Flash Flood Takes Famous Door by Storm
By Chris Manson September 9, 2004 Issue

Flash Flood, Destin’s favorite dance pop quartet, recently celebrated 12 years together. All four original members are still putting their distinct touch on a wide variety of old favorites, classic rock, ‘80s favorites, not to mention the latest hits. When I caught the band at John Wehner’s Famous Door on a Thursday night, vocalist Rusty Rose, guitarist Tim “Pick” Pickering, bass player Tim Morinelli, and drummer Binky Buckwalter were in fine form.

“Thanks to the local support, we haven’t been out of work yet,” Rusty said. The Flood have been playing at the celebrated Baytowne Wharf club since July after gigs at LaRocco’s, Panama City’s Schooner’s, and various one-nighters. Prior to that, Flash Flood won over the patrons of Destin’s Skybar.

Morinelli sang Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall like a true anglophile. His bass playing benefited from the Famous Door’s superior sound system. Pickering tossed off a burning guitar solo that would have made Floyd’s David Gilmour take notice. The guitarist added some whimsical wah wah effects to The Joker, the Steve Miller tune.

Buckwalter is hard to see behind the “sneeze shield” that encloses him and his drum kit. But you can definitely hear the man as he lays down a dedicated beat during a medley of Creedence Clearwater Revival hits—Suzie Q, Green River (played at a seemingly breakneck speed), Bad Moon Rising, and Down on the Corner. The First Cut Is the Deepest—made famous by Rod Stewart in the 1970s and recently revived by Sheryl Crow—rocked a lot harder than previously heard renditions.

Rose sang that ballad effectively, but she’s also dynamite on dance tunes like Madonna’s Don’t Tell Me. That song was an interesting choice to do live, as the version on Madonna’s Music album is pretty complex. While Rose somewhat unfairly labels Flash Flood a “copycat band,” they are professional and smart enough to apply the proper tone to every song in their repertoire. The idiotic 1980s hit Wild, Wild West, for example—Morinelli simply has fun with it, the proper action to take in the face of a song so trivial.

Morinelli admits he’s really into “old school.” Ten years ago, he anticipated the nostalgia for all things ‘80s. “We tried an old retro thing with Hall and Oates and it flopped big time. But now, owner John Wehner mentioned that the 1980s are coming back. I just started getting into that kick.”

While Morinelli enjoys stuff like old Boston and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Pickering and Buckwalter stay on top of the current music charts. “Pick and Binky turned me on to Jet,” Morinelli said, referring to the hard rockers who recently broke through with a great AC/DC knockoff Cold Hard Bitch.

“It’s good, raw rock and roll,” Pickering said of the Are You Gonna Be My Girl outfit. “I also like that new band Los Lonely Boys from Texas. They just did a show on MTV, and Carlos Santana played with them. They have a good sound, which is pretty refreshing.”

“We’re not the type of band that can do original music all night long,” Rose said. “I’m in my forties and I’m doing Evanescence—it’s very hard to keep up with the younger kids. It’s not as easy, but we’re doing it. Panama City has the ‘name’ DJs that come in, so it’s very hard to be a band like we are, to stay energetic. But we seem to fit this club and it fits us.”

Rose mentioned that Monday’s “Live Karaoke Night with the Band” has been a huge success on what was previously a slow night for the Famous Door. “We created a night where anyone could sing with the band. We give them the lyrics, make them feel comfortable.” Currently, Flash Flood plays Tuesdays through Saturdays beginning at 9 p.m. “The energy level is especially high on the weekends. The girls doing the body tooters get up on stage, and it gets crazy. It works you hard.”

Very few bands have kept it together for as long as Flash Flood, so I asked the guys if they had any advice for bands just starting out.

“Get a day job so you can have money for equipment,” Buckwalter said.

“Don’t be in it for the money,” Morinelli offered. “Try to be original. Nobody’s original anymore.”

And while Flash Flood is predominantly a cover band, they display genuine originality when they take a recent hit like Outkast’s The Way You Move and work it into a medley with Earth, Wind and Fire’s Let’s Groove—Rose said they tried to do some rap, but the results were embarrassing. A couple of songs into their second set, Flood did a killer Billie Jean that got folks out on the dance floor. It was reassuring watching this diverse group—gray-haired old ladies, swinging singles, young people barely old enough to buy a bottle of Heineken—all getting off on the Flash Flood vibe. Good music uniting people—go see this band!

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