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Flogging Molly | |
|---|---|
 Flogging Molly in 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Genres | Celtic punk,folk punk |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | SideOneDummy,Burning Heart,Vanguard, Borstal Beat,Rise[1] |
| Members | Dave King Bridget Regan Dennis Casey Nathen Maxwell Matt Hensley Mike Alonso Spencer Swain |
| Past members | George Schwindt Bob Schmidt |
| Website | floggingmolly |
Flogging Molly is an Irish-American seven-pieceCeltic punk band formed in Los Angeles in 1997, led by Irish vocalistDave King, formerly of the hard rock bandFastway. They are signed to their ownrecord label, Borstal Beat Records.
Prior to forming Flogging Molly,Dublin-born Dave King was the lead singer for the heavy metal bandFastway featuring guitarist"Fast" Eddie Clarke of Motörhead in the early to mid-1980s. He later fronted a hard rock band called Katmandu (1991), featuringMandy Meyer ofKrokus andAsia on guitars. Afterward, King retained a record deal withEpic 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 metviolin player Bridget Regan, guitaristTed Hutt, bassist Jeff Peters and drummerPaul Crowder,[2] and put together a rock band with aCeltic music influence. They began to play a mix of Irish traditional and rock music. Putting King's poetic lyrics to rocking melodies, they played weekly at a Los Angeles pub called Molly Malone's, building a small but loyal following. Together, they wrote songs such as "Black Friday Rule" and "Selfish Man", which was the beginning of Flogging Molly's sound. Ted and Jeff then left Flogging Molly because an earlier band of theirs, Reacharound, received a record deal. King and Regan began to find new members and the current band was formed.
They continued a routine of playing every Monday night at Molly Malone's. They put out a live album,Alive Behind the Green Door, in 1997. In an interview withKerrang! 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 ontoSideOneDummy Records after a show when the record company's owners attended a concert and noted their intensity.
The band’s debut studio album,Swagger, arrived on March 7, 2000, their first of many withSideOneDummy. They joined the Vans Warped Tour for the first time that summer alongsideGreen Day,Weezer, andThe Mighty Mighty Bosstones (whom they continued touring alongside in the fall).[3][circular reference]
Drunken Lullabies followed on March 19, 2002, and was certified gold by the RIAA in 2009.[4] They returned to the Warped Tour in 2003 with a lineup that includedThe All-American Rejects andDropkick Murphys.
Within a Mile of Home, released on September 14, 2004, debuted at No. 20 on theBillboard 200. The acoustic/live CD/DVD combo,Whiskey on a Sunday, was released in 2006 and certified platinum two years later. It was followed by the 2007 online-only EP,Complete Control Sessions.
The group’s fourth studio album,Float, debuted at No. 4 on theBillboard 200 in 2008 and produced two well-received singles: "Requiem for a Dying Song" (No. 35 on the Billboard Modern Rock charts)[5] and the title track (No. 40).[5]
March 2010'sLive at the Greek Theatre captured a career-spanning Los Angeles, California performance from the year before as a CD/DVD set. In 2011, Flogging Molly appeared in the season premiere ofAustin City Limits.[6]
2011'sSpeed of Darkness was the band's first album issued through their own label, Borstal Beat Records.[7]
Life Is Good, the band's first new album in six years, arrived in 2017. It is the only Flogging Molly album released viaVanguard Records andSpinefarm. They co-headlined a US tour withSocial Distortion in 2019.[8]
The band live-streamed a St. Patrick's Day performance on March 17, 2021, from Whelan’s Irish Pub inDublin, Ireland. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales went toward Sweet Relief’s COVID-19 Crew Fund.[9] They co-headlined a tour withViolent Femmes the same year.
Flogging Molly released their seventh studio album,Anthem, in 2022, their first withRise Records. They co-headlined a tour withThe Interrupters the same year.[10]
In November 2023, the band announced the inaugural Shamrock Rebellion Fest, scheduled for March 16, 2024, in Silverado, California, and March 17, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada.[11] The Road To Rebellion Tour preceded the fest, with support coming from Amigo The Devil.[12]
Flogging Molly performedThe Pogues' "The Old Main Drag" at the Sinéad & Shane (billed as "a St. Paddy's Celebration ofSinéad O'Connor andShane MacGowan") at Carnegie Hall concert in New York City on March 20, 2024.[13]
After a June 20, 2024, fire damaged Molly Malone's Irish Pub, where the band got their start,[14] the band launched a merchandise line to raise money for the venue and staff.[15]
The band began a European tour on July 19, 2024, which ran through September, with stops at several major festivals, followed by a headlining tour of the United States from late September through mid-October 2024.[16]
From March 13 to 16, 2015, Flogging Molly began hosting a yearly Caribbean cruise. The 2015 Salty Dog Cruise Cruise[17] featured shows by the band and many others, over three days leaving fromMiami toNassau andGreat Stirrup Cay on theNorwegian Sky. All bands performed two times on the stages throughout the ship or on the special stage set onNorwegian's private island of Great Stirrup Cay.
In 2016, from March 18 to 21, the second yearly cruise took the same itinerary on the same ship and hosted, among others,Rancid,Fishbone,Frank Turner,Street Dogs andThe Tossers.
In 2017, theEnchantment of the Seas hosted the third annual cruise that left on March 10 toCoco Cay and Nassau, until coming back to Miami on March 13. The guests invited by the band wereNOFX,DeVotchKa,Less Than Jake,The English Beat,The Skatalites,The Bouncing Souls,Dylan Walshe and many others.
On August 21, 2017, the band announced that the 2018 cruise would take place April 20–23, leaving fromMiami, sailing toKey West and toGreat Stirrup Cay. Originally, the cruise was supposed to take place on theEnchantment of the Seas in 2017; however, the ship was changed, and theNorwegian Sky has been announced. The line-up includesThe Offspring,Buzzcocks,The Vandals,Lagwagon, andMad Caddies, among others.
The Salty Dog Cruise 2023 ran November 8–13, sailing fromMiami toHarvest Caye,Belize, andCosta Maya,Mexico. The line-up included Flogging Molly,Pennywise,Stiff Little Fingers,The Vandals, andGorilla Biscuits, among others, with a Port of Miami kickoff show featuringThe Interrupters.[18]
In late November 2023, the band announced the next Salty Dog Cruise, set for February 17–22, 2025, sailing fromMiami toGrand Cayman, and Ochos Rios,Jamaica. As of December 15, 2023, the 2025 cruise was sold out.[19]
On February 5, 2025, the band announced that they would not be performing on the 2025 Salty Dog Cruise as Dave King is battling a serious health condition.[20] On March 17, on social media, the band announced that King had suffered abrain haemorrhage on January 24th, and underwent two subsequent surgeries to save his life. He had entered the next phase of recovery when the announcement was made.[21]
Flogging Molly's music is influenced by various artists, such asThe Dubliners,The Pogues,Horslips,Johnny Cash, andThe Clash. The albumWithin a Mile of Home (2004) is dedicated to the memories of Cash and The Clash frontmanJoe Strummer.[citation needed]
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, drinking, poverty, politics, love, and death and include several references to theCatholic Church. "What's Left of the Flag" and "The Likes of You Again" were written as tributes to King's father, who died when King was a child.[22]
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