Harmonicat Sam St. Clair Wades In

#101 / Flood Time Capsule: 2001

Twenty-one years ago tonight, Sam St. Clair joined the band as its consummate hamonicat.

Charlie had met Sam earlier that month following a meeting of the Rotary Club where Bowen had been invited to speak about his fledgling web design business.

Newly minted Floodster Chuck Romine, a long-time Rotarian, had landed Charlie the speaking gig; Sam, a member of the same Rotary, was in the audience that afternoon. After the presentation, he sought out Charlie for a chat, during which he mentioned that he played harmonica.

Charlie jumped at the chance to invite him to sit in at the next Flood rehearsal, where Sam so rocked the room that the guys — by unanimous acclamation — invited him to join the family.

Rock-Solid Sam

Over the years, many members have come and gone in The Flood, but Sam is a happy constant. His solid harp lines are a defining characteristic of the band’s sound.

In the fall of 2002, during a Flood appearance on West Virginia Public Radio’s “Music from the Mountains” show, Sam talked with host Joe Dobbs about what brought him to the band. Click the button below to hear that audio clip:

Going Live

Within days of joining up, Sam was playing live shows. Less than a month after that first rehearsal evening at the Bowen House, for instance, The Flood played a new club in downtown Huntington called Masquerade Dinner Theater.

Alas, the club itself did not endure — it was gone within a year — and there’s no recording of the band’s sets there. However, we do have this recording of our Aug. 11, 2001, audition for the gig. Want to hear a snippet? Click below for Sam’s memorable solo on “Sweet Georgia Brown.”

Tell It, Sam!

Sam’s humor is one of the spices in The Flood’s eclectic recipes. Here’s a sample. Click the button below to hear his chat with host Brad Becker when the band appeared on the Lexington, Ky., Red Barn Radio show in 2009:

And Then There Are The Hoo Hoo’s…

Sam is a famously good sport, always up for a challenge, the goofier the better. For instance, here’s a weird and wonderful moment from a weekly jam session a few years back.

The setup is this: We were weighing the possibilities of doing an old rock tune, but we couldn't decide who would do the special effects. And then Br'er Sam rode to the rescue. Tap the button below to hear the discussion (complete with Dave Peyton’s novel idea for a special use of Joe’s fiddle bow…)

The Sam Channel

Finally, if you'd like to listen to a randomly selected playlist of Sam St. Clair tunes from his decades of Floodifying, check out The Sam Channel on our free music streaming feature, Radio Floodango by clicking here.