Some fun at the Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine when Andres came up on stage to join. me for an encore…
MARGARET’S away early to take the car into Stirling for a service and MoT. I have breakfast then get on packing up some merch orders.
I have a load of video editing to do for next week’s release of Key to the Highway. Full length video to be topped and tailed and some vertical format reels to be made ready.
My afternoon guitar student has a cold and is postponed ’til next week so manage too get some more stuff open in the office until an early evening Zoom session with a new student.
Also on today’s to-do list is prep for a pre-release on Bandcamp for folks on my mailing list so they can get the new single before it hits the main download and streaming services on 7 June. While in Bandcamp I stumble across a ‘physical’ merch order. I don’t get many via Bandcamp it’s mostly downloads which physical merch sales coming in through my website.
Anyway, the order only just landed and when I go back to my emails I see the order follow close behind.
In between times Margaret’s back from Stirling. I nip back to the house for a coffee then go a wee walk while Margaret makes dinner.
I get some new design mugs onsite in the online store
MIKEY’S coming to do some plastering for us so I help Margaret with some final prep before heading to the studio for my first Zoom guitar session for the day.
After the session I do a little work on the video for Key to the Highway which drops a week on Friday (7 June). After the complexity and time put into Kevin’s video, I go the opposite way for my own. A one-shot straight up performance video on a stark white background. Simple.
Another Zoom student after lunch then I start prepping for tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream and editing some live video from last week’s shows to spin in to the episode.
I have two new mug designs to put in the online merch store then I set up a discount voucher code to give out to the Wildcats’ during tonight’s livestream.
There’s time for a quick walk then it’s straight into the studio for the livestream. And off we go…
KIDS are up early and, as usual, come through to jump all over papa!
We have breakfast then I hit the studio to try and get on with some stuff…I also manage to finish off another prototype pick guard for the Acoustasonic.
Late afternoon we head into Glasgow to meet my (third) cousin Stephanie’s wife Opal. They’re visiting from the USA as Stephanie – an associate professor of music at East Nashville University – is on a faculty trip with her colleagues. They’re all out for a meal so we arranged to meet Opal and go for dinner at Mikaku.
We have a great meal then Steph joins us and we nip round to Salon’s for a drink before we head back up the road. We’ll see them win Thursday as Steph has a recital at Glasgow Uni…then they’re coming to start with us for a few days 🙂
Even after numerous paper templates it’s not quite right…and I’m not convinced about the red sparkle!!
THERE’S some merch orders needing packed up and postage printed. Alas, I miss the collection from our local postbox and Monday’s a holiday, so they won;t be picked up ’til Tuesday. Ah well….
After breakfast I prepare some Napa cabbage for another batch of kimchi. it’s gotta sit in slate water for a couple hours before I can do any more…so I slice up some beef and make a marinade for tonight’s Vietnamese beef.
I take Margaret to the village to meet Catriona and the kids – they’re all off to Drymen show.
Back in the studio I have some work to do one a video for Key to the Highway, some other pre-release prep and some guitar to work out for an NHS charity single I’ve been asked to play on. I also have the smoker shelter roof to paint and the office to clear out.
Alas the Mac in the studio throws a wobbler…as soon as I try and sign in after startup it restarts…and the loop continues. When it eventually (luckily?!?) starts up I decide to act while the going’s good and get a backup…but I don’t have any drives with enough space.
That means only one thing – I need to get things going on the server. Takes time.
Meantime, everyone’s back form Drymen how. I have a coffee and play with the kids for a while. It’s now too late and midgie to do any outside painting so I start working on some scratchplate ideas for the Acoustasonic.
Once the kids are in bed I light some charcoal for the grill and before long we’re enjoying Vietnamese beef and a blether.
I’M at the school in Balloch first thing…and have a good session with some of the kids.
When I get home our pals Barb and Rick are having coffee with – they’re walking the West Highland way and dropped in on their way past 🙂
After chatting a while I walk with them along to the old pier and point them in the right direction.
After lunch Margaret goes into town to get some wallpaper.
I spend an inordinate amount of time – over an hour, for what should be a two-minute job – trying to send Andres his share of the gig income from last week’s dates. RBS keeps rejecting the payment and even after phone calls with their fraud team and others I give up and use Apple Pay instead!
Betty’s coming for dinner tonight and I’m on cooking duties. I get the Italian sausage sugo on the go. Always better if it cooks for a while and simmers away 🙂
AFTER sleeping in a bit there’s a rush to be ready for my morning guitar student arriving.
.Once I’m done with the lesson I hit the studio. there’s a lot to do in preparation for my pal Kevin’s single release on Friday.
I also need to set up some pix of Margaret and I to go with the interview Andres did on Sunday. It’s hard to take studio selfies of two people but with. bit on jiggery pokery we get some photos that will do the trick.
Then it’s back onto stuff for Kevin. Bandcamp page, email out to his mailing list, YouTube video premiere set up and various videos for reels and web landing pages.
It’s crap weather so I don’t really miss not getting out for a walk.
IT’S a lovely morning – and although I have a lot to get through today I really want to go for a paddle.
Fiona comes up after breakfast and we – including Fiona’s pup Nova – have a nice paddle out past inchacailloch and on to Torrance for an hour our two.
We sit in the garden and chill for a whee while when we get back.
After lunch I get on with Kevin’s (McDermott) video. I need to get a final edit over for approval so it’s ready to hit on Friday – release day for Sha Na Na (Who Shot the…).
There’s some pre-release promo to be done on. my own forthcoming release – Key to the Highway – which drops on 7 June including an Amazon Music pitch and audio ‘intro’.
I get all done and Kevin;s delighted with the video edit. There’s a few other bits and bobs to do for him – a pre-save landing page, and prep for some other pre-release promo.
I create cover art for my socials to spread the word…click here!
UP EARLY for my usual Monday morning sourdough routine. Instead of going back to bed with coffee while the bread’s in the oven I get into the shower.
The bread needs an hour to cool – and everyone;’s still in bed. I get the studio tidied up and sorted for today’s guitar lessons, pack some merch and get it to the post box and tidy up a little before breakfast.
Margaret has an optician’s appointment in Glasgow late morning and takes Andres into town to get his bus to Edinburgh Airport. I say cheerio and hit the studio for my first Zoom session with a guitar student.
Once done I nip back to the house too out the hydroponics that had been relocated from the spare room to the merch store and pot up some of the wee plants. I get the water/nutrients changed and drop in some more tomatillo seeds.
I have some lunch then another Zoom student before starting to prep some video clips to spin into tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook.
My late afternoon guitar student arrives on time then, after the lesson I do some more livestream prep.
I also realise I need too update the landing page on my website and all my social media covers/banners to promote the upcoming release – Key to the Highway – which lands on Friday 7 June. Before I can do that, tho’, I need to set up a pre-save/pre-order link.
All that means I don’t have time to get out for a walk before the 8pm livestream….ah well….
AFTER a great breakfast at the B&B we hit the road and start the journey home.
We stop off in Doune to see Catriona and the kids. Andres has brought them some gifts from Estonia, so it’s nice for them to get them in person.
Once we’re hime and unloaded, Andres and I sit in the garden and chat – he interviews me for Finnish magazine Blues News and I manage to talk all out non-stop for two-and-a-half hours. mmm. No surprise there!
Margaret gets dinner underway and we go for a short walk. Today has been the only day since Andres arrived that we’ve not had a show, so it’s nice to chill thew rest of the evening and chat. He goes home tomorrow (Monday).
