Joy with Floodster Emeritus Paul Martin

A surprise visit from Floodster Emeritus Paul Martin turned this week’s rehearsal into a happy reunion.Paul became active with the band nearly a decade ago. He was fundamental in recording and engineering The Flood’s two most recent albums (Live in Concert and Speechless).He also played a huge part in the guys’ several years as the house band in the good ol’ Route 60 Saturday Night music variety shows starting in 2017.But in 2021, demands of work and family required Paul to greatly reduce his Floodery. Since then, his old band mates see him only occasionally, but it’s always a special evening when he is in the room.Paul — with mandolin, guitar and beautiful vocals — made sweet memories last New Year’s Eve at the big “Flood at 50” birthday bash at Alchemy TheatreSince that night, though, it had been more than nine months since he had been back in the Flood fold. No wonder, then — as illustrated in Pamela Bowen’s video — that everyone felt festive when he suddenly walked into the Bowen house on Thursday night.About the SongPaul’s arrival had the rest of the Family Flood a bit nostalgic, reaching back to tunes the band hadn’t trotted out in a while. It had been almost a year, for example, since the guys had played the old John Stewart tune, “July, You’re a Woman,” but it seemed to fit the evening’s mood perfectly. If you’d like a history of the song — and The Flood’s association with this tune goes back to the band’s earliest days — check out this Flood Watch entry. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 1937flood.substack.com