This Week's Free ie fromThe 1937 Flood

 Some songs turn up at the beginning of a Flood night and gauge the energy in the room. 

Others — like this one — usually come at the end of the evening and give everybody one last blast before they pack up and head for home. 

And oh, be sure listen all the way to the end of this track so you’ll  catch Sam St. Clair’s special end-of-tune sound effects. We think you’ll find they’re right on the nose!

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

 When Jack Nuckols joined the band late last year, we knew his dynamic drumming would bring spark and sparkling to our jazzy repertoire, but we also had a secret agenda. 

 
We were hoping we could also persuade Jack to dust off that fiddle he last played…. oh… 20 years ago so he could bring it to bear on our for folkier numbers. 

Well, he’s not only done that, Jack’s started suggesting tunes that would fit his fiddling. Here’s one, a great old Ohio River tune from the pen of folk composer Dillon Bustin. It’s “Shawneetown.”

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

 We rolled into the West End last Sunday to play at a lovely picnic celebrating the 90th anniversary of Huntington’s beloved Sacred Heart church. 

 
For that do, we wanted to supplement our usual musical fare with a health supply of religious numbers. Topping the list was one of the oldest tunes in our repertoire.

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

 Some tunes have really deep roots in the Floodisphere. 

The late Joe Dobbs loved this song. In fact, Charlie Bowen remembers jamming on this one in Joe’s music shop on its original West 14th Street location in the late ‘70s. 

It’s also the first song that the great Doug Chaffin played with us a quarter of a century ago. And Sam St. Clair still talks about Chuck Romine loving it; ol’ Doctor Jazz sure did tear it up on his tenor banjo. 

 
Now Sam and Charlie have introduced it to a whole new generation of Floodsters — just listen to Randy Hamilton and Danny Cox and Jack Nuckols rocking on “Somebody Stole My Gal!”

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

 We are big fans of Kentucky singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton.

 
Our Randy Hamilton brought us this poignant song about seven years ago. Lately it’s been back in the repertoire, with Danny Cox doing double duty, singing harmony to Randy’s lead vocala and trading solos with Sam St. Clair, all framed by Jack Nuckols’ tasteful drumming and Charlie Bowen’s little bit of banjo.

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

 Occasionally, we do originals. 

Here’s a silly, happy little song that Charlie Bowen wrote 30 years with the idea that The Flood would play it someday. And we from time to time we have.

But it turns out the tune was really waiting for today’s configuration of players, for Jack Nuckols and Randy Hamilton’s rocking rhythm and for those scintillating solos by Danny Cox and Sam St. Clair.

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

 Rehearsal is always important, of course, but sometimes leaving a song alone for a while also has interesting effects. 

 
It’s been probable a year or more since this Ray Charles classic made an appearance at a Flood rehearsal. But it turns out the song hasn’t been stagnating. 

It was obvious when the song finally did roll around again, it had been percolating in everyone’s memory and all kind of exciting new ideas came out in the solos.