THE COMPUTER is having a meltdown in the studio when I try and set up for an online guitar session. I start it off on my phone and when the computer finally plays ball we switch over.
Dawn arrives for her lesson just as I finish the online session then I have a half hour break before another student on Zoom.
In between times there’s a few orders in for the brass Wildcats’ pins so I nip in and out the office to do some work on them.
After lunch I start a batch of tote bags with the new logo. Is quite laborious but I get through our stock of blank bags then go for a walk up the lochside.
We have dinner at the local pub with Betty then go back to hers for a drink before wandering home.
The brass Wildcats’ pin gets a fair bit of interest 🙂
THE DAY starts with a relatively free diary -– only two major tasks on today’s to-do list.
Disruption doesn’t take long to cast its shadow and I end up having to spend the entire morning sorting out some website related problems. Ah well.
After lunch I get some promo done for Saturday’s appearance at Upton Blues Festival before sorting out the media assets for the imminent Still Friends PR and promo.
I put the limited edition brass Wildcats’ pins on sale in a special Wildcats-only section in my online store.
My late afternoon guitar student arrives for a session after which I see there’s a few orders in for the Wildcats’ pins. I get busy!
Our pal Tom stops by to chat through some local community stuff. It’s nearly 11pm when he leaves I m,are some steak tacos for a rather late dinner.
Final video clip from my recent show at The Glad Cafe, Glasgow
USUAL Monday early rise to get the sourdough in the oven – more important this week as Mikey found some chanterelles yesterday and we’re gonna have them for breakfast.
The mushrooms on fresh toasted sourdough make for a great breakfast then I get some work done before a mid-morning session with one of my online guitar students.
Before Mikey heads off I create a mock up image of a shed he hopes to put up in his garden in Dundee.
After lunch Margaret goes to get some shopping – we need milk and yogurt amongst other things as our ‘extra’ fridge in the merchant store has finally croaked and most stuff in it has gone off 🙁
She also posts off the customer spurtle earrings, pin and complimentary pendant.
I finish editing the official Still Friends video – the single drops 11 August – so I can give the Wildcats a preview in tonight’s Facebook livestream.
I also edit the last live clip from the recent show at The Glad Cafe to include in the livestream
The livestream goes smoothly and I manage to get out for a quick walk before dinner’s ready 🙂
ANOTHER scortchio day – I get to work finishing the custom spurt order then hit the studio.
Once I get a set list made up for next Saturday's show at Upton Blues Festival I run through some of the songs.
I think I'll just take one steel guitar plus the banjo and acoustasonic as space int eh air is gonna be tight with all the camping stuff.
There's a message from someone on Facebook who, back in February, made an offer on the camera stuff I had for sale then promptly disappeared. I'm naturally cautious they're back in touch and after a few messages and a phone call from his brother-in-law a provisional arrangement has been made for him to come and see the stuff on Thursday afternoon.
Mikey's arrived and is staying the night. I make some fresh pasta with wild garlic and an Italian sausage sugo. Once we've eaten we chill and watch Billy's monthly livestream. they're over form Florida and staying at their 'other' house in Invergowrie for a few months...and coming here in a coupla weeks for the garden gig.
Spurtle earrings and pendant taking shape…still a bit of work to do!
MORE work to be done on the customer spurtle earrings, pendant and pin…I get busy.
In the studio I record some audio clips for a radio show whose host has asked me to pick four influential songs and two of my own and record some intros to each.
It’s another lovely day and I decide to experiment with a GoPro to see if I can livestream from it…my test is to play Walk the Walk in the garden. And it works
I do a little more editing on what will be the official video for Still Friends then we walk along to Barbara and Thortens. They’ve got the grill on and invited us along for dinner.
Fiona joins us and we have a grand evening eating, drinking and chatting outside despite me getting stung on the tongue by a wasp that had got inside my bottle of beer!
Still a bit of finishing to do – and I think I wanna make them a little bigger…
AN email came in last night form one of the stars of the Golden Spurtle film that premiered in Copenhagen a few months ago..she was given one of the spurtle pins I was commissioned to make and she’d like some earrings to match.
After breakfast I get busy and by the time my new Romanian guitar student is online at midday I’ve got some prototype castings done.
After the guitar session I do some work out eh castings to tidy them up a bit. This is the laborious and often difficult part. I think they’re maybe a little on the small side. But send the customer some photos to see if we’re on the right track.
Margaret and Nixie have gone across to the island and aren’t back when I get the bus to the village for a doctor’s appointment. I’ve a painful left elbow and it feels very similar to bursitis I had in the elbow ten years ago. There’s so swelling it ‘heat’ tho’.
The doc reckons it’s not a bursitis and I just need to take it easy and see if it sorts itself out.
I have a nice walk home from the village and we sit int he garden and blether for a while.
Margaret’s made up some pinchos skewers for dinner which I cook outside on the grill….suddenly it’s 1.30am and we all head off to bed.
Just chillin’ – when it gets choppy but the wind’s in your favor why fight it…just go with the flow and take a break!
NOT long finished breakfast and got the day’s routine tasks out the way when Fiona arrives…we’ve planned a paddle for this morning.
It’s a lovely day but we’re not long out the bay when the wind’s starts to pick up a little. When we stop on the beach at Port Bawn on the far end of Inchailloch we notice the wind getting stronger and white horses start to appear.
We decide to head for home and come down the other side of the island. The wind’s is kinda in our favor so after battling a while to stay upright we decided to sit down – or in my case, lie down – and let the wind take us homeward.
The sun’s still shining when we get back tot he house so we sit in the garden and have a coffee before Fiona heads off.
After lunch I get busy with some promo for Friday’s release of Walk the Walk then start the video edit for the next single – Still Friends –which drops 8 August.
FREYA has us awake at 6.30am – which means I get my sourdough in the oven at a decent time!
I’ve managed to get through a fair bit of work before my mid-morning Zoom guitar student.
Joel and Maggi stop by and drop off Rosie for Freya – she’s crazy about dogs – to look after for a few hours.
Margaret takes Freya and Rosie for a walk and a picnic while I get busy int eh studio.There a couple of videos I wanna get edited up which also gives me some extra content for tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook.
There’s an order in for another leather bookmarks which I get busy with then Joel and Maggi come to collect Rosie and we have a coffee and a chat. Around the same time Will comes to get Freya.
I have time for a quick wander up the hill before the livestream…then dinner and some telly.
AFTER a lazy morning drinking coffee and dealing with emails and social media we have breakfast then I get busywith stuff.
First job is cleaning the grate from the smoker and some general tidying up outside.
With the release of Walk the Walk coming up on Friday (11 July) there’s another phase of work – website landing pages and a Spotify pre-save, prep for a preview release on Bandcamp, special media banners with links to the pre-save and a vertical edit of the video.
Then I create a teaser reel for all my socials.
Catriona arrives with Freya and we have a coffee then I finish off in the studio.
When the rain stops I take Freya or a walk then drop her at the house and wander a little more on my own.
ONCE the routine stuff’s done I get into the office and finishthe paperweight stands for Will. I bend the acrylic into shape with a heat gun – knowing when they’re reached optimum flexibility before melting is key.
There’s some other stuff I wanna do and need to try and get my head round 3D design tools – specifically Nomad Sculpture on the iPad. It’s complicated and daunting and I don’t; really know where to start.
I try and follow some ‘crash course’ tutorials but, as usual, there are some initial hurdles that go unexplained and make things difficult. Or maybe it’s just me!
The Stirling Observer has run the story and photo I sent from the community hydro society. I use the clipping to create graphic and share it on the hydro’s socials. At the same time I’m reminded that none of my fellow board members ever share or like the posts so I send a reminder round the group email and bump my gums about how the hydro socials need traction and if they can’t like and. Share how can they expect anyone else to do so.
A courier drops off some locking tuners and power pins from music supplier Thomann so I set about fitting out the ‘Frankencaster’ acoustasonic that I put together as a ‘house guitar’.
It’s been a miserable day outside and I’ve not managed to get out for a walk or anything before I light a chimney full of charcoal and prepare the grill for Vietnamese beef.
The leather bookmarks are now on general sale here
THERE’S a bunch of the Conic Hill bookmarks to be finished for various pick ups and online orders that need to go out today. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the interest in them.
In between finishing stages I finish off some other orders and make progress on others.
I’m only just finished when a customer drops by to pick up a couple of the bookmarks and then I get a call to meet another customer in the village with a whole batch of them.
We need some shopping and I’d planned to go into Glasgow but by the time I have gig posters, album promo packs and various merch orders all packed up with postage labels I’m short of time so take them to Balloch and pick up the essentials.
Back home I finish off the promo work for next week’s release of Walk the Walk then Betty arrives to join us for dinner.
Packaging stickers and paper weight stands for Manson Glass…
A BIT of a rush to get over to the studio and set up for my first online session of the day.
We’re trying out an app called JackTrip to get around the audio latency using Zoom, A test at the weekend has both myself and my student optimistic that it’ll work.
It does, and we’re able to work much more closely.
As we finish the session my in-person guitar student rocks up. Right after she leaves I have another online session…then the lessons are done for the day.
I have a load of the bookmarks to get done and the positive has delivered some leather supplies so I get busy with that.
I also have an order in for a couple of sets of slate coasters and there’s a big batch of packaging stickers and paperweight stands to be done for son-in-law Will (Manson Glass). And, of course, everything’s urgent.
In between setting up machines and running jobs I get the smoker fired up and a bacon-wrapped pork loin on the go for tonight’s dinner…Barbara and Thorsten are coming along.
I make good progress on everything and even manage to get some radio promo done for next Friday’s release of Walk the Walk before our dinner guests arrive.
I’VE just finished a load of online stuff when a courier drops off an order of materials, including some clear acrylic.
Will needs a load of paperweight stands made up and I ran out of acrylic. After cutting the big sheets to size I set about making the stands.
In the studio I prepare a news release for next Friday’s (11 July) release of Walk the Walk. That also includes private streaming links and access to an assets folder with tagged .wav and .mp3 versions of the track, a lo-res preview version of the video, cover art and the news release. Phew.
My afternoon guitar student has brought this electric guitar so I take him to the studio for the lesson…tight for space, but I manage to squeeze him and his mum into the control room with me.
An email comes in from another Kickstarter backer in Germany…another package hasn’t shown up and sent it on 2 June. I check the tracking and – like the other one that has ‘gone missing’ – seems it hasn’t made it past our sorting office. I’ll send another package off tomorrow.
Finally I get ready for a paddle. Fiona rocks up and we spend a good hour or two on the loch.
The leather Conic Hill bookmark! Available to order here
A NEW trustee on the local community trust drops by to get a photo taken for the website then I get online for a session with a Zoom guitar student.
My OCD has me messing with potential finishes for the Conic Hill leather bookmark. I get a version I like and decide to make it available in the West Highland Way Gifts’ online store.
I have a load of other stuff to get through in the office and eventually get to the studio to prep for tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook.
AFTER breakfast burritos in the garden I get busy with some work.
There’s some design and production considerations for a short run of bookmarks.
Before I start messing with artwork I need to known the format the customer would like…and also what kind of leather, faux leather etc he would like.
I outline some options and fire off an email then label up the replacement Kickstarter package to go to Germany.
In the studio I look out the window various ‘bits’ of the defunct acoustasonic and try matching things until I get a workable outcome.
It works and although the guitar couldn’t be sold with the drill mess at the neck joint it’s stable enough and everything works 🙂
I order a set of locking tuners and power points for the bridge.
A reply from the bookmark client gives me a heads up on design. I trawl through some photos I have of Conic Hill but none are suitable…it’s not windy so I stick the drone up and grab a snap to use as a reference for the graphics. I also snap an aerial pic of Balmaha bay.
Nice to catch up with Phyllis and a bunch of other folks at the village hall’s centenary event
AFTER our breakfast burritos– been a while since I made ’em – I get busy with emails and stuff.
A message from a Kickstarter backer in Germany tells me her reward package hasn’t shown up.
I investigate and see it was sent internationally tracked on 2 June…tracking shows it’s never made it past Glasgow! I can’t raise a claim until 20 days after latest promise delivery date (?!?!?) and experience tells me it can take 30 days more just to have the claim acknowledged.
It’s not the customer’s fault so I let them know what’s happened and get a replacement package sorted to go to the post office on Monday.
Our village hall has a 100th anniversary celebration event – not really my cup ’o tea but important to show some support – so I take a walk along. Margaret’s gonna drive so I’ll see her there.
I spend what turns out to be a nice hour or two catching up with folks then wander home.
In the studio I tackle the Still Friends compilation video that wouldn’t render yesterday. After a lot of trial and error I find one clip that’s causing the problem. A short 15-second clip from a show at Kilmaronock Old Kirk.
I reimported the video but the same thing happens so I end up having to replace it before re-doing the end credits sequence with lists all the venues in the video. I deleted it yesterday thinking that was what was causing the problem.
Upon done, I go back to the house light a chimney-full time touring musician, singer/songwriter of charcoal and prepared to make smash burgers for dinner. Nice.
A HYDRO Society board meeting first thing lasts the whole morning and is mostly productive.
After lunch I take the bus to the village to pick up a prescription and start walking back. I only get about 1/3-way home before the rain comes. Big style. I call Margaret and get a lift home.
There’s a few issues with Apple IDs, billing set up and family sharing so we spend a good while sorting it out with help from someone at Apple. The support is pretty good.
In the studio I carry on with my idea of compiling a load of live clips of Still Friends into one video. I wanna keep the original sound from each video rather than just use the images and edit to the studio version.
I get it pretty much done but for some reason there’s an issue trying to export the final movie.
No time to mess around any more tho’ as we’re going along to Betty’s to take down her kitchen curtains and pre-dinner aperitifs.
THE phone rings while I’m in the shower…it’s Forth Valley Hospital offering me a cancellation appointment at 11am.
My dentist referred me a few months ago ’cos they’ve been concerned about a ‘thing’ on my tongue for the last few years.
I have an online guitar student at 9am but nothing else in the diary for the rest of the morning. My usual in-person student can’t come this week.
Margaret drives to the hospital and I’m seen by a specialist who reckons all’s fine and nothing to worry about. Just keep an eye on it (my tongue, that is!).
The oil light’s coming on in the car just a month after a service and a very expensive oil leak fix. We call onto Arnold Clark in Stirling where they top up the oil and book the car in for a ‘software update’ next week.
Back home I cut the grass, do some trimming then continue video editing in the studio until an occasional student arrives for a session.
After the lesson I work on a new idea for a social media ad for live shows. I wanna get an ad up and running for September’s show at The Met in Bury.
AFTER breakfast I finish off a wee keyring I’ve made for Freya’s swimming locker.
In the studio I back up my daily blog posts and pix then start looking out live videos of Still Friends. I’ve had a notion to try editing together loadsa live clips and see how it looks.
A courier delivers an Anker (C1000X) solar generator that I ordered from Costco at a bargain price. It’ll be good for our summer festival camping…and indispensable during our frequent power cuts.
I’m keen to see if it’ll power our PA system and the Quad Cortex so I take it to the studio and try it out. No problem. And it looks like it could power the entire rig for 14 or 15 hours. And unlike a petroleum generator it’s silent.
I can see us getting hold of some solar panels to charge it!
After my late afternoon guitar student leaves I get out for a wander up the lochside.
Margaret comes home with some shopping which we put away then tackle some of the Still Friends video clips in the studio. It’s gonna be a bit of a fuddle but looks like it might work 🙂
I MANAGE to get a few jobs out the way before we jump in the car and head for Doune.
We stop to exchange an empty gas canister for a full one at Deanston garage then on to Catriona’s for a a coffee before we go to the gala day.
There’s loads going on in the park for the kids and we have a grand afternoon out.
Back at Catriona’s neighbours Tom and Nina come over and we get the grill going. Margaret and I cook up some grub and we sit outside and chat. Freya’s wee pal Alice and her mum Laura join us too.
AFTER a bit of a long lie I get busy in the studio.
First task is making some reels from the live video of Still Friends from last week’s show at The Glad Cafe. I post one of them around and keep one back for tomorrow.
Next, I have some stuff to do for the local hydro society to promote a survey we’re running to gauge interest in a local energy club.
While we have some decent weather I get the tent from the attic and we put it updraft to check all’s OK before festival season.
Just as well ’cos not only has the cord snapped in the pole I repaired after our last outing, the replacement ‘ends’ won’t fit on the tent pins!
Margaret finds a section of pole with a ferrule at each end and we make up a new pole. All good.
I order some spare ferrules and shock cord in case we have a disaster.
Still Friends from last week’s show at The Glad Cafe
A FAIRLY light day according to the diary so after breakfast I decide to take a bike ride to the village and pick up my prescription.
It’s a nice day and I get a little work done after lunch then go a paddle with Fiona. The longest paddle in while – out past Inchcailloch and round Torrinch – pretty pulled by the time we get back and sit in the garden with a cold drink.
In the office I do some stuff for the local hydro society then we wander along to Betty’s for an aperitif.
We’re back home soon after 9pm and I get some charcoal lit for the grill – my first attempt at smash burgers which turn out pretty good 🙂
The presentation coin I made for Walter’s ‘retirement’
WEDNESDAY has become my ‘busy day’…first online guitar session at 9am.
It’s followed immediately by another session – in-person this time – then I deal with the routine stuff in the office and final site artwork for posters and flutters for gigs later in the year.
The morning closes with another online lesson then lunch.
Next job is to start the edit on Walk the Walk – the next (third) single from the forthcoming album which lands on 11 July. Wanna have my ducks in a row.
After my evening guitar student has left I make a batch of pasta dough then go a walk for half and hour while it rests….
THERE’S some merch mail outs to be sorted…and Walter’s ‘retirement’ coin to be finished off so he can be given it at tonight’s community trust AGM.
We head off to Balloch and drop into the school where I do some sessions for the summer BBQ. Nice to see everyone and meet some of the kids’ parents.
It’s a flying visit before we stop at the post office on the way home.
There’s poster and flyer art to be done for the rest of this year’s gigs then it’s time to go to the village hall for the local community trust (ELLCT) annual general meeting.
Betty comes back to ours for some pulled pork and we chill the rest for the evening.
The first video edit from Thursday’s Glad Cafe show…
USUAL Monday routine – sourdough in the oven, admin, breakfast then an online guitar session.
The local community trust chair is stepping down at tomorrow’s (Tuesday) AGM and I’ve offered to make a wee commemorative brass coin. I begin by designing something suitable.
In the studio I finish off some video edits of a coupla songs from Thursday’s show to spin into tonight’s Wildcats’ Facebook livestream.
I also have some video footage of Shug so edit up a song and send it off to him.
After finishing the artwork for the brass coin I decide to run a small version to check it’s gonna work out.
While it’s processing my afternoon guitar student and her mum rock up.
There’s time for a wee wander up the lochside before I prep for the livestream and go live…
FEELING pretty burst when I wake up but need to get in the shower and get going.
I manage to get the gear unpacked at the studio and the merch in the office/store before breakfast.
There’s time to get a little work done before Missy and Judy arrive. They head back to the ’States on Sunday after a month-long tour of Scotland…and my Glasgow show last night.
I get the pizza oven fired up and we have some pizza, a chat and show them round the village.
We’re having bacon-wrapped pork loin for dinner tonight so I get the smoker going and process underway.
Next, we make a batch of burgers for tomorrow (Saturday) – all the kids are coming to see Auntie Glo so there’ll be a bit of a cook-out party.
Finally, a batch of Alabama White BBQ sauce for the pork then we go along to Betty’s for an aperitif. I nip back home when the met reaches temperature and get to off the smoker and into a faux cambro to keep warm ’til dinner time. Then back along to Betty’s for another glass of wine 🙂
