This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

 This song has been floating around in the Floodisphere for nearly 50 years. 

Nowadays, it’s not often on the set list at the band’s shows, but it almost always comes back at Flood reunion, and we had a wonderful reunion last week. 

 
Michelle Hoge, “the chick singer,” drove in from Cincinnati. Bub — Dave Ball — was up from Florida. Old friends like Jim Rumbaugh, Karen Combs and Doug Imbrogno came by. 

And everybody was singing and playing along with this one from last week’s rehearsal.

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

This wonderfully zany old tune from the late Roarin’ Twenties is a song in search of a comedy routine — and in this track from last week’s rehearsal, we certainly try to do our part. 

Right from the start, Danny Cox adds guitar accents that would be at home in a Spike Jones arrangement, then Jack Nuckols switches from his usual cool brushes and snare to those funky old wooden spoons, and suddenly the joint is jumpin’ — just because it can.

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

 Playing this century-old tune from W.C. Handy became the late Doug Chaffin’s favorite way to end of a picking session. 

And we’re continuing our old buddy’s tradition, as demonstrated in this track from last week’s rehearsal. 

This one’s for you, Mister Chaffin! It’s that one about the dog…

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

 Rehearsals are not parties. 

They can be fun and satisfying, but the bottom line is that rehearsals are work sessions. The Flood is always trying to learn new songs — or give a new spin to an old one — and because that’s where the songs are worked out, some rehearsals are more fun than others.  So we usually try to end the evening on a high note. 

At one such rehearsal recently, Charlie asked if anybody had a tune they wanted to end with. 

“How about something we know!” said Danny Cox with a chuckle and a grin. 

 
In a minute we’d rolled into the 1930s standard “Moonglow” and it turned out to be our favorite moment of the whole night. Give it a listen.

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.