music Centre. Good to catch up with folks and plug the upcoming panel session/show that Andres and I are doing therein a couple weeks.
Costco is still open when we head for home so we we stop and get some shopping..then a chilled evening…
THE usual Monday routine – an early alarm to get the sourdough in the oven. While it bakes, then cools, I drink coffee and deal with emails and my socials.
I have a couple of personalised West Highland Way Gifts’ WHW trekking flasks to make up for an order – someone from Canada walking the WHW next month wants to collect them when passing through the village.
I get the flasks engraving then hit the studio for a session with one of my Zoom guitar students.
There’s some work to do in the studio before my regular afternoon guitar student arrives…then I drive into Balloch to pick up some shopping.
Back home I start setting up filming for an idea to go with my weekend recording of Key to the Highway. I manage a take before my weekly WIldcats’ livestream on Facebook.
Tidying up after the livestream I realise that my video ‘take’ earlier didn’t record…ah well, there’s always tomorrow!
The tricone gets rolled out for a wee recording session…
I NEED to get up at a reasonable time to get a pork butt on the smoker for tonight’s dinner. Catriona and the kids are coming for the night.
Once it’s all up and running I get in touch with mobile masseuse Ruth – aka ‘the mistress of pain’. She’s going to be at Betty’s to see Betty and Fiona and if she has time, I’d like to see if she can do anything to help my left shoulder/arm.
She has time to add a session for me, so I arrange to go along to Betty’s late afternoon.
I made some mugs for both West Highland Way Gifts and my own merch store so I get them added to the respective online shops then post some pics and links round my socials. I haven’t done Dave Arcari mugs for about ten years, so we’ll see if folks like ’em.
Before I know it, it’s time to head along to Betty’s. Ruth’s just finishing up with Fiona then it’s my turn. It’s painful in a ‘stop it I like it’ kinda way and it’s the first massage I’ve had where it feels like the masseuse is doing something meaningful. I see why Fiona nicknamed her ‘the mistress of pain’ tho’!
While I;m on the massage table in the other room Margaret rocks up with the kids. Catriona’s having asleep at ours.
Once I’ve been battered we sit nd have a drink then wander home, stopping to feed the ducks on the way.
Margaret feeds the kids and I hit the studio to set up a stripped back recording session for Key to the Highway. I posted a clip of the song from my wildcats’ livestream and folks seem to like it, so curious how a ‘proper’ recording might work out.
By the time I’ve got something down the kids are heading to bed and the pork is nearly ready 🙂
The landing page for my Spotty growth ad campaign…visit here or click the image…
AFTER a crazy week I’d been hoping for a lazy morning, but I have a community hydro society board meeting on Zoom…so no rest for the wicked 😉
The meeting is useful. My fellow directors are a solid bunch who’ve all chosen to be part of the operation rather than being cajoled into it. Makes a huge difference IMHO.
I’d planned to paint the underside and edging of the ‘new’ smoker shelter roof but as I prepare the sunshine disappears and the rain comes on. Bah.
Instead, I spend some time in the studio editing video clips in various formats to use as ‘creative’ in a Spotify growth ad campaign on Facebook and Instagram. It’s been a coupla weeks since I ran my ‘fan finder’ ads so it’ll be interesting to see if the strategy works.
Having run the fan finder ads for a week our two I realised I had no idea how to follow it up and target that audience. The fan finder strategy is to reach a new audience with a video ad/s and no call to action – rather than have an ad asking folks to buy/stream/join/whatever the aim is to see who watches a solid percentage of the video (say 75% or more) then create a custom audience using these folks and target them with follow up ads. The premise is that if the video holds a viewer’s attention for a decent amount of time it’s likely that they like what they see and hear. We’ll see!
Anyway, the targeted folks are still quite ‘cold’, so I don’t wanna try and get them to buy something…I want them to become ‘fans’ before I even think about asking them for something.
I only come up with two realistic strategies – (a) get them on my mail list…or (b) direct them to Spotify. My gut feel is to try the Spotify growth strategy first. But definitely not directly to Spotify, I want them to go via a landing page so I can track results etc with my meta pixel.
I set up the landing page (see it here) then go about setting up my campaign and ad sets. I have a very limited budget, but I don’t wanna let the potential audience go stale before this follow-up, no matter how under funded! Watch this space for results and thoughts…
Once I’m done I head into Glasgow to pick up the guitar from Jimmy Egypt’s…a good job, amazing turnaround and great price 🙂
After a brief stop at the supermarket I get home, have lunch then get busy in the studio.
Later on I meet Fiona for a paddle. She’s got Nova with her – the dug’s first time out on a paddlebaord. She’s a bit excitable and not keen to sit still but overall she looks like a promising paddle companion.
UP at a reasonable time to get as much done as possible before heading into Glasgow for a supporting actor (SA) role on upcoming TV series Fear starring Martin Compston.
I haven’t done any of that kinda work for ages, the last being an episode of Scot Squad – with my ‘bee-keeper’ clip going viral a number of times on various social platforms.
As usual there’s a lot…and I mean A LOT…of hanging around finally wrapping just after 9pm.
I’m home. by 10.30pm, have dinner, catch up on some work then crash!
OFF into Glasgow early to drop the signature guitar off at Jimmy Egypt’s for some TLC.
There’s a dodgy switch connection and I need the Waverley tuners properly installed. Was done in rush on the road in the USA and I’ve been meaning to get a proper job done on them ever since. That was 2019!
Next stop Costco, then Tesco, then Aldi…then home.
I get some work done in the studio then sort postage for the final batch of merch mailouts from last week’s offer.
My late afternoon guitar student arrives and it’s such a nice day we do the lesson in the garden.
I’d hoped for a paddle but have some stuff to get done before we wander along to see Betty for a drink before dinner….
UP at the crack of dawn to get my sourdough in the oven.
While it’s calling I dye a leather bottleneck pouch I’ve made for a customer, do a little more work on Kevin McDermott’s video and print postage labels for another batch of free-plus-postage orders. Then breakfast!
Next up, a Zoom session with one of my guitar students before I call Jimmy Egypt in Glasgow and arrange for my signature guitar to go in for a ‘medical’.
I get some of the ‘official’ video from the Urban Blues Fest show in Romania into the computer to edit for tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream then it’s time for another Zoom guitar session.
I spend the rest of the afternoon finishing of the merch production and editing a couple of song videos to spin into the livestream.
By the time I’m done there’s not much time for a decent walk;k…just a half hour jaunt through the forest before the Wildcats’ livestream.
There’s some jambalaya left over form last night for dinner then I spend the rest of the night punting some of the forthcoming Scottish shows and getting an email out to Scottish folks on my email list.
AFTER breakfast I have a bit of a mad dash to get postage labels stuck on all the merch orders and get them down to the post box before the Saturday collection.
There’s also a bunch of vinyls to be collected by the postie.
Talking of the post, I have two rings that have breaks at the edge. The jeweller in Kirriemuir who made my wedding ring is a good repair man and asked me to send them to him for repair – he’s coming to the Bonfest show in May and will have them ready by then 🙂
I sent them special delivery (guaranteed before 1pm) and they were collected by the post on Thursday. This is Saturday and they haven’t showed!
The tracking says they’re at a (fairly) local post office near us awaiting collection! I phone the post office and the guy says he’ll take a look around and call back.
Mid-afternoon my pal Dave Robinson drops by for a visit. He was the editor of ProSound News Europe and is visiting the area for a walk with his pals Coley and Mark (who I know from his days working in Sound Control…small world!). We catch up over a coffee in the garden then drop into he studio – Dave is keen to have a look at the ‘Dave Arcari signature’ guitar.
I have some West Highland Way Gifts’ Merch to make so start the ball rolling. I’d planned a paddle, but change my mind and go for a walk up the lochs die instead.
Dinner is smoked chicken tacos…then we chill and watch a few episodes of Blue Lights.
MARGARET’s off to meeting just as my guitar student and her dogs arrive,
We have a good session then I put some rub on a natch of chicken thighs for the smoker before hitting the studio to do some tweaks on my pal Kevin’s video. Getting close to completion now, I think.
The ‘free-plus-postage’ offer I sent out to my email list has sold out so I rummage about in the studio attic and find some more copies of the CD – Radiotones’ second album Whiskey’d Up in digipak CD – and get it re-stocked. I set up an other e-mail to out later to let folks know that there’s more available in case they missed out first time round.
I also do some email list promo round my socials.
It’s a lovely afternoon and I’d planned a walk but after a coffee in then garden I fall asleep for a good half hour…then it”s time to get the smoker fired up for the chicken. Smoked chicken tacos tonight (and maybe tomorrow too!)...and the rest to go in jambalaya.
Then I start packing the merch orders. There’s a lot 🙂
By the time the chicken’s done, avocado sauce and salsa made it’s late…and after we eat I’m up ’til 2am creating and paying for postage labels for the merch….
OFF to the school in Balloch first thing where I have a really good session with some of the kids. It’s great to see the difference it makes to some of them 🙂
There’s shopping to be picked up en route home then lunch.
I spend the afternoon doing another edit and creating some more visual effects for the video for Kevin McDermott’s next single. I;m kind pushing both my and the computer’s limits!
Later on I put out a ‘free plus postage’ offer may email list then head back to the house for dinner. Betty’s already arrived and we have a grand night…my phone constantly pinging with orders for the special offer…the second Radiotones album (Whisky’d Up) in digipak CD. See it here 😉
Eventually the wind calms down a bit and we get out for a paddle 🙂
AFTER breakfast I have a Zoom session with one of my newer online guitar students. He’s already a strong player but looking to switch up his bottleneck game.
Having run my ‘fan finder’ ads on Facebook I need to follow up with some targeted ads. Initially I thought I;d run a mail list campaign but in retrospect I think I might be better to run a Spotify campaign first and see how it performs.
That means a fair bit of research and some thought into idea creative production which, as usual, turns out to be more involved than I first think. I make some good headway by the time Fiona arrives to go out for a paddle.
We have a good hour or two on the water and bump into another couple of paddleboarders at Port Bawn where we chat then head back to the village.
Fiona comes in for. cup of tea then heads off not long before Mikey and his pal Stevie arrive. Stevie’s helping Mikey with some plastering work at a neighbour’s.
MARGARET’s off to a meeting with the National Park folks – and I have a Zoom guitar session with one of my students.
Once done, I go back to the house, retrieve the Andouille sausage mix and stuff the hog skins to get a batch of sausage ready for the smoker.
Before they go into the pit they need to be hung in front of a fan for an hour to dry a little. Meantime I get the smoker going – it’s an awkward job as the temperature has to be stabilised at 120f before the sausage goes into the pit then the temperature crept up to 160f until the sausage reaches an internal temp of 165f. That’ll take a good three or four hours.
I’m not long finished a lesson in the studio with my mid-afternoon guitar student when Margaret gets home..then Betty stops by for a coffee and some help with a couple of online things.
I get the sausage out the pit, spray it with cold water and hang in front of a fan for the final part of the ‘production’ process…then we head to the coffee shop for a local community trust meeting.
Stagolee…from Saturday’s show at Urban Blues Fest in Bucharest
MY regular Monday morning Zoom guitar student has been put back to tomorrow (Tuesday) which gives me time to get a lot of today’s to-list dealt with.
We have both Euros and Romanian Leu to exchange. As usual, Travel FX offers by far the best – and easiest – rate and service. I log in to my account sort everything out then pack the dosha nd paperwork into a special delivery package to be picked yup by our post tomorrow morning.
Awful weather outside but I brave the rain and get some other stuff posted.
In the studio I create a website landing page for the upcoming May shows with my pal Andres then a Zoom session with another of my regular Monday guitar students.
There’s time to finish the landing page and make it live before an in-person guitar student arrives.
Once we’re though I sort some video clips from Saturday’s show in Bucharest to spin into tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook.
After the livestream we have dinner then I start prep for a batch of Andouille sausage. It’s quite an involved process but I have my sausage mix finished and in the fridge ready for stage two of production tomorrow!
Waiting for our Uber outside the hotel…no idea of the panic soon to ensue…
THERE’S a bit of tidying up and packing to do after breakfast…and we ‘re out of of our room a good half hour before midday checkout.
Downstairs I order an Uber to get us to the airport and we head to check in for our 2.45pm flight to Edinburgh.
There’s no queue at check in – and I’m surprised the desk is manned…the screen above has some Romanian ext and 12.55pm which, I assume, is when the check in desk opens…just under two hours before our flight.
We check the bags and are instructed to wait for someone to collect the guitars. Mmm…odd – normally we take ’em to outsize baggage. I ask Margaret to check the flight number and time and we realise the flight isn’t at 2.45pm….it’s at 12.55pm. In 20 minutes. We need to clear security and border control. And, of course, our gate is fucking miles away. Fuck!
Margaret gets through border control first…when I get through there’s not sign, so I assume she’s headed for the gate. I go down the4 escalators. No sign off her. I go through gate check. No sign. Onto the bus. No sign.
I call and find she’s still waiting for me at border control. She wandered off to see where the gate was and missed me coming through. Jeez. Anyway, the girl at the gate realised ‘wife’ was missing and holds the bus until she arrives.
If the nice couple in front of us at border control hadn’t told us to go ahead of them we may well have missed the flight. And if we hadn’t had out shot together earlier we woulda definitely missed the flight. F’sakes.
Anyway, both the bags and us make it to Edinburgh, pick up the car, stop for some shopping and get home soon after 6pm. What a day!
BREAKFAST at the hotel is good, if a little strange…the hot buffet has a kinda mixed roast veg – courgette, onion and peppers. It goes well with the sausages and mustard. I like it!
Even with the air con on full blast it’s still pretty hot in our room. We catch up on some work and chill before heading to the venue for my 4pm soundcheck.
Gates open at 6pm and I’m not on ‘til 9pm so there’s plenty time to sort out the merch and get fed.
The artists area is busy – I’m last on and the band before me seem to have brought a load of pals ‘backstage’. It’s all good tho’ and I’m introduced just after 9pm.
I play 90 minutes straight through, joined by harp player Marcian in Good Friend Blues part way through.
It’s really hot and sweaty….seems the audience enjoys my more ‘dynamic’ stage persona than the very restrained performers before me 🙂
After an encore I’m whisked off to the merch area to sign stuff and for a seemingly endless stream of photos.
Once everything’s packed up we chill for a drink with the booker, promoter and some of the other festival artists.
Deny and Mike stop to show us the parliament building en route from the airport to our hotel. The second biggest in the world after the Pentagon!!
USUAL travel day chaos when we get up a little later than we should have.
Still, we get last-minute packing done, car loaded and on the road on schedule.
We have a direct flight from Edinburgh to Bucharest…all booked by the festival folks. All goes smoothly albeit Ryanair have us waiting and queueing at three different places after the gate opens.
At baggage reclaim there’s no sign of the guitars. I check the other belts/area and outsize baggage. Nothing.
The AirTags show they aren’t far away tho’. I find a handler and they call around – turns out the guitars are two floors up in a security office! Thank fuck for AirTags!
Croco, Deny and Mike from the festival are waiting for us when we eventually get through to arrivals.
It’s a 40-minute drive to the hotel where we drop off all our stuff then we’re taken to the festival venue where we’re wonderfully looked after, fed and watered. It’s after 10pm and the final act of day one of the festival is still playing.
We meet booker Radu and event manager Crista and then we’re driven back to our hotel …
Most of the day is spent editing the video for Kevin’s forthcoming single Sha Na Na (who shot the)
IT’S straight into the studio to work on the video edit for Kevin’s forthcoming single Sha Na Na (who shot the).
I take a breaks to finish off the Ben Lomond plaque, then coffee, then lunch.
There’s a lot of ‘learning as I go along’ on the video edit. I’d never pay this much attention – or attempt anything as creative – for my own videos, but maybe that’ll change in future efforts.
Will drops off Freya late afternoon and I take another coffee break. Freya’s acting up a bit but by the time I’ve finished the first full draft edit of the video she’s settled down…
AFTER a little more work on the Ben Lomond plaque idea I hit the studio. Video editing is my priority today.
While I know what I want to do, actually making it happen in the video edit is a bit more challenging. I out some ideas on the back burner and concentrate on getting a first cut done of the start of the video to send to Kevin. Wanna make sure Iim on the right track before working out more.
After lunch I get a positive response so carry on the edit and trying to work out how to emulate some of the old Top of the Pops-style vision mixer effects.
I take a break and help Margaret lay some slabs to put a new storage box on then prepare for one of my young guitar students coming to the studio.
After the lesson I go back and help Margaret finish building the storage box. Once done, it’s back tot he studio to try and figure out how to re-create an old analogue ‘video echo’ effect….
(Looks like you’re) Walkin’ on Water Barnoldswick Music & Arts Centre
UP early to get sourdough in the oven. While it’s cooling I modify the layers of the Ben Lomond plaque I prototyped last week.
Then it’s breakfast and time for a Zoom session with one of my guitar students.
I downloaded Apple’s Motion app to try and streamline the creation of some of the effects I wanna use in Kevin’s video for Sha Na Na (Who shot the…) – there’s a steep learning curve but I manage to create some clips that I import into Final Cut for further editing.
The video work keep me busy til lunchtime then I have another Zoom guitar student.
I edit some video of my own – (Looks like you’re) Walkin’ on Water from a recent show at Barnoldswick Music & Arts Centre – to spin into tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook then decide to go for a wee paddle. It’s the only break int the weather/wind this week.
It’s after 7pm when I get back to dry land and lug the paddle board back to the house…just enough time to get cleaned up and changed before the livestream!
AFTER yesterday’s busy day we have a long lie – Sunday Brunch on the telly, coffee and leisurely email and socials check.
Then it’s into the studio to get down to business with Kevin’s video.
Aside from the general edit, I’ve a lot to learn off I wanna pull off some of the ideas we’ve had.
Late afternoon there’s a break in the rain and I head out for an hour or so’s walk…halfway through the rain starts, then hailstones, then the sun comes out.
I’m back in the studio ’til late, finally stopping for dinner…
Greenscreen setup in the studio for Kevin’s video…
UP early to get the studio sorted for my pals Kevin and Nick. It’s filming day for Kevin’s forthcoming single Sha Na Na (who shot the).
As well as clearing space and setting tip lights I need to add a count in to the beginning of the song so the guys know where the music starts.
Own arrival we have a coffee, I outline my plan and we start the filming.
We’re done in less than three hours with lots of green screen rushesin the bag. Hopefully I have enough to start working with.
Margaret’s made soup so we have some lunch then Kevin and Nick head off. I start ingesting the video footage into the computer and deal with some other stuff in the studio while the video churns away.
I manage to get some editing started before Betty and Liz arrive for dinner. We have a grand night…
Prototype Ben Lomond plaque – needs a few design changes, but looks promising…
UP EARLY for my first guitar lesson. My student and her two (very well behaved) dogs) arrive bang on time and once we’re finished I hit the office to start a prototype make of the plaque I designed yesterday.
Margaret’s off into Glasgow to meet some old colleagues for lunch. I’m waiting – and hoping – for the lights I ordered to try and get a more even green screen illumination int he studio to be delivered. I’m filming tomorrow!
Meantime, I nip along to Betty’s with the bit I rode4red to fix her coffee machine. I get if fitted easily enough. fingers crossed it works OK.
I get the Ben Lomond plaque finished. Looks OK but I need to move the cloud from behind the Ben..and maybe exaggerate the size of the hill a bit to make it stand out more. Maybe I should make the whole thing a little bigger too. Otherwise, it’s not bad!
Thankfully the lights arrive late afternoon, then I nip down to the village shop to collect some cable my pal’s have left for me.
Back in the studio I get the lights all wired up, working and mounted. Not exactly ‘pro’ level, but a lot better than what I was using. There’s wider, more even coverage and looks like not so many hot spots and shadows.
There’s some work to be done sorting out the Shure wireless system on the pedalboard and I’m just finishing when Margaret gets home with some shopping to be put away…
I’VE got a new West Highland Way Gifts’ product idea that’s been in mind for quite a while…today’s the day to try and create it, so busy designing in the studio.
The lights I ordered last week to light the green screen in the studio more evenly were meant to be delivered by DHL yesterday (Wednesday) but became subject to a ‘delay’. They’re out for delivery today…I need to have them sorted in time a for a video shoot for my pal Kevin on Saturday.
On the upside another delivery – from DPD this time – arrives. Rubber matting for the new stomp box that was ordered 10 days ago and was subject to four ‘delays’ in delivery. What the fuck is wrong with couriers this week?
I take a break from designing the new product and mess with the keyboard in the studio. The software all needs updated though, so my tinkering is short-lived.
By 6pm the delivery tracking for the lights tells me the driver is about 12 stops away…apparently it’s to be delivered by 8pm. I keep an eye on things but just after 7pm the live tracking ‘disappears’ from the website and app. Mmm..I can guess what’s gonna happen now. Or not.
Sure enough, no delivery by 8pm and around 8.40pm I get an email from DHL saying ‘delivery status updated’. On tracking I see the package is now back at the depot. Fucking useless.
AFTER my regular Wednesday morning guitar student has left I get on with some admin stuff.
Next, I head to Vale of Leven hospital for an x-ray. I get parked up right outside and only have to wait 10 or 15 minutes to be taken.
A quick stop of at the supermarket not he way home then it’s time for lunch.
In the studio I spend some time looking over the local community hydro society website. As a board member looking after comms, I reckon we need to give it a bit of a revamp so start thinking over some recommendations.
My sourdough is almost finished. Normally lasts a week but I’ve been making lunchtime toasties with it this week. I got the starter out the fridge after lunch but forget all about it until I come back from the studio…it’s nearly 9pm so the dough ain’t gonna have as long as it should before it goes into the fridge overnight….
THE alarm goes off to remind me to call the doc as soon as the surgery opens (8am) to see if I can get a face-to-face appointment.
My shoulder/upper arm and back still giving me pain and discomfort and the ibuprofen gel the nurse practitioner prescribed a couple weeks ago hasn’t done any good. He’d ‘diagnosed’ rotator cuff problem but I’m not so sure…I’d like the doc to have a look nd he can’t do that with. phone appointment.
I’m lucky today and get through in time to bag a late afternoon appointment.
After checking the bank I realise we’re in financial do-do (again)…a bit of brainstorming and it seems like a loan to clear the credit card and cover some unexpected expenses might be a sensible solution. I do some research online – mainly via the money saving expert – and apply for a loan online. Looks like it’ successful. Not ideal, but the best of a crap range of options.
In the studio I restring the acoustasonic. Been having third string ‘unwrapping’ issues resulting in a ‘dead’ sounding string. Newtone has sent me some different options to try out but I’m beginning to wonder ion the problem is down to the locking tuners. I may be over-tightening the posts and damaging the delicate winding on the third/G string.
Margaret runs me to the village where the doc reckons I need to go for an x-ray – which I can go for anytime (tomorrow I hope!) – and a scan..whoch might be a while away.
I enjoy the hour-and-a-bit walk home despite the drizzle then spend some time in the studio and, now my Wildcats’ Facebook group folks have seen it, upload the Younger Days video to my YouTube channel and Facebook page.
I’M UP early to get sourdough in the oven…the kids aren’t far behind and come to jump all over me!
After breakfast I hit the studio while Margaret, Catriona and the kids get ready to go to a local farm for a ‘lambing and calving experience’.
I have a couple of online guitar sessions with a lunch break in between then Catriona and the kids head off.
In the studio I finish sorting some video clips of Trevor’s set from the village hall show and get them on a USB stick to send him. Next, I edit footage of Younger Days from the same show.
The edit’s a little fiddly as I wanna ‘lose’ the string breakage in the middle of the song.
Thanks to the lighter nights there’s time for a wander up the lochside before my Wildcats’ livestream then it’s back to the house for dinner and some telly.
MY FAVOURITE kinda Saturday morning spent in bed, drinking coffee, watching Saturday Kitchen and dealign with emails and socials 🙂
After a very late breakfast…’brunch’ perhaps…I get busy ion the office prototyping some ideas and designs for ‘I climbed Conic Hill’ badges in prep for tomorrow’s (Sunday) wee West Highland Way Gifts’ pop-up in Balmaha car park.
For some reason I can’t get my dye-sub badges to work despite having had success before. I try various kinds of acrylic and wood, finally deciding on walnut laminate with a white acrylic infill. We’ll see if they work out.
Mid afternoon I go out for a quick walk to pick some wild garlic. Taken a notion to make pasta tonight. Haven’t done fresh pasta in a while and spotting some wild garlic sparked the notion.
Back home I do some more work on the badge ideas then get out for a quick paddle..just half an hour or so. I do a wee livestream while I’m out there.
Margaret goes to get some shopping while I make wild garlic puree for my pasta dough. I’ve got the dough finished and resting in the fridge when she gets back…but it’s still well after 10pm when we eat. Worth it tho’ 🙂
The first batch of Conic Hill pins/brooches finished and on sale here 🙂
AFTER my guitar student and her dogs have left I get busy in the office finishing off the first run of Conic Hill pins and pendants. Pretty pleased with the way they’ve turned out 🙂
A message comes in from a potential Zoom guitar student asking if it’d be possible to have a lesson this afternoon. Short notice, but I’m fairly flexible time-wise so we get something sorted for mid-afternoon.
In between times I research ways to improve my green screen lighting for a video I’m gonna be making next weekend. I really need to sort some flatter, better lighting for the screen.
I have a good session with the new Zoom guitar student and we arrange a follow up lesson…then it’s back to the green screen lighting research. I don’t have m much, if any budget, so need to look for a cheap DIY solution.
I’d hoped to get out for an early evening paddle but the weather’s turned a bit. Plus, I want to start spreading the word about a special international touring/live performance event that Andres and I are doing at the Scottish Music Centre, Glasgow before our run of Scottish dates kicks off in May before we head off to Betty’s for dinner…
FIRST job of the day is to redesign my Conic Hill pin and pendant. The prototype pin was too big and balance between metal and inlay wasn’t quite right.
We’re planning a wee pop-up in the village car park on Sunday so it’d be nice to have some Conic Hill related stuff.
I get my designs done then hit the studio while the masters are processing. I wanna do a ‘proof of concept’ for some of ideas for my pal Kevin’s video we’re gonna put together soon.
When Margaret drives into Glasgow for some shopping I get her to drop me off so I can return a screen to my pal Martyn then walk back home. It’s a nice evening and IO come across some cool spots for future video and photo shoots.
Back home I cast some more Conic Hill prototype pins and pendants, cut and tidy up the castings and add some inlay. Hopefully I’ll get them finished tomorrow (Friday) and they’ll work out OK…
AFTER breakfast I hit the studio determined to have a bit of a clear up in the live room.
It’s gonna take much longer than a few hours to do a proper job but I manage to at least bring a little order and tidy up a bit.
I spend the afternoon messing about with LUTs and experimenting with colour grading in Final Cut before starting an edit on Younger Days from the hall show last weekend.
Late afternoon the rain has eased off…the wind has died down enough to go for a paddle but my left shoulder is really achy. While it does;t seem to be exacerbated by paddling, I decide to let it rest and go a walk up the lochside instead.
WE’RE a bit late getting up…the weather’s not bad outside and after breakfast I decide to see if I can reclaim any of our only dismantled decking for a new, much smaller ‘top step’ deck.
I measure up, pull out some of the better condition deck boards, give them a good clean and scrub and knock out some of the old screws and nails.
Margaret’s booked a slot at Balfron dump for late afternoon. Seems strange to me though this pre-booking that started during covid is still in force. That, combined with the very limited (and bizarre) opening times and the fact that they no longer accept stuff like plasterboard makes it a pretty shit facility.
Anyway, we have buckets of stones with broken glass from when the garden table got trashed by the wind that can’t be discarded over the fence so need to go to the dump along with other bits and bobs.
I save some more bits of decking and chop up the rest of the stuff lying around . The rotten stuff can go to the dump and better stuff in the woodshed for burning.
In the studio I mess some more with the video edit for Walk the Walk. LUTs, grading, aaargh…I’m out my depth but I manage to get a reasonable result and make widescreen, square and vertical versions for YouTube, Facebook and other socials. Not sure why, but the seem to get a bit mangled but he upload process which largely negates my grading efforts.
After our dump run I get back into the studio and lose myself in the video stuff…suddenly it’s after 9pm and Margaret’s got dinner ready.
THERE’s a West Highland Way Gifts’ order to be made up – I get it started then hit the studio for a session with my regular Monday morning Zoom guitar student.
After the session the flasks have finished processing. I get them parcelled up, postage applied and book a collection for tomorrow (Tuesday).
Having rushed last week’s video edits form the local Memorial Hall show, I’m keen to try and up my game and have at least one song form the show edited to spin into tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook.
The video was shot in log, but I converted some of it to make it more manageable in my ‘pro-sumer’ editing set up…I think the grading suffered so this time I import the log footage and work with that. More time consuming and cumbersome given my gear limitations (and my editing/knowledge limitations!) but I get things underway before my afternoon guitar student arrives.
I manage to get he video finished in time for the Wildcats’ livestream. I like to let folks in the Wildcats group see things first…I’ll publicly post the result in the next day or two….
AFTER breakfast we go outside and try to tidy up the garden a little.
It’s a nice day and Catriona, Will and the kids are coming this afternoon for pizza. Turns out the big plastic garden table has a broken leg that doesn’t look easy to fix…but a bit of ingenuity from yours truly and some super glue seems to do the trick.
Everything’s ready to go pizza-wise when everyone arrives and we only need to wait for the oven to heat up.
We have a grand afternoon and enjoy the unexpected sunshine then our guests heard off.
Later on I get a little work done in the studio then back tot he house and make some, more pizza for dinner…
NOT too heavy a day today so we enjoy coffee in bed and watch Saturday Kitchen while dealing with emails and dsocvial media stuff.
In the studio I upload a live video of Loch Lomond Home from last weekend’s show at the village hall to my YouTube channel and Facebook then share vertical clips of same to TikTok and various reels and stories rounds my socials.
I have a catch-up meeting on Zoom with my pal Kevin to put some plans in place for the release of his next single.
The weather’s not too bad so we tackle some of the big chunks of wood that have been lying outside for a while. First the chainsaw, then the log splitter. Good to get it all done and stacked int he woodshed.
I spend a little more time in the studio then start making a cake topper for Catriona…it was her (44…cannae believe it!) birthday yesterday so they’re all coming for pizza tomorrow (Sunday) and Margaret’s made a pavlova to serve as a birthday cake.
Then it’s time to hit the road to Gartmore for dinner at Duncan and Irene’s where we have a great night. I happily drive home…one of the biggest benefits of being ‘off it’. Thirteen mon the since I had any alcohol!
I stumble across my episode of Blues’n2s with guest Andres Roots…
MAIN job of the morning is writing up news release about the May run of Scottish shows with my pal Andres….and getting the info out to the national press and longer lead-time media.
While pulling together media resources I stumble across a video of a Blues’n2s episode featuring Andres…I did the livestream series during lockdown back in 2020 and had guests from around the world.
After lunch my Friday guitar student arrives. She normally comes first thing in the morning but we had a wee change of schedule this week.
We need a few things from Costco and decide to take advantage of a wee lull in the schedule to nip into Glasgow and pick stuff up.
We’re home in time for a quick dinner – I made extra enchiladas last night 🙂 – then along to the village hall for the quiz night where we meet our team mates Fiona and Nicole. We take second place and have a grand evening….
OFF to to the school for a session with the kids. We have a blast 🙂
I finish up in time to join a Musicians’ Union (MU) Zoom meeting, albeit a few minutes late. I sit in the car and make my contributions.
Once done I get some shopping, drop off some merch at the post office then head home. Margaret’s been at a meeting in Aberfoyle and got a lift back to the village so I go and pick her up.
There’s a fair amount of stuff to be done in the studio and I’m keen to see if I can work out how to use the l;poppwer int he Quad Cortex. No real reason, just out of curiosity.
Betty’s coming for dinner and I’m running out of time. I need to make the enchilada sauce, some avocado sauce and then the enchiladas….
I create an image for my new website landing page and Facebook cover from a B&W image by Bernie McAllister
I HAVE a guitar student coming first thing. Once she’s done I hot he studio and deal with a load of admin stuff then start working one an image to use on a new website landing page and also as a cover for my Facebook page.
Fiona arrives soon after midday top go for a paddle. My ‘rotator cuff’ shoulder problem means I need to take it easy so we have a relaxed paddle round Inchcailloch. Margaret’s got soup and rolls waiting for us when we get back 🙂
After lunch I spend time on the new website landing page. Once it’s done I put together a Facebook ad set using yesterday’s Devil’s Left Hand video post as the creative. Each ad in the set has an identical budget and set up but tests differently targeted audiences. I’ll let it run for two or three days then take stock of the resulting data…particularly the video watch time…
Widescreen edit of Devil’s Left Hand form Saturday night at the hall…a simple, very basic edit destined for my ‘fan finder’ ad…
THERE’S some merch orders to be finished off and packed up to go out…and also a one-off item that I’m making as a gift.
A neighbour drops by to have us witness her signature on some documents. Then I get the one-off gift finished and set a pin on the back.
After lunch I edit more video and start planning a ‘fan finder’ ad campaign. All my past social advertising has been for specific shows or merch sales…I’ve never explored using ads to help reach a wider audience. The time has come where I think I really need to do that to try and move things on.
I’m not 100% that the theory actually works in practice but I’m willing to give it a bash.
A late afternoon guitar student arrives and once we’re done I start the ‘fan finder’ strategy. I aggregate all the info on doing such a thing, how in my own experience and thought and formulate my plan of attack.
First up, I need a full length song on video…a performance video rather than a ‘music video’, preferably without too much production of cuts/edits. I pull the footage of Devil’s Left Hand out from the weekend’s rushes from the local hall gig and set about creating wide, square and vertical formats.
I need to optimise a campaign for video views..and rather than use all my formats, I decide to follow some specific advice about using an existing video post as ‘the creative’. To that end I post the square version on my Facebook page and aim to let it get some traction before jumping into the ad manager. Watch this space for subsequent steps…
Meantime, it’s after 9pm and I’m on dinner…so it’s back to the huose to make a tofu and broccoli stir fry…
Walk the Walk from PJ Molloys, Dunfermline on Friday
THERE’ some guitar pendants needing made to fulfil online merch orders. I manage to get the flask packed and mould ready before my first Zoom guitar session of the day.
I have a load of huge video files from the weekend’s shows converting on the computer in the background while I run my first Zoom guitar session…then I go back to the office and pour the metal for the pendants.
The video continues to process in the background while I join a Help Musicians’ Zoom seminar on music PR.
Then it’s back to those for lunch and a trip to the doc’s in the village to see what might be wrong with my left shoulder. Ive been having a lot of pain for the last month or more and, if anything, it’s getting worse rather than better. Time to get it checked out.
Robert, the ‘nurse practioner’ (whatever that fuck that is) gives my shoulder the once over and pushes and pulls my arm in various directions. Looks like I have a rotator cuff injury 🙁
I’m prescribed anti-inflammatory gel which I pick up at the chemist before walking home.
I get home just in time for my late afternoon guitar student arriving. Once we’re done I head to the studio and start editing some of the video…I’m keen to get a couple of songs done to spin into my Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook later on.
I have another Zoom guitar session with little time before the livestream but I manage to get everything ready in time…
WE ALL have a long lie. I’m aching all over and absolutely burst when I wake up.
A shower helps a little and we have a leisurely ‘brunch’ chatting and chilling for an hour or two.
I get a hard drive sorted to give Martyn to dump all the video footage form last night, Trevor and Emma hit the road…and Margaret and I go to get the rest of the gear from the hall.
Later on I go to pick up the hard drive from Martyn and top for a coffee and blether.
Back home I start getting some of the video files onto my system and tidy up the studio in readiness for tomorrow’s various guitar sessions.
For the finale I asked Trevor up to join me on Loch Lomond Home…(Pic: Jamie Houston)
I’M up early to take the first car load of gear to the hall and catch up with Martyn who’s putting in a load of cameras to film the show.
When I get back home everyone’s up and Margaret’s busy getting breakfast sorted.
I get the rest of the PA and lighting stuff in the car and along to the hall. I’ll get the main stuff rigged then Trevor will bring Margaret and Emma along in an hour or so. No point in them hanging about while I get angry with the PA set up!
And indeed I do get frustrated as the mixers refuses to connect with either phone or iPad. I end up having to totally reset the mixer which sorts the connection issue…but means everything has to be set up again from scratch.
While I get the rest of the setup done, the others sort the tables, chairs, merch and other stuff.
After I get soundchecked Margret and Emma go back to the house to get some dinner ready and I soundcheck Trevor then finish rigging and setting the lights. Martyn comes in to finish camera setup.
Trevor and I are about to head back to the house when Margaret and Emma rock up with our dinner! There’s only half an hour ’til doors open and they already ate…so had the brainwave to bring dinner to us 🙂
I have to go back to the house to get changed and pick ups few more things tho’…and when I get back folks have started arriving!
Trevor kicks off at 8pm for an hour’s set. he plays a blinder and everyone loves him and his music 🙂
We have pretty much a full house and there’s a great vibe. I kick off my set soon after 9pm and play for just over an hour then get Trevor up for the finale of Loch Lomond Home…then an enthusiastic encore sees us blast our way through Folsom Prison Blues….
We’re tidied up and home by midnight. Pizza, snacks, drinks and chat ’til 4am…
A prototype mini guitar pin with wooden inlay….on sale here!
OFF to the school first thing…Margaret’s going to get some shopping so drive and drops me in Balloch.
I have good morning and we’re back home before lunchtime.
We’re not long back when the team from a production company in Glasgow arrive. They did some filming for a pitch to TV a couple of years ago…the timing wasn’t right so they’re giving it another go and wanna shoot some updated bits and bobs for a sizzle reel. Good to see them – and nice to know that their idea hasn’t been shelved. Fingers crossed for success this time.
Trevor and Emma are coming later tonight and I have a lot to get done. The guitar pins and pendants need finished…some for an order bound for the USA and the rest destined for the merch table at the two upcoming shows. Trevor is my special guest in Dunfermline tomorrow (Friday) and the local village hall on Saturday.
There’s also gig listing s postcards to be printed and set lists to be prepared.
In the studio I reset the mixer and start trying to configure the remote iPad app so things go smoothly during wet up at the hall on.Saturday
In between times I have a Zoom meeting with my pal Kevin about his recent single release and the next one….
Then it’s back to the mixer set up and configuration…and back to the house for dinner.
Trevor and Emma won’t be here ’till about midnight…before they get here we have a video call with our pals in Spain who re setting up a wee tour for me over there in October 🙂
AFTER breakfast I hit the office to get the guitar pins and pendants sanded. The ‘regular guitars need filled with coloured epoxy – the resonator guitars just need polished.
While the epoxy is curing I print out some dye sub sheets to heat press onto tote bags for merch. The dye sub printer is playing up, though, and keeps losing its wifi connection. I among to find a suitable cable to hardwire it to the computer and get the printouts I need.
At the same time I start printing a batch of postcards with upcoming gig dates for distribution at this weekend’s shows.
I took a punt and ordered a Roland SPD::ONE stomp pad from Amazon. The ‘kick’ version isn’t available anywhere so I had to settle for the ‘electro’ model. The sounds aren’t really what I’m after but there’s a user preset that allows the user to loads in a.wav file of their own.. Also, if it’s shit, it’s easier to return to Amazon.
Anyway, it arrived with the post earlier and after a few minutes setting up and loading in my own sound I give it a whirl. Seems to work pretty good. Is it a keeper? Dunno yet…we’ll see how it does on this weekend’s shows.
Margaret needs to get familiar with the third party mixer app on the iPad…Behringer’s own hasn’t been updated and doesn’t work anymore. I have a bit of a hassle getting the iPad speaking to the mixer…then the mixer view is all fucked up.
I need to get the next stage of the merch production out the way and put on the pork belly for dinner. While things are cooking I get one of the guitars re-strung and watch mixing station video tutorial…
MARGARET’s off to Doune early to babysit…Freya and Aaron are both off school sick 🙁
There’s an order in for five acoustic guitar pins. I also need some more of them and the resonator guitar pins for the merch table at this week’s shows so I get busy casting.
A break for lunch then it’s back on the merch until may 4pm guitar student arrives.
After the lesson I get out for an hour’s paddle. The loch is calm but misty and make for a surreal experience.
Back home I get another stage off the guitar pin production process done then embark on dinner – carnitas. After getting the pork in the Instant Pot with all the other ingredients for the main part I make avocado sauce, salsa and tortilla dough.
It’s 10,.30pm but the time it’s all easy but well worth the wait. Then it’s chill time and a film about Chess Records – Cadillac Records – on Amazon Prime.
I TRY and fire through as much of today’s to-do list as possible before my first Zoom guitar student of the day.
After the lesson I go back to the office and start filming the guitar pin and pendant production process…folsk have been asking how I make them. With luck I might even have the video ready to spin into tonight’s Wildcats’ Facebook livestream.
After lunch I spend some time making a set list for this week’s shows in Dunfermline and Buchanan then have another Zoom session with a guitar student. We’ve moved his time from 7pm to 2pm which might make things less chaotic in the run up to my weekly livestream.
I get a little more filming of the pin and pendant production process before my afternoon guitar student arrives. For an eight year old she’s making great progress 🙂
It’s a bit of a race against time, but I get the ‘production’ video finished – well, a draft version – and all my stuff for the livestream sorted just in time…
I GET a fair amount of work done while we sit in bed watching Saturday Kitchen and drink coffee.
After ‘brunch’ we decide to try and tackle the big tidy up outside.
First task is to clear out the woodshed and cut up the pallets and other random big bits of wood that have just been shoved in there and talking up more then their fair share of space.
While I’m clearing the woodshed, Margaret starts on the garden shed which is in a similar mess…that’ll let me get the various power saws out to deal with the wood.
First, a circular saw then a mitre saw to cut down the pallets and other oversized bits of wood.
Next the log splitter and mitre saw for some of the logs we have waiting to be cut. Still hard work, but sure beats doing by hand!
There’s still a few logs and all the old decking to be done when it starts to get too dark and starts raining.
I make an experimental beef stir fry which Margaret reckons is the best I’ve done then our neighbours Jess and Drake come in for a few drinks.
Cold outside…but never too cold to make pizza for dinner!
I PUT the guitar pins on sale in the West Highland Way Gifts‘ online store…and spread it round the WHW socials too. Double dunt.
Today’s the day my pal Kevin’s single is out. I’ve been helping him with various promo and strategic stuff. Hope it does good. There’s a few loose ends I need to tie up.
I send an email out to my mail list to let folks know about the new guitar pins…and tag on details fo next week’s Scottish shows.
There’s a lot of techie gremlins today. First, buy Facebook ad account has been suspended. Apparently my invoice wasn’t;t able to be paid.
No recent changes to my cards or other payment methods so not sure what the issue is. I try to sort it out in the Meta business manager and fight with it for a good couple of hours before I finally get it sorted…and my ads for next Friday’s (15 March) show in Dunfermline start running again.
No sooner than I have that sorted than an email comes in from someone wanting to but a guitar pin…I go to find the link freom my website to find the site is down. In fact, all my websites are down. F’sakes.
I get on to the hosting company who apologies for the outage…the sites are back up and running but he time I Finsih my ‘chat’ with support.
Tired of fighting with everything I parcel up a Merch order, take it to the post box and go for a walk in the woods as darkness falls.
Back home, I tinker in the studio for a while then it’s back to the house to get the pizza oven fired up and prep for dinner…
I finish off a wee run of new ‘acoustic guitar’ pins….now available in my online store
OFF to Balloch for my weekly Thursday morning session with some of the kids. We have a productive morning and two kids in particular are showing a lot of promise 🙂
A visit to the supermarket then home for lunch.
In the office I carry on with my new guitar pin prototypes then hit the studio where I do edit some video for my pal Kevin’s new single release tomorrow (Friday). I also prep a new landing page for his website which’ll go live at midnight.
Back in the office I finish the first batch of guitar pins and a pendant then it’s time for dinner…and for the first time in ages, we sit and watch a film… Poms. Margaret’s choice 😉
Great to catch our pals the Bonnevilles at McChuill’s on the first night of their UK tour…
I GET most of the day’s admin, emails and social media posting etc out the way by the time the postie drops off a wee router I ordered from. Amazon.
The router – if it works – is for the Behringer X-Air mixer. I’m not sure how these mixers are still selling as Behringer haven’t updated the control app in years and it now doesn’t work It’s only a third party developer’s app – Mixing Station – that has saved these X-Air mixers from becoming useless bricks.
And wheel the X-Air has built-in wifi connectivity, it’s flaky, especially in a crowded wifi zone so it really needs an external router. I’d been using an old BT Homehub but it isn’t ideal for a too many reasons to go into here. I found a small, USB-powered – and most importantly cheap – router from GL.iNet on Amazon. If it’s no use it can go back.
I get it rigged up with the mixer in the studio and it works a treat. Between that and the Mixing Station app I think we’re sorted. Still, I have my eye on one of the new Allen & heath digital mixers 😉
After lunch I design some prototype ‘regular’ guitar pins and pendants. Keen to add to my range and a regular kinda guitar might have a wider appeal. I do some test castings before it’s time to head into Glasgow. Shopping then off to see our pals the Bonnevilles at McChiuill’s.
We hit Costco where we also have ‘dinner’..then Tesco…then the gig. A grand night 🙂
FIRST job is to finish editing a video of Meet me in the City from the recent show at The Cluny, Newcastle. I’ll keep it under wraps until it’s been shown in next Monday’s (11 March) Wildcats Facebook livestream.
My video ads for the Dunfermline show have been running for an over a week and the stats indicate it’s been shown to some folks more than once. That means I should probably change ‘the creative’ to freshen things up.
I identify some recent video clips, add titles and edit up square, vertical and widescreen (see above) and update the creative in my ads.
In between times there’s visit from a late afternoon guitar student.
After a chat with my pal Blair who’s organising a Parkinsons UK fundraiser (18 May) I set up a ticket link on his behalf and start posters and socials artwork
Suddenly it’s after seven and I need to start prep for dinner…Mikey’s here and Betty’s coming…Asian salmon and cold soba noodles…
I MANAGE to get through quite a lot of my to-do list before my first Zoom guitar student of the day.
There’s a little more work and stuff to do before I go public with my Loch Lomond Business Directory website and I want to try and get a few folks to add advance listings…not just so it’s got some content, but also to test the system.
There’s some poster at to be done for the May show in Kirkcaldy then I prep for another Zoom guitar session – earlier than usual as I have a meeting tonight. No livestream tonight either.
After the Zoom lesson I have an in-person student arriving.
Once done, I get out for a wee walk, stopping in at Betty’s to take some photos of her electricity meters.
We head to the village hall for a community hydro scheme info meeting – grant applications opened on Friday and local groups have a couple of months to submit their ideas and applications.
FEELING pretty rubbish today…aching all over and the lurgy really seems to have got me!
When I finally drag myself out of bed and have breakfast I try and pull myself together, head outside and stack the wood I cut yesterday in the woodshed…then start splitting some more.
Fiona rolls up late afternoon and we go for a paddle. It’s a lovely calm evening and nice to get out on the water. Glad I pushed myself to do it.
In the studio I do a little more work on the local business directory website I’ve been pulling together. Very much still a work in progress, but I can maybe start inviting folks to add their info over the next few days then ‘go public’.
Mikey rolls up in time for (a late) dinner…he’s back on a local job tomorrow….
I get through a fair bit of wood before I’m rained off!
WE have a long lie drinking coffee and watching Saturday Kitchen in bed…I deal with all my emails and socials at the same time.
I’d planned to go for a paddle but the wind’s picked up so I postponed ’til tomorrow and finish off the packaging for the big batch of wedding fridge magnets instead. Good to have them done and ready for collection.
Next job is to tackle some of the wood that needs split and chopped. I get through a fair bit of it before the rain calls a halt to my efforts. Maybe no bad thing as I really need to make space and deal with some of the stuff in the wood shed before I do any more. Maybe tomorrow 😉
I spend a little time messing in the studio then we have dinner and go along to Betty’s where we enjoy a few drinks and a blether with Betty and her pal Liz.
A LUCKY glance out the kitchen window reminds me I have a guitar student coming later this morning.
She usually takes her dogs for a walk after her lesson, but it’s a nice day and it looks like she’s come early doors to take the dogs out first.
My pal Kevin’s new single Manos Arriba is out next Friday (8 March) and I’d suggested making it available to folks on his email list in advance via Bandcamp. So priority today is to overhaul his Bandcamp page, add a clickable image map to the header and get the new single uploaded and profiled.
Once done I get an email out to his mailing list.
Some more finishing and packing prep to be done for the big batch of wedding fridge magnets then email from t-shirt guru Kenny tells em my merch order is ready for pickup.
With no planned trips into Glasgow we decide to make a detour and pick them up then go straight to our pals in Helensburgh. The timing works out just right.
We have a grand night and my abstinence from the bevvy (over a year now!) means I can drive home.
Loch Lomond Home…a bit off a curve-ball for my encore at The Muse, Brecon….
OFF to the school first thing. After a good session I stop off at Aldi on the way home to pick up some alcohol-free Joker IPA…my current favourite and a bargain at £1.39 for a ‘proper’ sized can! There’s some other stuff we need too.
There’s still some work to be done on the packaging for the batch of wedding fridge magnets someone has ordered for their wedding guests so I run some ideas past the client.
I spend most of the afternoon creating content and posting for both my upcoming shows and also West Highland Way Gifts’ stuff which I’ve been neglecting a bit lately. I also post the v idea of Loch Lomond Home form the Brecon show a couple weeks ago – the full ‘widescreen’ video plus vertical edits for Tiktok and Facebook/Instagram reels.
The lighter evenings mean I can head out for a walk up the lochside even though it’s after 5pm.
Back in the studio I do some video editing for a pal. When I go back to the house Betty’s arrived and dinner is nearly ready….
NORMALLY my Wednesday morning guitar student comes into the house for her lesson, but Mikey’s working on the downpipes and the place is a mess, so we decamp to the studio.
I get a batch of t-shirts ordered then, after lunch, spend the rest of the day getting my news release about Kevin’s forthcoming single off to various press and online journalist contacts.
For dinner I have a stab at making mushroom stroganoff. Turns out really good – only improvement might be to use wholegrain mustard instead of Dijon…I don’t have any wholegrain.
We enjoy it while watching a slightly off-kilter film called Freelance which, to me anyway, is almost a spoof. Then bed…early start to go to the school tomorrow (Thursday).
MY pal Kevin’s coming to do through some promo stuff for his upcoming single. I also wanna film some green screen stuff for social content over coming weeks.
I have a mad dash to r studio to tidy up and set up the space before he arrives.
We spend a few hours ticking some things off the to-do list and we get one rough video footage in the bag.
The afternoon is spent on admin stuff in the office and getting a couple of merch orders packed up and postage applied – Margaert’s of to a meeting in Stirling so can drop them off at a post office.
Back in the house I do some prep for pulled pork tacos – Margaret’ll pick up a sandwich and get some shopping in Stirling after her meeting. I spend some time on the local business/skill directory idea then when Mikey gets back we have our tacos….
Close to the Edge live at The Muse, Brecon for Mid-Wales Rhythm & Blues Club
ALARM goes off at 6.30am to get the oven open and ready for the sourdough.
By 8am the sourdough is out the oven and I’m open way out for a paddle…it’s a lovely morning and I wanna do a couple of livestream updates from the water.
Back home I have a shower, breakfast and hit the studio in time for my first Zoom guitar student of the day.
After the session I get busy with another video edit to spin into tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook and deal with some other admin that’s come in.
At lunchtime I prep the beef short ribs and get the smoker going…then the ribs are on and smoking’.
My afternoon guitar student arrives with her mum and we have a good wee session then I’m back in the studio finishing the video edit and prepping for tonight’s livestream.
One more Zoom lesson then a quick dash to get the ribs off the smoker and into a ‘faux cambro’ before the Wildcats’ livestream…
I HAVE another batch of paperweight stands to get done after breakfast then I hit the studio. Lots to catch up on today.
In the studio I get busy editing a video from the wee run of live shows then have a Zoom meeting with my pal Kevin and his sidekick Nick top discuss some other stuff around the release fo his upcoming single.
My concentration on the video edit is awful and I screw it up a few times – the lurgy definitely seems to have got the better of me. The Zoom meeting, thankfully, is more focussed.
I’m also working on an idea for a local business and skills directory which is turning out a little more complicated than I expected. Watch this space!
I eventually get a decent edit done of the video I started and re-did a few times earlier. When I get back to the house Mikey’s arrived and Margaret’s got dinner ready….
THE kids wake me up at 7am jumping all over me. It’s fun!
We have to get them sorted and ready to go to the Peak in Stirling for Freya’s swimming lesson. Margaret takes Freya into get changed while Arran and I head up to the viewing balcony to watch.
After the lesson we drop into McDonalds to see ninna Joyce and have breakfast. I nip too Sainsbury’s to get some supplies.
Catriona and Will aren’t gonna be back from Glasgow until later but I have a photo job in Balmaha and head for home. Catriona’ll bring Margaret home later.
I get a few things done before heading out to take the photos then spend the remainder of the afternoon and evening sorting out the resulting images and getting them off to the client. Quite happy with the results.
It’s after 10pm but the time I’ve done the pizzas – caramelised onion, chestnut mushroom, thyme and mozzarella….
MY Friday morning guitar student arrives with her two dogs. They’re impeccably behaved as usual and lie happily throughout the lesson.
We’re off to Doune later to babysit overnight and I want to have Will’s paperweight stands finished. In between times I get another job on the go – wooden fridge magnets for guests at a wedding coming up in Indiana – and take a quick break for lunch.
I among to get the stands ready before we head off…and also finish a batch of pizza dough using the poolish I prepared yesterday.
Joyce is looking after the kids when we arrive and I spend some time playing games with them. The it’s Margaret’s turn and I get busy with some online and social media stuff for the community hydro society.
After dinner I do a bit of work on a news release for my pal Kevin then off to bed. An early night…before what will no doubt be an early rise!
OFF to the school in Balloch first thing. The session goes well and some of the kids are really getting into what we’re doing 🙂
I head home via Aldi where I pick up some of the bargain – and very good – Joker Alcohol Free IPA and some other bits and bobs.
After lunch I get stuck into the paperweight stands for Will. He needs 50 small and 50 large of a slightly re-modelled new design. As well as cutting and engraving I need to heat form the acrylic into the right shape which is fiddly and time-consuming.
In the studio I have a couple off things to get done and then it’s time to go along to Betty’s for dinner….
AFTER my regular Wednesday morning, first-thing guitar student I hit the office to create some artwork for a potential order of fridge magnets for wedding guests.
I knock up a design, engrave a test and email it off.
There’s some merch top prepare and send out and a batch of acrylic has arrived that needs to be cut into more manageable sheet sizes.
Mikey’s checking out our downpipes drainage to see if he can help sort out the front garden flooding then we have some lunch.
In have some stuff to do in the studio and then go for a quick walk, doing a couple of livestream updates as I go.
Mikey heads back to Dundee and I sort some Facebook ads to help promote the upcoming Dunfermline show (15 March). Next job is photographing the HK PA system I wanna try and sell.
Then it’s back to the house for dinner before putting the PA up on Facebook marketplace. See it here. I don’t bother with Reverb listings as I don’t want to have to ship the PA anywhere…and all the stuff I sold recently has sold via Facebook rather than on Reverb.
I GET a bunch of stuff done in the studio then call GuitarGuitar – there’s a PA system I’ve got my eye on as a potential replacement for our old HK system. It’s a good price but there’s no point jumping out the frying pan into the fire, so we need to try it out.
Kyle is helpful and suggests we go into the store where we can give a tryout in the PA room. I pack a guitar and my Quad Cortex and we make an unplanned trip into town.
In-store Kyle sets the system up and it seems pretty goo. Good enough for me to put down a refundable deposit while we consider…and look at ways of selling – or maybe trading in – the HK system.
We pick up some shopping and get back home in time for my late afternoon guitar student arriving.
After the lesson I go back to the house and get the fire lit then Mikey drives back form his job. I go back to the studio to do some more work, shut up shop then make green curry.
‘Widescreen’ version of the promo video for the upcoming Dunfermline show.
STRAIGHT into the studio where I start gathering together video footage from last week’s shows…there’s iPhone video from a couple of songs from each show as well as four micro SD cards with video of each full show.
I need to find the GoPro footage corresponding to the iPhone clips. so there’s a bit of trawling to extfdcat the bits I want.
Before my 11am Zoom guitar student I nip down to the village and put a poster up on the big oak tree that (for the time being) serves as the village notice board. I also put posters in the village shop and coffee shop.
In the middle of my Zoom session a pal calls wanting to borrow our log splitter. Once the sessions done I wheel it out and have it waiting for him. I don’t have time for a coffee or to hang out much as I’m hosting a party of visitors from Malawi and Rwanda at the community hydro scheme and wanna get some pix too.
Next stop is the mobile bank in the village and then back home in time for a young guitar student arriving with her mum.
After the lesson I go back to the studio and manage to get one song’s-worth of video edited before a session with my regular Monday evening Zoom guitar student. Then it’s straight into my Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook.
Mikey’s back in time for dinner then bit more work…
LOTS of jobs on my list today. After a late breakfast I go over the fence towards the hill to retrieve the ‘greenhouse’…actually a tubular plastic frame with poly tunnel polythene…the polythene is off the frame and tangled in trees. The frame is kinda jammed amongst some low branches.
Next job is to cut back some of the overgrown trees and bushes. This has been a bit of an ongoing task and I’m making slow progress as the chainsaw battery doesn’t want to last very long.
While the chainsaw battery’s recharging I get out for a wee walk then carry on my ‘trimming’.
In the studio I work on video promos in various formats for the two upcoming Scottish shows and post some reels on my socials. I also edit up a quick reel of the backdrop falling down behind me in Oxford.
Mikey’s coming to stay another few nights and is want to be here in time for dinner but seems he hasn’t even left Dundee by the time he said he;d be here! I make dinner for Margaret and I and leave some aside to be reheated when he gets here.
Nice to get out for a paddle despite being gubbed …and the lanyard/beard tangle!
UP EARLY to get breakfast before Fiona comes to go for a paddle. Wind is forecast for later hence going out early.
We have a good paddle. I’ve still got a touch of lurgy – not, thankfully, as bad as Margaret who’s coughing her guts up and feeling awful –but I enjoy he paddle. Fiona comes in for a coffee and a hot cross bun then goes on her way. I fall asleep for an hour!
I spend some time in the studio messing with guitar ideas potentially destined for use on a new song then someone comes to buy one of the items I had put up for sale on Facebook. Turns out we have a lot of friends in common and we natter for an hour before I get back to the studio.
I get a bit wrapped up in stuff and don’t realise the time. IT;s after 9pm when I go back to the house and make some avocado sauce, tomato and red onion salsa and a batch of tortillas for tacos with leftover beef, butternut squash and ancho chilli…
I SPEND the morning in the office setting up an online ‘media room’ for Kevin McDermott’s new website. Quite pleased with the way it’s coming together.
After lunch I get Margaretto drive men to the village where I take posters for the Memorial Hall show round various places and walk back home putting them up on noticeboards as I go.
Back home I start prepping for tonight’s beef, butternut squash and ancho chilli. Betty’s coming for dinner.
While it’s bubbling away I get some more work done in the studio…then back to the house for food, chat and a grand night.
FREYA has us up early…just as well, ‘cos I’ve a busy day.
Straight off there’s a curve-ball when my (this!) website is randomly going offline and not allowing blog posts.
I have a dig about and cant see anything untoward so start a ‘live chat’ with the hosting company. I get a pretty quick response and the person at the other end identifies a couple of easy-fix issues – one of which is the website is going to a proxy that’s then re-directed to the correct IP address. Problem is the proxy has expired and was a hangover from a virus issue sorted out a year ago! I change the DNS record. Hopefully all will be ‘normal’ now.
The posters for next month’s Memorial Hall show need sorted out – outdoor posters laminated and as distribution list made up. Hopefully find time tomorrow to get them all out.
My pal Kevin arrives early afternoon – we have a lot of things to go through to prepare for his upcoming single release and subsequent ‘activities’. The website I’ve put together needs some stuff added in too. You can see it here.
While Kevin and I have been busy Fiona’s dropped by with her puppy Nova to see Freya. Once Kevin and I are finished business Mikey heads back to Dundee and drops Freya back at Catriona and WIll’s in Doune.
First up, I need to edit some teaser videos for my pal Kevin’s forthcoming single.
Once they’re done I do some more work on his website then look through our project plan to see what’s needing prioritised before we have a Zoom call to discuss.
There’s a fair bit of work to be done and I spend the rest of the day on it, taking a short break when Will drops Freya off – she’s staying with us tonight.
I also have a long call about our community hydro scheme website which, as a director, I’m tasked with looking after
Mikey’s been working on our neighbours roof and is staying over too.
It’s 9pm by the time I get back to the house and start the Taiwanese pork belly for dinner. Freya’s only just getting ready for bed and is only asleep a few minutes before dinner is ready!
WE’RE both feeling a bit crap and achy. Must be ‘end-of-touritis’!
After breakfast with Dan and Liza we hit the road. Need to be back home in time for a session with one of my Zoom guitars students this evening…and it’d be good to have time to stop and pick up some shopping in Glasgow.
We share the drive and – after stopping for said shopping – roll up home just after 7pm. A quick unload and I manage to be ready for my Zoom session at 7.30pm.
Back in the house I make some tortillas and we have pulled pork tacos. By this time it’s nearly 11pm…I have some online orders to pack and print postage labels the bedtime. 1am before I know it…
ANGUS – last night’s promoter – has come to take us for breakfast. Dai and Lisa join us and we eat and blether before it’s time to pack the car and hit the road.
Not far to go today, just an hour-and-a-bit’s drive to Bridgend. We stop for some lunch on the way then drop in to se Auntie Glo an Uncle Cliff.
We spend a couple fo hours catching up then back today and Lisa’s where we’re staying tonight.
We have fantastic night, lovely dinner and a relatively early night so we can get an early getaway in the morning.
The Muse, Brecon – great night with Mid-Wales Rhythm & Blues Club…
WE have a lazy morning drinking coffee, eating croissants and getting some work done before checking out the Premier Inn.
A service station stop for sandwiches en route to Brecon where we arrive in time to check into our hotel before heading round the corner to The Muse to land in for tonight’s show.
Angus and the team from Mid-Wales Rhythm & Blues Club are ready for us. The Muse is a fantastic venue and the soundguy, Ian, is cool and make soundcheck easy.
Margaret’s cousin Dai and his partner Lisa are here for the gig and staying int he same hotel…we see them for a blether while we wait on our dinner. A wee bit Fawlty Towers when we’re told there’s no chicken so all the chicken dishes ‘are off. We both opt for steak pie t be told…’sorry, no pies left’.
We’re pushed for time as doors open at the venue at 7pm and it’s a sold out show, so we need to be back to manage the merch table. We’re told food takes a maximum of 20 minutes and end up ordering sausage and mash. It take 45-minutes to arrive.
As it is, we’re only a few minutes late getting back to the venue.
Openers Candy Mountain & Mr D. (Aled and Dilwyn) put on a great show.
The it’s my turn and I have a blast…with Aled and Dilwyn joining me for a song at the end of my set before my encore of Loch Lomond Home.
The bar’s shut when we get back to the hotel so Dai and Lisa come to our room and we chat for a few hours before turning in.
Great opening set from Candy Mountain & Mr. D (Aled and Dilwyn)With some of the fantastic folks behind Mid-Wales Rhythm & Blues Club 🙂
Fun at Port Mahon, Oxford – but no pix prior to the backdrop falling down!
DESPITE a 2am bedtime we’re up early – we need to get on the road and Rodge and Jan are off to Harrogate.
We chat over breakfast then hit the road to Oxford stopping at a services en route for a sandwich.
We’re staying a few miles north of Oxford which makes sense for tomorrow’s trip to mid-Wales and we check into our Premier Inn just after 3pm…time for a shower and chill before we head into Oxford to load in and soundcheck at Port Mahon.
The venue is a good sized upstairs room above a pub. We get the back drop and my gear unpacked then soundndman Logan gets me sound checked.
Doors open at 7.30pm and stage time is 8pm. It’s not a huge crowd, but fine for the room and – apart from four drunk folks who get asked to leave – a very appreciative one.
I play two 45-minute sets…there’s a comedy moment when the backdrop falls down towards the end of my first set…then we hang out and chat before clearing up and loading out.
We didn’t have time for any dinner and find a kebab van not he way back to the hotel. 1am kebab fest!
BREAKFAST at the Ramada is good. Then I get some work done before we check out and head back to The Cluny to pick up the gear and say cheerio.
Next stop is a bank. I desperately need to pay some money to cover a bunch of direct debits coming off today.
Finally we hit the road south, stopping in Darlington for some bits and bobs.
We roll into Barnoldswick – which some say is in Lancashire, and some say is Yorkshire – an drive past the venue twice before we finally spot the place. It’s very cool place and reminds me a lot of the old Bein Inn near Perth. Intimate gig space, loads of music memorabilia and great stuff.
Soundman Matt is ace as is doorman Stuart and bar staff Abigail and Sam. There’s some nice sandwiches and other goodies in the green room and we chill after soundcheck then go to say hello to our pals Jan and Rodgebefore doors open.
I play two 45 minutes to an incredibly enthusiastic audience and have a brilliant time. That’s tow magic shows under our belt this trip 🙂
We go back to Rodge and Jan’s and have some grub and chat for a few hours before bed….
Great start to this wee run of shows at The Cluny..
I HAVE a guitar student coming first thing – once she’s finished I head to the studio and pack the gear. We hope to be on the road soon after midday.
We share the drive to Newcastle. I do the second shift and drive through some really crap weather between Carlisle and Newcastle.
First stop is the Ramada in Gateshead where promoter Julian has booked us in then we make our way tot he venue where Steven and sandman Thomas are waiting for us.
Soundcheck goes great then we head through to the bar to eat while support band Country Irregulars soundcheck. Liking the sound of them already 🙂
Our pals Dave and Julie from The Music Cable Company have come down from Fife for the show and join us for a drink closely followed by Sue and Stevo.
Just before doors open we head back to the venue. We’d been a little concerned about numbers, but turns out to be a great crowd. Openers Country Irregulars play a belter and I have a great time playing then chatting round the merch table.
I finish off a bunch of guitar pins for the merch table…
AFTER a session with one of my regular guitar students in the studio I hit the office and finish off some leather hat patches so Margaret can start getting the sewn onto beanies and caps.
Next, the guitar pins need finished so I can get the fixings on the back with enough time to cure properly..then snaps onto leather bracelets.
After lunch I go out for a walk and stop in to help Betty with some stuff. I carry on up the lochside then back to see FIona and drop off a dog tag I made for her new puppy, Nova. What a beautiful wee thing she is 🙂
In the studio I start organising gear for the trip south and get batteries on charge before running through some of my set list. Quite excited about this run of shows.
After dinner I bother with Mikey while I do a little work on a website for a pal then turn in sometime after midnight….
I GET straight onto merch production – more guitar earrings, leather cap patches, music note and guitar pendants….
In between times I make up a set list for the upcoming shows then join a legal/touring online session with the Musicians’ Union (MU).
Then it’s back onto the merch and time for a quick walk up the lochside before my late afternoon guitar student arrives.
I have to do a lot of the metal finishing outside – the hand sanding and polishing creates too much dust in the office. It’s bloody freezing but I get a lot of stuff finished…just a couple guitar pins to finish tomorrow…and some leather bracelets needing studs.
MIKEY’s working on a ceiling in a neighbour’s house, Margaret’s got a meeting in Stirling and I kick off the day with a session with a Zoom guitar student.
After the lesson I hit the office. I have a list of merch needing made up for the upcoming shows. I also make up a generic set list for the Newcastle, Barnoldswick, Oxford and Brecon shows.
After lunch I mess around with the ‘new’ song idea I’ve been farting about with for a long time now. At last I feel I’m going somewhere with it. Takes time 😉
After a session with my regular Monday evening guitar student I get straight into a clusterfuck-free livestream…then back to the house for dinner.
A name change… ‘rig rundown’ becomes ‘gear rundown’….find out why…
AFTER breakfast I weight the items I wanna try and sell online – Damage Control Liquid Blues pedal, Line6 wireless guitar system and a Focusrite audio interface, All have bee lying around the studio for years and are surplus to requirements and taking up space. Plus we’re skint!
After weighing them and working out postage I get them listed on Reverb and also on Facebook Marketplace.
A message from a knowledgable pal gives me a heads up that Premier Guitar apparently has trademarked the term ‘rig rundown’ and relentlessly chases down anyone using the term! It seems odd to me that a phrase containing general/common words can be trademarked but I appreciate the tip-off and change the name to ‘gear rundown’. That means I should really change the intro screen too. The edit is quick and easy, but the whole video has to be re-processed and uploaded to Youtube and Facebook for scheduled release on Tuesday – after I’ve previewed it during tomorrow’s (Monday) livestream into my Wildcats Facebook group.
And now the I have over 1000 Youtube subscribers I can add chapter markers to the uploaded video 🙂
Mikey arrives – he’s staying a couple of days while working on some local jobs – and I some sourdough then let it autolyse and spend some time working on a new song idea.
MY efforts to get some more Youtube subscribers via social posts has paid off and we’ve easily smashed the 1000 subscriber threshold that allows me to add chapter markers to my uploaded videos 🙂
But, I realised I left something out of the rig rundown video. After breakfast I hit the studio, film and edit a short section then edit it into the main rig rundown video.
Trying to tidy the studio a little a few weeks ago I found some stuff that I could probably sell…a Damage Control Liquid Blues pedal, a Focusrite USB audio interface and a Line6 Relay G10 guitar wireless system. They’ve been sitting about ever since so I decide to take some photo and get them listed for sale online.
MARGARET’S off to Edinburgh to meet Les for a hairdo and lunch…I have a guitar student coming.
I also have a haircut in the village after the guitar lesson. Margaret;s got the car, the buses don’t co-incide time-wise and I won’t have time to walk after the lesson. I could cycle, but it’s crap weather and I don’t wanna go to the hairdresser with helmet hair! Sandy calls to say Margaret had mentioned it and he can give me a lift 🙂
Sandy also offered to come and give me a run home but I politely decline knowing that I could do with the exercise even if it is pishing rain.
I enjoy the walk and listen to another few chapters of Atomic Habits(worth a look!).
When I get home I make a pizza bread pulled pork sandwich then a wood delivery arrives. It’s still pouring so I decide to get it all into the woodshed before it gets soaked. Ooofft.
Lots of online stuff to be done and, after lighting the fire, I elect to do it from the laptop in the house. I nip outside to start production of a few bits of merch for next week’s shows.
I’d like to add chapter markers to the rig rundown video I’m posting on YouTube to go live next week…but realise you need over 1000 subscribers to access that kind of functionality. I’m not hat far off that number of subscribers so do few social media posts asking folks to subscribe so I can enhance future video posts.
It’s blowing a hooley again when I venture outside to fire ups eh pizza oven for tonight’s BBQ pulled pork pizzas. I brave the elements tho’ and we enjoy pizza and a film…
OFF to the school in Balloch first thing. I have a good session with the kids and let them know I’m not around next week ‘cos of the gigs down south.
After lunch I hit the studio and finish off the ‘rig rundown’ video. I’ll wait ’til after Monday’s Wildcats livestream on Facebook then make it public on YouTube,..although YOU can see it above 😉
The doctor calls. We have a dilemma with our annual travel insurance policy which is up for renewal. My diverticular disease has to be declared but the question ‘have you been hospitalised with the condition’…mmm…not an easy one. My hospital visits are always caused by non-stop, ongoing vomitting…at some point during my admission my bloods and resulting scans indicate a diverticularitis flare up..which somehow always makes it’s way onto be discharge papers as beaming a presenting cause of admission. Funny, then, how every doctor, specialist or consultant has always fiercely denied any connection between the vomitting and divertularitis flare ups! I have never had any presenting symptoms of diverticularitis when going to the hospital…just the vomiting and delirium.
I need the doc’s advice on how to answer. Unfortunately lately he says the records are the records and most likely the insurers will take them to be gospel…ah well, worth an ask…I do manage to persuade him to refer me for an ultrasound to see if we can get to the bottom of the vomitting thing. HE reckons the CT scans etc would have shown any gall bladder issues, but a few folks including a radiologist fan who’s followed my hospitalisations on Facebook have told me that a ultrasound could show up issues missed by the fancier CT scans….
Margaret speaks to the insurer who seems to understand the situation and, after consulting the powers that be, gives a much more favourable quote. Phew!
After all that run through the release and promotion plan put together for a pal and message him to see how the ‘tasks’ are going. After a bit more work it’s time to wander along to Betty’s for dinner…
AFTER my morning guitar student has left I hit the studio.
First job of the day is to speak to journalists and radio folks in and around Oxford to try and get some exposure for the upcoming show at Port Mahon (10 February).
I also phone round the BBC stations in the upcoming gig areas to see if I can set up some interviews and/or acoustic sessions.
Next job is filming some more stuff for the ‘rig rundown’ video I’ve been working on. There’s some b-roll and cutaways to shoot then I start putting together a rough edit.
Mikey’s arrives just as I’m heading off to the village to pick up a prescription, he’s finishing off a job at our neighbours’ place but first Margaret;s going up to Rowardennan with him to see another potential job.
Back home I do some more editing and get the majority of the production done, I have a couple more sequences to drop in and then title and end sequences….
Good to get out for another paddle..the calm before the storm!
UP at a decent time for breakfast and to get ready for a paddle…Fiona’s coming up so we can go out before it gets too windy.
Despite the cold we have a grand paddle and get back just before the wind really picks up. Coffee and hot cross buns while we warm up.
In the studio I get on with the press/media stuff for the upcoming shows and speak to a few journalists and media contacts then get busy with all the video rushes form yesterday’s ‘rig rundown’ filming,. There’s a load of stuff to trawl through!
UP early to get my sourdough in the oven…then prepare for a paddle. It’s been three weeks since I’ve been on the loch. Plus. it gets me out the house when the sourdough come out the oven and has to cool for an hour before I’m ‘allowed’ to eat it!
The loch’s flat calm and Ii do. livestream to promote the upcoming shows. I’m not out long so I have time for a shower and breakfast before my first Zoom guitar student of the day.
After the session do some other online promo and get some news releases written for the upcoming shows before heading back to the house to try and fix a downpipe and have lunch.
Back in the studio I have another bash at filming for a ‘rig rundown’ before an afternoon guitar student arrives.
I manage to get a little more filming done before another Zoom guitar session then my weekly livestream into the Wildcats’ Facebook group. In between times I hear that I;ve been nominated in two categories of the UK Blues Awards – acoustic act of the year and traditional blues artist of the year. If I make the shortlist to he finals of either category there’s be a public vote….
Margaret’s got dinner ready when I get back to the house then we head along for a dink with Betty and her family to celebrate her birthday.
AS USUAL the kids are through to wake us up just after 7am…Margaret makes them some breakfast then they come back through not jump all over papa!
I have to finish making some packaging stickers for Manson Glass – Catriona’ll take them back for Will.
I’m in the studio when Maggi and Joel drop by to chat over some local stuff. When they leave and I go back to the house Catriona and the kids are getting ready to leave.
In the studio I decide to make a ‘rig rundown’ video – a video showing what I use instrument and gear-wise on the road.
Takes me a while to get set up and everything in place…then I spend a while filming until the camera tells me the memory’s full. And that’s when I realise that everything’s been recorded – including audio – in slow . I could probably salvage it, but it’d take a lot of messing around and likely never be quite right…I abandon ship and go back to the house to make some mushroom risotto.
A LAZY morning watching Saturday Kitchen and drinking coffee while dealing with emails and social media.
Mikey’s finishing off a job for neighbours and comes back for a late breakfast break after which I get the smoker fired up and a pork butt on for tonight’s pulled pork tacos.
Catriona and the kids are coming and staying over and I had an idea to make the kids some personalised drinks coasters so head out to the office to get them done.
They arrive and we have a coffee before I head out to trim back more trees and bushes then, when the chainsaw battery runs dry I go for a walk up the lochside.
Mikey heads off and I get busy with some web server set up work for a pal.
When I go back to the house the kids are away to bed. The pork’s ready by about 8pm and goes in a faux cambro to stay warm while I make salsa and mix dough for the tortillas. its late when we eat but well worth the wait 🙂
MIEKY’S up early to start a job at our neighbours – we’re up and had breakfast intake for a new guitar student.,
She brings her two dogs who behave impeccably and as a use player, picks things up pretty quick. She’s showing promise already!
IU have community hydro society board meeting right after and when I;m done Fiona and Margaret are trying to unblock one of our downpipes drains with various roads, a pressure washer and other weird-looking instruments of torture. I leave them to ita
After a little work int he studio I pack a guitar for a TV recording session later and head off into Glasgow to get some shopping. The onto the TV studio in Dumbarton where I record an interview with presenter Paul Murdock for future airing.
Another stop to pick up stuff on the way home then into the studio to get some bits and bobs done before I make dinner.
OFF to the school early doors and have a great session with the kids…including one new guy who’s a natural!
Some shopping on the way home then a bit of a tidy up in the garden sorting some of the more superficial wind damage.
After lunch Mikey arrives to do a plastering job for a neighbour. Margaret got him to pick up a new light fitting for our bedroom – an LED strip to replace the ugly and temperamental flourescent fitting. I manage to replace and rewire without fucking it up 🙂
It’s Burns’ day which means one of my Burns’ songs needs live-streamed and posted round my socials…then it’s back to work on some stuff in the studio until Margaret buzzes me to ask what time, if at all, I’m making dinner!
I HAVE a guitar student at the house first thing. Once her lesson is done I hit the studio and get on with one more stuff.
Margaret comes to tell me she’s spoken to the park rangers and there’s some chopped up wood up for grabs. We go and get some and share the news with the community.
After lunch I’m back in the studio when our pal Neil pulls up..he’s brought us some cool gifts and comes in for a coffee and a blether. Nice to see him.
I’m working on some arrangement and top line melody stuff to go with some lyrics from the school sessions – I’m there tomorrow (Thursday) morning so keen to have something to get busy with.
One of the ideas to help my pal Kevin with his upcoming release is to sort his mailing list. he’s sent me over some info and engaged my services to make it happen. I get some work done before heading back to the house to get the fajitas on the go. Betty’s coming for dinner…
A load of us get the road cleared of the three fallen trees….
AFTER a Zoom guitar session which was rescheduled for this morning after yesterday’s power cut I film some promo videos for the BluesAlive Festival in Czech in November.
I edit up vertical, square ands 16:9 versions and give Margaret a link to send off.
After lunch I start to try and sort out all the Facebook/Meta pixel issues – be good to have this sorted out so I can update the pixel info for the ads I have scheduled to go live on Facebook later today.
There’s a whole load of ad accounts, page identifications and pixel codes and data from a load of different places – including Eventbrite and Kickstarter. Seems ‘installing’ Facebook pixels via third party ‘helper’ apps causes a few issues, even though int he short term they are quick and easy solutions for the non-tech savvy.
Anyway, a lot of notes, cross-referencing and stuff gets things mostly sorted out and I’m able to add the pixel info the the scheduled ads.
I have a break in the process for an in-person lesson in the studio one of my young guitar students.
In the house I prepare. pork tenderloin for sous vide which takes a good three hours then we go and help clear the road int he village. Three trees have come down and it takes a dozen of us, four chainsaws and a truck well over an hour to get the road clear….
POWER’S still off when we wake up…and the strong winds have wreaked havoc outside.
The fruit cage is dubbed, glass table smashed and plastic table broken. The greenhouse is over the fence and stuck in trees, the pizza bench, oven and accessories have been blown over, all the outside covers blown off,…and there’s a few fence panels to boot. Fuck sake.
I still have some battery in my phone so I venture out to try and find a signal so I can let my 11am Zoom guitar student we’re gonna have to re-schedule.
After trying to tidy up a bit outside we try and get the fruit cage back into some sort of structure then I chop some wood and we get the fire lit. Then I sit and mess with some guitar/song ideas until the power comes back on at lunchtime.
I have a call with a pal I’m trying to help with some upcoming single and album releases. A lot of the ideas and plans I’ve already sent but they’ve either been too cryptic or gone astray in the email ether..
In the studio I get to work on a couple of ads for the upcoming shows. Facebook keeps telling me there’s no payment method on my account despite verifying several payment methods I’ve just added to the existing array of options. I’m also getting some crap about my pixel not being active or installed which is bollox.
Time moves on, though, and I need to get prepped for tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream before a session with one of my Zoom guitar students.
All goes to plan and I have a clusterfuck-free livestream. The second in two weeks!
Just some of the wind damage..canl;t quite get my head round how these thin poles and netting catch enough wind for this to happen….
HORRIBLE wet and grey outside….and another long lie to get some social posting and stuff done from the warmth of the bed.
Breakfast is more of a brunch than I get busy with redesigning the stitching holes for the leather bookmarks. They’re not bad, but could be better!
It’s a complicated task and I want to avoid having to start again from scratch, but I manage to get it done and the first ‘mark 2’ bookmark made. The improvements make Margaret’s life easier as she’s the one who does the stitching.
I venture outside to chop some wood. it’s so grim outside that once the fire’s lit I stay put and decide to work on upping my GarageBand game from the couch rather than going to the studio.
WE STAY in bed for longer than usual…but as well as chasing and drinking coffee I get all me emails and an bunch of social media stuff done.
My social posts about the magnetic bookmarks have generated some sales and as well as making up the orders I make a sample in faux/vegan leather…and one in a different colour of leather.
After chopping wood and sticks I head to the studio with the aim of sorting some archive video for Monday’s Wildcats’ livestream. All the hard drives are full though, so I need to clear out some of the video projects and render files before I can get on with the main task.
In between times I mess with the banjo – haven’t picked it up in ages – and record a wee riff that might end up being developed into a song.
I’m keen to start utilising some of the music/songwriting apps on iPhone and iPad to develop lyric, coal and guitar riff ideas and mess about a bit. GarageBand is still the go to app and ‘Ive never really explored it properly. After dinner I spend some time messing and learning…
