Interviews

Flogging Molly

Interview with Dave & Matt on Nov 30, 1999 by Archive Bot

I'd like to thank Dave King, Matt Hensley, and Gary for making this interview happen. The interview took place on November 23rd, in Philadelphia at The True Believers Tour with The Bouncing Souls. Interview with Dave and Matt (Flogging Molly). 

PB: What's a Flogging Molly?
FM: (Dave) We all met at this bar called Molly Malone's in Los Angeles. We started to play there and we thought that we were "flogging" it to death. It also has a nice little twist on the Irish things. We aren't thrashing Irish music but we are definately tearing it up a notch. It's really just because we felt like we were "flogging" it to death.

PB: What's happening with the new album. Is there a name or release date yet? What can we expect from it?
FM: (Dave): We recorded it in Chicago a few weeks ago, and we are going back to mix it in LA after this tour. I think we are going to call it "Drunkin Lullabies" and we are going to do three new songs on it. It's a really kick ass fuckin album. Even the slow songs are kick ass, they are so good. It's wonderful to have songs with some much going on and they're rockin, then you have songs with barely anything going on but there is still this rockin kind of way. I'm personally very happy. We recorded fifteen songs on it but we'll probably pick eleven. There's quite a bit of banjo on this one and some pipes on it. 


PB: I read you have a love/hate relationship with Ireland please explain.....
FM: (Dave): I love Ireland. I miss the smell of Ireland..... I miss the people of Ireland. Then on the other hand I left with a very bitter taste in my mouth. I was in a band over there at the time and I got an offer to come to America. The band was like "Dave you've got to go for it. You've got to take it". As soon as I left the country the radio and TV stations were calling me a whore, because the band was going to be the next big thing out of Ireland but it never really materialized. I had my mother calling me reading the newspaper crying. So, I've got to go back and when I go back I'm going back in Christmas for the first time in eight years. I've got to say hi to a few people. When I do that hopefully I can have some peace.

PB: Not a lot of people know Flogging Molly included Matt Hensley a world-reknowned skater. What are some things about the band that not a lot of people know?
FM: (Dave) Matt's actually gay.

PB: You don't find many gay skaters out there.
FM: (Dave) I know it's great. Well everyone thinks Bridget's really quiet, but she's a rocker.
FM: (Matt) It's all pretty straight forward if you know what I mean.

PB: What do you guys enjoy doing when not on the road?
FM: (Dave) Relaxing, playing billiards with Hensley here.

PB: He's a gay skater, musician, billiards player? He's an all-star man.
FM: (Matt) There's nothing like going on hot dates with guys I love playing Billiards with! 

PB: You guys have called The Pogues "pure genius". What other bands have rubbed off on Flogging Molly?
FM: (Dave) I think The Pogues were a big influence on me in the sense that maybe The Dubliners were. The was this band The Dubliners years ago (and that was actually the first album I had. That and Johnny Cash) and The Dubliners had no drums and no bass. Accoustic guitars, fiddles, bandjos, and some tin whistles. Those guys were the shit! They did a couple of things with The Pogues. I feel that Flogging Molly is an extension and from the same three. The Pogues have reformed again and they are doing a tour of Europe (and I'm going to see them on the 20th). I'm trying to get them to come over here to do a tour together.

PB: Flogging Molly's songs go from personal to flat out festive. How does the lyric writing process work and is the whole group invloved?
FM: (Dave) "Devil's Dance Floor" and "Sentimental Johnny" are actually really personal songs. I was in this Irish bar one night and I just split up with my girlfriend so I was feeling like shit. There was this guy at the bar who was about eighty years of age and he was sitting at the bar talking about when he met Elvis and Johnny Cash and I'm like "fuck I got to get into this conversation here". So sit beside him and his name is Johnny. His favorite song is Sentimenal Journey so I called the song Sentimenal Johnny. It's like a celebration of that person and that's what makes it special. Matt wrote the music for that one. We collaborate on some things. Genrally speaking I have the bulk of ideas for some things. We all make suggestions what should go here and what should go there. I can only sing my own lyrics ya know?

PB: Thanks for taking the time to talk to punkbands.com. What else can we (Flogging Molly Fans) expect from the band following the True Believers Tour with the Bouncing Souls?
FM: (Dave) The new album is a further extension about what we're about.
FM: (Matt) It feels like it fits perfectly right behind the first album.
FM: (Dave) It's going to come out right around St. Patty's Day. Then we're going to Europe and hopefully Japan. We have a bit of interest over there. We're gonna be busy and have two months off after this. Thanks very much!