Youngblood's Send-off
#110 / Flood Time Capsule: 2011
Eleven years ago tonight, Flood fledgling Jacob Scarr — our youngest-ever bandmate — was fixin’ to leave the nest, heading off to Colorado for college.
On this night before Jacob’s red-eye flight to Denver, the Family Flood gave the friend we lovingly called “Youngblood” a memorable sendoff; the group gathered in Bud Carroll’s Live at Trackside studio in Huntington to record all 15 tracks that would become the band’s fourth album, “Wade in the Water.” It was our first trip to the studio in eight years.
To recognize the influence that the young Mr. Scarr had had on The Flood in his near-five years with us, the album cover featured a picture of Jacob wading into the sweet waters of West Virginia’s Greenbrier River.
Long before that August 2011 night at Bud’s studio, Jacob and his dad, Tom Scarr, had been working on the cover art.
Pamela Bowen, the band’s manager, made a tee-shirt with “WADE” prominently displayed. She passed that along to Jacob, and then, on a sunny spring weekend, father and son headed down to the Greenbrier to get the shots.
Months later at a weekly jam session at the Bowen house, Joe, Dave and Charlie helped Michelle come up with remarks she could use to pitch the album at its December 2011 release party. To eavesdrop on that smart-alecky planning session, click the button below for a 90-second audio clip:
The DVD
The 2011 Trackside session also provided The Flood with its first-ever DVD, “The Making of ‘Wade in the Water,’” made possible through the good work of Adam Harris and Michael Valentine.
Want a sample video from that magical evening? Check this out:
Incidentally, another video from that evening resurfaced a decade later when it was featured on the local "Good Time Show with Michael Valentine" in a show celebrating Huntington's 150th anniversary. Here’s the band’s seven-minute segment on the Feb. 17, 2021, broadcast:
Meanwhile, for more film from the 2011 summer night at Bud’s place, click the button below:
Hear the Entire Album Online
Ten years after recording “Wade in the Water,” we put the entire album online as part of our Radio Floodango feature, where you can listen to any or all of it for free.
End of an Era
This session marked the end of a chapter in The Flood’s story. With Jacob’s departure, Doug Chaffin moved from bass to guitar and mandolin for extensive solo work, long-time Floodster Dave “Bub” Ball moved on to other interests and pursuits here and in Florida, and Randy Hamilton came aboard.
Right away The Flood started work on its next album, “Cleanup & Recovery,” which would be released 19 months later from tracks again recorded at Trackside by the incomparable Bud Carroll.