This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

This week's freebie features a tune that comes with a warning label!

Our band manager, Pamela Bowen, almost never makes pronouncements about the music we choose to play, but last night she made an exception.

After hearing us play the following bit of fluff at the end of our 90-minute rehearsal session, she ruled that we may never play that song that late ever again.

The reason? Well, it's something of an ear worm, a melody that you can't get out of your head, and not surprisingly, Pamela doesn't like to wake up throughout the night still hearing that damned song.

So here it is: "Never Swat a Fly" from a highly forgettable 1930s movie called "Just Imagine." But remember Pamela's warning: Don't listen to it after dark or you may be just imagining it all night long.
Click here to hear the tune.

Tunes from the rehearsal 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.

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

This week's freebie features an audio smile from Doug Chaffin.

Now, Doug is the most even-tempered musician you'll ever meet. Day in and day out, he just delivered solid solos, and never complains, even when sometimes the rest of us -- beginning to feel the effects of those cups of strong black coffee, perhaps -- start running away with the rhythm.

But if you want to see Doug smile when the subject is the blues, keep that tempo down to a nice, steady heartbeat speed.

Listen here to how Doug and his guitar just own this improvised blues we used to warm up at last night's rehearsal. Click here to hear the tune.

Tunes from the rehearsal 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.

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

In this week's freebie features a study in ensemble work. One of the good things about rehearsing each week is that the ensemble gets tighter and fresher all the time.

For instance, on this track from last night's practice session, listen to Joe's intricate, imaginative fills behind Michelle's vocal on this 1930's jazz standard. It's no wonder that for decades now, singers have wanted Joe Dobbs to back them up -- his fiddle is like a second voice!

Then listen to how the whole mood and color of the tune changes as the ensemble brings it down to back up Doug's sweet mandolin solo in the middle of things.

Then after that, the dynamic changes again as Charlie and Randy kick it up a notch to support Michelle's rousing final chorus. Click here to hear the tune.

Tunes from the rehearsal 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.

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

In this week's freebie features a new sound for us.

The Hamiltons are a talented couple. Randy Hamilton has been playing bass and singing high harmony with us for a few years now. Meanwhile, we've known all along that Randy's wife, Sherri, is a gifted keyboard player and singer in her own right, and we've been after her to come and sit in with us some time.

Last night she did and we rocked all evening. Our hope is to work up a few tunes to play in concert that will feature Sherri Hamilton as a guest artist on piano. Here's our starting point, a sassy little number from last night.

Oh, and we had a few other friends sitting in last night. That's the great Jim Rumbaugh on harmonica and the incomparable Chuck Romine on tenor banjo. Click here to hear the tune.

Tunes from the rehearsal 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.

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

In this week's freebie, we find The Flood planning its invasion of Charleston this weekend.

The band is at one of its all-time favorite venues -- the wonderful Taylor Books, 226 Capitol Street -- this Friday night from 7:30 to 9:30.

Last night, in prepping for the gig, we trotted out some appropriate numbers, including what is perhaps the ultimate party tune: from 1926, it's "Crazy Words, Crazy Tune." Click here to hear the tune.

Tunes from the rehearsal 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.

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

In this week's freebie, we have a taste of a nice little celebration we had last night.

It's been an interesting week for the Family Flood. We learned on Monday when The State Journal announced its list of "55 Good Things About West Virginia" that The 1937 Flood is among those good things!

We are so honored to be the first string band ever included in the newspaper's annual list of Mountain State treasures. Writer Tiffney Henson has written a lovely story about the band, and we have a link to it on our website, 1937flood.com.

Meanwhile, as you'd expect, this week's regular Wednesday night rehearsal attracted a lot of friends and neighbors who wanted to drop in and celebrate with us. Joe Dobbs' joyous rendition of "Blackberry Blossom" from last night's practice beautifully sums up our mood these days. Click here to hear the tune.

Tunes from the rehearsal 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.

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

This week's freebie is a tune we're working on to feature vocals by the newest Floodster, Randy Hamilton.

Of course, Randy is already a hit with Flood regulars for his solid bass playing and his high vocal harmonies, but we've been looking for a song on which we could feature him on lead vocals, and we think we've found it. We've started working on a moody version of "Wayfarin' Stranger" with Randy singing the story.

We're only just begun crafting the tune -- we're still hashing out our harmonies to support Randy's lead; Charlie's looking for something to add to Michelle's wonderful wispy melodies -- but we like to use the podcast to share works in progress, and this is one.

It's interesting, too, how the instrumentation is coming together. Check out the solo work by Doug and Sam and especially listen to Dave's first-rate Autoharp work, adding great accents that chime throughout the song. Stay tuned -- we'll keep you posted as this piece evolves. Click here to hear the tune.

Tunes from the rehearsal 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.