If you’re looking for a band that exudes nothing but high energy when they’re onstage, look no further than Flogging Molly.
The seven-piece Irish collective known for vibrantly boisterous tracks like Drunken Lullabies, Devil’s Dance Floor, If I Ever Leave This World Alive, and Requiem for a Dying Song pours mandolin, banjo, accordion, tin whistle, fiddle, guitar, bass, and drums into a teeming sonic cauldron to create a unique blend of traditional Irish music with a punk/pop edge.
“That’s what’s great about our band,” observes Flogging Molly electric guitarist Dennis Casey. “We’re such a diverse bunch. We have such diverse instrumentation, and so many influences. We can really cull our sound from a lot of different areas.”
Casey called Palm Springs Life during a brief tour break to discuss his love of Southern California, the thrill of attending generator parties, and how audience reaction can help change the tempo of a show.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF FLOGGING MOLLY
Dennis Casey (far right) says diversity is a great strength of Flogging Molly’s sound.
What were your initial impressions when you first came to Southern California?
“My first experience was back in 1990, after I moved there from Rochester, New York. Actually, I stopped in Las Vegas first, and that turned into 8 months — but that’s a different interview. (both laugh) I finally made it to L.A., and I was completely in awe of everything. I didn’t know anybody, so I was a lost soul, trying to find my way around. I moved downtown because I thought that was L.A., but I didn’t realize until later that it really wasn’t.”
Did you move out west to pursue a music career?
“Yeah. I wanted to be a professional musician, and I knew I wasn’t gonna do that in Rochester, so I moved to L.A.”
Well, you didn’t have to deal with those Rochester winters anymore, for one thing. That must have been a big change for you.
“The weather blew me away! Coming from Rochester, I was all excited about that. But it was a whole culture shock, not knowing anybody at first. Finding my way was a real joy and a challenge. At this point, it’s been quite rewarding.
“I’ll never forget it — I had a shaved head back then, and I didn’t realize how badly you could get burned! (chuckles) I burned my head so bad one year, because I didn’t realize even on overcast days you could get burned as well.”
Have you have a chance to hang out in the Palm Springs area at all?
“I’ve never hung out there, but we’ve played there before. One of the greatest punk bands ever is from out there — Throw Rag. I love those guys. They’re great guys, and an exceptional band. They don’t play anymore, but I think Sean Wheeler, the singer [who performed in Throw Rag as Captain Sean Doe], still lives out in Palm Springs.”
Flogging Molly appeared on The Jimmy Kimmel Show on St. Patrick’s Day this year.
Did you ever go to any of those generator parties? [Back in the day, bands like Kyuss often threw semi-impromptu jam sessions/parties out in the desert, using gasoline-powered generators to provide electricity for their equipment.]
“Yeah, I went to one of those, but it wasn’t Kyuss. It was in the middle of nowhere out in the desert with generators, and it was kind of a new experience for me. I had no idea what to expect. I went to this party out there, and it was wild.”
You’re mainly a Telecaster guy. Who would you consider your influences on guitar? Who did you look up to?
“In the beginning, when I was learning the guitar, it was all the typical stuff — Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, AC/DC, and other guitar-driven music. When I heard Jimi Hendrix playing guitar, that made me want to play it — not that I can come even remotely close to him. And then I found the Dead Kennedys, and I went down that road. I branched out and discovered all these other kinds of music.
“I’m a huge music fan, but I don’t come from a musical family, so I was finding everything myself. I worked at a record store back in Rochester, and I would spend my whole paycheck buying records. I bought records from everywhere. I have over a couple thousand of them now, and then there are my CDs. Moving is awful! (both laugh) So, in a long-winded way, that’s me saying I devoured music.”
After 5 years, Flogging Molly finally released some new music back in the spring when you made the song The Hand of John L. Sullivan available digitally. Is that a preview of things to come? Will a full album be on the way too?
“We are still in the writing phase. We’re probably going to go in the studio in the fall to finish it up. We already had John L. Sullivan done, and thought it would be great to release it as a single around St. Patrick’s Day. I don’t know if that’s old school, though — releasing singles.”
I’d say that’s new school, actually. A lot of bands do it that way these days.
“People consume music differently now. You can do whatever you want, with the way attention spans are now. I think it was great for us just to throw a single out there. The response has been overwhelming live. We recently got back from a 3½-week tour of Europe, and the reaction was the same as it was to any of our best-known songs.”
I think people have been waiting to hear something like this from you for quite some time now. You’ll be playing John L. Sullivan for the folks who come to the Morongo show, right?
“Oh, absolutely. We hadn’t put any new music out for a while, and it’s a fairly immediate song. It’s really catchy. It kind of hearkens back to our ‘older’ sound. A lot of people have even said it could go on one of our earlier records. I think all of those things combined make it really connect with people live.”
I like the way your guitar strumming comes in after the “Oh-oh, oh-oh” vocal break.
“When we’ve been doing it live, we’ve been extending that part, but it gets a little bit difficult sometimes if the audience gets too exuberant and changes the tempo, you know what I mean? It gets really fast, but it just means I have to focus more.” (chuckles)
Flogging Molly, 9 p.m., Aug. 5 at Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, 49500 Seminole Drive, Cabazon, 951-849-3080; www.morongocasinoresort.com