Blue Skies

Well, this will our first Thanksgiving without a visit from Michelle’s sweet mama. For years and years, we’ve have the sincere pleasure of looking across the room at rehearsals and performances to see Michelle’s mom smiling back at us. It was about a month ago that Lucile passed away, just a day after her 82nd birthday. One of the many joys in having her with us was that she would sing along on her favorite songs. And she had a LOT of favorite songs, but surely somewhere near the top of that list was “Blue Skies.” Here from a rehearsal a week or so ago is her daughter Michelle’s latest rendition of it. This one’s for you, Lucille. Are you singing it with us, Mama?

Ramblin' Boy

Okay, so, we probably should’ve canceled last night. Because of illness and other obligations, we barely had a quorum for the weekly rehearse, but, then, well, as St. Matthew once told us, “Boys, whenever two or more gather in its name, it is The Flood!” And last night our little Flood Lite trio even managed to send out this tune to our sick and shut-in bandmates.

Lord, Ain't the Gravy Good?

Getting ready as your house band for this weekend’s monthly Route 60 Saturday Night show, we wanted to have a tune that could help you get you in the mood for Thanksgiving. That means food-related songs, of course, and The Flood’s got a few, though granted, some are more seasonally appropriated than others. Then we thought again about a great little novelty tune that trumpeter Cootie Williams wrote and sang more than 80 years ago when it was recorded by Duke Ellington’s orchestra in 1938. It tells a sad story of a meal in which all the main courses go badly awry, but, then, oh, Lord, ain’t the gravy good Remember, it’s Route 60 Saturday Night, THIS Saturday night at Route 60 Music Co., 60 Peyton Street in Barboursville. This month’s guests artists are singer-songwriters Tim Browning, Maggie Moore and Ricky G. Fox. And as a special treat, we’ll have a mid-show set by the next generation of Tri-State talent, Route 60 Saturday Night’s youngest guest to-date, 12-year-old Bronson Tolliver. You don’t want to miss this! Admission is $5 and this month all proceeds go to help the good work of United Way of the River Cities. Come on out for a good time for a good cause.

Georgia on My Mind

Usually for the weekly rehearsal, Doug Chaffin and Paul Martin both arrive carrying two instruments. Paul has his mandolin, of course, and his mellow, beautiful Martin acoustic guitar, while Doug, along with his trusty fiddle, is carrying his sweet Paul Reed Smith electric. A good warmup number for the us enables Paul and Doug to pick a bit on all those instruments, as they do in this particular tune. Last night, as we were waiting for our star singer Michelle Lewis to navigate the always-iffy interstate traffic and get here from her home near Charleston, Paul Callicoat laid down a nice rhythm on his bass, and we listened to the guys stretch out on a favorite Hoagy Carmichael song, with a variety of tasty solos by Paul and Doug sandwiched in with right righteous harmonica breaks by Sam St. Clair. Here’s a warmup rendition of “Georgia on My Mind.”