Jam Logs, the Podcast of The 1937 Flood

 The Flood started playing this tune a quarter of a century ago, and it’s had a wide variety of arrangements over the years. In this latest version, Randy Hamilton is doing double duty. Not only does Randy take over the vocals, but his sweet, soulful bass lines set the mood for the whole thing, inspiring equally introspective solos by Sam St. Clair and Danny Cox. Here’s “Summertime,” 2023.

 We always have fun at the rehearsals with these sassy old songs, and sometimes they even create their own little legacies. Here’s a case in point. Midway through this track from a recent session, you’ll hear a bit of a crash, like the sound of something hitting the floor — and that’s just what it is. A while back, The Flood’s ever-jolly den mother, Rose Riter, gave us some nifty bird-in-flight figurines that we put around the practice room...

 The Flood’s eclectic repertoire can routinely pivot from an R-rated blues or hokum tune to a some sweet family-friendly ballad. Even a lullaby might pop up from time to time, like this lovely Irish melody. And we toss in the banshee for free!

 One of the song we’ll be bringing to Sal’s Speakeasy for this weekend’s gig was a monster hit on the radio in the early 1960s. But actually it was written almost a hundred years ago, an iconic jug band tune of the era. Here’s our take on “Walk Right In.”

 We first started doing this song more than 40 years ago, and since then, every configuration of The Flood has made its own version of “The Dutchman.” Lately we’ve tried something news, adding a bit of banjo to the accompaniment. Tell us what you think about that. And don’t hold back, now. One thing we’ve learned about banjos — they’re used to some fairly brutal criticism!

 Our approach to this old prison work song is different from most. We take our inspiration from a creative version that singer Eric von Schmidt recorded back in 1961. For us, Ric’s melody not only gives Danny, Sam and Randy a lot of room for imaginative soloing, but also an opportunity for vocal harmonies at the end of each verse. This, then, is The Flood’s version of “Lazarus.”

 Randy Hamilton brought us this song. Not long ago, he and his buddy, Flood guitarist Dan Cox, came in the room on a rainy night like last night, sat down, tuned up, and almost immediately the song fell into a groove. Along with Danny, Sam St. Clair found a special voice for soloing, and “Good Time Charlie,” with Randy’s lead vocals, landed solidly in our repertoire.

 We always try to come up with a couple of new tunes for our monthly gig at Sal’s Speakeasy in Ashland. Here’s the latest, with Randy rock solid on that harmony and he, Sam and Danny just cooking on the solos. It’s our take on “Deep Ellum Blues.”

 Danny Cox learned his version of the song from a recording by his hero Chet Atkins on his 1965 More of That Guitar Country album. This is a Flood track recorded at a recent gig at Sal’s Speakeasy in Ashland, Ky. Here you’ll hear Dan and harmonicat Sam St. Clair trading choruses on the tune as we call folks back to the bandstand to begin our second set

 Pamela Bowen has been our band manager for more than 20 years now, and she is a major influence on all things Flood, from the venues we visit to the tunes we play when we get there. So recently when Pamela suggested we augment the roots music portion of our repertoire with some classic old-time rock, we started casting our thoughts back to the tunes that rocked our youth, like this from 1956.