Flogging Molly
Encyclopedia
Flogging Molly is a seven-piece Irish-descendant band from Los Angeles, California
, that is currently signed to their own record label, Borstal Beat Records.
featuring guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke
of Motörhead and bassist Pete Way
of UFO
in the early to mid '80s. 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. 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.
titled Alive Behind the Green Door
, as well as five studio albums: Swagger, Drunken Lullabies, Within a Mile of Home, Float
and Speed of Darkness
; 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.
In March 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. A year later 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. The album includes the band's first two chart singles, Requiem for a Dying Song (which hit #35 on the Billboard Modern Rock charts) and Float (which hit #40). Another accolade came to the band in June 2009 when their album "Drunken Lullabies" went gold.
While touring to support Float
, Dave and Bridget were married in a private ceremony in Tokyo, Japan. Flogging Molly released a live DVD/CD set called Live At The Greek Theater in March 2010. The 3-disc set (double CD + full-length DVD) captures Flogging Molly’s performance at the Greek Theatre on September 12, 2009, and includes content spanning the band’s entire catalog. The band currently performs live every year on their annual "Green 17 Tour". Beginning in 2004, they recently finished their 7th tour iteration, playing at 30 locations across the United States. The band appeared in the 2011 season premiere of Austin City Limits
.
, The Pogues
, 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 somber songs like "Far Away Boys", "The Son Never Shines (On Closed Doors)", "Life in a Tenement Square" and "Float." Lyrics typically touch on subjects such as Ireland and its history, poverty, 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 Dave King was a young boy.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, that is currently signed to their own record label, Borstal Beat Records.
Early years
Prior to forming Flogging Molly, Dublin-born Dave King was the vocalist for heavy metal band FastwayFastway (band)
Fastway is a British heavy metal band formed by guitarist, "Fast" Eddie Clarke, formerly of Motörhead, and bassist, Pete Way, formerly of UFO.-Career:...
featuring guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke
Eddie Clarke
Edward Allan Clarke better known as "Fast" Eddie Clarke, is a guitarist who was a member of British heavy metal bands Fastway and Motörhead.-Early days:...
of Motörhead and bassist Pete Way
Pete Way
Peter 'Pete' Frederick Way is a bass player.He is the bassist of UFO, Waysted and formerly, Fastway and Ozzy Osbourne....
of UFO
UFO (band)
UFO are an English heavy metal and hard rock band, who were formed in 1969. UFO became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal...
in the early to mid '80s. He later fronted a hard rock band called Katmandu (1991), featuring Mandy Meyer
Mandy Meyer
Armand Mandy Meyer is a Swiss guitar player best known for being a member of the hard rock band Gotthard, the progressive rock band Asia and the heavy metal band Krokus. Meyer has also worked with Cobra, Stealin' Horses and Katmandu. He was born August 29, 1960 in the town of Balcarres,...
of Krokus
Krokus (band)
Krokus is a hard rock/heavy metal band from Switzerland. They enjoyed moderate success in North America during the 1980s.Krokus was founded in Solothurn in 1974 by bassist Chris von Rohr and guitarist Tommy Kiefer...
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
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Ted Hutt
Ted Hutt
Ted Hutt is a British music producer, musician, and song writer residing in Los Angeles, CA. He was the original guitar player and one of the founding members for Flogging Molly...
, bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Jeff Peters, and fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
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. They put out a live album, Alive Behind the Green Door
Alive Behind the Green Door
Alive Behind the Green Door is a live album by the band Flogging Molly, recorded at Molly Malone's in 1997.-Songs:The album features two cover songs, "What's Made Milwaukee Famous " and "De Lilah", which is a combination of "Delilah" by Tom Jones and "That's All Right " by Elvis Presley...
in 1997. In an interview with Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
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 albumLive album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
titled Alive Behind the Green Door
Alive Behind the Green Door
Alive Behind the Green Door is a live album by the band Flogging Molly, recorded at Molly Malone's in 1997.-Songs:The album features two cover songs, "What's Made Milwaukee Famous " and "De Lilah", which is a combination of "Delilah" by Tom Jones and "That's All Right " by Elvis Presley...
, as well as five studio albums: Swagger, Drunken Lullabies, Within a Mile of Home, Float
Float (Flogging Molly album)
Float is the fourth studio album by the Irish-American punk band Flogging Molly. It was released on March 4, 2008, and debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling about 48,000 copies in its first week It also reached number one on the Billboard Independent Chart and number two...
and Speed of Darkness
Speed of Darkness (Flogging Molly album)
Speed of Darkness is the name of the fifth studio album by the Irish-American Celtic punk band Flogging Molly that was released on May 31, 2011. The album was recorded at Echo Mountain, an old church building turned recording studio in Asheville, NC. The album was produced by Ryan Hewitt, who has...
; and an acoustic/live DVD/cd combo Whiskey on a Sunday, which has gone platinum. They have toured with the Warped Tour
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour is a touring music and extreme sports festival. The tour is held in venues such as parking lots or fields upon which the stages and other structures are erected. The BMX/skateboarding shoe manufacturer Vans, among others, has sponsored the tour every year since 1995, and it is...
, Larry Kirwan
Larry Kirwan
Larry Kirwan is an expatriate Irish writer and musician, most noted as the lead singer for the New York based Irish rock band, Black 47....
's American Fléadh Festival and contributed to the Rock Against Bush
Rock Against Bush
Rock Against Bush was a project mobilizing punk and alternative musicians against the 2004 U.S. Presidential re-election campaign of George W. Bush...
project. They have sold in excess of a million and a half copies of recorded output as of December 6, 2006.
In March 2007, the band released an exclusive EP through iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
entitled Complete Control Sessions. The EP includes two new tracks, as well as acoustic versions of previously released songs. A year later Flogging Molly released Float
Float (Flogging Molly album)
Float is the fourth studio album by the Irish-American punk band Flogging Molly. It was released on March 4, 2008, and debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling about 48,000 copies in its first week It also reached number one on the Billboard Independent Chart and number two...
, 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. The album includes the band's first two chart singles, Requiem for a Dying Song (which hit #35 on the Billboard Modern Rock charts) and Float (which hit #40). Another accolade came to the band in June 2009 when their album "Drunken Lullabies" went gold.
While touring to support Float
Float (Flogging Molly album)
Float is the fourth studio album by the Irish-American punk band Flogging Molly. It was released on March 4, 2008, and debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling about 48,000 copies in its first week It also reached number one on the Billboard Independent Chart and number two...
, Dave and Bridget were married in a private ceremony in Tokyo, Japan. Flogging Molly released a live DVD/CD set called Live At The Greek Theater in March 2010. The 3-disc set (double CD + full-length DVD) captures Flogging Molly’s performance at the Greek Theatre on September 12, 2009, and includes content spanning the band’s entire catalog. The band currently performs live every year on their annual "Green 17 Tour". Beginning in 2004, they recently finished their 7th tour iteration, playing at 30 locations across the United States. The band appeared in the 2011 season premiere of Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits is an American public television music program recorded live in Austin, Texas by Public Broadcasting Service Public television member station KLRU, and broadcast on many PBS stations around the United States...
.
Musical style
Flogging Molly's music is influenced by artists such as The DublinersThe Dubliners
The Dubliners are an Irish folk band founded in 1962.-Formation and history:The Dubliners, initially known as "The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group", formed in 1962 and made a name for themselves playing regularly in O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin...
, The Pogues
The Pogues
The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...
, Horslips
Horslips
Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs based on traditional Irish jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international acts....
, Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, and The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
. The album Within a Mile of Home is dedicated to Joe Strummer
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...
and Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
.
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 somber songs like "Far Away Boys", "The Son Never Shines (On Closed Doors)", "Life in a Tenement Square" and "Float." Lyrics typically touch on subjects such as Ireland and its history, poverty, drinking, politics, love, death, and include several references to the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. "What's Left of the Flag" and "The Likes of You Again" were written as tributes to King's father who died while Dave King was a young boy.
Members
- Dave King – lead vocals, acoustic guitarSteel-string acoustic guitarA steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound...
, bodhránBodhránThe bodhrán is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65 cm in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45 cm . The sides of the drum are 9 to 20 cm deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side...
, banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, spoonsSpoon (musical instrument)Spoons can be played as a makeshift percussion instrument, or more specifically, an idiophone related to the castanets. "Playing the spoons" originated in Ireland as "playing the bones," in which the convex sides of a pair of sheep rib bones were rattled in the same way.- Techniques :# A pair of... - Bridget ReganBridget Regan (musician)Bridget Regan is a self-taught American musician/songwriter who along with her husband Dave King started the Irish-punk band Flogging Molly. Along with violin, she also contributes tin whistle, uilleann pipes, classical guitar and vocals...
– fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
, tin whistleTin whistleThe tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
, uillean pipes, vocals - Dennis Casey – guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, vocals - Matt Hensley – accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, concertinaConcertinaA concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It has a bellows and buttons typically on both ends of it. When pressed, the buttons travel in the same direction as the bellows, unlike accordion buttons which travel perpendicularly to it... - Nathen Maxwell – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - Bob Schmidt – mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new... - George Schwindt – drums, percussion
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Ind. Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels... |
AUT Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
BEL Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... (Fla Flanders Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp... ) |
CHE Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
FIN |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
NLD MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
||||
| 2000 | Swagger
|
128 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002 | Drunken Lullabies
|
104 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | 48 | — | — | ||
| 2004 | Within a Mile of Home
|
20 | 1 | — | 96 | — | — | — | 61 | — | — | ||
| 2008 | Float Float (Flogging Molly album) Float is the fourth studio album by the Irish-American punk band Flogging Molly. It was released on March 4, 2008, and debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling about 48,000 copies in its first week It also reached number one on the Billboard Independent Chart and number two... |
4 | 1 | 27 | 81 | 91 | 26 | 45 | 37 | 36 | — | ||
| 2011 | Speed of Darkness Speed of Darkness (Flogging Molly album) Speed of Darkness is the name of the fifth studio album by the Irish-American Celtic punk band Flogging Molly that was released on May 31, 2011. The album was recorded at Echo Mountain, an old church building turned recording studio in Asheville, NC. The album was produced by Ryan Hewitt, who has... |
9 | 3 | 14 | 83 | 28 | — | 27 | 85 | 59 | 155 | ||
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | |||||||||||||
Live albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US |
US Ind. |
NLD |
|||||
| 1997 | Alive Behind the Green Door Alive Behind the Green Door Alive Behind the Green Door is a live album by the band Flogging Molly, recorded at Molly Malone's in 1997.-Songs:The album features two cover songs, "What's Made Milwaukee Famous " and "De Lilah", which is a combination of "Delilah" by Tom Jones and "That's All Right " by Elvis Presley...
|
— | — | — | |||
| 2006 | Whiskey on a Sunday
|
67 | 3 | 45 | |||
| 2010 | Live at the Greek Theatre Live at the Greek Theatre (Flogging Molly album) Live at the Greek Theatre is a live album by the band Flogging Molly, recorded at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. It was released on March 2, 2010 on SideOneDummy Records... DVD A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions.... ) |
40 | 5 | — | |||
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | |||||||
Extended plays
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2007 | Complete Control Sessions Complete Control Sessions Complete Control Sessions is an online only live six-track EP by Flogging Molly. It was released by SideOneDummy Records on March 13, 2007...
|
Singles
| Year | Title | US Alt. |
Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | "Salty Dog" | — | Swagger | |
| 2002 | "Drunken Lullabies" | — | Drunken Lullabies | |
| 2004 | "The Seven Deadly Sins" | — | Within a Mile of Home | |
| 2008 | "Float" | 40 | Float | |
| "Requiem for a Dying Song" | 35 | |||
| 2009 | "The Lightning Storm" | — | ||
| 2010 | "Punch Drunk Grinning Soul" | — | ||
| 2011 | "Don't Shut 'Em Down" | 39 | Speed of Darkness | |
| "Revolution" | — | |||
| "The Heart of the Sea" | — | |||
| "This Present State of Grace" | — | |||
| 2012 | "Saints & Sinners" | — | ||
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | ||||
External links
- Recent interview article in the International Herald Tribune Asahi Shimbun
- Interview with Dave King in the Irish Independent
- In the dressing room with Flogging Molly, recorded at the Pinkpop Festival in Netherlands, 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