Splendid Reception Atop Splendor Mountain

Made the trek to Splendor Mountain along with the other Platinum performers.  This site is located in Tiger, Georgia, very near Clayton in Rabun County.  It's virtually a straight shot from 285 - 85 N to 985 N, only a  critical turn at the very end and you're on the winding mountain and gravel side roads.  I successfully got myself stuck trying to navigate one of those gravel driveways.  Four wheel drive would be nice for times like these!  Glen saw me at my worst!  Great timing.  Well, got there safe.  Almost became part of a 4+ car wreck on 85 as a left lane had suddenly closed and none of us were prepared for it.  The car in front of me laid a pair of 50-foot long skid marks as black as my car in an attempt to not hit the cars in the lane next to him.  I was able to get over and then over again and just thanked God for allowing me to continue unscathed.

The air was cool and crisp, and we were in a tent with no flap behind the stage.  As night fell upon us, it became chilly.  I kept my blazer on the whole night!  The band has come to poke fun at my bass stand and assorted instruments.  I tell them that I need a gimmick in lieu of breathtaking chops.  I've really been enjoying the tone on the NS.  This is a magical bass instrument.  Being the bottom of the chain for NS, I can only imagine how great the top of the line instruments are.  Mine lacks the magnetic pickups, but that transducer in the bridge gives a distinctively upright growl, even with the often maligned stock strings.  Need to replace those at some point.

Had a lot of time to hang, since Derek and Glen ended up rehearsing with the violinist and singers for the ceremony music.  They had some tricky tunes to maneuver through, but they did a fine job.  Live ceremony music is a something that Virginia is working on featuring more from the band.  Later on, Derek and I discussed the similarities between the pop hits we are doing.  His guitar intro on Raise Your Glass can easily be confused with the synth intro on Tik-Tok.  Hard to keep it in your head when the moment comes and it's time to start the song under pressure.

Ceremony rehearsal with DJ in the low country brush.

Self portrait in green room cabin bath.

Kevin sitting where he sat earlier, behind the stage, most likely
applying an iPhoto treatment to his latest shot of Diana.

Glen's keyboard display

The tent pole was a dancer''s favorite prop!

Drinking hooch from the groom's shoe!