Thursday 25 April

OFF to the school in Balloch first thing.

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.

Wednesday 24 April 2024

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!

Tuesday 23 April 2024

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….

Monday 22 April 2024

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.

Sunday 21 April 2024

THERE’S some merch to be made up after breakfast then we had to Doune.

We’re all meeting there before we go clay pigeon shooting – a birthday treat for Mikey from Hogmanay – up near Cambusbarron.

We have good fun taking pot shots for an hour then it’s back to Catriona and Will for co0ffee and cake then a wee walk before we all head homeward.

I’m kinda pegged but buck and manage to get some work done before going out for an hour or so’s paddle.

Jambalaya for dinner then an early night.

Saturday 20 April 2024

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.

Friday 19 April 2024

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….

Thursday 18 April 2024

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 😉

Wednesday 17 April 2024

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.

Tuesday 16 April 2024

Andouille sausage..the final step 🙂

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.