On November 18th 2013, Whelan will release their first highly anticipated CD “Flood Waters Rising”. This CD fulfils a long-time dream I have held but had previously never pursued – an Americana album of predominantly original songs inspired by a main course of pre-1960 blues with some scattered teaspoons of folk, jumpin’ jive,soul and ideas snatched from the great American songbook.  An Americana album recorded with a rough-and-ready, minimally-rehearsed, spontaneous, live approach, inspired in equal parts by jazz on the one hand and punk rock on the other – connected by the parent they rebel against and perhaps don’t adequately understand or appreciate: what Chess records dubbed “The Real Folk Blues.”  I have always said I wanted to record like Sinatra -me and an old microphone live in a room with the band – all the instruments “bleeding” into each other’s microphones.  Well, I finally got my wish!