ONCE the routine stuff’s out the way I jump in the car and take my signature National guitar in to Jimmy Egypt in Glasgow for repair.
It seems the broken pickup delivery switch isn’t just cosmetic – when I plugged in for soundcheck at Cottiers last week the output was intermittent at best.
On the way home I pick up some shopping and am back by lunchime.
There’s a load of old design shirts in odd sizes in the merch store and I decide to shift them with a ‘free-plus-postage’ offer. I set it all up and spread the word first to folks in my Wildcats’ Facebook group then my mail list.
Late afternoon I go out for a walk in the woods and when I get back have a coffee with Betty and Margaret before shutting up shop in the office and studio and getting on with making dinner.
BLUDDY hell – June already. Doesn’t seem like to when you see the weather!
After some work on playlists and posts relating to last night’s radio show I get the whole show up on my Mixcloud then it’s time for a universe session with one of my guitar students.
I do some more sanding on the audiopoint info panel. It looks like it may have worked so I spend a while filling the rest of the engraving with a mixture of clear-drying wood glue and black mica powder. Can;I help wondering if I might’ve been better using resin…not sure how it may react with the varnish tho’. Maybe I’ll do some experimenting one the future if I have time.
In the studio I start editing video form also week’s show at Cottiers in Glasgow. I wanna have a couple of songs done to spin into tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook and post on my socials later in the week. These will be the first videos with the Klos full-carbon travel guitar.
Once the rain eases off I take a walk up the lochside, getting back just in time to set up the livestream and get going.
There’s some show idents to sort out then I nip back to the house for a coffee with Margaret and Betty,
In the office I sand back the engraving on the ongoing auditorium info panel project. Looks like it ‘might’ work…no open to do too much though as I have a lot more prep to do before my radio show goes live at 7pm.
Later on we meet Betty, Seonaidh and Michelle for some dinner at the local pub and have a grand catch up.
THE ALARM goes at 6am to get the dough made for my rolls. Once it’s one he go I make a coffee and deal with my socials.
I have an early meeting with a local pal who’s asked me if can use one of my drones to survey a few acres of gorse oin the grounds of his house. Conditions are good and I get the job done despite I the midges. When I get home the dough for the rolls is ready so I divide it up, shape it and stick it in the oven.
Alas, I only have a few minutes form the beginnings and end of the drone flight. No Iidea what’s happened to the main part.
I have a 20 minutes or so before my young guitar student arrives so I dash back and re-do the video, making sure I have it in the bag this time.
After the guitar lesson we have breakfast then I check out the audiopoint info panel in the office. The layers of varnish are definitely building up in the engraving and making it less legible. I hum and haw then decide to mix some black mica powder with clear-drying wood glue and overfill some of the engraving. Once it’s cured (tomorrow) I’ll sand it back and hope it’s worked. If not, the thing could be ruined and put me right back to the start.
We’re off to see our pal John. Goldie playing in Gullane this evening. It’s show for Vintage, Rare & Retro Guitars who’ve booked me to play their next show at Gullane Village Hall at the end of August.
We leave early so we can drop into Costco in Edinburgh en route.
There’s a few folks we know at the show…we have a grand night and roll back home by 1am…
FRIST job is to try and deconstruct the old charcoal grill. Easier said than done – and not made any easier by the drizzle and abundance of midges.
I drag it under the smoker shelter and spend a good hour freeing up corroded nuts and bolts in girly inaccessible place while getting bitten by the wee flying bastards. All the bits are added to the pile to go to the dump later.
Next job is some work on the wooden audiopoint info panel. I lightly sand it and add yet another layer of varnish. I’m getting a little concerned as the engraving is starting to become marred a little by the build up of layers of varnish. Mmmm…I’ll see how it looks tomorrow.
There’s radio playlists to be submitters to the IBBA (Independent Blues Broadcasters’ Association) – I’d sent my playlists from Dave Arcari’s’ Deep Blues, but the IBBA chart is about albums/EPs rather than singles so I need to add in the albums from all my May shows.
I do a little prep for Sunday’s radio show and post round some appropriate groups to let folks know about the show and that if they have any suitable music for consideration to pass on some links for me to check out. I’m keen to support some of the lesser known and/or new artists on the show.
Then it’s time to go to the dump. We had to make the ‘appointment’ on Tuesday and this evening is the first available slot. A piece of nonsense, really, this ‘booking’ system seems to in a hangover from COVID…and every time we’ve been there’s no-one else there! Dave fucking thing with the doctor’s too!!
While I wouldn’t ever condone dumping, I can see that it happens out of pure frustration.
Margaret’s off to Sara’s at the boatyard for a “ladies’ night” so I’m left to my own devices for dinner and stuff. I play guitar for an hour or so then make a big plate of gnocchi.
NO long lie after last night’s show – I manage to get the gear unpacked and video downloading before my early minting guitar student arrives.
I’d promised to restring Dawn’s guitar so our session lasts a wee bit longer than usual.
Last night’s promoter asked if we have any photos from the show. I have some I took of Charlie, but Margaret only got video of yours truly so I grab a couple of still from the video footage.
In the office I don’t the audiopoint info panel another coat of varnish. It takes 24 hours to dry/cure and I think I’m gonna have to sand it between coats. I suspect it’ll need a good few coats to help make it weatherproof.
I also remember that Will added for a batch of stickers for his paperweight boxes. Luckily I have some of the thin black/gold acrylic in the store so I get busy. Over time and experimentation I’ve found the best method is to cut on the CO2 laser then batch fill and engrave on the diode. Easily the fastest, easiest and best result.
It’s another nice day outside and I manage a walk up the lochside before one of my young guitar students rolls up. We have a good session then I get back to the start and we prep dinner for Betty coming.
Cottiers, Glasgow – amazing venue, great crowd, grand night out 🙂
MARGARET has an optician appointment first thing. I drop her off and go to Costco to pick up some shopping and stuff.
We’re back home by lunchtime. I pack the car and stuff and we make our way back into Glasgow and park up at Cottiers in the west end.Our pal Charlie’s already there and engineer Ben wastes no time in getting us both soundchecked.
There’s time for the three of us to have dinner and a catch up before doors open..this is the last date of Charlie’s European/UK tour before he goes back to the USA…but he flies back from the Netherlands and has to drive south after the show to get a ferry tomorrow and drop off his rental car. Oooffft.
The venue is pretty full when I take to the stage and play a 40-or-so-minute set…then Charlie plays a spellbinding set. Everything goes well and we all have a grand time 🙂
Amazing weather for a change…and time to get out for a paddle 🙂
CRACKING day outside. After breakfast I g out and see if I can dismantle the big old cross trainer that’s been sitting under the smoker shelter completely unused for two or three years. I’s kinda big to take to the dump in one piece.
There’s some engraving to be done on the wooden info panel for the audiopoint. Hoping to get a better contrast than my first efforts. I sanded down the reverse of the first one I made and trying to see if I can do better.
It’s nearly lunchtime before I get out for a paddle. The loch’s choppy in places, but it’s still a lovely day and I have
I have a late afternoon guitar student. Once he’s through, I get out to the office and make a couple of brass resonator guitar pins…we need to replenish the merch for tomorrow’s (Wednesday’s) show in Glasgow.
In the studio I make us a set list for tomorrow's show and run through the songs.
Once done I restring the guitars I’ll be using and get some of the other stuff ready….
AFTER breakfast and my first guitar student of the day I investigate Mixcloud as a possible way of archiving my radio show and providing a ‘listen again’ separate from rock.scot which hasn’t yet got that feature.
I manage to set up an account and upload my archive copies of the first three episodes. Check it out here.
The sun’s out and it’s not due to rain over the next day or two so I take the opportunity to get the rest of the weedkiller down then venture to the studio with the striker and cut back some of the grass that’s sprouted out front.
Vintage, Rare & Retro Guitars has announced my show at Gullane Village Hall near Edinburgh and knocked up some poster art. I get eh gig listed on my website and other online listings aggregators and sites, set up a. Facebook event and spread the word.
My afternoon guitar student arrives with her mum and we have a grand session of music and chat then I head back to the studio to prep for tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook.
I get some video edited to spin into the livestream then I have a live interview on Monster Radio out of Lanzarote. An hour. Then a frantic rush to finish livestream prep before I go live at 8pm.
NICE DAY outside but I need to get into the studio and finish prepping my radio show for tonight.
I take a wee break and cut the grass and then sit in the sunshine and play some guitar. Still haven't decided what I'm gonna play at Cottier's in Glasgow on Wednesday night.
Margaret is sitting indoors with Mikey trying to sort out his accounts and stuff.
By the time I'm all prepped for my Dave Arcari's Deep Blues show on Rock.Scot – 7pm-9pm UK time – there's not much time for a walk, but I manage out for a wee while before my show.
