Flogging Molly *interview with Dennis Casey*
Flogging Molly
Dave King lead vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán, banjo, spoons
Bridget Regan fiddle, tin whistle, uillean pipes, vocals
Dennis Casey guitar, vocals
Matt Hensley accordion, concertina
Nathen Maxwell bass guitar, vocals
Bob Schmidt mandolin, banjo
George Schwindt drums, percussion
Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly is a seven-piece Irish band that not only plays some damn good tunes but puts on a great live show. You have to give props to any band that has all original members, and SEVEN members at that! Whew… wouldn’t wanna see that bus-bathroom! 🙂
During the 2009 Warped Tour, I had the chance to talk with guitarist, Dennis Casey. We had the chance to discuss the tour, future records and more! Check it out!
(yeah yeah, another late interview! narf!!)
With Dennis (bass, Flogging Molly) post-interview… and laundry.
How has the tour been going so far? How many dates have you all played?
This is actually our first day.
Are you excited to be here?
Yeah, this is I think our sixth time doing Warped Tour. It’s great!
How do you feel about playing to the younger audience that Warped Tour brings out?
I feel old… Haha, no I think in the beginning it was really more stressful because you’d be setting up and some kid would be laughing at the guy with the accordion, because you know, it’s Warped Tour! But then, people would stay and really get into it.
Live @ Warped 2009, Indianapolis
Where do you guys live when you’re not touring?
I live in Rochester, NY. The other band members live in Ireland, some live in Colorado, one lives in San Diego, and one in Ohio.
So how do you work out a practice schedule, or do you?
We don’t practice because we tour a lot. When we get together to write a record, we set out blocks of time. In other words, a place where we can go. Two years ago, we wrote our record in Ireland, because Dave, our singer, lives there and he lives near the coast so there’s a lot of vacation homes you can rent. So we rented a house, for like a month in January and then went on tour, came back and had some time off and rented another house and rehearsed. And through several writing sessions, we recorded the record at the end of that year.
Where do you record, in Ireland?
This time we did, but other times we’ve done it in LA and two in Chicago. With this one, if you draw an X over Ireland, it’s right in the middle of it, but it’s also right in the middle of nowhere. It was a really great experience; you’re really isolated. Well, that’s only great for a little while and then you kind of go crazy. But they had a pub attached to the place and they did have to cater it, because it’s like at least an hour from a town.
Do you work with the same producers?
No, this last one, Ryan Hewett did, and he’s worked with a ton of different people. The biggest thing he did was the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He did their last record.
How does playing a huge stadium compare to smaller shows?
I guess it can be more intimidating, because everyone’s there to see like, Green Day and The Foo Fighters. [*i.e. bands they’ve played large venues with] You guys seem like music people so you’d probably want to listen to opening bands, but a lot of people are just, you know, there to see them.
Live @ Warped 2009, Indianapolis
Do you get butterflies or nervous sometimes at a really big show?
No, not so much anymore, more excited. But I have a funny Warped Tour story. I think it was our first or second year playing, and you know how the stages are small, and I stand on the edge. Lars from Rancid comes and sits down on a case like two feet away from me, and I was like, man I’m not making any mistakes!
Where do you see Flogging Molly in five or ten years?
Rehab. Haha, no I think still doing what we’re doing. Same thing. Yep!
Are you all working on anything right now?
We are having a very light year, that’s why we’re only doing two weeks of this so we can take time to write… individually. It comes really quick when we all write together, and Dave our singer, he writes the lyrics and the bulk of the songs, so he needs space to do that. He’s kind of a writer that needs isolation.
Live @ Warped 2009, Indianapolis
What do you all do in the off time, do you all have jobs?
I’m a full time dad.
You have seven members. Has it always been seven?
Always. Always seven, same lineup.
What was it like when you were first getting out on the road, with seven people piling into a van with gear and stuff?
Yeah we did it with a van, haha. You know, we romanticize about those days, because when something’s new like that… I mean we all quit our jobs. I think there was one or two of us that had good jobs, so it was kind of hard for them, but I was a house painter so I didn’t give a shit. It’s funny how we seem to remember a lot of stories from those days. I mean the first year, we just had the time of our lives. There were all these places we’d never been, and the year after that we did the Warped Tour.
Do you find the Warped Tour to be more exhausting than a regular tour?
It can be because we do signings and interviews. It could be tiring, but the way we do it now, it’s not so bad. The first year we did it, we sold our own merch and we did the whole tour, and we had no tech or anything like that.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Thanks to you and our fans, you know, without you, without them it would just be kind of…silly! 🙂
Live @ Warped 2009, Indianapolis
Live @ Warped 2009, Indianapolis
Official Website
MySpace
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About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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