FIRST, a 9am session with one of my online guitar students….then, just as I finish, an in-person guitar student arrives.
Once the morning lessons are all out the way I decide to try and move my website (davearcari.com) to a new hosting company to see if that helps my no/slow loading. I’m hoping it will decrease the load on the current server and allow all my other websites to ‘breathe’ and, if there’s a problem with the davearcari.com website maybe I’ll have enough server resources to do soem proper troubleshooting etc.
I start the migration process. It may take some time!
There’s video reels and other stuff to post round my socials to try and keep building traction for the Aldershot and Brighton shows on Friday and Saturday respectively then I make up set lists and prep some other stuff for the trip. We’re heading south tomorrow (Thursday).
I have two young guitar students for lesson late afternoon then we head to Doune to see Catriona and the kids – it’s Aaron’s sixth birthday. We have a grand couple of hours with them all – Carolyn, Joe and Karl are there too – then head for a late dinner.
DEFFO got the lurgy. Margaret had a restless night and although I slept OK I’ve woken up feeling shit.
Once the daily routine stuff is out the way I spend some more time back on the web server issues that are dragging things down. Today’s tasks are trying to Fiona some ways to reduce the load on the server.
Still feeling crap and decide to head out for a swim,,,and maybe a stint in the steam room and sauna will help. I enjoy the ‘me time’ but still don’t feel any better when I get home for a late lunch.
There’s some merch needing sorted in the office the the first of two in-person guitar students arrives.
By 7pm I’m done with the guitar lessons and get out to the office to finish off the merch..then into the studio tp set up for Fiona and her pal Mhairi coming to record some fiddle music for Barbara and Thorsten’s wedding on Saturday.
The session goes fine and by 10pm I’m back in the house for dinner…then an early night.
I’M STILL pretty burst – beginning to think we’ve got some kind of lurgy in addition to being knackered.
My online guitar session is a little earlier today as I have a meeting about presenting a blues show on a new radio station at 11am.
I head into Glasgow, have an interesting and productive meeting and it looks likes the new station will begin broadcasting on DAB, FM and online at the end of April.
Lunch is ready when I get back home then I get busy with mailing lists and other online stuff to promote this weekend’s gigs in Aldershot and Brighton.
Next tidy up some gear in the studio and start working on some video clips for tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook before my afternoon guitar student rocks up.
Then it’s back to the studio for video editing and livestream prep…then the livestream….
Our French visitors – Mireille and Isabelle missing!
I’M UP at 7am to get the smoker going and three slabs of pork belly in the pit…then back to bed for a couple of hours.
We have breakfast then Jon and Maggi pack up and head off. I unload the gear we brought back last night then Margaret and I go back to the hall for the rest of the stuff.
The pork belly is all doing good on the smoker and we have time to chill for a while before prepping the rest of the food for our French pals – and Betty – who’re coming around 5pm.
We have a fantastic evening and manage to get to bed by midnight. Knackered.
UP EARLY to get the pork belly trimmed and rubbed ready for the smoker tomorrow – then we get the guitars, sound gear and cameras along to the hall. Glad we sorted the stage blacks, backdrop and most of the lighting yesterday.
While I set up the sound Margaret nips to the post office and stops at the pharmacy to pick up my prescription – pre-filled syringes with some stuff that, we hope, might help alleviate the mystery vomitting thing when it starts next.
We manage to get everything set up and soundchecked in tiem to get back to the house by 3pm. Our pals James and Alison are passing by and had asked if were gonna be around for a quick catch up…we ave a coffee and a blether then head back to the hall to in time for JonZip – my guest for tonight’s show – and Maggi arriving.
There’s a few merch-related things and some ambient lighting to sort then I get Jon soundchecked before going back to the house for an early dinner.
We’re back at the hall just after 7pm and have everything ready by the time doors open at 7.30pm. A full house by the time Jon takes the stage for a half-hour opening set then it’s my turn. I’m not exactly match fit – I’ll blame the hospital visits – but still have a grand time…and overall we have an excellent night.
A bit of a tidy up and we’re back at the house before midnight. Pizzas, drinks and chat ‘til 3am…think I’ll be sore in the morning – and glad to be off the drink ‘cos I need to get the smoker on the go before 8am for our French guests’ dinner….
ONCE I get all the routine stuff out the way I drive to the village for a swim. Need to get back into some kind of exercise routine…all these hospital stays and gigs have disrupted things a bit.
I stop at the chemist on the way back to see if the auto injectors prescribed by the doc have arrived. They haven’t. Tomorrow hopefully.
After lunch we go to the village hall and hang the blacks and backdrop so we can get a good start setting up tomorrow (Saturday) for the fundraiser show. Margaret has to get some stuff in Milngavie so I walk home and enjoy the fresh air.
In the studio I start re-stringing guitars, putting stuff on charge and changing batteries.
We have a group of eight pals coming from France for the show and they arrive at their B&B just after 8pm…they eat at the local pub and once they’re finished we wander down and join them for a drink.
SOMETHING weird has been happening with my phone. All connectivity has slowed right down and not resolved despite rebooting, resetting network setting etc etc. It’s driving me nuts.
I have an online meeting with PRS (Performing Rights’ Society) folks about the prototype performance reporting system I’ve been helping test.
There’s not much time after the session before another meeting – this time with Help Musicians’ about branding and social media stuff.
A late afternoon guitar student arrives at the studio with his dad and we have a good session. For some reason, though, my phone is no longer accepting tap to pay card payments in any of the apps I use. Same thing happened the other day but the card was accepted no problem on Margaret's phone (same apps/user accounts). Grrrrr….
All the phone hassle prompts me to go on line and order a new iPhone. No thinking about it, no fancying about. Just did it. Margaret and I were both on 12s and I sorted Margaret with a new 17 a month or so ago. She’s been really happy with it but I thought I could sit it out until maybe the 18 comes in the autumn but I just don’t have it in me to deal with phone hassles on top of all the websites/hosting issues at the mo’.
I jump in the car and drive to Braehead to pick up the new phone.
I HAVE a session with an online guitar student first thing then we head into Glasgow for my appointment at the eye hospital.
Margaret drops me at Gartnavel and goes to get some shopping. We need a pork belly from Costco and a fair bit of pother shopping. Margaret’s cooking dinner at Betty’s for six of us tonight – and we have eight French folks coming for Saturday’s show that we need to entertain on Sunday. Oh, and Jonzip and Maggi are here for the show and staying over Saturday night.
I have a Zoom interview at 2pm with a journalist in Sussex ahead of next weekend’s Brighton show but Margaret’s ‘running a little late’ (!!!!) with the shopping and doesn’t pick me up ‘til nearly an hour after I’m done…and leaving no chance of getting home in time for the interview.
As 2pm approached we park up just outside Milngavie with what appears to be a decent mobile data signal and I do the interview…first part is OK with just a few freezes, but the journalist also wants to record a section of video and the signal just isn’t stable enough. He has another meeting at 3pm so we agree on a 2.45pm return and Margaret boots it home just in time. I get into the studio and the video section of the interview goes flawlessly. Phew!
I have an in person guitar student later in the afternoon then hit the studio to try and sort some social ads for the upcoming shows before we go along to Betty’s.
We’re there half an hour before Fiona, Barbara and Thorsten to get things going in the kitchen and we have a grand night.
I’M STILL not 100% but not feeling too bad when I wake up. Mikey heads off into Glasgow then Margaret jumps int he car to go to a community organisation event in Crieff hosted by DTAS.
She’s only just left when my guitar student arrives and we have a good session.
Tickets are (extremely) slow for the Brighton show a week on Saturday so top priority is to get a news release together and contact the local/regional media. I strike lucky and manage to speak to journos on two of the main papers and set up a Zoom interview for tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon.
Having made promo key rings to put out as giveaways at the last few shows I’m keen to maintain the goodwill generated. I suspect quite a few folks at the hall fundraiser gig on Saturday will have been at a recent show and hence already have key rings so I 3D print a jig to engrave aluminum bottle opener key rings for this Saturday.
I’m not long back in the studio after lunch when the doc calls – a planned phone appointment. It was set up when I was discharged from Forth Valley Hospital a fortnight ago to discuss options to try and get this mystery vomitting thing under control….or at least try and head it off at the pass when it looks like it’s gonna start. Twenty-odd years of it is really getting us down. I’ve had cameras up and down, every test known to human kind and spoken with doctors and consultants in numerous UK hospitals, not to mention in Finland and the USA!
More recently there has been mention of abdominal migraine and some kind of pre-loaded injection that might help. Of course, we won’t know until it gets put to the test….
Anyway, I didn’t expect another hospital episode so soon so I fully prepped for my chat! The doc agrees that the best next step it to try the injections so will prescribe the necessary.
There’s a load of stuff needing done for the community hydro society and once that’s out the way I have to test a new system PRS is developing to allow artists to register their live performances. I’m one of a handful of testers on the pilot.
Next on my list is getting a news release out to radio with promo links for the forthcoming Going to See the King EP along with Info on the Aldershot and Brighton gigs that co-incide with the release.
Once done I edit up a short 20-second teaser video about the EP to start spreading round my socials then go back to the house for dinner.
FInal job of the night is engraving a big batch of bottle opener keyrings….
I WAKE up briefly a few times during the night…then about 7.30am I wake again as the nurse changes my drip. I get her to disconnect me for a minute so I can go to the toilet.
Soon after another doc comes to see how I’m doing and ask a few questions. One of mai. Issues around all this is that different health board areas can’t access my records form other areas…or the doc…so everyone we see has to get the full story, background etc.
There’s word of another scan and maybe even an endoscope (urrrgh). I’m feeling well enough to check my phone and realise that even if I do get out today it’s unlikely I’ll be home in time –or feel like – doing my usual Monday night WIldcats’ livestream on Facebook.
I do a wee livestream from my bed explaining and then go back to sleep. I doze on and off all morning then find there’s a change of plan and I’m not needing scan after all. So I’m allowed to try eating something.
I have soup and a sandwich and it stays down. Things are looking a little brighter.
Margaret arrives mid-afternoon and the nurse takes out my cannula so I can get washed and dressed then we have a chat with the doc before heading homeward.
I sleep most of the way in the car and try and catch up on a few bits and bobs when we get home. Turns out Mikey’s coming to stay tonight which isn’t the most convenient but never mind. I have a shower then a little bit of chicken and a couple of wee potato’s and some brocolli then go to bed.
