THE merch that had gone missing en route to the USA has turned up! Phew!
But there’s some orders come in thatI need to get packed up and away before the last post pickup at midday.
Also realised I hadn’t made up set lists for tonight’s show.
There’s lots to get done before I can get into the studio – we’ve got folks coming for dinner tomorrow and I’m planning to smoke a pork loin. I get a big dod of pork loin, trim off as much of the excess fat then make a bacon lattice, add some ‘Memphis dust’ rub and wrap the pork in the bacon. Ready for the smoker tomorrow 🙂
In the studio I pull in all the audio files from Thursday’s show into ProTools. All’s good except that the sample rate of the stuff direct from the mixing desk is different to what we recorded with the stereo pair of mics out front…so after a few minutes the tracks are out of sync 🙁
No time to work it all out now, so we sort some of the gear for the gig and had to Perth. We need to get there before 5pm so I can pick up any sales cash from the record store.
Next stop, the venue. We load in and Ewan soundchecks things…there’s a few setbacks (only one of the venue;s six DI boxes works!) and the stage is a bit rickety to say the least, but he’s on the case and does a grand job.
Lee arrives and soundchecks, we grab some pizza then doors open at 8pm..there’s a good wee crowd in when Lee kicks things off and by the time I’m onstage things have hotted up a bit. A steady stream of drams from Will, Catriona, Greig and Les keep me fuelled through out my set and there’s time, for a blether and a few drinks afterwards.
We drop Catriona and Will off on the way home, and roll up home sometime around 2am. Bed.
Dave Arcari is a full-time touring alternative blues (alt.blues) guitar player
and songwriter based on the eastern shores of Loch Lomond, Scotland
ANOTHER early start into Glasgow…glad I packed the gear for tonight’s show yesterday!
There’s quite a lot to get done in town before we head for Edinburgh, including a bunch of last minute online promo for the gig at the Voodoo Rooms. First stop when we get there is Lesley’s flat where we drop off some stuff and she comes with us to the venue.
There’s a fair bit of setting up to do. As well as the usual soundchecks and stuff, we’re recording the show to try and assess if it’s feasible tor us to make a release-quality live recording. We’re also videoing the show for good measure.
Sandy from Edinburgh’s Channel7A is waiting for us – they want to stream a special piece live from my soundcheck and, I think, planning on reviewing the show.
Once we’re done, Lee soundchecks and everything;s ready in time for doors opening at 8pm. Phew!
There’s a great crowd in – lots of pals and familiar faces from past gigs…and lots of new faces too.
Both Lee and I have a show…I’m pretty knackered after my 90-minute set tho’ – my last gig was mid-December in Dundee and I struggle a wee bit physically even if, I hope, the audience is unaware. Must get match fit!
There’s lots of drinking and chatting after the show and it;s well after midnight when we load out and head back to Lesley’s where we drink wine and whisky, eat pizza and all sorts of stuff and chat ’til after 3am.
Dave Arcari is a full-time touring alternative blues (alt.blues) guitar player
and songwriter based on the eastern shores of Loch Lomond, Scotland
Scottish shows info/trailer video…click above to watch!
THERE’S a note in the diary that the episode of Julia Bradbury’s Best British Walks featuring yours truly is airing on ITV tonight. I spend a while spreading some ‘hints’ around Facebook, Twitter etc.
With an upcoming session of STV’s Live at Five – Wednesday 1 February, 5pm – I run through the new songs I’m planning on performing and rehearse a few more for good measure.
Mikey arrives mid-afternoon – he’s coming through for the night so Margaret can deal with his accounts and get his tax return done in time.
I’m planning a Facebook video ad to promote the upcoming Scottish shows – but before I can make the ad, I have to create the video…just a short piece to camera.
Half an hour back in the studio with some minor editing and I have a wee clip to upload along with the gig dates/info. Although it’s destined to be an ad, I upload it now to get some traction before throwing some cash at an ad campaign.
Betty pops round with info for us and we have a drink and watch Julia Bradbury’s Best British Walks – despite her questionable (but understandable) pronunciation of some of the place names, the half hour show is a fatastic depiction of our area…and the closing segment with Margaret watching yours truly playing Loch Lomond outside the local coffee shop has survived the threat of the cutting room floor!
After dinner we chat and I set up the Facebook video ad. Rather than promoting (or ‘boosting’) single Facebook events, we’ve found we get much better results and more bang for our buck by having an ad direct to a landing page on my website. And video ads have a much higher success rate than standard ads on Facebook 🙂
A quick search found the above clip from Julia Bradbury’s Best British Walks online! Click the image to watch the segment featuring yours truly 🙂
Dave Arcari is a full-time touring alternative blues (alt.blues) guitar player and songwriter based on the eastern shores of Loch Lomond, Scotland
EARLY start into Glasgow. I drop Margaret off and go to grab some breakfast, deal with emails and get some work done.
Looks like a couple of cool gigs are on the cards to fill in some of the available dates on the USA tour. I’m indebted to the ongoing support and help from some of our musician pals over there – Left Lane Cruiser, Tom (20 Watt Tombstone) and the Dig Deep guys – who pull out all the stops to help. I hope to be able to return the favour some day.
I call our regular garage to see if they can help with our defunct driving lamp on the driver’s side…’bring it down’ says Stevie, so I do. Turns out to be more than the bulb and Stevie spends a good half hour sorting a bust cable. They’ll ‘get the money next time’ 🙂
If ever there’s a reason to stay loyal to a service provider, this is a perfect example. I’ve lost count of how many time Stevie and Peter at Ashwood have saved our asses and got us out a fix.
There’s some shopping to get then, after picking up Margaret, we go for a coffee and cake at John Lewis (courtesy of their loyalty vouchers) then check out the newly re-opened Apple Store on Buchanan Street. I’m not sure there’s any improvement…maybe even not as good as before!
Next stop the CCA for a Creative Scotland/DIT seminar on international showcasing with an emphasis on SxSW and Midem. It’s a good event and nice to catch up with folks over a glass of wine afterwards.
It’s after 10pm when we leave…and we’ve not had any dinner, so it’s a very rare visit to a chippy. Not that we don’t enjoy it, but it’s not the healthiest option!
