GROOVE re-sounding Success ENTREPRENEURIAL accordionist Matt Hensley rejoins Flogging Molly (performing at viejas sept. 28) by Derek Shaw photo by donez Thirty-seven year-old Matt Hensley is a madman. He has to be in order to juggle two demanding businesses, a rigorous touring schedule and fatherhood. He was one of the most influential pro skaters of the 90s, and his clothing company, Innes, is distributed worldwide. Hensley’s Celtic rock band Flogging Molly blends the intensity of punk with traditional Irish music. Their latest record Float debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 Charts. Get Punch Drunk (a Flogging Molly song title) at their <strong>September</strong> 28 concert at Viejas. flogging molly Live at Viejas » <strong>September</strong> 28 viejasentertainment.com Derek Shaw: Which came first, your love of skating or jamming? Matt Hensley: I’ve always loved skating and music, so those two genres have been neck-and-neck since childhood. Without music, a lot of my skateboarding jams would have been a lot duller back in the day. Without sounding like a crazy hippie, music is truly the international language. DS: How long have you been playing music? MH: I was a guitar player in the late ‘80s for a couple ska bands. I love to play banjo and anything that squeezes like concertina and accordion. DS: So you’ve always dug folk and roots music? MH: Oh yeah, especially bands that blend traditional elements with rock and roll like Dropkick Murphy’s and The Pogues. DS: How did you start playing accordion in Flogging Molly? MH: I met the singer, Dave King, in Los Angeles 13 years ago. After seeing an all-accordion band, we went to an Irish pub. He mentioned that he was starting a band and wanted to incorporate accordion. We shook hands, and he gave me a tape. A week later I went to jam with them, and afterwards he said, “You’re in.” DS: At that point, you guys were just an LA bar band. Did you anticipate getting this big and touring seven months a year? MH: No. I always believed in Dave’s lyrics, and I knew we’d be a great band, but I thought it would be in a much smaller setting. DS: After a decade with Flogging Molly, why did you quit the band in early 2007? MH: I have a 10 year-old son, and the whole time I’ve been on tour… I always had a guilty feeling in the back of my soul that I was f###ing my son up. DS: So what convinced you to come back? MH: I love my son more than anything else, and I’d take a bullet for him, but this is what his old man does. It took me quitting to know exactly where I stand and where I should be in the world. I belong in this band and I’m meant to play music. DS: So, you opened the Flying Elephant Pub & Grill, in Carlsbad, during the hiatus? MH: I was raised in <strong>San</strong> <strong>Diego</strong>, and it’ll always be home. It made sense to me, because I’ve always loved the feel of pubs and I needed to stay around music. It’s an outlet for local musicians to give them the opportunity that I got. And, if the band breaks up tomorrow, I’ll have a place to come home to. DS: Innes has always had a lot of street credibility, especially among skaters and musicians. Assuming that it keeps growing at this rate, what if Nordstrom’s wants to carry your clothes? What does “selling out” mean these days? MH: I used to think that selling out meant doing business with any big corporation, but the world is different now, and skateboarding has become mainstream, whether I like it or not. DS: How does that translate for Flogging Molly, as you’ve always stayed true to Side One Dummy despite offers from major labels? MH: We don’t want a major, because it doesn’t make sense, and Side One takes great care of us. Even if you sign a big deal, some jackass tries to figure out what you should sound like and whether you need to write a hit song or a mellow song. DS: <strong>September</strong> is our automotive issue. Are you a motor head? MH: Yeah, I’ve always had old cars and scooters. I own a ’66 Ford F-100 and a ’66 sportster hard tail motorcycle. DS: What’s your dream car? MH: Probably a ’65 Riviera or ’39 Chevy truck. 42 | SEPTEMBER 20<strong>08</strong> « PACIFICsandiego.com
Sick Cruisers from $105 to $1005 ENDS OCTOBER 31 FREE GAS FRIDAYS WE RAFFLE OFF $100 GAS GIFTCARD EVERY HOUR FROM 4-7pm SUPPORT YOUR BADGERS COLLEGE GAME DAY PACKAGE BIG TEN NFL NETWORK CHARGER SUNDAYS $ 3ALL DAY, EVERYDAY DRAFTS & TACOS ON THE BOARDWALK WHERE GRAND MEETS THE SAND Huge Showroom 1211 Morena Blvd. <strong>San</strong> <strong>Diego</strong> 92110 www.beachbikes.net BeachBikes.Net
Change language