Jam Logs, the Podcast of The 1937 Flood
194 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingFreebies from The 1937 Flood, West Virginia's Most Eclectic String Band! The Flood, the Original Old Boy Band, has been around since the 1970s playing their own brand of mountain music, from blues and jugband to swing and traditional folk. These podcasts feature Flood Freebies, recordings captured on the fly, as it were, at the Flood's weekly jam sessions
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Episodes
"Barbara Allen"
April 26, 2024 09:12Recently Charlie brought a different version to this great old English ballad for the guys to try out after revisiting his all-time favorite rendition of it, Tom Rush’s recording of the tune on the old Prestige/Folklore label back in 1963.
"Didn't He Ramble?"
April 19, 2024 11:00Ours is a band that was born at a party and born TO party. Whether we’re at home in our band room at the Bowen House, settled in the living room of somebody else’s house or on stage at a gig, the party tradition that started more than a half century ago continues today. And our next opportunity for a public party will be this very weekend when we launch the Spring Floodango this Sunday afternoon at Huntington’s Alchemy Theater. Here’s a tune we have on tap for the afternoon. Take a listen a...
"No Ash Will Burn"
April 12, 2024 10:00Our friend David Click told us recently how much he enjoys the band’s performance of this tune. He said that while it’s a sad song, he’s found a solace in the lyrics, that it touches him especially in times of loss and grief. We understand; it moves us that way too. For instance, this particular performance comes from back in November at the first rehearsal after we learned of the death of our band mate Doug Chaffin. Doug loved this song, and you might be able to hear this this track how we...
"I Wonder Where My Easy Rider's Gone"
April 05, 2024 10:12Some songs just never get old. Here’s a rowdy tune that had already been around for while when Grandpa was a pup and today, well, it’s still pretty sassy, with a cut in its strut and a glide in its stride. It’s the kind of song we like the start the evening with, as we did here at last week’s rehearsal, because it has room for everyone to just stretch out and wail. Listen as the solos pass from Danny to Sam to Randy. And when it’s Jack’s turn, he reaches for those wooden spoons he keeps nea...
"Peaceful Easy Feeling"
March 29, 2024 09:41To give this classic from the 1970s a new sound, the guys let my banjo happily trot alongside Jack’s drum and Randy’s bass, ready to frame our vocals and those sweet solos by Danny and Sam. And, hey, be sure to keep listening to reach our surprise ending. We wrap up with a bit of old-time music, a little sumpin-sumpin circa 1680.
"Gotta Shave 'Em Dry"
March 22, 2024 10:13This rowdy old tune has been rattling around in our brain for a quarter quarter or so — ever since the late Joe Dobbs gave us tapes of some little-known blues records from the 1920s and ’30s — but only recently did it finally pop up in the The Flood’s repertoire.
"I Almost Lost My Mind"
March 15, 2024 09:19 - 7.63 MBSome songs in our repertoire we do only when “The Chick Singer” — Floodster emerita Michelle Hoge — is in the room. Our take on this good old Ivory Joe Hunter classic is at the top of that list. This track is from last December when Michelle had driven in from her Cincinnati area home to rehearse with us in preparation for our big “Flood at 50” New Year’s Eve birthday bash at Alchemy Theatre. Just listen to Michelle rocking those vocal harmonies, as always.
"Handy Man"
March 08, 2024 11:12 - 5.96 MBYou never really forget the songs of your youth. Charlie was 10 years old in the summer of ‘59 when this tune hit the radio. It was such a hoot to take it for a spin at a recent Flood rehearsal.
"Make You Feel My Love"
March 01, 2024 10:59 - 7.15 MBWe’re late to the party on this tune. Bob Dylan wrote this more than a quarter of century ago, but we just started doing it a few weeks ago. However, it’s suddenly landed solidly in the repertoire. Here’s our take on “Make You Feel My Love.”
"Needed Time"
February 23, 2024 11:32 - 4.45 MBWe’ve been doing this song for a very long time, and it’s always different, depending on who’s in the room. In this rendition from a rehearsal a few weeks ago, our man Danny Cox makes it special with his signature guitar stylings.
'St. Louis Blues"
February 16, 2024 10:24 - 8.75 MBThe Flood has been doing versions of this song for decades. This rendition was the first song of the evening at a Flood rehearsal a few weeks ago. Riding on the infectious rhythm laid down by Randy Hamilton and Jack Nuckols and framing the solos by Danny Cox and Sam St. Clair, the number heralded a particularly fun evening at the Bowen house.
"Ready for the Times to Get Better"
February 09, 2024 12:03 - 6.37 MBThis song took a very long road on its journey to Floodlandia. The first time it was played in our band room was more than a dozen years ago on a mellow autumn night when our friends Randy Hamilton and Paul Martin dropped in to jam with us. Now, neither was a member of The Flood yet — Randy would join the following year and Paul a few years after that — but their song was the hit of the evening. However, the tune never worked its way into the repertoire — until just recently. A couple of we...
Sweet Georgia Brown
February 02, 2024 11:15 - 6.83 MB“Sweet Georgia Brown” entered The Flood’s repertoire soon after the band began in the 1970s and in the ensuing decades the tune has come back into the playlist again and again, serving as a sweet showcase for dozens of Flood soloists over the years. This latest rendition, recorded at a rehearsal just last week, has Danny Cox, Randy Hamilton, Sam St. Clair and Jack Nuckols all taking the tune for a spin.
Ain't No Free
January 26, 2024 11:21 - 7.15 MBIt was 15 years ago when Sam St. Clair brought us this tune, and it quickly became his theme song. Ever since then, “Ain’t No Free” has been a beloved standard in many a Flood show. So, of course, the song had to have a place in honor several weeks ago at our big New Year’s Eve birthday bash at Alchemy Theatre.
(When She Wants Good Lovin') My Baby Comes to Me
January 19, 2024 10:15 - 7.15 MBHere’s a tune with some mighty deep roots in the Floodisphere. Two decades after our heroes, The Coasters, released this song in July 1957, The Flood started fiddling with it on another summer night. After that, though, it went to sleep again for, oh, a half century or so. Then not long ago, it popped back into our minds. Right away, Randy Hamilton started singing harmony on the chorus. Suddenly the song is back, evolving into a fine vehicle for Jack Nuckols’ cool drumming and tasty solos b...
'You Ain't Goin' Nowhere"
January 12, 2024 11:10 - 5.54 MBWhenever our old friend Paul Martin is back in the room — or, better still, on the bandstand with us, as he was for our big “Flood at 50” big birthday bash — we always get him to take us on a ride on is favorite Bob Dylan tune.
"Sunny"
January 05, 2024 11:20 - 5.61 MBEver since it came together decades ago, The Flood has always sought a rich diversity in its repertoire. So late last year when Danny Cox asked, “Has the band ever done the song ‘Sunny’?” he heard an invitation in the enthusiasm of the answer: “no.” So, Danny worked out the chords, Jack took up the rhythm, we turned the vocals over to Randy, and suddenly the song is in the works. In fact, it’s even picking up fans among the visitors. On this particular track, for instance, Floodster Emerit...
"Raise a Ruckus Tonight"
December 29, 2023 12:44 - 6.66 MBHere’s a tune we always trot out whenever we feel a party coming on. So you can bet we’ll have it on the set list this weekend for our big “Flood at 50” birthday bash on New Year’s Eve at Alchemy Theatre. That’s a night we’re so eager for that we actually started putting this song through its paces earlier this month. For instance, here’s our take on the tune from a joyous night at Sal’s Speakeasy in Ashland just a few weeks ago. Remember, we’re at Alchemy Theatre this Sunday night, 69 Holl...
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
December 22, 2023 11:29 - 4.39 MBOkay, we have a Christmas confession to make. Honestly, we don’t really care that much for Christmas music. Oh, we’re not scrooges or anything — well, a few of us are — but it’s mainly it’s just the nature of Christmas songs themselves. The chord patterns are not especially easy to remember and since you only them for a week or two every year, you don’t ever get a chance to get cozy with them. Plus, well, frankly Christmas tunes generally don’t swing. (Try to put a beat behind “Little Town ...
You Got Me Slippin'
December 15, 2023 11:11 - 6.68 MBWhen we roll in tomorrow night for our latest gig at Sal’s Speakeasy in Ashland, Ky., we’re bringing with us one of our all time favorite party tunes. The song we call “You Got Me Slippin’” is loosely based on a classic Jimmy Reed tune from 65 years ago at the dawn of rock ’n’ roll.
My Dear Companion
December 08, 2023 11:12 - 4.68 MBNominally, this is a traditional song about abandoned love, but back in the 1960s when she reworked it, the late Jean Ritchie wrote new lyrics that went well beyond that to the larger theme of loss in general. Because of those deeper expressions, The Flood has often thought of this tune in times of our darkest grief, and we’ve even sung it at more than one graveside. So, it’s only natural for us to be thinking of it again these days with death of our own dear companion, Doug Chaffin. He abs...
"Good as I Been to You (You Gonna Quit Me Blues)"
December 01, 2023 11:15 - 6.34 MBWe started doing the song in the mid-1990s, right after we heard it on a then-new Bob Dylan album. We were looking for an easy, happy little tune that we can warm up on, letting everybody just stretch out a little. Well, nowadays it just as likely to turn up as a last song of the night — as it was here at a recent rehearsal — putting a bow on a great evening of music.
But Not for Me
November 24, 2023 11:21 - 5.82 MBIt’s a kind of counter-love song — a great anthem to angst — and George Gershwin’s “But Not For Me” was ahead of its time. He and his brother Ira wrote the thing in 1930 for a popular stage musical called “Girl Crazy.” But it didn’t make the Billboard charts until a dozen years later — after George’s death, in fact — when Harry James and his orchestra got to Number 12 with it. Last week was The Flood’s first fling with the tune. See what you think.
"July, You're a Woman"
November 17, 2023 11:12 - 7.21 MBCharlie played this song for Dave Peyton on the first night they jammed together at a New Year’s Eve party 50 years ago. It was the one of the best tunes in their repertoire for their earliest gigs. After that, though, the song dropped out of the mix for many decade, but the one night this fall — help! — it came wandering back. On this track from a recent rehearsal, Charlie’s on banjo, Jack’s on bongos, Randy’s singing harmony and Danny’s playing those sweet, sweet solos.
"Birth of the Blues"
November 10, 2023 11:01 - 5.23 MBWe have several new tunes to bring tomorrow night for our latest gig at Sal’s Speakeasy in Ashland, Ky., including this one that the great Ray Henderson wrote almost a hundred years ago. This song was first recorded by Paul Whiteman and his orchestra in the mid-1920s, but its real claim to fame came 15 years later when it was the title tune for a beloved Bing Crosby movie that was released on the eve of America’s entry into World War II. Here’s “Birth of the Blues.”
"Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You"
November 03, 2023 09:36 - 5.9 MBThere’s a reason why The Flood’s rendition of this Dylan classic sounds different from Bobby’s version — or anyone else’s take on the tune, for that matter. That’s because back in the early 1980s, when Roger and Charlie started playing around with opening chord progression here, they thought they were writing an original song of their own. But then Rog and his family moved away — leaving West Virginia for the green hills of Kentucky — and the piece they were working on was left an orphan. I...
Jelly Roll Baker
October 27, 2023 10:17 - 8.04 MBThis sassy Lonnie Johnson song was written and recorded 80 years ago as a rhythm and blues hit, but we owe our version to our folk music heroes of the 1960s. To this day, it’s one of those perfect warmup tunes for us, because it provides plenty of stretching-out room for solos by everyone in the house, Danny and Sam, Randy and Jack.
Yas Yas Duck
October 20, 2023 10:39 - 7.46 MBWow, Jack Nuckols’ drumming has brought a whole new class of cool to the old band room. Whether it’s his tasty solos, or rocking along with Randy Hamilton’s bass under Charlie Bowen’s vocals, or making his wise and witty contributions to the ensemble supporting Danny Cox and Sam St. Clair’s solos, Jack’s rhythms have got us all wanting to get up and dance. Just listen to what he brings to this old hokum song from the late 1920s.
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
October 13, 2023 09:50 - 9.13 MBThis Bob Dylan classic has been in the Floodisphere forever — Roger and Charlie used to sing it together a half century ago — but only recently has it made a move to be in the regular repertoire. That’s when Randy stepped to sing his signature harmonies and Danny and Sam started doing double duty on the solos.
Opus One
October 06, 2023 09:55 - 5.47 MBIt’s the end of a fun evening at the Bowen house, but nobody is quite ready to quit yet. Jack starts padding a cool swing rhythm on the house bongos and Randy jumps in with a bass line that fits it to a T. Charlie gets the chords going, just as Danny flies in with that cool melody over Sam’s smooth harmonica fills. Now, it’s a tune that’s not really in our repertoire. It’s more like an old friend who drops by way too infrequently, but when he does, everyone in the room is happy to see him. ...
"Tear It Down"
September 29, 2023 11:11 - 4.12 MBWhen our friend, the remarkable percussionist Jack Nuckols, dropped in to visit with the band last week, we immediately drew him into the circle. First, we passed him the house bongos to play, but when a jug band tune came around, we put spoons in his hands. Jack was rocking it hard, we were digging on those rhythmic riffs and just as we were fixing to turn it over to him for a solo, darned if those spoons didn’t break in his hands. Now, Jack was apologetic, but — as you’ll hear — we all th...
"Buddy Bolden's Blues"
September 22, 2023 10:41 - 6.47 MBHere’s a tune that has drifted in and out of The Flood repertoire many times over the years. It drifted back in recently when we gathered on a sultry summer night that had a decidedly New Orleans tang to it. Here’s our take on “Buddy Bolden’s Blues.”
I'm Beginning to See the Light
September 15, 2023 10:10 - 4.76 MBOur latest Duke Ellington number is a great vehicle for sassy solos by everyone in the band. Here’s “I’m Beginning to See the Light.”
Twisted Laurel
September 08, 2023 10:23 - 7.31 MBWell, this has been Bowen’s “Banjo Summer.” In early June, he dropped in to visit Paul Callicoat at Route 60 Music and, on a whim, Charlie traded an old guitar he had for a shiny new five-string that he spied on the wall there. Charlie didn’t know a thing about banjo, but he started watching some videos he found on YouTube from the remarkable Dr. Josh Turknett and his “Brainjo Academy.” He practice a bit every day and has been having an absolute ball. Now, we don’t think he’ll ever been an ...
Crazy Words, Crazy Tune
September 01, 2023 10:41 - 4.73 MBWe always try to have a few novelty tunes in our back pocket to lighten the mood at shows — or just to amuse ourselves at the weekly rehearsals. And this one, of course, is how we get all that big grant money, because it’s about history. Well, sort of…. There is some dispute about whether George Washington actually played the ukulele, but we do think it may have known a few red-hot mamas…
Autumn Leaves
August 25, 2023 09:38 - 5.41 MBThis song has marvelous lyrics by the great Johnny Mercer, as Floodster Emerita Michelle Hoge demonstrates whenever she’s in the room. But she’s not here to sing it, the song also is an extraordinary vehicle as an instrumental. Here from last week’s rehearsal, Danny Cox lays down a lovely melody, then his old friend and our guest for the evening — Bob Murnahan, in town for a visit from his Colorado home — takes a couple of choruses to mine gold in all those cool chords.
Ain't the Gravy Good?
August 18, 2023 11:31 - 5.59 MBTwenty years ago this summer, we were in the midst of planning our third studio album, when our friend and producer, the late George Walker, showed up with a rare Cootie Williams recording. George thought this novelty tune would a good fit for us. We fell in love with it and learned it in time for the recording session. Ever since then, whenever this song comes to mind, as it did at a recent Flood rehearsal, our thoughts race back to our good times with you, George.
Pretty Polly
August 11, 2023 10:59 - 7.86 MBFor this old folk song, we follow the well-established narrative about a love affair that goes tragically wrong, but we take a lot of liberties with the traditional melody. Well, our unique tune goes back the very beginnings of The Flood. When Dave Peyton and Charlie Bowen were just starting out as a duet a half century ago, they found that odd string of chords seem to set just right with their simple guitar and Autoharp accompaniment. Since then over the years, every configuration of The Fl...
Blue Moon
August 04, 2023 11:03 - 6.12 MBThis song has been in The Flood’s repertoire for about 30 years now. Early on, it was an instrumental showcase for Joe Dobbs’ fiddle. Then about a decade or so, it was part of Michelle Hoge’s remarkable songbag of ballads and swing tunes. Lately, Randy Hamilton has taken over the lead vocals. On this track from last week’s rehearsal, Charlie Bowen brings a little harmony and Danny Cox finds all kinds of interesting opportunities for guitar goodies in those cool old chords.
Delia's Gone
July 28, 2023 10:42 - 7.06 MBRoger Samples and Charlie Bowen worked out our arrangement of this old tune about 50 years ago. We sang and played it at many parties and jam sessions, but then it remained retired for the next three or four decades. That is until one night this summer when the tune popped into Charlie’s mind during a weekly rehearsal. Right away, Danny Cox, Randy Hamilton and Sam St. Clair jumped in and gave new life to an old number.
Don't Get Around Much Anymore
July 21, 2023 09:08 - 5.25 MBWhen we roll into Sal’s Speakeasy tomorrow night for our monthly gig, we’ll be bringing with us a tune that has been rocking audiences for more than eight decades. And that, brothers and sisters, is the definition of a hit! It’s a Duke Ellington composition that was given a whole new lease on life through some evocative lyrics by the great Bob Russell.
Didn't He Ramble?
July 14, 2023 10:52 - 5.55 MB“Bright Star” — the musical in which we’ve been honored to be perform as the house band this summer — wraps up this weekend, and we’ll be performing the last of our nightly pre-shows starting this evening. For our little pre-show sets, we’ve sought out old folk songs that complement the play’s new original music. Here’s the song we like to end our set with, a rollicking, silly number about a ramblin’ rascal named Buster. We learned it from a 1920s recording by the great Charlie Poole, but t...
Midnight Special
July 07, 2023 11:18 - 6.84 MBWe in The Flood are honored and thrilled to be invited by Mike Murdock and Nora Ankrom to be part of their brilliant Alchemy Theater production of the new musical, “Bright Star.” This evening is opening night, where we join the extraordinary Mark Smith and John Kinley in the show’s house band. In addition, Mike and Nora have asked The Flood to do a few songs in a pre-show at each performance. Now, since trains play such an important part in the “Bright Star” story, we’ll certainly be includi...
I Got a Secret (Shake Sugaree)
June 30, 2023 11:24 - 7.91 MB“The folk process” is a term that Charles Seeger came up with to describe the tendency of songs to change a little — or a lot — as they are passed from person to person over the years. It’s a process that greatly pleases us in The Flood, because we’ve always done everything we can to put our own stamp on every song we do. Here, for instance, it’s no real secret that our version of this tune has only a nodding acquaintance with the original that the great Elizabeth Cotten wrote with her gran...
500 Miles Away from Home
June 23, 2023 10:36 - 4.12 MBIn the summer of 1963, a young Ironton, Ohio, native named Bobby Bare walked into the RCA Victor studio and recorded what would become the best-selling single of his long career, his poignant rendition of “500 Miles Away from Home.” Now 60 years later, here’s The Flood’s tribute to Bobby and that folk music classic.
Drive In
June 16, 2023 10:39 - 3.62 MBIn Danny Cox’s world, two household gods are Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed, and both of those two legendary guitarists were responsible for this showcase tune. Here, from a recent rehearsal, is Danny’s take on Jerry Reed’s 1968 instrumental classic, “Drive In.”
Summertime
June 09, 2023 10:17 - 8.93 MBThe 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.
You're No Good
June 02, 2023 09:40 - 6.37 MBWe 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. For years the birds have quietly kept their posts,...
Castle of Dromore (October Winds)
May 26, 2023 09:40 - 6.85 MBThe 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!
Walk Right In
May 19, 2023 11:44 - 4.22 MBOne 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.”