Jam Logs, the Podcast of The 1937 Flood

Here’s the beautiful sound of jazz saxophonist Vanessa Coffman who sat in with us at last night’s rehearsal. Pamela and Charlie met the 19-year-old Marshall University music major just two weeks ago when Floodster Emeritus Stew Schneider suggested they catch her solo gig at a hotel in downtown Ashland. They are so glad they did. What a talent! And not only does Vanessa have exciting musical ideas, she also have a seasoned instinct for crafting her solo to complement the other players around her. Here’s an example from last night. In this section of “Georgia on My Mind,” listen to how Vanessa’s solo builds beautifully on what Paul Martin lays down just before she comes in, then leaves a warm space for Doug Chaffin to follow her, like a sweet, musical conversation. We’re looking forward to more sessions with Vanessa Coffman in the weeks ahead. Stay tuned, friends.

We start the new year with one of the oldest tunes we know. “The Water is Wide” is Scottish in origin and traces its roots all the back to the 1600s. It seems to be related to several of the English and Scottish ballad collected by Francis James Child in the second half the 19th century, but the modern version was popularized in the 1950s and ‘60s by Pete Seeger. In our rendition, from a recent rehearsal, Michelle sings the lead with sweet solos by Paul, Sam and Doug.

Well, this eventful 2019 is coming to an end and we look forward to being back in your ears in the new year, but before we go, friends, Michelle speaks for us all here on this Christmas Eve in wishing you the merriest of Christmases.

Until the great Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Famer Charles Brown opened our eyes and ears to the concept, most of us never thought of Christmas as a time for the blues. But then in 1961, King Records released “Charles Brown Sings Christmas Songs” and suddenly Christmas was cool. The standout track on that album was Brown’s composition called, “Please Come Home for Christmas,” a song that has hit the chart dozens of times since that original release. The Eagles, for example, had a beloved version in the 1970s, Bon Jovi would revisit the tune in the 1990s. Meanwhile, in this century it’s been given fine treatments everyone from Willie Nelson and Martina McBride to Kelly Clarkson. And now we in The Flood will be incorporating the number into our house band tunes at this weekend’s Route 60 Saturday Night holiday show. Here we are working on our arrangement at last night’s rehearsal. That’s Paul Martin singing lead and Michelle Lewis with her call-and-response harmony.

No matter how far we roam in search of new material, The Flood never gets too far away from its folky roots. A Woody Guthrie or a Pete Seeger tune can bring us back home in an instance. And fundamental to the band’s DNA is the music of the great Huddle Ledbetter, better know as Lead Belly. In fact, one of the first songs The Flood ever did back when it was aborning in the early 1970s was a Lead Belly classic called “Ella Speed,” about a turn-of-the-century murder of a lady of the evening in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Folklorist John Lomax recorded Lead Belly singing that very song in Louisiana’s Angola Penitentiary in 1933. And while Lead Belly is the recognized source of that song, we learned it from another recording. It’s on Ian & Sylvia’s wonderful 1964 “Four Strong Winds” album, with John Harold doing the guitar solos. Well, here’s The Flood’s 2019 latest rendition, with the solos in the able hands of Paul Martin, Doug Chaffin and Paul Callicoat. It’s “Ella Speed.”

Sometimes the magic of the evening comes just when you think the evening is over! At a recent rehearsal, we’d had a good, productive session and the boys were heading for the door. Sam had already had to go, the two Paul’s — Paul Martin and Paul Callicoat were packing up their instruments — and Doug was wringing out the last notes of the night on his fiddle. But before the guys could get their coats on, Michelle and Charlie started playing a favorite tune, and in a flash they were back in their seats to play one more. Here it is, old winter’s song: “Autumn Leaves.”

Well, this will our first Thanksgiving without a visit from Michelle’s sweet mama. For years and years, we’ve have the sincere pleasure of looking across the room at rehearsals and performances to see Michelle’s mom smiling back at us. It was about a month ago that Lucile passed away, just a day after her 82nd birthday. One of the many joys in having her with us was that she would sing along on her favorite songs. And she had a LOT of favorite songs, but surely somewhere near the top of that list was “Blue Skies.” Here from a rehearsal a week or so ago is her daughter Michelle’s latest rendition of it. This one’s for you, Lucille. Are you singing it with us, Mama?

Okay, so, we probably should’ve canceled last night. Because of illness and other obligations, we barely had a quorum for the weekly rehearse, but, then, well, as St. Matthew once told us, “Boys, whenever two or more gather in its name, it is The Flood!” And last night our little Flood Lite trio even managed to send out this tune to our sick and shut-in bandmates.

Getting ready as your house band for this weekend’s monthly Route 60 Saturday Night show, we wanted to have a tune that could help you get you in the mood for Thanksgiving. That means food-related songs, of course, and The Flood’s got a few, though granted, some are more seasonally appropriated than others. Then we thought again about a great little novelty tune that trumpeter Cootie Williams wrote and sang more than 80 years ago when it was recorded by Duke Ellington’s orchestra in 1938. It tells a sad story of a meal in which all the main courses go badly awry, but, then, oh, Lord, ain’t the gravy good Remember, it’s Route 60 Saturday Night, THIS Saturday night at Route 60 Music Co., 60 Peyton Street in Barboursville. This month’s guests artists are singer-songwriters Tim Browning, Maggie Moore and Ricky G. Fox. And as a special treat, we’ll have a mid-show set by the next generation of Tri-State talent, Route 60 Saturday Night’s youngest guest to-date, 12-year-old Bronson Tolliver. You don’t want to miss this! Admission is $5 and this month all proceeds go to help the good work of United Way of the River Cities. Come on out for a good time for a good cause.

Usually for the weekly rehearsal, Doug Chaffin and Paul Martin both arrive carrying two instruments. Paul has his mandolin, of course, and his mellow, beautiful Martin acoustic guitar, while Doug, along with his trusty fiddle, is carrying his sweet Paul Reed Smith electric. A good warmup number for the us enables Paul and Doug to pick a bit on all those instruments, as they do in this particular tune. Last night, as we were waiting for our star singer Michelle Lewis to navigate the always-iffy interstate traffic and get here from her home near Charleston, Paul Callicoat laid down a nice rhythm on his bass, and we listened to the guys stretch out on a favorite Hoagy Carmichael song, with a variety of tasty solos by Paul and Doug sandwiched in with right righteous harmonica breaks by Sam St. Clair. Here’s a warmup rendition of “Georgia on My Mind.”