Fun playing few tunes at Gill’s fundraising garden party in Drymen
WE HAVE a long lie – coffee, chat and emails etc – then a late breakfast in the garden.
I need to try and sell my ‘old’ HK PA system so get it up for sale on Facebook and deal with a few other bits and pieces of work while Margaret puts deck oil on the deck and steps.
After messing around in the studio I start packing up the gear for this evening’s fundraising garden party in Drymen. As well as my own stuff I need to take the new EV PA – just taking one mic that can, hopefully, pick up everything to make things easier for a shifting lineup of acoustic folks.
All gets set up quick and easy and we have a relaxed and successful evening – lots of folks out to support and the weather is effect 🙂
New for the studio – Alesis turbo mesh drum kit…and absolute bargain on Facebook. Too good to pass up!!!
UP at a decent time to pick up an electric drum kit from a Facebook seller. We’re meeting just outside Drymen.
My drumming skills are negligible, but I’m keen to get a few chops under my belt and this kit became available at an absolute giveaway price. Packs up tiny too!
Back home Margaret’s got breakfast almost ready then I hit the studio to run through the songs I plan to play at tomorrow (Sunday) evening’s garden concert fundraiser in Drymen. I also test the foot switch to kill effects on the PA so Margaret doesn’t have to continuously mute reverb/delay etc remotely between songs. Always think it sounds bad if there’s reverb etc on the mic when the artist os talking between numbers. Works perfectly – although a wee on/off light would be useful.
In the garden Margaret starts cleaning and prepping the deck and steps for a few coats of deck oil. We take the opportunity to clean the windows and the over-deck canopy too.
I head back to the studio unpack the drum kit and get it mostly set up. No time to try tho’, ‘cos I wanna get out for a walk before we meet Betty and her pal – another Margaret – at the local pub for dinner.
THERE’S a bunch of reminders in the diary – various small ‘to-do’ tasks including packing up some ‘buy one get one free to give a friend’ CD orders.
In the studio I do a little work on the community hydro website revamp before checking a PA setup for Sunday evening’s fundraiser in Drymen. Planning on a one-mic setup and wanna see how the Ear Trumpet Myrtle works with the new EV Evolve 50M column PA.
Kinda hard to give it a proper evaluation in the confines of the studio but it looks and sounds like it’ll all work fine. I also need to sort out a playlist so we can have some background music between performers.
I spot an electronic drumkit up for sale on a local Facebook group and contact the seller with an offer. I’ve no money and can’t play drums but if I can get it at a bargain price it’d be good to have in the studio and I might even mess about with it enough to improve my timing! We come to an agreement on price and arrange to meet tomorrow (Saturday) morning. Margaret thinks I’ve gone mad 🙂
Back in the studio I run through the short set I plan to play on Sunday then pick up the lap steel. It’s been sitting in the house since covid when I thought I might dedicate some time to learning some chops but it never really happened. Taking it back to the studio and having it ‘in sight’ gives me a new-found motivation.
Living Colour at Barrowlands, Glasgow – tremendous show…
MY MORNING guitar student has had to cancel so instead I make up a set list for Sunday’s garden show in Drymen. I’m playing a short half-hour set along with a bunch of other local folks to raise money for the Drymen village hall.
No relation to my Wildcats’ Facebook group, Gene Vincent’s song of the same name has been a favourite of mine for along time. It’s crossed my mind a few times I should try and play it and maybe even record a version – if only for a bit of fun within the group.
I note down the lyrics, mess around with the guitar/s and record a very rough version to see if I can make it work.
There’s also some work to be done on a revamp of the local community hydro scheme website. I’ve been kinda dragging my heels over it as it’s low priority, but I really do need to get on it. I mess around for a wee while until it’s time to head into Glasgow.
We’re lucky enough to be on the guest list for the Living Colour/Mr Big show at Barrowlands. My cousin (‘third’ cousin, actually) is part of Spector and has made Living Colour’s Doug Wimbish’s basses – hence our invitation to the show.
There’s some shopping to be picked up and a snack at Costco, then fuel, then we roll up at the venue.
Living Colour is quite superb – I wouldn’t have been champing at the bit to go to this show (generally because we just don’t have the spare cash to go to bigger gigs), but the show was really, really good. Mr Big follows with an impressive show too but not quite as good as Living Colour.
I HAVE a busy morning catching up on emails and various admin stuff – and also sorting out a couple of bits of unfinished merch for the store.
Late morning there’s an online meeting with my fellow community hydro scheme directors then it’s lunch time.
Margaret has a prescription to pick up in the village and I decided to go with her and take a walk back. It’s kinda damp and drizzly but I enjoy the walk and headspace it affords. Lots on may mind right now!
Back home I hit the studio for a while and mess with some song ideas and a couple covers. I also pick up the banjo and try and sort out a song I wrote a while ago – Third Time Lucky. There’s something odd with it and I’ve always struggled with the vocal at then end of the verses. I’ve tried various ‘melodic’ adjustments’ but never really sorted it. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s to do with the chord sequence at the end of the verses. Watch this space!
I’M sitting up in bed checking emails and drinking coffee when a call comes in from an unknown number. Luckily I decide to answer – it’s the hospital in Glasgow with an emergency appointment to see consultant about the ‘suspected tumour’ on my left arm.
It’s on Monday coming – I have bunch of stuff in the diary but don’t wanna miss the chance to have this investigated asap so I gladly accept then set about cancelling meetings and re-scheduling some guitar lessons.
I have a morning online guitars session with one of keys students then Fiona arrives with Nova to go a paddle.
Margaret ‘s gonna take Freya to Milarrochy and we’ll paddle up to the bay there and take Freya out on the paddle board.
We have a grand couple hours on the water then back home. Fiona and I both have work to get done.
Margaret takes Freya to Buchlyvie to meet Will then pick up some shopping and I do some work on new West Highland Way Gifts‘ ideas…
IT’S decent weather so after my first online guitar student of the day I decide to tackle some ‘jobs’ that are on the list.
First up is a stool repair. We have a wee three-legged stool in our conservatory that I used to sit on during in-person guitar lessons. Six months oration, tho’, it collapsed under me and has been awaiting repair ever since.
I grab the bull by the horns and fix it!
Next, the new decking bit I built needs some cosmetic touches – seeing as I have the saws and stuff out for the stool repair, I decide to do some work on that too.
After break for another Zoom guitar session make some progress then tidy up in time for another guitar student arriving with her mum. It’s still nice so we do the lesson in the garden.
I’m back in the studio when Will arrives to drop Freya off for the night…we’re babysitting tonight and tomorrow.
I have a meeting on the village hall and take a walk along there and then back home in the last of the evening sunshine.
HEADING along to Martyn’s to go for a morning walk so up at a reasonable time.
We have grand walk and catch up over the seven-miles.
After lunch Margaret and I drive along to our pal Aileen’s and walk round to have a chat with her neighbour Gill who’s hosting a fundraising garden party next Sunday (28 July). Aileen’s asked if I’d join the list of entertainment.
We get a plan in place then go back to Aileen’s for a coffee.
I prep red beans and rice for dinner and we chill the rest of the evening.
I finish off the pins and and ‘second prototype’ earrings
FIRST job after breakfast is to nip along the road and take some reference photos of a house..the owner’s having a housewarming later on and Betty has commissioned me to make some special mugs as a gift.
I spend a few hours creating a watercolour painting-style graphic then set about getting the design onto some mugs.
In between times I finish off the wooden inlay guitar pins and second prototype of the guitar earrings.
Betty comes along for a coffee and picks up the mugs then I get busy in the studio
CHECKING emails and socials in bed with a coffee and an order for a guitar pin comes in. It’s for a pewter guitar with wood inlay….and we sold the last one in Finland. Guess I’ll be making one form scratch today!
After a late breakfast I pack up and print postage for a couple of merch items. I want folks to get them tomorrow but alas too late for today’s collection from our nearest post box.
Margaret has some stuff to go too so offers to take everything to the post office in Balloch. I go for part of the ride then jump out the car at Kilmaronock and have a nice walk home listening to an interesting podcast along the way.
Back home I cast a couple of guitar pins and another prototype for guitar earrings. The last ones had no sound hole and I wanna try another version with a sound hole. The pins are fairly straightforward to cast but the tiny guitar earrings are hard going and it takes a few pours to get an acceptable result.
I’m out of raw pewter so get an order in for more then we wander along to Betty’s for dinner where we have a grand evening 🙂
