Managed to haul the last of my equipment downstairs today after disconnecting it from the studio and placing it in the appropriate flight cases. It's an extraordinary amount of gear for just one person to perform solo. Most of it, of course, is taken up by the thirteen guitars I'm planning to play, which, as I've mentioned previously, are not exactly necessary in the greater scheme of things. But, heck, they're all part of the 'show', and I do like to show them off...
Event organiser Ian Haydock is coming over tomorrow with several photographic prints that Martin Bostock is planning to offer for sale at the 'Plectronica' event. I've got to sign these prints so, after signing the 288 copies of 'Auditoria', my right hand will be tested again. And whilst on the subject of hands, my arthritis seems to have intensified in the last few weeks. My right hand is particularly painful and the fingers of my left hand are stiff and uncomfortable.
I know that a few other guitarists of my generation and slightly older are suffering from the same problem, Eric Clapton comes to mind. But if I can play as well as Eric in the coming years, I'll be happy.
On Tuesday, Andy Newlove, my guitar tech, should be coming to pick all my equipment and guitars up to take to Fairview so that he can set everything up and we can test it and discover any technical problems with the gear. Much of it only gets used when I play live, and these days that's a very rare occasion, so a lot can go wrong.
One other thing I've done today is to print out the list of guitar changes for Andy. He'll need this to line up and tune all the correct guitars for each piece I'll be performing.
I'm still concerned that some of the people who may avail themselves of the live streaming of the event may not be prepared for the fact that it's an entirely instrumental affair and won't feature any vocals or Be Bop Deluxe material. There are quite a few fans on Facebook, (but not on my website,) who, I suspect, haven't kept pace with my progress through the years and may think I'm reviving my distant past with this performance. Well, if that's the case, I'm afraid it's going to be a terrible disappoint for them. As the old saying goes: 'That was then...this is NOW!' New music for the 21st Century...
My recent cold seemed to have subsided somewhat, though I haven't felt 100% restored, but tonight I'm experiencing symptoms such as sneezing and a runny nose again. Hope to God it's not another round of the virus. At this point in time, it's the last thing I need...
A flyer for an album I finished a couple of years or so ago and which is waiting in the wings for an eventual release...