Fifteen years ago tonight, The Flood continued its mission to convince the world that jug band music could fit any occasion.
This particular occasion — in the ballroom atop the Renaissance Performing Arts Center in the old Huntington High School building in the city’s South Side — was a benefit concert to help out with medical expenses for a family member of long-time Flood buddy Dale Jones.
No one knows how successful the band’s hokum music proselytizing was — you can draw your own conclusions by watching Pamela Bowen’s video from that November 2009 night — but no one doubts the success for the concert: it raised nearly $2,000 for Dale’s family.
Joelessness
The band worked at a disadvantage that night, because Joe Dobbs couldn’t make the gig, or any other Flood gig for the rest of the year.
That’s because about the time the band was taking the stage, the fiddler was winging his way to Australia to visit Rod and Judy Jones and to play shows and festivals Down Under over the next month or so.
Earlier that autumn, the guys were saddened when they realized they wouldn’t have Joe around for the holidays. Oh, Floodsters usually didn’t actually do all that much with the Jolly Ol’ Elf during the Yuletide, but it was always fun seeing him wear his Santa hat throughout the season (thrilling The Nice and scaring the bejesus out of The Naughty).
The Flood’s anticipated Joe Deficiency for December 2009 became a regular topic of conversation in the weekly jam sessions at the time.
At one point Dave Peyton and Charlie Bowen quipped that anyone who would like to audition to be Joe’s stand-in during his absence should just show up at a rehearsal in a Joe Dobbs mask.
Honestly, no one thought anyone would actually do it, but, of course, no one should ever count out the creative mind of Carter Taylor Seaton, who is always up for a challenge. The photos above show her and Richard Cobb modelling their masks on either side of the genuine article.
Gig Night
Carter and Richard were in the audience that night at the Renaissance, along with other Flood friends, like Rose Riter, Norman and Shirley Davis, JoAnn and Bob McCoy and Sharon and Tom Pressman.
Even with Joe’s absence, the band had a healthy quorum for the gig. The video from the evening features Dave and Charlie front and center with Michelle Hoge and Dave “Bub” Ball. The three jug band tunes are rich in tasty solos by Jacob Scarr, Doug Chaffin and Sam St. Clair.
The highlight, though, is the video’s debut of young James St. Clair, standing in the front row and almost but not quite busting a few moves during his dad's harmonica solos.
That was the same night, incidentally, when the lad told us that since he could now stand on his own two feet, we had to stop calling him as “Sweet Baby James,” which we did. Sorta.
More Jugginess?
Of course, The Flood’s jug band music mission work continues today. The guys are still trying to show the world how to fit hokum into its various holidays and observances.
If Pamela’s video has you ready to join the campaign, check out The Hokum channel on the free Radio Floodango music streaming service which has dozens of jug band tunes ready to rock you. Click here to tune it in and you’ll be ready to sing along at the next Flood fest.
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