How to Get Flooded for Free!

Risking the comeback that free music is worth every penny for you pay for it (oh, you kid), The Flood each week gives away a free tune that can be heard online without special software or magic decoder ring. Listening is easy: follow this link, pick a tune and click the gold arrow key at the left of its description.

It's all part of the Old Boyz' on-going Digital Jam Session project, launched on the Flood web site 10 months ago. Added to a backlog of previous weeks' releases, there's now well over an hour's worth of freebies assembled online, each with a brief introduction by Charlie.

Recorded at The Flood's weekly Wednesday night jam sessions, the tracks are far from "studio quality." On the contrary, they are in the finest warts-and-all tradition of "field recordings," so they have what one listener called a decided "back porch sound."

That means that in addition to the occasional flubs and miscues in the performances (the guys meticulously craft and insert these misfires only for your amusement, you understand), you often hear in the background people chatting, laughing, whispering, rolling dice, shuffling cards, performing the Heimlich Maneuver… Because of the nature of the beast, there are times, of course, when we wish the microphone had been positioned differently or the guys had given a little more thought to a bit of harmony, etc., but despite such glitches, the tunes do capture the joy of jams and we hope you like being part of it.

We announce each week's new freebie on our Facebook page. If you're on FB and haven't already, be sure to click the "Become a Fan" button on that page to be wired in for Flood updates. And we'd appreciate it if you'd recommend the page to any of your Facebook friends who you think would enjoy occasional Floodishness.

(Incidentally, each free tune is also turned into the Flood's weekly podcast, "Jam Logs," so if you a pod person and would rather have the week's new song delivered directly to you, just subscribe to the podcast. For all the details on that, click here.)

Hear The Flood During "Create W.Va." Conference

The 1937 Flood heads to downtown Huntington on Monday evening for a free concert as part of the big "Create West Virginia" Conference that hits town this weekend.

Festivities kick off Sunday with Kathy Mattea and "Mountain Stage" at the Keith Albee Performing Arts Center. Also during the conference will be live jazz at the Frederick, spoken word and dance at the Jesyln Performing Arts Center and music at Marshall University. Elsewhere, watch for art-, food- and music-filled receptions -- at venues ranging from the Huntington Museum of Art and the Big Sandy Superstore Arena to Marshall University -- and more than 50 pieces of fresh art all over downtown thanks to the Art Gawk.

The Flood plays from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Monday at a reception at the Morris Building, 845 4th Ave. The guys will share the space with the Marshall Guitar Ensemble and new media animated projections by Marshall graphic design students.

For more on the goings-on, check out Dave Lavender's story in The Herald-Dispatch!

Flooding the Riverbank This Monday Evening

The Flood heads down to Huntington's Harris Riverfront Park this Monday evening for what's happily become the band's annual shoutout to the Belle of Cincinnati and her riverboat passengers.

For the third straight year, the Belle sails to town for the big "Lights of Autumn" fundraiser for Hospice of Huntington, a volunteer group dedicated to assisting the non-profit agency with various projects. Last year more than 500 supporters attended this event. This year's 2-1/2-hour cruise on the Ohio River features on-board entertainment by the great Bob Thompson Unit from Charleston as well as by Live Bait from Tampa, Fla., and The Catalinas from Charlotte, N.C.

And, as always, The 1937 Flood -- whose appearance is again sponsored by the good folks of Magic 97.9 (thanks, guys!) -- offers free pre-boarding entertainment at the top of the park's amphitheater area from 5:30 to 6:30. Looks like there'll be a full complement of Floodsters on hand, along with The Chick Singer, the beautiful Michelle Walker, the lily of Cross Lanes.

So, whether or not you're taking the cruise, come on down and we'll party on the shore 'til boarding time.

For more information about "Lights of Autumn," click here.

Meanwhile, for your Flood calendar, you can ink in a couple of upcoming events. On Thursday, Oct. 15, the Flood plays at the Cabell-Huntington Convention and Visitors Bureau's Grand Opening / Business After Hours gala and later in the month the guys will take part in the Oct. 18-20 Create West Virginia convention in Huntington. More details on both of these events as we get closer.