Flogging Molly

Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly performing live in Baltimore, MD, in February 2010
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Rock, Celtic-Rock, Celtic punk, Folk punk, Punk rock, Folk, Celtic
Years active	1997–present
Labels	SideOneDummy, Burning Heart, Borstal Beat Records
Website	www.floggingmolly.com
Members	Dave King Bridget Regan Dennis Casey Nathen Maxwell Bob Schmidt Mike Alonso Matt Hensley

Flogging Molly is an Irish-American seven-piece Celtic punk band from Los Angeles, California and led by Irish vocalist Dave King, formerly of the hard rock band Fastway. They are signed to their own record label, Borstal Beat Records.

Prior to forming Flogging Molly, Dublin-born Dave King was the lead singer for heavy metal band Fastway featuring guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke of Motörhead and bassist Pete Way of UFO in the early to mid '80s. He later fronted a hard rock band called Katmandu (1991), featuring Mandy Meyer of Krokus on guitars. Afterwards, Dave King retained a record deal with Epic records and began to work on a solo album, but began to reconsider his record deal when the label opposed his idea of bringing in traditional Irish instruments. King negotiated out of his record deal to go his own way musically soon after.

In 1993, King met guitarist Ted Hutt, bassist Jeff Peters, and fiddle player Bridget Regan and put together a rock band with a Celtic feel. They began to play a mix of Irish traditional and rock. Putting Dave's poetic lyrics to rocking melodies, they played at a Los Angeles pub called Molly Malone's weekly, building a small but loyal following. Together, they wrote songs such as "Black Friday Rule" and "Selfish Man", which was the beginning of Flogging Molly's sound. Ted and Jeff then left Flogging Molly because an earlier band of theirs received a record deal. Dave and Bridget began to find new members and the current band was formed.

They continued a routine of playing every Monday night at Molly Malone's. They put out a live album, Alive Behind the Green Door in 1997. In an interview with Kerrang! magazine, King stated that the band's name comes from the bar (Molly Malone's) that faithfully supported the band from the very beginning, "We used to play there every Monday night and we felt like we were flogging it to death, so we called the band Flogging Molly." They were signed onto SideOneDummy Records after a show when the record company's owners attended a concert and noted their intensity.