UPDATE: June 3, 3:37 p.m.: Fingerprints Music is giving away eight tickets to a secret Flogging Molly show (in LA somewhere) to give
away with the purchase of the new album, Speed of Darkness.
Original Post: June 2, 11:23 a.m.:Irish punk band Flogging Molly originally formed in the mid-90s in LA, but since 2006, singer Dave King and his wife/band mate Bridget Regan have split their time between Ireland and Detroit, where they wrote their most recent album, Speed of Darkness. Dave King speaks here about our collapsing economy, and how he relates to Detroit after living in Ireland.
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You described the new record as “It's Irish–but it's its own type of Irish.” What did you mean by that?
I think it obviously will always be Flogging Molly but in some ways it's a harder sound but in other ways it's a purer sound. You feel very comfortable musically. We weren't afraid to take chances. Well, we never were, but you know. It's always been a bit of a challenge. We've always tried to challenge ourselves as well and I think it's a very good example of that.
What records were you listening to when you wrote the album?
Lots of things. Nick Cave. We listen to so many things… especially vinyl, we love to play vinyl at home. Lots of old albums, like Bowie. Leonard Cohen. Johnny Cash, of course, the Dubliners.
As a world-renowned musician you reach so many people through your records and live shows, what do you think you can you do to help fix the current situation we're in?
Yeah, I think we're not the type of band that can run away from a situation that affects us, no matter what it is. A lot of people tend to shun what's going on right now, but the thing about it is, by raising these issues, by singing–well first of all, we're musicians, we don't have the solutions for companies that have made bad decisions. What we see are the results of it, the everyday man and woman affected by it, and that's who we sing for. Touring on songs from the new album, I think have had an immediate effect. I think if we're singing about that, it's in the fulcrum, hopefully in the fulcrum of people's hearts.
Are you hopeful about the future?
It's a shitty time right now, but you know what, I still believe there's a lot of hope in the future in what we're doing as a community, and I want to convey that as well.
FLOGGING MOLLY AT THE FOX THEATER, 301 S. GAREY AVE., POMONA. FRI. JUNE 3. 7:30 PM. $32.50 ADV / $35 DOS. FOXPOMONA.COM.
