Thursday, September 27, 2012

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

This week's freebie features another preview of a work in progress.

Right now, we're preparing for a show this Friday night at Woodlands Retirement Community up the hill from us here in our hometown of Huntington, West Virginia, and we've been thinking about the music that folks there might like. At last night's rehearsal, Michelle Walker suggested "Sentimental Journey," a tune that Joe Dobbs has been doing in his solo performances for years.

Now, of course, the spirit of this weekly podcast is to share The Flood's not-ready-for-primetime moments -- that is, songs still in development -- and here's a prime example. This is literally the first time the band as a whole has tried this tune and obviously we have some … uh, opportunities. The harmonies need tightening, we need to work out better cues for the solos and smooth out the accompaniment.

But for now, I love the enthusiasm everyone's bringing to the song. And it may be fun in a year or so to look back and see how the tune has evolved and mellowed with practice. But first, a voyage of discovery. All aboard! Click here to hear the tune!

And speaking of new audio… The Flood had a fun time on a pleasant Wednesday last May when The Red Barn Radio Show invited us to Lexington, Ky., for an evening. Producer/director Ed Commons has sent us a disc of the show and we're happy to share it with our extended Family Flood. Click here to hear the entire show!

By the way, if you haven't checked out our Facebook page, we hope you will. And we've made it easy for you. Just click here! And be sure to click the "Like" button at the top of the Facebook so you'll be kept up to date on all the Flood doin's.

 Finally, remember that the tunes from the jam sessions make up our weekly Flood podcasts. You can subscribe for free and get the music automatically delivered to your computer each Thursday. For details on that, click here.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

This week's freebie features a rather rapid visit to an old standard.

The drink of choice at The Flood's weekly rehearsals is Community Coffee from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. But there is a downside. After a few cups of this strong, rich, dark brew, the tunes tend to get a bit livelier.

There's a standing joke that after Charlie's had a coupla mugs of joe, he starts kicking the tunes off too fast. Here's a case in point. We don't usually do "Blue Moon" at such a lively clip as this. But, hey, some of us kinda like it like this -- it's got a nice kick, though we're not sure you'd wanna dance to it. See what you think. Click here to hear the tune!

And speaking of audio… As we've mentioned earlier, The Flood had a fun time on a pleasant Wednesday last May when The Red Barn Radio Show invited us to Lexington, Ky., for an evening. Recently, producer/director Ed Commons sent us a disc of the show and we're happy to share with our extended Family Flood. Click here to hear the entire show!

By the way, if you haven't checked out our Facebook page, we hope you will. And we've made it easy for you. Just click here! And be sure to click the "Like" button at the top of the Facebook so you'll be kept up to date on all the Flood doin's.

Finally, remember that the tunes from the jam sessions make up our weekly Flood podcasts. You can subscribe for free and get the music automatically delivered to your computer each Thursday. For details on that, click here.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

In this week's freebie from The 1937 Flood, we have the first take on a tune we expect to be working on in the months ago.

During a break at a gig last summer, our good friend Wendell Dobbs dropped by the bandstand and said, "Hey, I know a great song for The Chick Singer -- 'A Taste of Honey.'" As soon as he said that, our eyes lit up. Yes indeed. It's a wonderful ballad that's been recorded by everyone from Sarah Vaughan to the early Beatles.

Our Michelle Walker had never really tried the song before, but she was game to give a go and last night, at one of The Flood's occasional vocal-only rehearsals, we tested the waters. As you'll hear in this track, Randy and I are still figuring out some harmony parts, but Michelle is already nailing the lead.

In the months ahead, this podcast may be revisiting the tune as we introduce it to the rest of band, but for now, here it is: "A Taste of Honey, Take 1." Click here to hear the tune!

And speaking of new audio… The Flood had a fun time on a pleasant Wednesday last May when The Red Barn Radio Show invited us to Lexington, Ky., for an evening. Recently, producer/director Ed Commons sent us a disc of the show and we're happy to share with our extended Family Flood. Click here to hear the entire show!

By the way, if you haven't checked out our Facebook page, we hope you will. And we've made it easy for you. Just click here! And be sure to click the "Like" button at the top of the Facebook so you'll be kept up to date on all the Flood doin's.

 Finally, remember that the tunes from the jam sessions make up our weekly Flood podcasts. You can subscribe for free and get the music automatically delivered to your computer each Thursday. For details on that, click here.