The Spirit of Hokum Lives On

Songwriters are our patron saints, and we've got a bunch of 'em in The Flood. Bob Dylan and John Prine. Jean Ritchie and Hazel Dickens. Hoagie Carmichael and Fats Waller. Two others you might not be as familiar with -- Tampa Red and Georgia Tom -- have also been influencing us for decades. Now, back in the mid-1970s, Roger Samples and Charlie Bowen stumbled upon some raucous old 1920s recordings of Tampa Red and Georgia's Tom's Chicago group called The Famous Hokum Boys. Rog and Charlie introduced Dave Peyton and Joe Dobbs to these silly, happy tunes, and the rest, as they say, is hysteria. Well, here's a recording from a rehearsal just a few weeks ago that shows that in the latest incarnation of The Flood, that spirit of hokum is still alive and well.

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

This week's freebie features our Valentine's Day (plus one) special.

Flood sweetheart Michelle Lewis brought valentines to the table last night. Now, we can't give you any of the Krispy Kreme donuts she and her mom brought in -- they're all gone this morning -- but we can share one of Michelle's even sweeter gifts: a tune for last night.

She had us all following her, walkin' after midnight. Click to hear the tune.

Valentines from Michelle

Flood sweetheart Michelle Lewis brought valentines to the table last night. Now, we can't give you any of the Krispy Kreme donuts she and her mom brought in -- they're all gone this morning -- but we can share one of Michelle's even sweeter gifts: a tune for last night. She had us all following her, walkin' after midnight.

Reflections of My Life

We were already having a great rehearsal last night when Paul and Randy, our newest Floodsters, trotted out a tune that just shook the room. Back in 1969, a Scottish band called Marmalade released an original composition, "Reflections of My Life," that became an instant hit around the globe, in part because it spoke of life in an uncertain age. Last night we were all struck by how the song resonates in our time too. Now, we like to use these podcasts to sometimes give you a taste of a tune before the full arrangement gets worked out. This is a case in point. "Reflections" is likely to be on The Flood's set list often in the months to come, and this is where it starts.

To All Our Dear Companions

A band that's been around for more than 40 has a pretty big extended family -- current members, former members, brothers and sisters, moms and dads, long-time buddies and new friends just now coming through the door. On an especially chatty evening like last night, the stories we tell each other at a rehearsal can claim just about as much times as the songs we play. Well, it occurs to us that one particular tune we do -- one we've played at events as diverse as happy reunions and, well, more often at bittersweet departures -- comes very close to crystallizing that feeling of such a long communion. Here's to all our dear companions.