Monday Music - Flogging Molly: Irish Music With That Extra Bite

For this week's Monday Music I want to look at a band that combines two of my favorite musical styles: punk rock and Irish folk. The relationship between these two is not as far-fetched as you might suspect, but in putting them together there is a band that does it most skillfully, called Flogging Molly.

image source

The Energy of Celtic Folk Music

I remember when I was a kid, my dad came home from a flea market with a bunch of old records, among them a double-album by the famous group of traditional Irish folk, The Dubliners. I used to listen to it up an down, getting tunes of their intensive jigs and reels stuck in my head for days. I could just imagine sitting at the pub, listening to verses, and chiming in to sing along with the choruses full throat. Not unlike Gypsy Music, the exceedingly fast-paced rhythm would seize me, so that I could not sit still.

Since then I've loved Irish Folk Music, which is a lot like Scottish, Cornish, or even traditional English music. (I know, I know, please don't hate me for saying this!) To widen the circle of inclusion further, I also recognized the same Celtic features in Appalachian Folk, Bluegrass, Country Music, as well as the Rock and Roll these branches combined into. But to see a certain long twig (Punk Rock) growing out from this branch and circle back to fully embrace its Irish roots, now that is exactly where Flogging Molly can be found.

Rock Turning Folk at an Irish Pub

Quite appropriately, Flogging Molly has its origins in the great Irish city of Los Angeles. That's where Dublin born Dave King gave up a promising career in the Rock business, for wanting to introduce Irish instruments to his Metal band, and faced opposition by the record company. So instead, King met up with like-minded musicians at a venue that would support his musical taste: an Irish pub called Molly Malone's.

As you can probably guess, the crowd's response was highly favorable, making the band play with even more passion... while not holding back on the noise. Soon this Irish punk group became a regular staple at Molly's, with shows so energetic and intensive, that it seemed like they'd flogged the place to death. This is how the band got its name Flogging Molly, which it has kept until today. Since then they reached international fame, with record deals, worldwide tours, and all that's part of it.

Original Themes in Traditional Forms

Flogging Molly's recipe for excitement lies no doubt in bringing the energy of traditional folk songs to a higher level, using the dirty and powerful sound of punk rock. But they are way beyond the practice of simply playing your favorite drinking songs a bit faster on distorted electric instruments. Their repertoire is full of original songs, following the style of old traditionals.

As such, a lot of their lyrics deal with the old themes of coming from humble (Irish) origins, taking the world by its horns and sailing around it, enjoying a drink and a brawl, not respecting any authority (other than maybe god, and the devil a little bit), but valuing friendships, loving with abandon, and dying as naked as you were born. No wonder this music is associated so much with pirate life, as in this video with Pirates of the Caribbean montage:

Not Unique, Just My Favorite

Granted, Flogging Molly is not the only group who has combined old Irish music with hard and heavy rock. Boston based Dropkick Murphy's come to mind, or even The Pogues or The Young Dubliners, straight from Ireland, as well as many others. Still, no other Irish punk group has had the same effect on me as Flogging Molly. For some reason, they just manage to capture the best combination of tunes and rhythms, ideal for drinking, sailing, fighting, loving, but also for doing physical work. Your heart may be pounding, and you may have to catch your breath, but the fast drum beats together with the intense melody just forces you to go on, for just a little bit more. That is the feeling of Flogging Molly, I hope to share with anyone who hasn't heard their music.