If you waited until the day of to purchase tickets for First Ave's Flogging Molly show, you are likely regretting that decision now.
Not surprisingly, the group has sold out their show tonight at First Ave. It's part of their annual Green 17 tour - and this time they are also promoting their new album, Speed of Darkness.
I was able to chat with the guitarist, Dennis Casey, before the show - check out our interview below (you will also be able to listen to it on this week's episode of Minnesotunes.
And if you are amongst the lucky ones with tickets - I look forward to seeing you tonight. Flogging Molly is certainly one of those guaranteed to deliver bands.
Michelle: How is the tour going?
Dennis: We’re on our annual Green 17 tour. I would say it’s going really well. We’re about halfway through, we’re playing songs from our record, and the response has been great – a lot of shows have been sold out, so yeah, it’s going well.
Michelle: I know that everyone in Minneapolis is really excited about the show. When I mentioned that I was speaking to you today, a bunch of my friends were really excited – I think a bunch went out and bought tickets.
Dennis: Awesome. We’re playing at First Ave, I think – that’s a great club.
Michelle: It’s wonderful – it’s one of my favorite places to cover a show. So, the Green 17 tour happens every year in celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day?
Dennis: Yeah, the whole idea was that we were always asked to play in specific cities on Saint Patrick’s Day – everyone always wanted us to play in their particular town. We couldn’t do that, so we said, “Why don’t we just build a tour around it?” I think this is the seventh year.
Michelle: How long does the tour last?
Dennis: This one goes until March 20th. The whole idea was that it was supposed to be 17 cities. I don’t know what happened this time, but we added more shows. Probably because we’ve got a new record coming out.
Michelle: The new record comes out on May 24th, right?
Dennis: They changed the date – now it’s May 31st.
Michelle: I read that this album was created against the backdrop of Detroit. How has that changed the sound of this album in comparison with previous ones?
Dennis: I wouldn’t say sound-wise it’s too different. It’s been a few years since we made our last album. Lyrically, Dave, our singer – he lives in Ireland and Detroit – he went there before the economy tanked. He was there during it and he saw the effect that it had on the city and it’s in a lot of the narrative on the record.
Michelle: I actually read something really interesting referring to Floatand Speed of Darknessas companion pieces, because they are both about very similar places. Is that something you’d agree with?
Dennis: Oh yeah, on many different levels. They’re connected in a sense that, sonically, the band has tried to push our boundaries and try going in new directions where we haven’t gone before. We wrote both outside Los Angeles. There are all these little commonalities that they have. The first three records we wrote in LA, and then everyone moved out of LA. Everybody lives all over the world now. It’s almost like Floatwas a stepping-stone to Speed of Darkness. We couldn’t have made Speed of Darknesswithout making Floatfirst. That wasn’t a conscious decision. It was a natural progression that felt good. We wouldn’t have gone as far as we did with Speed of Darknessif we hadn’t made Floatfirst.
Michelle: What does it sound like when Flogging Molly pushes the envelope? Your simple existence is kind of envelope pushing.
Dennis: We tried different rhythms, different ways of approaching songs, it’s not even a conscious thing, at times; it’s just whatever sounds good. This different sound will pop up and it’ll be like, “Let’s go with this.” It’s like a road comes up and you take it – you don’t know where you’re going to end up, but it’s a fun ride. That should be how you judge it too – if you’re having fun and it feels good, to me, you know you’re doing something right.
Michelle: Did the local music scene in Detroit influence the album at all?
Dennis: We spent a lot of time there. People say that with the new single, “Don’t Shut ‘Em Down,” there’s a definite Motown influence. But there are seven different members, so I don’t think that we can exhaust all our influences in our lifetime. I don’t think it’s a particular geographical thing that influences the band because Floatwas done in Ireland and I don’t think it had more of an Irish sound. Once you close the garage door, you can be anywhere. You’re just in the basement or garage and there are no windows.
Michelle: Speaking of musical influences, I know you guys get asked about that all the time. What non-musical influences do you have, personally?
Dennis: Books. I like to read books. Funny you should say that – the last great book I read was called Into the Heart of the Seaby James Mori. It’s a book about a whale expedition gone bad. The crew has to live on a little, tiny boat and they’re lost at sea for ninety days. I won’t go through the whole book, but I showed Dave the book and this guitar idea I had from reading the book and we wrote a song together for the CD.
Michelle: Which song is it?
Dennis: It’s called “Heart of the Sea.”
Michelle: I suppose I could have figured that one out on my own. Do you have a favorite book, or is that a completely unfair question?
Dennis: No, it’s not an unfair question. That has to be one of them. That was one book that just floored me when I got done reading it. But honestly, my favorite book that I’ve ever read and I’ve bought five copies for different people was called The Roadby Cormac McCarthy. To me, that’s one of the greatest books I’ve ever read.
Michelle: That’s absolutely a classic. What are you listening to right now?
Dennis: Right now, we’ve been getting a lot of mixes. I’ve been listening to our CD a lot because we were sent mixes and we had to listen to it. Outside the band, I like the new Radiohead, I’ve been listening to that.
Michelle: Do you have music that you listen to when you are on tour?
Dennis: I don’t have a lot of things that I do, personally – I don’t have a lot of hobbies. In my free time I like to either read or go out and hang out with friends or I like to devour music. I’m always looking for new music. With the invention of the iPod, it makes it a lot easier to bring your whole record collection on the road with you. Before you had to pick 15 CDs. I usually listen to new stuff that I haven’t heard, because I have time on the road.
Michelle: Do you have a favorite song that you like to play live?
Dennis: I like to play the new version of “Black Friday” – it’s got a long guitar solo in it, so I’m kind of partial to that. We’re doing it the old way we used to do it, the electric version. We did an acoustic version for years, but now we’re back doing the electric version. It’s nice to get back to doing that.
Michelle: I saw that you guys will be playing Coachella. Is that your first time at the festival?
Dennis: No, it’ll be our second.
Michelle: Do you like doing the big, huge festivals?
Dennis: Yes, of course. It’s quite a rush playing for thousands and thousands of people. Backstage you get to act like more of an idiot.
Michelle: Why do you get to act like more of an idiot?
Dennis: Because you have more room to move around and act like an idiot.
Michelle: Oh – fair enough. I get it.
Dennis: The stages are really big.
Michelle: What are you most looking forward to next?
Dennis: I’m looking forward to playing Europe again. We haven’t played there for awhile. I kind of miss it over there, so I’m looking forward to getting back over there. With the new record coming out, we’ll be touring quite a bit.
Michelle: Do you like touring?
Dennis: I actually do. The best thing is just playing the music. The hardest part is missing your family, but it’s all worth it. It’s the greatest job – I’ve always wanted to do this.
Michelle: I won’t keep you for too much longer – my last question is what’s the best show you’ve ever attended?
Dennis: The best show I’ve ever attended? It’s a toss up between Rage Against the Machine at the Paladium and U2 at Dodger Stadium.
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