First up at the Quay Sessions is Annie Booth…
WE’RE off to the BBC’s Quay Sessions this evening, so both of us go into Glasgow early.
I drop Margaret off then go for coffee and spend an few hours on the local community trust website before parking up at the People’s Palace and wandering into town to pick up some mail.
After a quick snack I get a few bits and bobs of shopping then pick up Margaret. We head to Ikea to check out lighting for the new kitchen, wander around a bit then have some grub before parking up at the BBC’s Pacific Quay.
There’s a fair amount of hanging around for the ticket validation.
We elect to stand rather than the go for the rather restrictive seating, grab a couple of glasses of red then the music kicks of with Annie Booth and her band. Nice stuff.
Even better is second act – Albin Lee Meldau from Gothenburg currently enjoying ‘album of the week’ status on Radio 2.
We discuss the evening on the way home. The music from both was good. For me, though, there was very little performance or entertainment beyond the music. It’s all very safe. That’s probably why, we conclude, that Margaret’s numerous efforts to get me on the Quay Sessions over the last year or two have fallen on deaf ears.
…then some nice stuff from Albin Lee Meldau
Lee warms up the crowd with an awesome set at my live album recording show.
WE’RE up early and have breakfast then pack the car with the rest of the gear for tonight’s show.
By 10.30am I’ve got a time-lapse camera set up to capture preparations for the gig and all the gear’s in the hall.
Margaret leaves me to rig the PA, lights and get the recording stuff set up and comes back a few hours later to help me fly stereo mics out front and an audience mic then I soundcheck and we set some basic recording levels.
Lee arrives and Margaret leaves me to run his soundcheck. A problem with one of the stereo mics turns out to be unresolvable…think it’s the preamp on the audio interface. Ah well, should still be enough to capture the sound.
Martyn comes in with a couple of cameras and sets up to film the show then we all head off for dinner.
We’re back at the hall a good half hour before doors open to sort the tables and seating. It also gives Martyn and Louise a chance to set the cameras with the proposed stage lighting.
By the time Lee hits the stage at 7.30pm, the hall is full and he plays a great set. Then it;s my turn. Two sets of about an hour each to try and get as much material recorded as possible…33 songs!
All goes pretty much to plan and we have a great night…the audience is fantastic other than a wee group of guys at the back that Margaret ends up chucking out, their chat and behaviour was affecting folks sitting around them.
After some time chatting and thanking folks for coming out we start de-rigging and tidying up.
Catriona, Will and Matty are staying over so we have a few drams and finally get to bed sometime after 2am…I’m gubbed. Been a fun, stressful and exciting all at once day.
Have a blast recording stuff for a live album…
A wee smacker for Valentine’s Day on our walk up the lochside….
IT’S VALENTINE’S Day – we swap cards but, as agreed, no presents. In saying that, after givin spiralising a whirl with the wee manual gadget I bought last week Margaret did buy an electric spiraliser as a mutual gift. A half-price bargain on Amazon.
A spiraliser, for those who haven’t caught on yet, is a gadget that turns veg into spaghetti-like strings for salads, stir-frys or carb-free ‘zoodles’ – spiralised courgette (zuchinni) that is a remarkably good substitute for pasta!
In the studio I do (very) rough mixes of a couple of tracks recorded at Friday night’s show then take them to the house to check out. There’s definitely potential, so we discuss ideas, logistics and possibilities…as well as, of course, the economics of putting on an special show to be recorded for a live album.
At lunchtime we test the new spiraliser on some mooli (daikon radish) and carrot which I warm in a spicy peanut sauce. I tried it last week and despite the sauce being a bit wet (or ‘runny) it was good. Today’s sauce is thicker and has more chilli and…Margaret likes it!
We get some more work done then go for a walk, stopping in at Betty and Joe’s to help get their Skybox and Firestick working on the new wifi network. Once done we carry on our walk then stop back in for a coffee on our way back.
Thanks to Betty’s help and enthusiasm, we decide to set up a live recording show at Buchanan Memorial Hall…we need to move fast as time isn’t on our side and when we get home Margaret checks availability and books for Saturday 4 November. It will be a special gig! And I’m especially happy that, as well as helping out on a technical (audio/video) basis, my pal Lee is gonna come and do a short warm-up set.
Tickets will be extremely limited and are available here.
Continuing our low-carb efforts, I make basil, lemongrass and lime tofu with cauliflower rice. My carb intake today has been one slice of wholemeal toast and a can of lager. While I could cut them out, I’m not sure that it’s necessary to be ‘carb-free’…my aim is simply to cut down on sugar and carbs and see if there’s any difference.
Click above for info/tickets for the upcoming ‘live album’ show!
Dave Arcari is a full-time touring alternative blues (alt.blues) guitar player
and songwriter based on the eastern shores of Loch Lomond, Scotland
BBC Scotland studio 3 at Pacific Quay
ANOTHER of these days where we have to try and get (more than) a day’s-worth of work done by 11am before we head off.
Somehow we manage and pull up at BBC Scotland’s Pacific Quay HQ in Glasgow and find our guest parking spot which is as close to the entrance as possible. Once checked in at reception, Tanya meets us and takes us to Studio 3 where engineer Malcolm awaits.
Half an hour later I’m set up, soundchecked and we sat down chatting over coffee. A nice surprise when my cousin Sharon pops in to say hello…for the last year or two we’ve been catching each other briefly at events,so it’s great to catch up and lay some plans for a wee get together soon.
Just after 2pm I’m live on the Janice Forsyth Show…two live songs, a nice wee blether and Janice gives Friday’s EP release a good plug along with the upcoming Scottish launch gigs…she’s a great interviewer and makes things comfortable and easy 🙂
The show’s available on the BBC iPlayer here – I kick off 20 minutes 30 seconds in…
We chat for a while afterwards the say cheerio and drop in for a coffee with our pals Maggi and Jon before heading home.
I’ve pretty much finished the B&B website for Emma and Jamie and they pop by for a run through. They’re happy with it all and I get a few bits of info from them to fill in some blanks.
After dinner I pack up a bunch of online merch orders, make the B&B website live then have a dram before bed. An early eye hospital appointment in Glasgow in the morning and a session for STV’s Live at Five show – goes out at 5pm tomorrow (Tuesday) on terrestrial TV in Glasgow and Edinburgh, Freeview Channel 8, Sky 117, Virgin 159 and on the STV Player (live and ‘watch again)…
Nice to guest on Janice Foryth’s show…
…and great to see my cousin Sharon who pops in to say hello 🙂
STV’s ‘Dave Arcari special’ on Grassroots Music is shown at 8.30pm…UK folks can watch it on the STV Player – click the image to watch.
CHECKING emails and Facebook before I jump in the shower I see Trossachs Search + Rescue are launching a defibrillator location app this morning.
That’d be a good story for the G63.scot webzine but, as usual, no-one’s thought of telling us. Not that we have any ‘right’ to know, but I’m at a loss as to why local business and folks with events etc aren’t interested in what usually amounts to good free publicity at G63.scot and the resulting social media.
I send an email to the organisers to get the times/details which leaves me little time to get organised but get there and get some pix and the story.I run home, post the story and pix then dash to another local event to do same.
After lunch I spend some time sorting out the domain name transfer and web hosting that I started last night but got bumped midway through by the power cut. When it’s finally sorted I put a holding page up for my client and let them know we’ll be working on the website design and content over the next few days.
An email from STV tells me the Grassroots Music ‘Dave Arcari special’ I was interviewed for yesterday is going out tonight! I hastily spread the word via Twitter, Facebook and any other way I can think of.
The show is broadcast at 8.30pm and as well as the interview, there’s five live songs from STV’s archives – Good Friend Blues, Devil’s Left Hand, Still Friends, Got Me Electric and Homesick & Blue. UK folks can see it here – I’m gonna try and sort something out so overseas folks can see it soon though 😉
A good cross section of material. I’m pretty happy with the interview – a few cringeworthy bits from me and it’s always pretty hard to watch yourself…but overall it seems pretty good. Lots of nice social media feedback too.
