Flogging Molly is the Music You Want to Hear on St. Patrick's Day

Celtic Punk Music of Flogging Molly Blends the Past with the Present

What would St. Patrick's Day be without a little Celtic music? Personally, I like to throw in some Dervish, some Celtic Storm, and the soundtrack to "Lord of the Dance." If I'm feeling a little more like rocking, I'll listen to some Thin Lizzy or some U2. But if you want to get into the modern Celtic Punk sound, there's nothing like listening to Flogging Molly.

For those not familiar with Flogging Molly, they began as a seven-piece band in Los Angeles in 1993 and have released four studio albums. Taking their cue from such bands as The Dubliners, The Pogues and The Clash, Flogging Molly blended traditional Irish / Celtic folk music with rock and punk. The band built a strong cult following, and by the time their fourth studio album was released, the rest of the world seemed ready to receive them as well. Two songs, "Float" and "Requiem For a Dying Song," placed on the Billboard Modern Rock charts in the Top 40. The album itself, entitled "Float," debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and was hailed by Kerrang! Magazine as one of the "most important CDs of the year, if not the decade."

The group's lead singer, Dave King, who was himself born in Dublin, told Kerrang! they came up with that unique name when, after playing at a bar called Molly Malone's for weeks on end, "...we felt like we were flogging it to death, so we called the band Flogging Molly."

But Dave King wasn't always the lead singer of Flogging Molly (with such short hair). Many remember him as the front man for the three-man heavy metal band Fastway that centered around the driving guitar of "Fast" Eddie Clarke, who had at one time played lead for Motorhead. Fastway landed hard and heavy with a hit single, "Say What You Will," from their eponymous debut album in 1983. After touring with Ozzy Osbourne, another hit album, "All Fired Up," followed in 1984.