The Inferno

Issue date: 11/6/06 Section: Music

Flogging Molly, a punk band with an eclectic sound, took some time to talk with the Inferno last Saturday night about life, love and everything else.

After touring the world continuously for over two and a half years, and as part of various tours, the Irish punk band, Flogging Molly, performed their second to last show of the Side One Dummy College Tour at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago Oct, 27. Before the show, Dennis Casey, electric guitarist and back up vocalist, was gracious enough to talk with me about the tour, their music, and life in an up and coming band.

How did the band start? I've heard three versions of how the band started, one was that it formed in Ireland, another was that half formed there the other here, and I've heard a version that you formed here in the states.

Really? I've never heard that. The band formed in a pub in L.A. called Molly Malone's. Dave [King] played there every Monday night. It started by him needing an accordion for a night, then a bassist, or a fiddler. Over the next year and a half, the band formed.

What are the band's influences? Obviously, traditional Irish music and punk, but the songs seem to have other influences as well.

Yeah. You could not get seven more different people together. When you have that many people in a band, diversity results. All of our individual influences make up the sound.

You hinted at the song making process, is that where the influence plays in?

Dave is the principle song writer. He writes the lyrics and most of the melodies. He provides the bones of the music, the rest of us shape it from there. Someone will come up with an ending to the song or add something to it. That's where the rest of us put in our influence.

Touring is obviously very fun and exciting as well as stressful at times, what are some of the things you guys do to cope with stresses as well as enjoy the highs more?

With a band this big, it's a lot like a big family. We get through it because we all do it for the love of music. As for the low points, technology helps with that a lot. Laptops and Ipods keep us in touch with the rest of the outside world. We all have cell phones so we can talk to our families and loved ones. I, personally, love to tour so when I get to the high points it's hard for me to come down.

You guys have a lot of fan favorites, but what are some songs you guys really enjoy performing?

I love to perform "Black Friday Rule" because of the guitar solo. We also like to perform "Devil's Dance Floor."

Can Talk about "Whiskey on a Sunday?" What exactly is it?

I could tell you hadn't seen it because you asked how the band formed. It's basically a DVD documentary about the band. It has some live footage, but it's more of a documentary. It's a personal behind the scenes look at the band. Jim Dziura followed us around for two years. It has a lot of interviews. It also has a bonus disc with the soundtrack to the DVD that has a lot of acoustic and live performances. Basically, the story of the band is told in this thing.

The band website has two links to democracy in action and save Darfur. Some of your songs have obvious political messages. How important is that political awareness to the band?

The two causes yes. We did the Punk Vote Tour for the 2004 elections. The focus was not a specific political platform, but just to get young people registered to vote. So that is important, but I think, as a band, we try to find a balance with our music. Our music is more about what life is about, real life. Politics are a part of that, but so is love, friendship, and having a good time.

What's the difference between touring with Warped Tour and headlining your own tour?

Warped Tour is a lot like summer camp. They had something like 90 bands rotated throughout the tour. We would do our half hour set, then we got the rest of the day to get into trouble. There were also a lot of people, which also meant there was more trouble to get into. We got to spend the entire tour caching out other bands. This tour we're traveling with three bands. We all know each others music so even though every night is a little different, we could miss a show and not really miss much.

What some of your pre-show rituals?

I've been getting that question a lot. I do some stretching before every show. I'm also up to 5 or 6 shots of Jack Daniels. It was 2 or 3 when the tour started. The band has been watching AC/DC "Family Jewels" a lot on the bus. That gets us really pumped up to do a show.

Who's the biggest snorer?

There are two kinds. Aaron, our tour manager, sounds like Satan when he snores. It's like he's growling at us in his sleep. It's creepy and hilarious at the same time. Then there's Sparky, our guitar tech, who snores loud and often. I bunk across from him so I actually have to wear earplugs to get to sleep. Let me tell you, there's nothing more frustrating than watching someone snore their head off while you can't get to sleep (head said with a smile).

What is one of the craziest things you've seen while touring?

Last night [Oct. 26] we played in Milwaukee. This girl walked up to us and showed us her Flogging Molly tattoo she got on the inside of her wrist. That night we saw that tattoo on like 30 people. It's a pretty visible place for a tattoo, so we thought that was pretty cool.

Flogging Molly is starting to become a mainstream band. I remember a few years ago, I'd tell people about FM and no one had a clue who you guys were, but now I tell people and they know your music. Considering the tattoo thing, what is it like dealing with the band's growing popularity?

I don't know if I would call us a mainstream band, but it is really nice to know that more and more fans are appreciating our music. You don't how gratifying it is to hear fans getting the music and connecting to it. I know tonight's show will probably not sell out, but we played Columbia and Urbana with a sold out crowd and those shows were really awesome. It's really great to know that our hard work is paying off. I had a soldier tell me that our music got him through the worst of his tour. I had a mother tell me she brought her kids to the show because of our music. This band started in a bar and now here we are like 10 years later.

The band always puts on a great show in Chicago, Oct. 27 was no exception because of the history they share with Chicago. Their first two major albums, "Swagger" and "Drunken Lullabies," were recorded here. Flogging Molly will take some time to be with their families, which is a sentiment they all share after two and a half years away from loved ones. For more information on the band, democracy in action or save Darfur, or if you want to buy "Whiskey on a Sunday" or the other albums, visit the official website at www.floggingmolly.com.

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