Nathen Maxwell - Flogging Molly (19/12/2012)
The 59th Sound chats with Nathen Maxwell of Flogging Molly ahead of their return to Australia for Soundwave 2013.
Hey Nathen, how are you?
I'm good, I'm just sitting here in Ohio sipping on some wine.
Are you there for the Green 17 tour?
No, that starts next year. But, we're here for the last couple of shows for the year, one in Columbus and one in Kansas city. We're actually playing for a local radio stations party.
Are you looking forward to Soundwave next year?
Oh man, I'm so looking forward to it! I can't believe it's been this long since we have been back in Australia. I remember the last tour and how much fun we had I thought we would be back sooner. When we heard the news about Soundwave… I am thrilled to be coming back.
Anyone in particular you are excited to play with?
I'm not actually sure about the line-up but I am excited to be a part of it, I haven't actually done a festival in Australia. Well we did Byron Bay which was very special, with Ben Harper. It will be our first real festival experience with a tour of the country. Kinda like the Warped Tour in the states so, I'm really looking forward to playing with anyone and hopefully there will be bands I've never heard of.
A family friend of mine is 62 years old and crowd surfed at one of your shows at the Corner Hotel a couple of years ago, do you remember this and if not what is your most memorable Australian show?
I can't really remember! I guess it was pretty cool to meet Jack Johnson at the Byron Bay Bluesfest festival. It was the first time I have been backstage with crocodile signs like "watch out, don't walk over here" - that was kinda cool. Going body surfing in Byron Bay and seeing the city skyline of Surfers Paradise was incredible. I have never had that experience before and it was just beautiful!
I read that you found your way into the band by turning up to a gig in LA when you were 17, can you tell us about this?
Yeah, I was just a young punk rock musician looking to join a great band. I wanted to be around people that were as inspired or more inspired then I was. Truth be told, I wasn’t looking to join an Irish punk band. Really I was just looking for anything authentic that I could believe in and put my heart and soul into. It just so happened that I found that in Dave. I was 17 and a snuck in to watch the Dave King band and um, got to know him a little bit and out of the blue invited me to be into the band. He asked me “Hey do what do you think of the band” then said “I know you play the bass guitar, why don’t you join?” and I was blown away. It was 1996 and we never looked back.
Do you guys visit Ireland regularly?
Ah well Dave and Brigit, our singer and fiddle player live between Wexford and Detroit so they are in Ireland a lot. I’ve been to Ireland many times, for touring and recording. We recorded a studio album there for three months, it was a fantastic time. We have had lots of time there, but I was born in Los Angeles, California born and raised and now I live in Denver, Colorado.
Because you guys have lived and grown up in different areas, do you think this makes your influences and what you bring to the band different?
I think so! I think even in just life in general your surroundings effect what’s going on. As artists we are always trying to express ourselves. If I’m living in a squat house in America with a bunch of punk rockers I think the music would sound different than if I was living in the countryside in Ireland. Place affects you, and it affects your sound. For example, our last record was recorded in Detroit and I think if you compare Float, the album that was recorded and written in Ireland, I think you can feel, well I can feel the place, the location. I can feel Detroit. I can feel Ireland in Float. I can feel drunken lullabies, where it was recorded in L.A. It definitely affects the outcome of the album.
Can everyone in the band play multiple instruments now? There are so many instruments in Flogging Molly.
Yeah…Instruments are kinda like colours. You know, it’s one of the fun things about having seven members in the band. You have a lot of colour to play with. For example Dave will have a song and it’s really a magical experience to be in the room with the seven of us and hear a simple melody chord progression and then suddenly the music that comes out of the seven of us is really special.
You guys have been around for quite a while now, do you know how long you will stay at it for?
Oh till death brother. I think that all of that have other interests in life. All of us have other projects we do; I myself have another band called Bunny gang that I write and tour with. Music has been such an insatiable part of my life. I have been in this band literally half my life. Sure we will take a break here and there, but at the end of the day this is such a big part of who we all are. We have the best fans in the world, I can’t imagine anyone walking away from the band permanently.
What’s going on between now and Soundwave for you guys?
We have the two shows tonight and tomorrow night and then we are done for the rest of the year so we will all go home to our families for the holidays. After that we will all fly to Detroit and rehearse there in David and Bridget’s basement. We will look through our music catalogue of our five albums and practice. The new set list is really exciting for us actually. It’s fun for us to play.
We will then begin our U.S tour and in the middle of that we will go to Australia for the festival tour. And when all that’s said and done we will look at European and U.S festivals in the summer and then maybe take some time off to think about the next album.
Will you be doing any Soundwave sideshows this year?
I hope so! I am not really sure. I don’t think anything has been organised yet but if there is any I am in.
Ryan Hyde
Follow me on Twitter - @RyanHyde93
Hey Nathen, how are you?
I'm good, I'm just sitting here in Ohio sipping on some wine.
Are you there for the Green 17 tour?
No, that starts next year. But, we're here for the last couple of shows for the year, one in Columbus and one in Kansas city. We're actually playing for a local radio stations party.
Are you looking forward to Soundwave next year?
Oh man, I'm so looking forward to it! I can't believe it's been this long since we have been back in Australia. I remember the last tour and how much fun we had I thought we would be back sooner. When we heard the news about Soundwave… I am thrilled to be coming back.
Anyone in particular you are excited to play with?
I'm not actually sure about the line-up but I am excited to be a part of it, I haven't actually done a festival in Australia. Well we did Byron Bay which was very special, with Ben Harper. It will be our first real festival experience with a tour of the country. Kinda like the Warped Tour in the states so, I'm really looking forward to playing with anyone and hopefully there will be bands I've never heard of.
A family friend of mine is 62 years old and crowd surfed at one of your shows at the Corner Hotel a couple of years ago, do you remember this and if not what is your most memorable Australian show?
I can't really remember! I guess it was pretty cool to meet Jack Johnson at the Byron Bay Bluesfest festival. It was the first time I have been backstage with crocodile signs like "watch out, don't walk over here" - that was kinda cool. Going body surfing in Byron Bay and seeing the city skyline of Surfers Paradise was incredible. I have never had that experience before and it was just beautiful!
I read that you found your way into the band by turning up to a gig in LA when you were 17, can you tell us about this?
Yeah, I was just a young punk rock musician looking to join a great band. I wanted to be around people that were as inspired or more inspired then I was. Truth be told, I wasn’t looking to join an Irish punk band. Really I was just looking for anything authentic that I could believe in and put my heart and soul into. It just so happened that I found that in Dave. I was 17 and a snuck in to watch the Dave King band and um, got to know him a little bit and out of the blue invited me to be into the band. He asked me “Hey do what do you think of the band” then said “I know you play the bass guitar, why don’t you join?” and I was blown away. It was 1996 and we never looked back.
Do you guys visit Ireland regularly?
Ah well Dave and Brigit, our singer and fiddle player live between Wexford and Detroit so they are in Ireland a lot. I’ve been to Ireland many times, for touring and recording. We recorded a studio album there for three months, it was a fantastic time. We have had lots of time there, but I was born in Los Angeles, California born and raised and now I live in Denver, Colorado.
Because you guys have lived and grown up in different areas, do you think this makes your influences and what you bring to the band different?
I think so! I think even in just life in general your surroundings effect what’s going on. As artists we are always trying to express ourselves. If I’m living in a squat house in America with a bunch of punk rockers I think the music would sound different than if I was living in the countryside in Ireland. Place affects you, and it affects your sound. For example, our last record was recorded in Detroit and I think if you compare Float, the album that was recorded and written in Ireland, I think you can feel, well I can feel the place, the location. I can feel Detroit. I can feel Ireland in Float. I can feel drunken lullabies, where it was recorded in L.A. It definitely affects the outcome of the album.
Can everyone in the band play multiple instruments now? There are so many instruments in Flogging Molly.
Yeah…Instruments are kinda like colours. You know, it’s one of the fun things about having seven members in the band. You have a lot of colour to play with. For example Dave will have a song and it’s really a magical experience to be in the room with the seven of us and hear a simple melody chord progression and then suddenly the music that comes out of the seven of us is really special.
You guys have been around for quite a while now, do you know how long you will stay at it for?
Oh till death brother. I think that all of that have other interests in life. All of us have other projects we do; I myself have another band called Bunny gang that I write and tour with. Music has been such an insatiable part of my life. I have been in this band literally half my life. Sure we will take a break here and there, but at the end of the day this is such a big part of who we all are. We have the best fans in the world, I can’t imagine anyone walking away from the band permanently.
What’s going on between now and Soundwave for you guys?
We have the two shows tonight and tomorrow night and then we are done for the rest of the year so we will all go home to our families for the holidays. After that we will all fly to Detroit and rehearse there in David and Bridget’s basement. We will look through our music catalogue of our five albums and practice. The new set list is really exciting for us actually. It’s fun for us to play.
We will then begin our U.S tour and in the middle of that we will go to Australia for the festival tour. And when all that’s said and done we will look at European and U.S festivals in the summer and then maybe take some time off to think about the next album.
Will you be doing any Soundwave sideshows this year?
I hope so! I am not really sure. I don’t think anything has been organised yet but if there is any I am in.
Ryan Hyde
Follow me on Twitter - @RyanHyde93