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 Lead singer of Flogging Molly, from Dublin, Ireland, Dave King gives a cheers to the crowd of nearly 1,500 with a Guiness during the concert on Sunday evening at The Cub on WSU's campus. Nick Groff/Argonaut
Flogging Molly christened Washington State University’s Senior Ballroom with Irish style. The Sunday night concert included two hours of performances from The Girls and Beat Union and over an hour and a half from Flogging Molly. Reporters from The Daily Evergreen (of WSU) and The Argonaut got a chance to sit down with two members of the band: Dennis Casey (electric guitar, acoustic guitar and vocals) and Bob Schmidt (mandolin, mandola, tenor banjo, five-string banjo and vocals).
Q: The Argonaut: How have you been enjoying the Northwest leg of your tour?
A: Schmidt: We’re easing into it. It’s been nice actually. It was really cold in Boise and since then the weather’s been pretty nice.
A: Casey: Yeah, it’s been pretty chilly. We’ve never played in Pullman before so that sounds like it’s going to be fun. That’s always fun, sold out.
Q: The Argonaut: What’s been the response to your new album (“Float”)?
A: Schmidt: People are digging it. We’re digging playing it. It’s hard to say for us because our crowd is so great.
A: Casey: Critically, this one’s done better than all the others.
Q: The Argonaut: You recorded the album in Ireland. How was that?
A: Casey: We wrote it over there as well. I would say the process of writing it was different because most of us lived in one house, and we rehearsed in the garage and we never did that before.
A: Schmidt: We spent a lot of time hashing it between each other, like at dinner or whatever.
Q: The Argonaut: How do you write your songs? Is it a collaborative effort?
A: Casey: Dave writes most of them and then we come in and just do our part.
A: Schmidt: It’s a dysfunctional democracy.
A: Casey: Sometimes they come together really fast and sometimes you’ve got to spend a week on one.
A: Schmidt: Sometimes you feel like you’re about finished, and you tear it down and rebuild it and then tear it down again.
Q: The Evergreen: What are some common misconceptions people have of the band?
A: Casey: That we get f---ing drunk out of our minds every night and that all we want to do is drink whiskey with everybody.
A: Schmidt: And that we’re all Irish.
Q: The Argonaut: Isn’t it just Dave (King) that’s from Ireland?
A: Casey: That’s right.
Q: The Evergreen: You started in L.A. playing at Molly Malone’s, but how did you guys all meet?
A: Schmidt: At Molly Malone’s. Dave was playing by himself and everybody in the band had heard of or gone to see Dave at Molly Malone’s and become fans of the band. Even the people we auditioned had no idea whether they did well or not. Like Matt (Hensley), his audition, he thought he blew it. And he’s just like, “Oh, that sucks.” He’s like “Well what do you think?” And Dave’s like “Oh, you’re in. Don’t worry about it.” He just knew like, energetically, that this was the right guy. It was just kind of happenstance and we were all fans of the music.
A: Casey: I was the last guy to join.
Q: The Argonaut: Do you ever go back to Molly Malone’s and play?
A: Casey: Yeah, we have once or twice.
A: Schmidt: Yeah, we’ve done it a couple of times, like around St. Patrick’s Day.
 Bob Schmidt, left, and Dennis Casey, members of the band Flogging Molly, talk with student media from WSU and UI Sunday night at The Cub backstage before the show. Nick Groff/Argonaut
Q: The Evergreen: Would you say that’s your favorite place to perform, or do you have a favorite place that you like to go?
A: Casey: I kind of like L.A. because we started there and nobody lives there anymore. It’s nice to go back.
A: Schmidt: We have random people pop up that you haven’t seen for a long time.
Q: The Argonaut: Is there any place you’d like to perform?
A: Casey: Yeah, Madison Square Garden.
A: Schmidt: I wouldn’t mind going to India. I love going to Japan for that reason; it’s so different. The people are really excited to see you and it’s just a lot of fun.
Q: The Argonaut: Dave (King) and Bridget (Regan) just got married. Has it changed the band dynamic at all?
A: Schmidt: Not really.
A: Casey: Kind of became like your mom and dad were in the band. Ah, I’m just kidding.
Q: The Argonaut: Who have you most enjoyed touring with?
A: Casey: I would say Street Dogs, Bouncing Souls, Throw Rag.
A: Schmidt: The Rev. (Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band.)
Q: The Argonaut: What do you all do when you’re not touring or recording?
A: Casey: I hang out with my family. I have a wife and two kids. We don’t get much time off.
Q: The Argonaut: How much time do you get off?
A: Schmidt: Since the last week of January, we’ve maybe had a cumulative month and a half if you lined it all up.
Q: The Argonaut: What sort of music do you listen to?
A: Casey: Right now I’m listening to the Avett Brothers. The sky’s the limit with me. If I like it, I listen to it.
A: Schmidt: I’ve been listening to the new Lambchop album quite a bit.
Q: The Argonaut: What’s something your fans don’t know about you?
A: Schmidt: What my fans don’t know about me is that I’m not as tall as I look on stage. So whenever we meet people, there’ve been times when I’m standing right next to Dennis and have had some people not realize that I’m in the band. I’m like 5’ 7’’ and something. When your neck is craned up, looking up at somebody all night, they look a lot taller. It’s just like being on TV but there’s less money in it.
Q: The Argonaut: What do you enjoy most about being a member of Flogging Molly?
A: Schmidt: Definitely the Innes sponsorship. That’s a big perk. (laughs) We get to travel a lot. I think the perk of being in any band is the fact that, if you have a good following, when you get up and do whatever it is you do every day and you get all this positive energy just thrown at you, it’s a pretty good feeling. It’s hard to not be affected by it.
A: Casey: That hour and a half on stage is pretty much it. We’ve created in my opinion this strong friendship, it’s like a family. It’s my second family. At the end of the day, it’s a great bunch of people.
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