Whip Smart: Flogging Molly Conquers Japan, Tours the States And Jets to Europe
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By Leah Weinberg – themail@folioweekly.com
Just back from a week long stint in Japan, Celtic rockers Flogging Molly are gearing up for another tour of the States before jetting off to Europe in November. Northeast Florida gets a taste of the seven piece irish punk band when Flogging Molly performs at the University of North Florida on Friday, Oct. 21. Guitarist Dennis Casey fought sleep long enough to talk about his recent trip, to reveal the band’s secret to longevity and chat a bit about getting shitfaced on St. Paddy’s Day.
Folio Weekly: When did you return from Japan?
Dennis Casey: Yesterday… It was unbelievably great. The Japanese kids are very, very polite. They’re very passionate about what they like. To have our music reach people who don’t speak the language always blows my mind.
FW: Did it surprise you that an Irish punk band would be popular over there?
D.C.: Yeah… I know that their into Western Culture. I think the fact that there’s I think over 100 million people over there, I’m sure all different kinds of scenes and music are appreciated there. But it blows my mind that you can go all the way across the world and there’s this Japanese kid who doesn’t speak English that well, but he loves the music and he has the CD and T-shirt.
FW: Flogging Molly is closing in on a decade together. How does the band manage to keep it fresh
D.C.: Believing in what you do and loving to play music. After you reach a certain point, I think that is one of the things that bands maybe don’t talk about. The secret to staying together is just loving what you’re doing. Obviously being able to make a living at it, makes it easier to stay together.
FW: Is St. Patrick’s Day your best show every year?
D.C.: Not for me, I imagine a lot of fans would think so. Honestly, this is gonna sound cliché, but it’s the truth. All of them are great. [But] it’s easily one of the biggest shows of the year. Lately we’ve been doing duel gigs. Last year we played a gig in the morning in LA and then flew to Arizona and played at night. I don’t know if you’ve ever gotten drunk twice in one day, now that’s hard work.
FW: Three words to describe Flogging Molly?
D.C.: How about loud fast folk?
