Interview by Scott Preston
Photos by Stacy Mitchell/Beat Alley
One of the hardest working bands around, who tour relentlessly, Flogging Molly will be coming to The Madison Theater in Covington, KY on February 14, 2008. The band will also be making an appearance at Shake It Records store in Cincinnati, OH earlier in the day at 5pm. Dave King took a few minutes to speak with me:
Cincy Groove: I understand Matt Hensley just got back with Flogging Molly recently?
Dave King: Yeah he gave us a phone call and said you know guys I think I made a mistake. If you have any room for me, please give me a call. Our answer was of course, there is no question.
Cincy Groove: Is your new album ready yet?
Dave King: Yeah, its done. It will be released on March 4. We are really looking forward to it. We recorded it in Ireland so we are really excited about it. The new songs we are doing are going really, really well.
Cincy Groove: So the band got their start at Molly Malone’s in Los Angeles?
Dave King: Yes, we used to play every Monday night. We felt like we were flogging it to death lol. So it’s Flogging Molly simple as that.
Cincy Groove: How many shows does Flogging Molly play in a year?
Dave King: Last year was one of our more quiet years, we played about 200 shows lol. This year we are already booked up. After America, we goto Australia, Japan, then we goto Europe. Then we come back to America to do Lollapalooza, Coachella Festival.
Cincy Groove: What do you like to do between gigs? or when your not playing music?
Dave King: Years ago, days off meant “Let’s goto the pub and get drunk”. But now we truly take days off, because it all can catch up with you. We all like to do our own thing.
Cincy Groove: Do you have any pre show rituals?
Dave King: Not really, except I get really quiet before shows and really nervous. Contemplate a lot about songs. Being Irish I always see the worst thing happening. I always think of the most obscure things.
Cincy Groove: Who are some of your idols and have you had a chance to play with any of them?
Dave King: That’s actually a very good question Scott. Just before we came over for this tour, we live in Ireland, we got this phone call. It was to do a song with this young fellow we know, his name is Stef. He has a band called The Mighty Stef who we are bring out on tour with us later on in the tour. He was working with Ronnie Drew from The Dubliners. We actually got to record with Ronnie Drew which was incredible. We never thought we would ever get to do something like that. We have heard things like David Bowie is a fan, we heard Bruce Springsteen is fan which is f*cking unbelievable.
Cincy Groove: Flogging Molly also seems to have some extremely dedicated fans.
Dave King: We do, we really, really do. No matter how you feel everyday, you might feel a bit tired. But as soon as you go up on that stage and see those faces its worth it. It really makes it all worth it.
Cincy Groove: When your not on tour and back at home in Ireland what do you like to do?
Dave King: I like to read. I like watching The Discovery Channel, movie channels. Really catching up on things that you don’t get a chance to do when you are on the road. We live in a very small village in Ireland, all the locals are all of our friends. Its a great time to catch up with them and go down to the pub and catch a pint. We do a lot of cooking. We probably cook in 6 nights a week. Your out going to dinner every night when you are on tour. So to cook at home is a god send.
Cincy Groove: Did Flogging Molly collaborate with anybody on the new album?
Dave King: No and the reason for that was that we were in the middle of Ireland in the middle of the country. There was completely nothing around. So we were closed off to the rest of world. So we really focused on this album. We made a unique Flogging Molly album. The songs are very direct very in your face but yet the ballads are beautiful. Its a very retrospective album in a lot of ways.
Upcoming Flogging Molly shows:
February 9 The Fillmore Detroit Detroit, MI
February 10 The Vogue Indianapolis, IN
February 12 House of Blues Cleveland Cleveland, OH
February 13 House of Blues Cleveland Cleveland, OH
February 14 Madison Theatre Covington, KY
February 15 House of Blues Chicago Chicago, IL
February 16 House of Blues Chicago Chicago, IL
February 18 Kool Haus Toronto, ON
February 19 Metropolis Montreal, QC
February 20 The Palladium Worcester, MA
February 21 The Chance Poughkeepsie, NY
February 22 Town Ballroom Buffalo, NY
February 23 Water Street Music Hall Rochester, NY
February 27 The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza New York, NY
February 28 The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza New York, NY
February 29 House of Blues Atlantic City Atlantic City, NJ
Forcomplete show details and how to get tickets for shows visit Flogging Molly’s website
