This Los Angeles, California, USA-based outfit has garnered numerous comparisons to Irish outfits such as the Pogues and Black 47, and fellow Americans the Dropkick Murphys. Formed in 1997 by Dave King (vocals/guitar; ex-Fastway), Bridget Regan (violin), Tedd Hutt (guitar), Jeff Peters (bass), George Schwindt (drums) and Toby McCallum (mandolin), Flogging Molly built a solid following by playing regularly at a local Irish bar called Molly Malone’s, and issued a self-produced live disc, Alive Behind The Green Door, shortly thereafter. The band was subsequently augmented by Matt Hensley (accordion), Nathen Maxwell (bass), Robert Schmidt (mandolin) and Gary Schwindt (trumpet), with Hutt making way for new guitarist John Donovan. They soon caught the attention of acclaimed alternative rock producer Steve Albini, who engineered Flogging Molly’s next two releases, 2000’s Swagger and 2002’s Drunken Lullabies (the latter recorded without Gary Schwindt and with Donovan making way for Dennis Casey). The band’s irresistible blend of traditional Irish and punk sounds created a varied fanbase, as evidenced by their inclusion on several Warped tours. Their 2004 release Within A Mile Of Home featured tributes to two of the band’s heroes, Joe Strummer (‘Seven Deadly Sins’) and Johnny Cash (‘Don’t Let Me Die Still Wondering’).
