A Conversation with Flogging Molly’s Dave King – HuffPost 6.8.11
Mike Ragogna: Looks like we’ve got Flogging Molly here with us today. Dave, how are you?
Dave King: Doing very well, Mike. How are you?
MR: Let’s dive right in and talk about your album Speed Of Darkness, specifically, the song “Revolution.” It seems to be a commentary on your thoughts about the current social and political state of the world. Can you tell us a little more about what motivated and inspired it?
DK: Yeah. We wrote this album between Ireland and Detroit, and both of those places are mirror images of each other right now, and when we were writing this album, we were noticing that we couldn’t get away from what was going on in the world. Although we don’t really have the ability to change what’s going on, we can be a part of the social commentary as a band. We’re not afraid of that. We couldn’t just turn away from it, especially living in Detroit. For example, we wrote this album in the basement. Every time I went to take the dog out for a walk, I would go around noticing all the boarded up houses and so many people leaving. As I said, I don’t know the ins and outs of why things happen, but I do see the results. I have seen the results of it in the neighborhood that I live in, I really just couldn’t get away from it, and a sense of humor part of all of this is being Irish, because for some reason, being Irish makes you write about the worst things that could happen to you. But we do it with a sense of humor. It’s our way of getting you through it, you know?
MR: Nice. Okay, I know that you’re no politician and don’t claim to be, but what do you feel is going on in America right now?
DK: What I see is, I think, a result of several things going on in the US right now. Living in Detriot, where in the ’70s, it was almost 2.8 million people, it’s now fallen to about 700,000 people living there. Half the schools are closed now.
MR: But don’t you feel that what’s happening in Detroit represents a bigger problem?
DK: Of course. Because we’re a touring band, we get to see a lot of the nation. We noticed on our last tour that a lot of the little spots that we used to go to are gone. People just aren’t really able to make ends meet, and it’s the same in Ireland. People are now immigrating to Australia. It’s back to that again, you know. In Ireland, they were giving mortgages to people that people couldn’t afford to pay. We got ghost towns now in Ireland. Companies are building houses and there’s no one in them. We have a house in Detroit right now, and it’s a very modest little place and we pay over $8,000 in taxes every year on that house. Now, we’re a touring and working band, but can you imagine trying to pay that if you’d just lost your job and had to pay that on top of the already ridiculous mortgage payments?
MR: I know. It has seemed, for a while, that the world had become very coarse and cold in these terms. Do you think it might be getting any better?
DK: I think it is in certain areas. I know people in Ireland, for example, have lost their forms of income in the building industry. But I know one person who, believe it or not, set up their own animal farm with a restaurant inside of it, and I went down there recently and the place was packed–kids and families everywhere. I know it sounds menial, but they just thrust themselves into something completely different from their original occupation and it worked out. I also have friends in Detroit who have opened up restaurants. They’ve actually gone into buildings that were derelict and turned them into amazing little places, doing all the labor themselves, rebuilding a community. I think that’s what we need…we need a community spirit back down at the root level. I really think we can overcome all of this. That’s the thing, I like singing about all of this stuff, but only because I truly believe in the human spirit.
MR: Beautiful. Let’s go back and talk about your latest album Speed Of Darkness, which I think is my favorite Flogging Molly album thus far. It almost seems like a concept album. What went into creating the songs for this one?
DK: It’s funny you should say that, Mike. Every interview that I did when we recently toured through Europe thought that this was a concept album. (laughs) There is definitely a cohesion to this album that I don’t think we’ve really had before, and I think that’s what might make it seem like a concept album. In a way, it is a concept album because it’s about life. It’s about having a job and losing a job, or having a love and losing a love. I tried to make it about the things that I’m surrounded by because that’s all I can write about. But as a band, I think we’ve spread our wings musically, and I think as a band, it’s important to do that–you have to feel like you’re growing, especially in an economy that’s halted. But we’ve still got to feel like we’re putting the best music that we can out there, you know? Our fans have grown with us, and it’s just amazing to see the way the crowds still respond to what we do.
MR: I’ve been to one of your shows, it’s like being ringside in an Irish pub.
DK: Well, we bring the spirit of it with us. We played in an Irish pub for about four years every Monday night, so we definitely have that spirit in us. I think that’s a huge part of who we are, and we take that with us wherever we go.
MR: What was the recording process like for this album? Did you do anything differently than you usually do?
DK: Well, the last album we did, we recorded in Ireland and we all had to live together in a house by the studio. That could have been a really bad experience, but it was actually really good. So, this time, we thought we should do it again. We knew we had to be in a place where we’ll be all together. We’re also working with Ryan Hewitt, a great producer, and he had us doing a song a day. For example, if we starting working on “Revolution” in the morning, we would have 90% of that song done by the end of the day, and we always recorded live. It helps you get to know the song better as you’re going through the day. Actually, there were two songs on this album–“This Present State Of Grace” and “So Sail On”–that are completely live recordings. No overdubs or anything.
MR: I think that’s great. That, in my opinion, is the best way to record a song because when you add in all of the other elements and toys, you sometimes lose sight of what the song’s essence is or what it’s truly about as you’re recording it. Do you agree?
DK: Absolutely. When you’re in the studio, you have 17 or 18 songs you need to work on, and when you do it day by day like we did, you do get to know each song as it’s own entity and it’s own song. It helps make it a very cohesive thing, you know? And for a band like Flogging Molly to do a song like “Power’s Out,” something that we’ve never tackled before with a very simple beat, it took that whole day of focusing on just that song to go from that simple beat in my head to what you hear on the album. It’s brilliant. We started in the morning, and by the end of the day, we heard all of these things developing in the song.
MR: I also wanted to say, since you mentioned it, that “So Sail On” is one of my favorite songs on this album. Is there a story behind that one?
DK: That song is a brush with my late father. It’s just my way of tipping my hat to my late father. But, as I said about being Irish, I’m not mourning his death but celebrating his life. That’s the way I try to look at it.
MR: That’s very beautiful. I know there’s a lot of pressure in the music industry for each album to do exponentially better than the last, so are you guys doing anything different in your marketing ? And are you still touring?
DK: Well, we started our own record company. We have a whole new crew behind us now. We did it for the simple reason that SideOneDummy Records, which was a fantastic label, encouraged us to branch out and start our own label. The thing is, we didn’t do this just for this album, we did it as a group venture. We also want to sign new bands that we like. There’s a band we like right now called The Drowning Men who will, hopefully, be joining us on our label so that we can get them out on the road and in front of people. With the economic downturn, it’s very hard for bands right now, especially when you’ve got no outlet. I mean, it’s very hard for a band like Flogging Molly to get on a radio station, and it’s impossible for a band like us to get on MTV. It’s hard for live bands out there, so whatever we can do to get a great young live band out there, we’re trying to do. I think another thing about this album for us is that when we were making it, it just felt so right. We just thought “Let’s take what we’ve learned over the past few years and turn it into something creative.” Not just musically, but as a venture as well.
MR: What advice do you have for new artists?
DK: Well, obviously, you’re doing something that you really love. The thing is that you’re going to get a lot of knocks on the way. I mean, a lot of people are going to disagree with what you think. I think it’s important to start with something that, deep down in your heart, is your own, and don’t be afraid of influences. We certainly weren’t and I think that’s what made us what we are today. If you listen to Flogging Molly’s first album and then you listen to our new album, you can hear the growth and all of our influences from over the years. So, don’t be afraid of your influences and do what you truly believe in.
MR: What’s in the immediate future for Flogging Molly?
DK: Well, right now, we’re in Utah playing at a Festival. Then, I believe we have a little bit of time off before we head to Europe to tour. Then, it’s just playing in festivals in Europe and a few here in the States as well…we’ll be playing at Lollapalooza this year. So, we’re definitely busy for the next 8 months, thank God. (laughs) As I said, we’re very lucky to be a working band and able to get out there and play in front of people. It’s a wonderful experience.
MR: Nicely put. Dave, thank your time. It was great talking to you.
DK: Thank you so much, Mike. It really was a pleasure being here.
Transcribed by Evan Tyrone Martin