Hundred Year Flood

Artist Information

Biography

Bill and Felecia met and started playing music together in Austin, Texas back in the mid 90's. They started up HYF in 1998 and have been going strong ever since. They have traveled all over the U.S. touring and will be playing music on tour this Spring in The Netherlands. They have distribution in Japan through Label Navi and in the Netherlands through Lucky Dice music. HYF just recorded a tune with Brian Hardgroove from Public Enemy (bassist/bandleader) and funk masta, Bootsy Collins for a compilation CD with many artists including Charlie Daniels, released in Nov 08". Here are a few quotes: "...some of the best songwriting and vocal styling to hit my radar in years. HYF really does it for me!" Brian Hardgroove-Public Enemy
"Both haunting and sweet, like the high desert from which the hail, HYF's solid songwriting sports and extra layer of polish on their fifth release. "Poison", which seems to say, "we're ready to go big this time around." ChrisDiestler- KBAC radio
"...big hooks, filled with a style of lyrical intrspection that's meant to be sung along with and remembered." Gabe Gomez- Santa Fe Reporter
"[HYF] write really great songs and they’ve already got
the whole thing right there."
(John Kurzweg, GOLD record producer-Creed, Puddle of Mud)
"Hundred Year Flood deliver a rocky, southern edge to the roots rock brand of music...wired tightly together by singer Felecia Ford."
(New West Magazine)
"...a perfect example of southern rock at it’s best! You won’t be disappointed!"
(Georgia Moncrief, Go Girls Music)

Instrumentation

Bill Palmer- guitar, voice
Felecia Ford- voice, keys
Jim Palmer- drums
John Courage- bass
Justin Lindsey- guitar

Discography

Poison (2008)
blue angel (2006)
Cavalier (2004)
Flutterstrut (2003)
Hundred Year Flood (1999)

Singles from"POISON" are already being played on the radio internationally in Scotland, The Netherlands, House of Mercy radio broadcasting on Radio 6 Internat'l heard in 157 countries, London, France, Germany, Belgium, New Zealand, Australia and many cities and towns across the U.S. "POISON" is currently number 8 on the Euro Americana Charts. Poison has also just been picked up for distribution in Japan and The Netherlands with a tour to the Netherlands planned for the Spring 09.

Official Website

http://www.hundredyearflood.com

Audio

• Hell or High Water
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• Truly
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• Grindin' Wheel
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• Poison
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• Neck of the Woods
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Lyrics

• Hell or High Water
• Truly
• Grindin' Wheel
• Poison
• Neck of the Woods
• Neck of the Woods

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Excellent Slice of Guitar Based Americana [+ Show ]
  

  The fourth release from this New Mexico based four-piece band, this album immediately grabs your att...The fourth release from this New Mexico based four-piece band, this album immediately grabs your attention from the opening bars. “I Love You Still” is an awesome slow burner of a song with tremendous vocals from Bill Palmer and vibrant guitar and keyboard backing with sonorous organ carrying the weight. Throughout the album Palmer’s guitar playing is excellent, shimmering, soloing and caressing the songs whether sung by him or co vocalist Felecia Ford. Her vocals are strong and gutsy and with the pair singing six songs apiece there is a nice symmetry to the album.
  
  The sound is fairly traditional by Americana standards, think of melodic Neil Young with Crazy Horse, Zuma period, with a dash of the ballsier side of Fleetwood Mac (none more so than on the driving "Pour Over Me”). Lyrically, Palmer has a way with words, spare but evocative, “Nothing haunts me…No bad memories/I’m warm from the cold.” (Kingdom of Cold) and “I’m not sorry for anything I said/Don’t be scared Love/This emotion is almost dead.” (Unoriginal).
  
  However the highlights here are the grooves the musicians find. With many of the songs clocking in at around five minutes there is space for them to show off their chops while never straying into jam band territory. As stated above, Palmer’s guitar is to the fore with several glorious solos (“Champion Dog “for example) and on the seven minute “Barren Fields” they stretch out evoking the Hollywood Indian memory of Mr. Young. Capping it all is “Kingdom of Cold”, with added pedal steel (courtesy of Chris McCandy) where they achieve that sound that Ryan Adams strove for on Cold Roses, a modern quicksilver fluid sound that would surely raise a smile from the beatific spirit of old Garcia himself.

• BLUE ANGEL REVIEW [+ Show ]
  

  by Jonanna Widner For a group of such upbeat people, so prone to smiles and Texas charm, the folk...by Jonanna Widner
  
  For a group of such upbeat people, so prone to smiles and Texas charm, the folks who make up Hundred Year Flood—Bill Palmer, Felicia Ford, Jim Palmer and Kendra Lauman—certainly can write some introspective, dare I say dark, songs. Case in point is blue angel, the group’s newest disc, recorded here at the studios of local label Frogville Records. The subdued vibe of the record is there even before cracking open the CD case—the slightly blurry, obscured shades of blue, the photograph of just a portion of a steering wheel, the spectral title all point to what’s inside. And what’s inside is indeed spectral too, a haunting, understated beauty of a record.
  
  What’s initially noticeable about the disc is the lyrical theme of questions and quotes: The first line of the entire album is a question. “What was it you said/when everything was good?” Bill Palmer sings in the opener, named “I Love You Still.” And the reply is a quote: “‘It’s easier to undertand/than to be understood.’” It’s an under-the-radar motif that weaves its way in and out of the entire disc, and one that works to make the emotions of blue angel personal, real and relatable. Similarly, the Flood’s strength proves to be their ability to sneak subtle, simple imagery into their songs. The references to “torn and worn out hands,” or “restless hearts” with “their belly to the bars” provide tangible anchors for ethereal songs.
  
  And then there’s the music itself. The Flood is evolving, clearly moving down a thoughtful track, allowing their songs to unfold at their own pace. There are Jim Palmer’s always shimmering drums, his brother Bill’s echoed guitars, Lauman’s barely there bass and, of course, Ford’s intense, balls-out vocals. On the song “Pour Over Me,” Ford’s voice is so drenched in vibrato, she sounds like Stevie Nicks singing opera arias; in fact, the entire song sounds less like the Flood’s usual Americana and more like the weird, rich California rock of Fleetwood Mac.
  
  Such forays into different musical worlds are what mark the Flood’s current evolution. Songs like “Take a Chance,” with its needle-sharp guitar fills and subtle tempo, or “Kingdom of Cold,” which interweaves traditional-sounding pedal steel with almost Johnny Marr-esque fretwork, foretell the future of Hundred Year Flood. This is a band that’s going places, not just in terms of their collective career, but in terms of their ability to branch out from their country roots.
  

• WASHED AWAY [+ Show ]
  

  Hungry bats, a rabid music scene and a reasonable cost of living would lure any band with a modicum ...Hungry bats, a rabid music scene and a reasonable cost of living would lure any band with a modicum of talent to Austin. It also lures the ones with considerable gifts. Hundred Year Flood has called Santa Fe home for five years, but with the recent addition of “Austin” in the location section of their MySpace page next to “Santa Fe,” rumors started flying about the band’s exodus.
  
  Hundred Year Flood arrived in Austin last November. “We have a history with Texas; everybody but me is from Texas,” Kendra Lauman, Hundred Year Flood bassist, tells SFR. “The guys [Bill and Jim Palmer] are from east Texas and Felecia [Ford] is from west Texas. The three of them met in Austin before Hundred Year Flood was born, and they spent a lot of time together here [in Austin], and they’ve always kept roots here.”
  
  The band will divide its time between both cities for now. Although the move to Austin may not be permanent, according to Lauman, who can blame them if they would relocate? With semisteady residencies at two Austin music venues and a recent gig with Charlie Sexton at the world-famous club Antone’s, Santa Fe can become a tough sell. Hundred Year Flood, an Americana/country/folk-infused quartet, is signed to Santa Fe’s indie label Frogville Records. Its latest release, Blue Angel, has garnered Hundred Year Flood favorable reviews and an ever-expanding following.
  
  “We have lived in Santa Fe for five years, made some great connections and had a great time. We feel like it’s our home as well,” Lauman says. “If it was a little bit more of a music hub and we could afford to buy houses there, we would not have ever left. But I wouldn’t go so far as to saying that we’ve left [for good].”
  
  -by Gabe Gomez
  

• Santa Fe New Mexican's Pasatiempo [+ Show ]
  

  CAVALIER REVIEW: "...a tasty serving of neo-folk rock. My favorite tracks here include a Tom Pettyi...CAVALIER REVIEW:
  "...a tasty serving of neo-folk rock. My favorite tracks here include a Tom Pettyish rocker called "Peach Blossom."
  

• Cavalier Review from Online Rock.com [+ Show ]
  

  Hundred Year Flood’s music is ultimately defined by its Southwestern roots: the band’s new home is S...Hundred Year Flood’s music is ultimately defined by its Southwestern roots: the band’s new home is Santa Fe via their old stomping grounds of Austin. From the twangy sound of “Come On” through the country western ramblings of “Let’s Fall in Love Again Tonight” to the album’s “Outro” Cavalier provides a somewhat eclectic sound assemblage of Americana.
  
  The lead vocals alternate nicely between Felicia Ford and Bill Palmer. And the intensity picks up on songs like a “Gamblin,” which—thanks to its shimmering crash of guitar sound—coats the album with touches of modern, across-the-pond rock. Throughout, Cavalier offers an intriguing variety of songwriting and musicianship that always entertains.
  
  Favorite Track: Track 3, “Peach Blossom”

• Tucson Weekly, Tucson, Az
  

  "Hundred Year Flood brings to mind the country-inflected college rock of the 1980's..."

• Cavalier Review posted on CD Baby.com [+ Show ]
  

  "...Felecia Ford's voice is mesmerizing... ... The wide scope and crossing over of genre's, make thi..."...Felecia Ford's voice is mesmerizing... ... The wide scope and crossing over of genre's, make this album a "sure thing" for anyone... intelligent, politically aware, poignant, sensitive, creative and hip...."
  

• Former Austin Band Brings Its More Rockin' Sound to the Paramount [+ Show ]
  

  REVIEW: Less is more for Hundred Year Flood, the twangy rock 'n' roll foursome that moved to Santa F...REVIEW: Less is more for Hundred Year Flood, the twangy rock 'n' roll foursome that moved to Santa Fe from the live music mecca of Austin three years ago.
      "It got to be too much of a big city," guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Bill Palmer said of his former home. "And we found we had more fun around here because there was sort of less going on."
      The fun, which early on included much-publicized benefit concerts at the local VFW, continues Saturday when Hundred Year Flood takes the stage at the Paramount. The band is a family affair— two brothers and their wives who play a country- and folk-infused brand of rock that has developed an edge over the years.
      "We started as more of a folk band," Palmer said. "I'd say a lot of bands, as they get older, they get softer. But as we get older, we're rocking."
      Palmer, 31, shares singing duties with his wife, Felecia Ford, who also plays accordion and keyboard. Palmer's younger brother Jim handles drumming duties. Jim's wife, Kendra Lauman, plays bass.
      The band's third and latest release, "Cavalier" (Frogville Records), swings from gritty to gracious, featuring some nifty guitar licks, thoughtful lyrics and some fine singin'. There are flashes of Bob Dylan and Tom Petty in Palmer's voice, and hints of Melissa Etheridge and Bonnie Raitt in Ford's. And despite Bill Palmer's affection for 1980s British new wave ("Cavalier" includes a countrified cover of The Smiths' "Reel Around the Fountain"), rural and Southern sensibilities have always stuck with the band, according to the songwriter. The result is a distinct, rootsy flavor and introspective lyrics, some of which were inspired by Bill Palmer's unfortunate encounter with a mosquito two summers ago.
      "I got the West Nile Virus ... and was gravely ill, and about the only thing I could do is write songs," Palmer said. "I sort of felt like I faced death, and it really put things in perspective about where my loyalties and my love was."
      Bill Palmer's experience inspired several songs on "Cavalier," including the chipper "Sweetness Does," a love song he wrote for his wife. The near-death experience also gave way to the darker "Gamblin'," a song about "gambling with your life and your time":
      "What good is the drug/if you can't get enough/The weight on your back/is heavier than luck," the song goes.
      Other tracks carry spiritual and political overtones. The solemn "Politics of the Dead," for instance, laments casualties of the war in Iraq. Despite such gravity, "Cavalier" is fun to listen to. A happy family makes for a happy, lively band, even when it has something serious to say.

Setlist

3- 1 hour sets (with ease)
mostly originals with a few obscure covers

Originals:

Take a Chance
the Ditch
You Got Lot's of Time
Hey Beautiful
DIRT
Help me
I Love You Still
Don't Go
Jesus Rolled Over
Shoulda Seen it Comin'
Assembly of Dog
Cielo's Song
Peach Blossom
Shotgun John
Let's Fall in Love Again Tonight
Kingdom of Cold
Pour Over Me
Jezebel
Champion Dog
the Barren Fields
Shiverin'
Politics of the Dead
Smoke in the Valley
25 Cents
Beast and the Burden
Don't Go So Soon
the Infidels
Some Days
Armageddon Moon
Broken Down House
Have Yer Way
Gamblin'
Lonely Spider
Sweetness Does
Tortilla Song
Come On
Love and Lust
Touch
Rags and Gold
Hinge
Don't Do It
Water
Blue Angel
High Horse
Unoriginal
Mr. Grumpy
Hello in Free America
Come With Me
Criminals
Media Queen
I Got It Bad
Soul to Soul
If I Were the President
Burned Up By the Sun
Rich Man's War
I Need a Ride
Electricity
Neck of the Woods
Surrender
Death of a Soldier
I Wouldn't
Truely
Wutcha Gonna Do?
Hell or High Water
Truly
Poison
Birdsongs
Down Thru the Holler
Star
Grindin Wheel
Sara and Jane
Electricity
Neck of the Woods
Never Forever



Covers:

I'm Only Sleeping (J. Lennon/P. McCartney)
the Drifter's Escape (B.Dylan)
Piggy in the Mirror (Cure)
Reel Around the Fountain (Morrissey/Marr)
Aint No Sunshine (B. Withers)
Cortez the Killer (N. Young)
Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath)
I Never Cared For You (W. Nelson)
Grandmother Quilt (C. Wade)
Tremblin' White (C. Wade)
Cities of Gold (M. Utter)
Pullin' the Meat (the Gourds)
Marfa Lights (T. Hancock)
Louisian (Goshen)
Pills and Alcohol (J. West)

Basic Requirements

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