Thursday, February 13, 2014

This Weekl's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

Thirty years ago, our dear friends David Holbrook, Bill Hoke and Susan Lewis formed the core of our favorite local string band called The Kentucky Foothill Ramblers and, Lord, but they taught us a slew of wonderful tunes. The group used to sing this Utah Philips tune at nearly every show and we never got tired of it. Sadly, The Ramblers are no longer around, but we've got home recordings of most of the band's repertoire, and we've just started working on our own variation of "Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia." Oh, we're not ready to roll it out on our set list for shows yet, but we're sharing here with the podcast family. Think of it as a work in progress.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Introducing The Ice Jam Trio

Ice, snow and illness kept more than half of the band away last night, but as we always say, where two or more gather in its name, it is The Flood. So last night we were three. Sam St. Clair, with son James in tow, came in from the cold with his box of hot harmonicas. Randy Hamilton came slipping and sliding down from his Ohio hilltop, bringing his bass and his sweet harmonies, and we devoted the evening to exploring the prospects of The Ice-Jam Trio. A highlight of the evening was rediscovering this wonderful old Jean Ritchie composition, whose mournfulness seemed somehow fit for a long winter's night. It even has a reference to "February snow."