Weird Places to Play a 12-String Bass
Mt. Evans, Colorado
On Top of a mountain
In the summer of 2014 during my two-week trip to the NAMM show in Nashville I visited some “off the beaten path” places and played my Emerald Guitars acoustic 12-string bass at each of them. My first stop was Mt. Evans in Colorado, about an hour west of Denver. At an altitude of 14,265 feet, it towers high above the tree line and is accessible only during the summer months.
Mt. Evans is also the location of the highest altitude paved road in North America. It is an amazing drive due to a combination of the narrow, poorly maintained road with no guard rails and thousands of feet of drop off, plus the old folks driving cars with East Coast license plates coming at you in the opposite direction all of whom have a look of sheer terror on their faces. You can drive to the visitor center at 14,100 feet then hike to the top. The high altitude makes for a fairly strenuous climb.
U.S. Geological Survey marker from 1955 at the summit - 14,258 feet, but GPS measures the mountain at 14,265 feet = 4,350 meters.
The clouds rapidly reduced visibility to almost zero.
While on a clear day you can see 100 miles from the summit, on the day I was there the visibility went from poor to almost zero in just a few short minutes. The temperature was 40° F with a 30 mph wind. After the 100° F heat I had been driving through on the previous day, this was actually a nice change, for a few minutes anyway. I played the Emerald 12-string bass on the summit for just a few minutes then retreated back down the mountain to the warmth of my car. For now I will claim the world record for playing a 12-string bass at the highest altitude - 14,265 feet. Who’s up to the task of trying to break the record?
A mountain goat and her baby were nearby.
My audience for this performance - a solitary marmot. No applause was forthcoming. I’ll do better next time.
On the way down the mountain I had to stop for a half hour due to the most vicious nose bleed I’ve ever had, presumably due to the drying effects of the wind combined with the high altitude.
With a carbon fiber neck, the Emerald acoustic 12-string bass was up to the challenge of the 40° F weather, but the strings immediately went out of tune. That’s my excuse for every time I sing off key.
Below Sea Level
Death Valley National Park includes the lowest elevation point in North America - Badwater Basin at 282 feet below sea level. With only six places on Earth being lower, I figured this would be a perfect place to set another altitude record. On the afternoon that I visited the park the temperature was 127° F = 53° C plus the wind was blowing strongly. Now I can better appreciate what happens in a convection oven.
The lowest altitude point in North America: 282 feet = 85.5 meters below sea level.
The temperature was 127° F with a 40 mph wind.
Scientists say that Death Valley is sinking by about 1/4” per year so Badwater Basin will be a foot lower in 2063. If I’m still around I may come back to play here again.
Between Mt. Evans and Death Valley, over a period of ten days I played a 12-string bass from 282 feet below sea level to 14,265 feet above sea level, for a total difference of 14,547 feet. I challenge you to break my record!
The carbon fiber neck of the Emerald 12 passed the high temperature test with flying colors. The wind was blowing so strongly that I kept losing my hat.
In three States at once
There are 65 points in the United States where three states meet, but many are inaccessible. The points shown with blue dots are where the states meet in the middle of a river or other body of water. Others are on private property or require a significant hike to reach.
Fortunately a few spots are right alongside a highway, and I found one such place at the intersection of Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. I stopped here on my way from Nashville to Death Valley.
Arkansas side of the 1915 monument.
Missouri side of the 1915 monument.
The intersection point is actually in the middle of the state highway so the official monument was moved to the west side of the road. While most of Oklahoma is flat and boring, the very eastern part of the state has rolling, wooded hills and is absolutely gorgeous!
Missouri and Oklahoma sign posts.
While I was playing here a pickup truck pulling a horse trailer passed by, it was driven by a very pretty women who honked her horn and waved. I’m thinking it would have been much more interesting if she had stopped…
Yes, you could play in four States at once at the intersection of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, but this point is a sad area surrounded on all four sides by a cheesy flea market. I couldn’t bring myself to play here.
The Parthenon in Centennial Park in Nashville, Tennessee.
On the steps of the Parthenon
The Parthenon in Centennial Park in Nashville, Tennessee is a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon located on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. It was built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition. Originally made of wood and plaster, it was rebuilt with concrete between 1920 and 1931.
Somehow even the 12-string bass seems small here.
Sometimes when I display this picture I tell people it’s the actual Parthenon in Athens and I’m a time traveler. I’m pretty sure some people believe me…
On the shore of a lake to conjure a monster
Details coming soon…