Ten Hours in the Studio

#272 / Flood Time Capsule: 2003

Twenty years ago this week, The Flood wrapped an especially busy year by returning to the recording studio.

Working with Buddha-patient engineer George Walker, the band spent more than 10 hours in front of mikes in Charleston to lay down the 15 tracks of its third commercial album, released the following year as I’d Rather Be Flooded.

Flood Firsts

The day’s work preserved several “firsts.” For instance, the album was the recording debut of two newly minted Floodsters.

Michelle Hoge (then Michelle Walker) by then had been singing with the band for three months, having made her maiden flight the previous summer. For the new album, Michelle sang lead on two numbers, “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” and “Moonglow”

And Dave Ball — we called him “Bub” — had been Floodifying for a couple of months by the time of the recording date. For the album, Bub played upright bass on two tracks — “Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone” and “Blind Boy Blues” — freeing up our regular bassist, Doug Chaffin, to moved over to guitar and mandolin to solo on those cuts.

Chuck’s Last Album

Besides these beginnings, the new album also was banjoist Chuck Romine’s swan song. The disc featured Chuck singing lead on “Coney Island Washboard Roundalay,” which had been recorded live the previous summer at a memorable show atop Snowshoe Mountain, also featuring Dave Peyton on Wallace the Washboard.

Chuck and his tenor banjo spent another couple of years with the group, but by the time the Family Flood finally got back in the studio to do its fourth album in 2011, Chuck had been retired from the band for five years.

The Album Today

You can still purchase copies of this two-decade-old album, but it also can be heard for free on the band’s Radio Floodango music streaming service. Click here to hear it.