Flogging Molly extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly performing live at the Rock Werchter 2005 festival.
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Celtic punk Punk rock Oi!
Years active	1997–present
Labels	SideOneDummy Records
Website	www.floggingmolly.com
Members
Dave King Bridget Regan Dennis Casey Nathen Maxwell Bob Schmidt George Schwindt Matt Hensley

Flogging Molly is a seven-piece American Celtic punk band that formed in Los Angeles, California and is currently signed to SideOneDummy Records.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early years 1.2 Career 2 Musical style 3 Members 4 Discography 4.1 Studio albums 4.2 Live/compilation albums 4.3 Singles 5 References 6 External links

History

Early years

Prior to forming Flogging Molly, Dublin born Dave King was the vocalist for heavy metal band Fastway featuring guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke of Motörhead in the early to mid 80's. He later fronted a hard rock band called Katmandu (1991), featuring Mandy Meyer of Krokus on guitars. Afterwards, Dave King retained a record deal with Epic records and began to work on a solo album, but began to reconsider his record deal when the label opposed his idea of bringing in traditional Irish instruments. King negotiated out of his record deal to go his own way musically soon after.

In 1993, King met guitarist Ted Hutt, bassist Jeff Peters, and fiddle player Bridget Regan and put together a rock band with a celtic feel. They began to play a mix of Irish traditional and rock. Putting Dave's poetic lyrics to rocking melodies, they played at a Los Angeles pub called Molly Malone's weekly building a small, but loyal following. Together they wrote songs such as Black Friday Rule and Devils Dance Floor, which was the beginning of Flogging Molly's unique sound. Ted and Jeff then left Flogging Molly because an earlier band of theirs received a record deal. Dave and Bridget began to find new members and the current band was formed.

They continued a routine of playing every Monday night at Molly Malone's. Then 17-year old Nathen Maxwell snuck into a show as a fan and soon after joined the band.¹ They put out a live album, Alive Behind the Green Door in 1997. In an interview with Kerrang! magazine, King stated that the band's name comes from the bar (Molly Malone's) that faithfully supported the band from the very beginning, "We used to play there every Monday night and we felt like we were flogging it to death, so we called the band Flogging Molly." They were signed onto SideOneDummy Records after a show when the record company's owners attended a concert and noted their intensity.

Career

Flogging Molly has released an independent (26f Records) live album titled Alive Behind the Green Door, as well as four studio albums: Swagger, Drunken Lullabies, Within a Mile of Home, and Float; and an acoustic/live DVD/cd combo Whiskey on a Sunday, which has gone platinum. They have toured with the Warped Tour, Larry Kirwan's American Fléadh Festival and contributed to the Rock Against Bush project. They have sold in excess of a million and a half copies of recorded output as of December 6, 2006.²

On March 13, 2007, the band released an exclusive EP through iTunes entitled Complete Control Sessions. The EP includes two new tracks, as well as acoustic versions of previously released songs. On December 3, 2007 the band announced through an e-mail to their subscribers that their upcoming album would be called Float.

On March 4, 2008 Flogging Molly released Float, an album dubbed "One of the most important CDs of the year, if not the decade" by Alternative Press. Flogging Molly also recognized the album as influential to their career as their first album recorded in Ireland (though mixed in California) by producer Ryan Hewitt. Fans met the release with great anticipation and enthusiasm, landing it at #4 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart. This release marks the highest chart position for SideOneDummy and the Celtic Punk genre in general. The album includes the band's first two chart singles, "Requiem for a Dying Song" which hit #35 on the Billboard Modern Rock charts ³ and "Float" which hit #40 on the same chart ⁴. Another accolade came to the band in June 2009 when their album "Drunken Lullabies" went gold.⁵

While touring to support Float Dave and Bridget were married in a private ceremony in Tokyo, Japan.

It was announced by the band on Jan 8th on their Twitter that they will be releasing a new live dvd/cd set called "Live At The Greek Theater" on March 2nd, 2010.

This three disc set (Double CD + full-length DVD) captures Flogging Molly’s performance at the Greek Theatre on September 12, 2009. Featuring over 90 minutes of music spanning the band’s entire catalog, from Swagger to Float. The DVD, shot in HD with over ten cameras, showcases the explosive performance. DVD bonus content includes seven Flogging Molly videos as well as behind the scenes interviews with the band.

Musical style

Flogging Molly's music is influenced by artists such as The Pogues, The Dubliners, Horslips, Johnny Cash, and The Clash. The album Within a Mile of Home is dedicated to Joe Strummer and Johnny Cash.

Their music ranges from boisterous celtic punk, like the pirate-themed "Salty Dog", "Cruel Mistress", and "Seven Deadly Sins", or the defiant "What's Left of the Flag", "Drunken Lullabies", and "Rebels of the Sacred Heart" to more sombre songs like "Far Away Boys", "The Son Never Shines (On Closed Doors)", and "Float." Lyrics typically touch on subjects such as Ireland and its history, drinking, politics, love, death, and include several references to the Roman Catholic Church. "What's Left of the Flag" and "The Likes of You Again" were written as tributes to King's father who died while he was a young boy.⁶

Members

• Dave King – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán, banjo, spoons
• Bridget Regan – fiddle, tin whistle, uillean pipes, vocals
• Dennis Casey – guitar, vocals
• Matt Hensley – accordion, concertina
• Nathen Maxwell – bass guitar, vocals
• Bob Schmidt – mandolin, banjo
• George Schwindt – drums, percussion

Discography

Studio albums

• 2000: Swagger
• 2002: Drunken Lullabies
• 2004: Within a Mile of Home
• 2008: Float

Live/compilation albums

• 1997: Alive Behind the Green Door
• 2006: Whiskey on a Sunday
• 2007: Complete Control Sessions
• 2010: Live At The Greek Theater

Singles

• 2000: "Salty Dog"(7")
  • B-side is "Juan El Sentimental", previously released on some international copies of Swagger
• 2002: "Drunken Lullabies"
• 2004: "The Seven Deadly Sins"
• 2008: "Float" (7") (#40 US Mod Rock)
  • B-side is "Man with No Country"
• 2008: "Requiem For a Dying Song" (#35 US Mod Rock)
• 2009 : "The Lightning Storm"

References

External links

• Recent interview article in the International Herald Tribune Asahi Shimbun
• Interview with Dave King in the Irish Independent
• Official website
• In the dressing room with Flogging Molly, recorded at the Pinkpop Festival in Holland, May 30 2008
• Interview with Bob Schmidt in 2007
• Burning Stars Interview with Flogging Molly - 2006
• Flogging Molly Music Videos-Interviews-Live Performance at Roxwel