Photo by Peggy Arnold Hoobler

 

It was the piano that started the whole video idea once I had finished recording my arrangement of Jingle Bells. Our neighbors have a wonderful property up at 10,000 ft elevation near the town of La Veta, Colorado. Years ago their family hauled an old upright piano up to their mountain cabin. Someone eventually put it outside where years of snow, rain, and cold eventually took their toll.

 

IF YOU MISSED THE VIDEO _ CLICK HERE TO WATCH IT!

 

There are deserted gold mines with deep shafts on their property too! A few years ago the family realized the open mine shafts were dangerous so they started filling them in with trees etc. The piano was also dumped on top of the pile. In the video, I'm literally standing above the shaft of an abandoned gold mine! When the idea for a new video for the song came to mind I thought, "How cool could this be - to shoot a video with a decrepit piano while standing over a gold mine?" That was the seed for my insanity.

 

 

 

The mountain cabin is cozy and bedecked with standard mountain-type items such as antlers and a bear rug. The whole place was the perfect setting to bring my new zany arrangement of Jingle Bells to life. Thankfully there was a bit of snow up there to help complete the scene.

 

Factoid #1 - It was about 15º F with a wind chill of 0º F. Brrr. Yes, that's me in my boxer shorts!

 

Factoid #2 – It took about 2.5 hours to shoot. - Yes we were freezing - and even though it was sunny, you’ll notice a few snowflakes coming down. No, they were not fake special effects.

 

Factoid #3 -  The video was shot by Justin Shults with the help of our neighbor Jim Hoobler. Jim's wife, Peggy, took still photos and managed all the outfits and props.

 

Factoid #4 – The video was completely produced (shot and edited) in less than 12 hours. It was edited by yours truly.

 

So - that's my story and I'm sticking to it. If you like it, please take time to help spread a bit of holiday cheer. Here is a link you can copy and email to friends and family. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sH__cheWMU

 

SEE THE BEHIND THE SCENES PHOTOS HERE!

 

A complete list of all my holiday videos can be found here.

 

Oh - and one more thing - every kid needs to see this. Here's a comment from YouTube: