A prototype mini guitar pin with wooden inlay….on sale here!
OFF to the school first thing…Margaret’s going to get some shopping so drive and drops me in Balloch.
I have good morning and we’re back home before lunchtime.
We’re not long back when the team from a production company in Glasgow arrive. They did some filming for a pitch to TV a couple of years ago…the timing wasn’t right so they’re giving it another go and wanna shoot some updated bits and bobs for a sizzle reel. Good to see them – and nice to know that their idea hasn’t been shelved. Fingers crossed for success this time.
Trevor and Emma are coming later tonight and I have a lot to get done. The guitar pins and pendants need finished…some for an order bound for the USA and the rest destined for the merch table at the two upcoming shows. Trevor is my special guest in Dunfermline tomorrow (Friday) and the local village hall on Saturday.
There’s also gig listing s postcards to be printed and set lists to be prepared.
In the studio I reset the mixer and start trying to configure the remote iPad app so things go smoothly during wet up at the hall on.Saturday
In between times I have a Zoom meeting with my pal Kevin about his recent single release and the next one….
Then it’s back to the mixer set up and configuration…and back to the house for dinner.
Trevor and Emma won’t be here ’till about midnight…before they get here we have a video call with our pals in Spain who re setting up a wee tour for me over there in October 🙂
AFTER breakfast I hit the office to get the guitar pins and pendants sanded. The ‘regular guitars need filled with coloured epoxy – the resonator guitars just need polished.
While the epoxy is curing I print out some dye sub sheets to heat press onto tote bags for merch. The dye sub printer is playing up, though, and keeps losing its wifi connection. I among to find a suitable cable to hardwire it to the computer and get the printouts I need.
At the same time I start printing a batch of postcards with upcoming gig dates for distribution at this weekend’s shows.
I took a punt and ordered a Roland SPD::ONE stomp pad from Amazon. The ‘kick’ version isn’t available anywhere so I had to settle for the ‘electro’ model. The sounds aren’t really what I’m after but there’s a user preset that allows the user to loads in a.wav file of their own.. Also, if it’s shit, it’s easier to return to Amazon.
Anyway, it arrived with the post earlier and after a few minutes setting up and loading in my own sound I give it a whirl. Seems to work pretty good. Is it a keeper? Dunno yet…we’ll see how it does on this weekend’s shows.
Margaret needs to get familiar with the third party mixer app on the iPad…Behringer’s own hasn’t been updated and doesn’t work anymore. I have a bit of a hassle getting the iPad speaking to the mixer…then the mixer view is all fucked up.
I need to get the next stage of the merch production out the way and put on the pork belly for dinner. While things are cooking I get one of the guitars re-strung and watch mixing station video tutorial…
MARGARET’s off to Doune early to babysit…Freya and Aaron are both off school sick 🙁
There’s an order in for five acoustic guitar pins. I also need some more of them and the resonator guitar pins for the merch table at this week’s shows so I get busy casting.
A break for lunch then it’s back on the merch until may 4pm guitar student arrives.
After the lesson I get out for an hour’s paddle. The loch is calm but misty and make for a surreal experience.
Back home I get another stage off the guitar pin production process done then embark on dinner – carnitas. After getting the pork in the Instant Pot with all the other ingredients for the main part I make avocado sauce, salsa and tortilla dough.
It’s 10,.30pm but the time it’s all easy but well worth the wait. Then it’s chill time and a film about Chess Records – Cadillac Records – on Amazon Prime.
I TRY and fire through as much of today’s to-do list as possible before my first Zoom guitar student of the day.
After the lesson I go back to the office and start filming the guitar pin and pendant production process…folsk have been asking how I make them. With luck I might even have the video ready to spin into tonight’s Wildcats’ Facebook livestream.
After lunch I spend some time making a set list for this week’s shows in Dunfermline and Buchanan then have another Zoom session with a guitar student. We’ve moved his time from 7pm to 2pm which might make things less chaotic in the run up to my weekly livestream.
I get a little more filming of the pin and pendant production process before my afternoon guitar student arrives. For an eight year old she’s making great progress 🙂
It’s a bit of a race against time, but I get the ‘production’ video finished – well, a draft version – and all my stuff for the livestream sorted just in time…
I GET a fair amount of work done while we sit in bed watching Saturday Kitchen and drink coffee.
After ‘brunch’ we decide to try and tackle the big tidy up outside.
First task is to clear out the woodshed and cut up the pallets and other random big bits of wood that have just been shoved in there and talking up more then their fair share of space.
While I’m clearing the woodshed, Margaret starts on the garden shed which is in a similar mess…that’ll let me get the various power saws out to deal with the wood.
First, a circular saw then a mitre saw to cut down the pallets and other oversized bits of wood.
Next the log splitter and mitre saw for some of the logs we have waiting to be cut. Still hard work, but sure beats doing by hand!
There’s still a few logs and all the old decking to be done when it starts to get too dark and starts raining.
I make an experimental beef stir fry which Margaret reckons is the best I’ve done then our neighbours Jess and Drake come in for a few drinks.
Cold outside…but never too cold to make pizza for dinner!
I PUT the guitar pins on sale in the West Highland Way Gifts‘ online store…and spread it round the WHW socials too. Double dunt.
Today’s the day my pal Kevin’s single is out. I’ve been helping him with various promo and strategic stuff. Hope it does good. There’s a few loose ends I need to tie up.
I send an email out to my mail list to let folks know about the new guitar pins…and tag on details fo next week’s Scottish shows.
There’s a lot of techie gremlins today. First, buy Facebook ad account has been suspended. Apparently my invoice wasn’t;t able to be paid.
No recent changes to my cards or other payment methods so not sure what the issue is. I try to sort it out in the Meta business manager and fight with it for a good couple of hours before I finally get it sorted…and my ads for next Friday’s (15 March) show in Dunfermline start running again.
No sooner than I have that sorted than an email comes in from someone wanting to but a guitar pin…I go to find the link freom my website to find the site is down. In fact, all my websites are down. F’sakes.
I get on to the hosting company who apologies for the outage…the sites are back up and running but he time I Finsih my ‘chat’ with support.
Tired of fighting with everything I parcel up a Merch order, take it to the post box and go for a walk in the woods as darkness falls.
Back home, I tinker in the studio for a while then it’s back to the house to get the pizza oven fired up and prep for dinner…
I finish off a wee run of new ‘acoustic guitar’ pins….now available in my online store
OFF to Balloch for my weekly Thursday morning session with some of the kids. We have a productive morning and two kids in particular are showing a lot of promise 🙂
A visit to the supermarket then home for lunch.
In the office I carry on with my new guitar pin prototypes then hit the studio where I do edit some video for my pal Kevin’s new single release tomorrow (Friday). I also prep a new landing page for his website which’ll go live at midnight.
Back in the office I finish the first batch of guitar pins and a pendant then it’s time for dinner…and for the first time in ages, we sit and watch a film… Poms. Margaret’s choice 😉
Great to catch our pals the Bonnevilles at McChuill’s on the first night of their UK tour…
I GET most of the day’s admin, emails and social media posting etc out the way by the time the postie drops off a wee router I ordered from. Amazon.
The router – if it works – is for the Behringer X-Air mixer. I’m not sure how these mixers are still selling as Behringer haven’t updated the control app in years and it now doesn’t work It’s only a third party developer’s app – Mixing Station – that has saved these X-Air mixers from becoming useless bricks.
And wheel the X-Air has built-in wifi connectivity, it’s flaky, especially in a crowded wifi zone so it really needs an external router. I’d been using an old BT Homehub but it isn’t ideal for a too many reasons to go into here. I found a small, USB-powered – and most importantly cheap – router from GL.iNet on Amazon. If it’s no use it can go back.
I get it rigged up with the mixer in the studio and it works a treat. Between that and the Mixing Station app I think we’re sorted. Still, I have my eye on one of the new Allen & heath digital mixers 😉
After lunch I design some prototype ‘regular’ guitar pins and pendants. Keen to add to my range and a regular kinda guitar might have a wider appeal. I do some test castings before it’s time to head into Glasgow. Shopping then off to see our pals the Bonnevilles at McChiuill’s.
We hit Costco where we also have ‘dinner’..then Tesco…then the gig. A grand night 🙂
FIRST job is to finish editing a video of Meet me in the City from the recent show at The Cluny, Newcastle. I’ll keep it under wraps until it’s been shown in next Monday’s (11 March) Wildcats Facebook livestream.
My video ads for the Dunfermline show have been running for an over a week and the stats indicate it’s been shown to some folks more than once. That means I should probably change ‘the creative’ to freshen things up.
I identify some recent video clips, add titles and edit up square, vertical and widescreen (see above) and update the creative in my ads.
In between times there’s visit from a late afternoon guitar student.
After a chat with my pal Blair who’s organising a Parkinsons UK fundraiser (18 May) I set up a ticket link on his behalf and start posters and socials artwork
Suddenly it’s after seven and I need to start prep for dinner…Mikey’s here and Betty’s coming…Asian salmon and cold soba noodles…
