Interview: A Homecoming With Flogging Molly’s Dennis Casey

Irish punk band Flogging Molly is due to hit town on April 12 with a show at Auckland’s Powerstation, their first in New Zealand.

The band was founded by Irish vocalist Dave King more than 20 years ago after he became the original singer for hard rockers Fastway.

But not all of the seven members of Flogging Molly are Irish, as The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda found out when he spoke to guitarist Dennis Casey. In fact, Dennis was in Rochester, New York, Marty’s old home town, so the two of them had some catching up to do.

You can listen in here:

Or, you can read a transcription of the interview here:

MD: I’m Marty Duda and I’m in Auckland, New Zealand today. Where abouts are you?

DC: I’m in Rochester, New York.

MD: Hey hey! That’s where I am from! I moved to Auckland from Rochester in 1994. What are you doing in Rochester? You don’t live there, do you?

DC: Oh! I thought you were teasing. You’re serious!

MD: I’m serious.

DC: Marty Duda – that name sounds familiar. Did you work in radio here?

MD: Yeah WCMF.

DC: 96.5 – Oh my God! Full circle. I just moved back here from Long Island. I moved away in 91, 1990 actually. I’ve been back two times then. I’m in a holding pattern here.

MD: Sounds like Rochester – a holding pattern. Fantastic – well, that’s a coincidence. You left just before I did. Very good. Are you living in the city or in one of the burbs?

DC: First time I moved back I moved into the city. I grew up in the city. And now I’m living in Pittsford in the village.

MD: Very good. I used to live on Parsells Avenue.

DC: OK – I know that well.

MD: Very good. Well… that’s interesting. Cool. Now you guys are just about to play, due some dates on the East Coast anyway. I think you’re going to Boston, whatever. And you’re playing Rochester in March, right?

DC: Yeah, March 2nd. We did…first of all, this is a dream come true, cos now Marty, I’m remembering. I’m remembering you. Were you called the “Duda Man” or something like that?

MD: Well, yeah… I used to do the Roots of Rock & Roll show on CMF on Sunday morning.

DC: This is a real honour because as a kid, I mean, I would never dream of being on the radio and now I’m being interviewed by you. It is, it’s… hmmm, you know, we played the Dome Arena a couple of years ago, which I wanted to share with you, which was quite an honour as well because I’ve seen a lot of concerts there when I was a kid.

MD: Yes, I remember… I think the first one I saw there was Uriah Heep with ZZ Top as their opening act. And the sound was awful! Hopefully, they’ve figured it out by now, but back in the early days of the Dome Arena, it was not good.

DC: Yeah, they put lots of money into the PA.

MD: Excellent! Now I’m curious, when you guys play in Boston, you must get a big reaction because of the whole Boston Irish Catholic thing there. And you have that song, The Hand of John L. Sullivan which is about a Boston Boxer. So what happens when you play in a place like that and how do they react?

DC: Yeah, in Boston you have a lot of people that have Irish heritage or an ancestor from there and there’s a lot of Irish people in Boston. They react like most people anywhere we play. People really get into our music. It’s a fun time. And I think they can relate to it on a certain level. We did start in LA though, so I think LA is more of a home for us. But Boston sure is a town where we do quite well. The Dropkick Murphys are from there and they have that town under wraps.

MD: (laughs)

DC: You know something funny – we do better in Rochester than we do there.

MD: Oh Really? That’s Interesting.

DC: Yeah, Rochester really took to the band.

MD: That’s cool. And whereabouts in Rochester do you play?

DC: We started at The Waterstreet. And then we had to do two nights. And then we moved up to the Main Street Armory and The Dome Arena, so whichever one’s available, it would be the Armory or the Dome Arena.

MD: Cool. So how long have you been in the band?

DC: Twenty years?

MD: Twenty years. So, you’re one of the original guys. How did you get locked in working with these guys?

DC: When I moved out to LA I was playing with another band and one of Dave’s friends saw me and said I would be perfect for Flogging Molly. I auditioned and the rest is history as they say.

MD: And were you into Irish Punk music? Was that something you had been familiar with?

DC: I knew The Pogues and that was the extent of it. Of course, I was really into punk rock and rock & roll and I’m an electric guitar player, so I was really…that’s why I was the noisemaker as they say. But marrying the two – playing next to a woman who plays a little whistle is quite a challenge at times. At the beginning… and I shouldn’t say it was such a challenge, but I found less is more playing in a big band like this, with seven people.

MD: Yeah, cos I imagine you kind of have to find your ‘place’ when there’s like seven members in the band. And like you say, you have tin whistles and whatever, which is not like your basic rock & roll configuration, so you have to rethink what you’re doing, I guess.

DC: Exactly. It was a… I think it’s a chemistry thing though. I mean, after I joined the band, we played out more. We hit the road and we didn’t look back.

MD: Right right. And speaking of chemistry – what’s it like being in a band with a couple like Bridget and Dave? How does that work?

DC: A lot of cliches could be applied to that. (laughs). Marriage… I think, I think, I can’t remember when they weren’t now. I don’t remember how it was before, so it’s fine. They…I think it’s a wonderful thing for them to share the experience together, being in a band and seeing the world and touching people through your music. That’s a wonderful thing to share and yeah, it’s fine. Like I said, it would take me a while to sit here and try to remember what it was like before.

MD: Cool.

DC: It’s not as rowdy.

MD: Now I also see you guys are playing in something called The Beale Street Music Festival, with other people on the roster like Cardi B and The Killers and Gary Clark Jr. It’s a fairly diverse group of people. How do you approach dealing with a crowd that may be hasn’t come to see specifically you guys? Do you have to win them over? Do they know what to expect?

DC: I would think we’re going to do what we always do and I think the idea is… I remember going to Europe and playing the festivals for the first time and people don’t know who you are. But I found that our band is a great festival band cos you don’t have to know every song to enjoy yourself. I think the music and Dave’s vocals and performance, what he’s singing about… I think it’s very engaging and it’s time to just have a little bit of fun and maybe not be so serious or what have you. And I think our band brings that in spades. And I’ve been told by many people who put on festivals in Europe that we’re a great festival band.

MD: Makes sense. And you guys just did a European tour, is that right?

DC: Yes, we just got back Sunday.

MD: I was wondering, because there are political overtones to some of the stuff that you do and just general differences, do you guys go over differently when you play Europe than when you play the US?

DC: No. I think it’s pretty much the same wherever we go. Japan, US, we played South America a couple of months ago and we played a lot of places for the first time. Santiago, Chile. Bilbao… And it’s just kind of mind-blowing that people just knowing their music and having the visceral reaction to the energy you’re putting out. And they give it back. And it’s quite rewarding. So, I don’t notice much difference in that regard.

MD: So this will be the first you’ll be playing in New Zealand, in Auckland. So, there’ll be plenty of folks who are not familiar with what you do live. How would you describe to people what a Flogging Molly show is like for those who maybe unaware of what you guys do?

DC: I would say if anybody wants to come out to a high energy, kick ass, fun time with great songs and just you could party your ass off and just have a wonderful time, come out and see Flogging Molly. I guarantee you’ll be entertained and if not, I’d be willing to give you your money back. Or buy you a drink at least. And ask you what your problem is!

MD: (laughs) Do you get much interaction with fans when you’re on the road?

DC: You know what Marty – you’re going to relate to this I believe – I’m going to go out on a limb here.

MD: All right

DC: Being from Rochester, we can be very friendly people and since the day I joined the band I’ve been interacting a lot with people. I jump down in the middle of everything after every show and shake hands, give people hugs, have some drinks, talk. Cos I’m grateful. And coming from a place a little put down like this and being able to do whatever I do all over the world, I just live every day with an attitude of gratitude and one way of doing that is stepping down and shaking hands and  doing shots with people and sharing stories.

MD: Great! Well I think you’ll fit right in here in New Zealand. The Powerstation, the venue you’re playing in is like a classic rock & roll place. It holds about a thousand people and it’s got a great vibe. It’s just around the corner from where I live here now, so that should fit right in. Oh! The other thing I wanted to ask you about – what are these Salty Dog Cruises you guys do?

DC: The cruise is something we dreamed up five years ago. I was pretty sceptical about it, but it’s turned out. The first cruise I went on, the first two people I met were these people from Belgium, this young couple and I thought, maybe this IS gonna work. It’s not Jimmy Buffett fans only go to cruise ships. I walked into the main area and it was exceptional. It created, sorted of morphed into its own thing. It was kind of like… it’s not like the Grateful Dead, but the way their fan base just made their own thing. Like bands play in people’s rooms, guys like Frank Turner, Rancid, they’re hanging out at the pool. They’re playing little shows in the stairways just for fun. It’s very loose and it’s also combined with all the food and booze you can drink, so it’s a great time. You can hang out all night and just stumble 20 yards to your cabin and wake up in the beautiful Caribbean and you know – do it all over again. And it’s turned into a wonderful event. A lot of return people. Believe it or not, I counted 30 people last year from Rochester, meeting people hanging out. And it was… I believe it because in the beginning of March Rochester will still have snow and it will be 30 degrees (-1C) so it’s a nice break for people as well – the weather and the music and it’s turned into this really great festival on a boat.

MD: Sounds good. It’s summertime here in Auckland, so we’re enjoying it. How’s the weather in Rochester today? Is it snowing, cold?

DC: It snowed like crazy yesterday. There’s probably a foot of snow on the ground. It’s a little warmer today but it was a miserable Rochester day yesterday.

MD: I’m glad I’m not shovelling that snow!

DC: That’s what I did yesterday. You know exactly what I did yesterday… shoveling the driveway!

Click here for tickets and info to see Flogging Molly at The Powerstation on Friday, April 19th.