The Force was With Us

The Force was definitely with us last night. Our numbers were way down. Because of the holidays and other things, half the band couldn't make it, but those who did show up also stepped up. Sam St. Clair and his harmonica handled most of the solos. Michelle Lewis and Charlie Bowen took on the vocals and our own Jedi master, Randy Hamilton, did double duty on vocals and bass solos. All in all it was a stellar evening.

Happy Solstice!

Well, this is Tuesday, our usual rehearsal night, but last-minute holiday preparations have many our members too busy to pick, so we're taking the night off. But here on the podcast we can still observe the winter solstice with a tune from a session several weeks ago. As you may recall, a dear friend, Floodster Emeritus Jacob Scarr, was home from Colorado recently to have Thanksgiving with friends and family here, and we had a delightful evening of music with him. Many a Dylan tune was played, including this seldom-covered number that now seems oddly appropriate this evening as we await morning on this longest night of the year. Enjoy, and Happy Holidays from your friends in The Flood.

St. James Infirmary Blues

Around here we say whatever two or more gather in its name, it is The 1937 Flood. Well, last night surely tested that proposition. Illnesses and family and work obligations whittled down our numbers considerably. Out of our seven members, heck, we barely had a quorum. In fact, we considered canceling the evening, but, wait a minute -- Doug Chaffin and Paul Martin both had driven a ways to get there. There were cookies on the table and coffee in the pot. Everybody was tuned up and ready to play, so we decided to see what would develop. And we were glad we did.

Jammin' with Jacob

One of the things we're thankful for is that often this time of year our old buddy Jacob Scarr comes home for a visit, as he did this year, and last night he sat in with us. Jacob started playing with The Flood nine years ago and was a regular member of the band until four years ago when he left Huntington for college in Boulder, Colorado, where he still lives today. He was just 14 when he started his Floodster career, so we've sort of watched him grow up. We've also listened to him get just better and better on that guitar. Last night, Jacob borrowed a flat pick from Doug Chaffin and jumped right into the mix. Listen here as Doug switches from guitar to fiddle and trades new musical ideas with Jacob on this old Flood standard, "Summertime."