Happy 75th, Bob Dylan!

You know, The Flood always takes note of Bob Dylan's birthday, and today's is an especially significant one. Happy 75th, Baby Blue! Bobby was born on this day in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1941. I'm sure a few Dylan tunes will be on the agenda at tonight's regular weekly Flood rehearsal, like this one that we uncorked a few weeks ago, letting Doug Chaffin and Paul Martin stretch out on the choruses. Happy birthday, Mister Z.

Up a Lazy River

Regular listeners know we've been experimenting with e-lec-tricity lately. Randy Hamilton usually provides the band's heartbeat with his beautiful acoustic-electric bass, and lately Doug Chaffin has been doing his gorgeous guitar work on his sweet new Paul Reed Smith solid-body electric. However, as we prepare for the Joe Dobbs tribute show at Charleston's Vandalia Gathering on May 28, we're going back to our acoustic roots. Doug has moved back to his upright bass and Randy is giving his acoustic six-string a workout, and we were playing with the new -- old -- sound at last night's rehearsal as we were going "Up a Lazy River."

Preparing for Vandalia

We are so happy that this year's Vandalia Gathering in Charleston will feature a tribute to our buddy, Flood co-founder Joe Dobbs, who passed away last September. And The Flood is honored to be invited to be part of that special tribute, set for Saturday night, May 28, at the cultural center on the state capitol grounds. We've begun to pull together the tunes we'll share in our part of the show, including -- of course -- this one.

Sittin' On Top of the World

For our weekly rehearsals, there are tunes that tend to open the evening and others that often close a session. And then there are special tunes that -- like old friends -- make us happy whenever they drop by. This old number by the Mississippi Sheiks -- "Sittin' on Top of the World" -- is just such a song, perfect for starting or capping off a fun evening with The Flood.