Psychedelic Lunch

Welcome to our “Psychedelic Lunch”series where we find out how deep the rabbit hole really goes and explore music and musicians from the 60’s to today. Enjoy the trip!

Flogging Molly. You can’t get any more Irish than Flogging Molly. “Drunken Lullabies” is the ideal song for Saint Patty’s day.🍀

Flogging Molly is an Irish-American seven-piece Celtic punk band formed in Los Angeles in 1997, led by Irish vocalist Dave King, formerly of the hard rock band Fastway. They are signed to their own record label, Borstal Beat Records.

Having built a faithful following, the Celtic folk/punk band has headlined large venues like the former Irvine Meadows, Greek Theatre and Forum.

Leader and Dublin native Dave King formed an early version of the group while doing a weekly residency at Molly Malone’s in Los Angeles. A firm lineup was solidified for 1997 indie bow “Alive Behind the Green Door,” which was recorded at that Irish pub.

Best known for the songs “Don’t Shut ‘Em Down,” “Requiem for a Dying Song” and “Float,” the septet has continually forged a fiery sonic path, often with politically charged lyrics that keep the spirit of The Pogues and Clash alive.

Here are five things you may not know about the band:

• During the mid-1980s, King fronted metal band Fastway alongside former Motorhead guitarist “Fast” Eddie Clarke; they landed a top 20 album rock radio hit with “Say What You Will.”

• Accordionist Matt Hensley was a popular pro-skateboarder in the late 1980s/early ’90s, appeared in skate films and had his own signature boards.

• Their take on the Dublin City Ramblers’ “The Rare Ould Times,” heard on 2002’s gold-certified “Drunken Lullabies,” has also been recorded by hundreds of acts, including The Dubliners, The Irish Tenors, James Last, Danny Doyle (who took it to No. 1 on the Emerald Isle) and Damien Dempsey. It is a popular anthem among Gaelic football fans.

• Flogging Molly covered one of Bob Dylan’s signature tunes, “The Times They Are a-Changin’,” for the 2012 multi-disc tribute compilation “Chimes of Freedom” to benefit Amnesty International.

• “The Hand of John L. Sullivan,” a rousing track off “Life is Good,” was inspired by an Irish-American known as “Boston Strong Boy.” Toward the end of the 19th century, he became the first heavyweight gloved boxing champion. King calls Sullivan the “first true working-class hero.” The singer/guitarist’s father was also a boxing trainer in Ireland.