MARGARET’s off to a meeting t the park HQ and I have a bunch of video to edit into vertical clips for my socials/reels. There’s also a bunch of routine admin stuff needing done.
I’ve also realised that I need to keep on top of music submissions for my radio show otherwise the pile gets too much to handle.
In the office I start heatforming the paperweight stands for Manson Glass. A hundred of them. Fifty big and fifty small. I finished cutting the acrylic the other day and want to ave them ready for Will to collect when drops the kids off tomorrow (Friday).
The jig I designed and then 3D printed works a treat. It’s still time consuming, but every one turns out perfect and I don’t burn myself in the process.
I have them all done by the time my late afternoon guitar student arrives.
Once he’s through, I take the audiopoint info panel to the audiopoint to check sizes and mounting options. A build up of varnish is preventing it fitting the way I want, but some sanding should sort that easily enough. That might need some subsequent varnishing/protection tho’ which might take time.
UP EARLY to get the sourdough in the oven then off to the studio for a Zoom session with one of my weekly online guitar students.
I’m just finished when my in-person student arrives and we have a good session. Once she’s finished we have a late breakfast and I get busy editing some of my campaign videos for the upcoming national park board elections.
I think I have a lot to offer if I’m successful, but I don’t have high hopes given the other candidates’ profiles etc. Gotta give it a shot tho’.
I go out to film some more ‘background video’ to complete my content library. Can’t make up my mind if I should it shouldn’t do any social media ads…probably not – seems like bad form – but I may reconsider.
I do think I need to have more info available so make up a landing page to direct folks to if they wanna know more about me. Not many folks know my background and experience prior to being a full time musician! You can see it here.
Late afternoon my final guitar student arrives with her mum and stepdad. Sometimes these sessions are as much social as they are tutorial. Been a busy day 🙂
A NEW trustee on the local community trust comes up to go through some stuff with Margaret…and I need to get a photo and write a blurb to add them to the relevant page on the trust website.
Having got some ‘background’ video for my National Park board member campaign I need to film a piece to camera and decide to try an outdoor greenscreen rather than the studio. It takes me a while to get everything up but I get there and end up quite happy with the result.
Betty’s coming for dinner later and I have the bacon-wrapped pork loin to go on the smoker. It’s not a huge piece of meat so hopefully will be done in a few hours.
I nip out to get some more ‘background’ guitar then start some editing. Looks like it’s all gonna work OK so I make up a couple of versions in wide, square and vertical formats. I’ll get the rest done tomorrow ready to post when the ballot papers are sent out later in the week.
The first of my two guitar students arrives and we have a good session then I get out for a quick walk before the next arrives.
Once the lessons are all done the pool is ready – I put it in a faux cambro to rest and stay hot then get a little more work done in the studio before Betty arrives.
A BUSY day kicks off with an online session with one of my regular guitar students.
Next job is to share my radio show playlists and Mixcloud link on my socials etc then I hit the studio to work on my campaign for the National Park board – voting will start soon and I wanna be ahead of the curve.
After writing up my main blurb I think about how I might produce my campaign videos....mostly to go round the Facrbook groups in relevant areas. I may even pull together a wee ad 😉
I want to make different versions of the video, each 'located' in different areas. it's gonna be logistically easier to use green screen so I head off to Port of Menteith and Gartmore to get some background video. I don;t want bright sunshine...or rain...so there's a bit of doing about.
I don't get Drymen or Gartocharn footage 'cos the sun's out...and I can grab some local stuff anytime. I'm up against it a bit as the car's away for service tomorrow (Tuesday).
Back home I edit up the last of the videos from the Cottiers show a couple weeks ago ready to spin into tonight's livestream then nip out for a wander up the lochside.
Home in time to set up the livestream...then dinner...then I rub and wrap a pork loin in a bacon weave ready for the smoker tomorrow.
AFTER a bit of a long lie and late breakfast I go out to the office and start the finishing work on the audio point info panel I've been busy with for the past few weeks.
There's some clear acrylic sheets to be cut to size and paperweight stands to be made for Manson Glass plus a leather bracelet and airtrag holder to be finished.
Once I've caught up with all that I go to the studio and spend some time doing all the final prep for tonight's Dave Arcari's Deep Blues show on rock.scot. Not only do I have to decide what I'm gonna play and make sure I've got it on the station's playout system, there's a lot of sifting through new music submitted for consideration for airplay. A fair amount of work goes into what is 'just' a two-hour show once a week!
Before the show I have time to start pulling together the last couple ion bits of video footage from the Cottiers show the week before last. There's two songs'-worth I'm hoping to edit up to spin into tomorrow night's (Monday) Wildcats' livestream on Facebook.
After the radio show I upload the entire gig to my Mixcloud and sort out the playlist ready for posting round my socials and the Dave Arcaris' Deep Blues Facebook page in the morning.
WE HAVE (an extremely!) long lie…albeit checking emails, socials and discussing stuff over coffee.
Since starting my Dave Arcari’s Deep Blues show on Rock.Scot a month or so ago I’ve started getting lots of music submissions. A lot of the music is good but doesn’t fit the profile for my show so I have to give everything a listen, even if it is just momentary.
I spend some time in the studio going through submissions and pulling some tracks into my library malign some notes as I go.
Margaret moves me to say Betty’s dropped by for a coffee so I join them in the garden then get back to the studio for a while before a late lunch.
After lesson with a young guitar student I the Margaret to run me to the village to pick a prescription and I walk the four-and-a-half miles home. It’s nice enough weather and I enjoy the walk.
Back home I hit the studio and play some guitar. My arms have (almost!) recovered from yesterday’s Air Ropes session so I go through the second session. The session itself isn’t too gruelling but I know from yesterday the pain comes later!
Super impressed with how quick and easy (less than a minute!) it is to put up the Nakie hammock.
AFTER breakfast Margaret takes the car to the garage for an MoT. I hit the office and do some work on the audiopoint info board. Starting to look good now, but full a few more coats of varnish and other finishing stuff to be done.
In the studio I do a little prep gathering tracks for Sunday’s radio show then play some guitar and set up some audio patches for a lesson later on.
The doc calls for my ‘phone appointment’ following up on the fact that the gastro specialists have blown out his referal…it’s taken three weeks to get just this phone appointment (ridiculous, but that’s another story!). He’s at a loss as to what do do…he’ll try another referral and we may consider going private. Overall, though, I’m not sure anything (or a reason) to find so maybe just save to accept the vomitting thing and move on. No point in searching for something that isn’t there.
During the phone call a courier drops off the ‘air ropes’ I ordered online after months of deliberation. I get it app set up and give the first ‘workout’ a whirl. It’s quick but brutal and my arms feel like jelly afterwards!
Back to the studio to work on some sounds and wait for my late afternoon guitar student. He’s usually bang on time but doesn’t show…I message his mum who reminds me he’s away on a school trip this week. I’d messed up putting it in the diary. Doh.
It’s a nice evening and there’s a good breeze to keep the midges away so I take the opportunity to go out for a walk and take the Nakie hammock with me..not had a chance to try it yet and it’s a little too big for the hammock stand in the garden.
I wander through the woods and find a test spot. I have the hammock up in less than a minute and am amazed how comfy it is. Result! Not often a product you discover on social media is so good.
Back home I do some work designing a jig to keep form a batch of paperweight stand for Will (Manson Glass)…always end up burning bushes with the heat gun and fiddle-faddling to get the bends nice and symetrical, so maybe this will help. Not sure if the 3D printer filament I have will stand up to the heat, but worth a try…and if it works I’ll maybe try and find so,e more suitable filament.
Then it’s time to light some charcoal and fire up the grill for some smash burgers.
THE ALARM goes off at 6am to get my sourdough in the oven.While it’s baking I drink coffee and deal with emails, socials etc.
I have an online guitar session with one of my students at 9am then spend some time pulling together some new music to include on Sunday’s radio show.
After lunch we pick up Betty and head to Stirling. Betty has an appointment with the audiologist then we go to the cinema via Nandos…Betty’s son-in-law Joe (Andrew L Jones) is production designer and we’re all keen to see his work on The Mandalorian and Grogu.
I’m not big on Star Wars or any sci-fi kinda films but this is really good. Really good.
We all endure the film then pick up some shopping and stop in for a snack with Betty before home time.
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.
