Lights! Camera! Music!

#79 / Flood Time Capsule: 2004

Flood harmonicat Sam St. Clair was one of the movers and shakers 18 years ago this week in Huntington’s then-brand new Appalachian Film Festival, so it was only natural that he wanted to get his band involved in the festival’s inauguration too.

That's why a June Friday night in 2004 found Floodsters rolling into in the snazzy Frederick building in downtown Huntington to play the cocktail reception at the Tapas bar (later renamed Rocco’s 21). The crowd was small -- the turnout for the first-ever festival itself was modest, but would grow in the years to come -- and it was appreciative and we enjoyed ourselves.

“And we also liked doing it for Sam,” Charlie told his mom in an email later. “He does so much for the band and asks so little in return. It was fun letting him show off for his people.”

The festival showed a half dozen films each day of the three-day event and offered technical workshops. A big “get” for that first year was that Disney studios contacted the festival and asked to screen a documentary called “America’s Heart and Soul.” They even sent a vice president to town with it and to visit with the festival goers. The other films were shown in the auditorium of city hall, but the Disney movie was shown at the historic Keith-Albee Theater.

The film tied together about a dozen true-life inspiring tales of hardworking regular Americans. One segment dealt with steelmakers in Weirton, West Virginia, who bought their own company when it was going to close. Another was about a weaver from Berea, Kentucky. She was in the audience and was asked to say a few words after the showing. She was as eloquent there as she was in the film, talking about the importance of being free to be whatever you wanted and that America celebrates diversity.

Encore

The following year, The Flood was back to entertain folks at the 2005 version of the festival, this time down by the Ohio River for the evening show, rocking with the filmmakers and aspiring filmmakers with an eclectic mix of tunes.

A highlight of that evening was schmoozing with actor Ray McKinnon, who was at the festival to introduce his new film, “Chrystal,” which had a featured spot at the week’s event, showing on the big screen at the Keith during the festival.

After The Flood’s set, Charlie, Chuck and Joe hung around to chat with the artists attending. Getting a few minutes outside the restaurant to chat with McKinnon, Charlie was especially eager to tell him how much the guys enjoyed the singing in the film by its star, Lisa Blount, who also was McKinnon’s wife of seven years. Ray said that Lisa’s music and her Arkansas family stories inspired much of the beautiful film and that he appreciated our kind words.

Here’s a snippet of the film -- which was written and directed by McKinnon -- with Lisa just killing it on the old southern Appalachian tune, “Red Rockin’ Chair.”

This story has a sad coda, though: Just five years after the film’s debut, Lisa died at her and Ray’s Little Rock home. Her mother, who found Lisa’s body, said the actress suffered from idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), in which low levels of platelets keep blood from clotting and lead to bleeding and bruising. Lisa was 53.