Local songwriter and musician Dave Arcari has released a new studio album - with some of the tracks drawing heavily from his life in rural Stirlingshire.
‘Devil May Care’ features two locally influenced songs - Devil May Care (about the Devil’s Pulpit and the Whangie) and a new version of Loch Lomond.
“There’s two natural phenomena close to where I live,” said Dave. “The first – the Whangie – is a hill in the Kilpatrick Hills – at the top a slice of the hillside is separated from the main slope and forms a narrow chasm up around 10 metres high and about 100 metres long. Legend has it that the split in the rock was created when the devil flew over and cracked its tail in a rage after holding black mass at the nearby Devil’s Pulpit – the other natural phenomenon referred to.
“I have been intrigued by both places and the tale since my father recounted it when I was a young boy. It’s also said that Rob Roy used the cover of the split in the rock so as not to be seen on the horizon when rustling sheep.
“With Loch Lomond (Home), back in 2012 I was asked to consider recording a version of the traditional Scottish classic Loch Lomond.
“Not being too keen, I went into the studio and recorded a quick version which I thought would make the label folks realise it wasn’t such a good idea...but they loved it and it went on the record (Nobody’s Fool). A lot of folks have said they love it too, but I never felt it was representative of myself, my music, or my experience of the area.
“In 2021 I decided to re-write the lyrics to bring the song up to date and reflect how welcome my wife Margaret and I have been made since moving out of the city to east Loch Lomond more than ten years ago.
“While messing with the lyrics I found that a standard rock’n’roll chord progression fitted with the melody and also fitted more with my style.
“Then I had the idea of involving local folks to come and sing on the choruses. I didn’t want backing vocals per se, I wanted to capture the feeling of an audience singing along in the local village hall and I ended up with friends – both local and from further a field – contributing.
“The violin and electric wah violin parts are played by my long time pal Jamie Wilson.”
The album is available across all digital platforms/services and follows on from his release of a digital single from the album ‘Meet Me in the City’ in October.
This is Arcari’s seventh full-length album and the first since his Live at Memorial Hall release in 2017.
His version of Junior Kimbrough’s hill country classic Meet me in the City and the traditional Nine Pound Hammer are the only covers on the album – the rest of the material is all self-penned and written over the last couple of years.
Other than his fifth album Whisky in my Blood, where Arcari was accompanied by the Hellsinki Hellraisers, this is also the first time he has featured guest performers on his recordings – made possible with support from Help Musicians, an independent charity for professional musicians.
