411 Music Interview: Nathen Maxwell of Flogging Molly

Posted by Brittany Haskins on 10.22.2009

FM bassist talks about being in Flogging Molly, his new side band Nathen Maxwell & The Original Bunny Gang, hard earned success, Walmart, weed, beer and more...

Think of your favorite Flogging Molly song. Now think of a setting to go with it. Now think what you are doing in that setting. Now, what are you drinking? More than likely the setting is a social gathering with a ton of people doing a drunken rendition of "Drunken Lullabies" with schooners of Guinness being knocked together and spilling all over the floor. If I am not dead on, I am probably pretty damn close. Now imagine how excited I was to actually sit down and have a Guinness with Nathen Maxwell of Flogging Molly backstage at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles just a few hours before the show. Not only is it Flogging Molly's first time playing at the Greek but it is also Nathen's wedding anniversary. For lack of better words, I was shitting myself.

I get to the venue and Nathen walks me backstage into the dressing room as I am admitting my anxiety due to being a huge fan. To calm my nerves he offers me a beer, "Guinness or Corona" he asks. That's a stupid question. "Guinness of course!" he chuckles, opens it up, takes a swig and hands it over to me. I can't help but think how jealous my friends are going to be. He looks like your typical well dressed punk. Not the gutter punks that ask for change at your local gas station, but the level headed, clean, well dressed, older than he looks punk that you wouldn't mind having a quickie with before during or after a show. Yeah, I said it. So we take our seats and start talking about how he was a fan before joining the band.

"I love music so I was checking out new music, I always have been, I was also looking for musicians to maybe team up with to start a new band or do something you know? I found both music that I loved and luckily music that I could join when I found Flogging Molly. I found them through my dad, he's still a musician in the LA scene and knew I was really serious about being a bass player and being a full time musician. He knew about Flogging Molly, they weren't called Flogging Molly at the time…"

Apparently they were called ‘The Dave King Thing".

"And there was a bass player named Jeff Peters who was a really great bass player so I was kinda recommended to check out Jeff and check out the band. So I did and fell in love with the songs and the intensity of the performance. I started going out every Monday to Molly Mallones (Pub in Los Angeles) and I met Dave and he said ‘our band is kind of reforming; our guitar and bass player are in a band called Reach Around and they are going on tour with the Sex Pistols and it's just kind of a reforming process' and he asked me to join."

Celebrating my last St. Patricks Day at Molly Mallones, I ask Nathen if he ever goes back to Molly's but since he lives in Denver, Colorado it makes it nearly impossible to grab a pint at the pub. The name Flogging Molly itself also originates from the bar.

"It's just kind of a metaphor for the music you know? With what we were doing, back then it was less of a rock venue and more of a little Irish pub on Fairfax and we would do our best to beat the shit out of it every Monday night. We kinda got a reputation doing that. So the name came from that and also our take on traditional Irish music."

In the corner of my eye I see Dave King and Dennis Casey walk in and get excited, but keep my composure of course. I ask the typical "do you have any crazy tour stories?" question and Nathen starts to laugh and explains that it's always a fun question because his head is always foggy. "There have been a lot of crazy things that have happened. Really crazy good and really crazy bad. Crazy fun, crazy hard, tiring. I'll try to think of something good…something good and crazy…" he then spots Dennis.

"What do you think Dennis? Something crazy? This is like the hardest question."

Dennis instantly knows what he's talking about and agrees, "Oohh, tell me a story!?...I woke up early today!"

We all erupt into laughter and Nathen promises to get back to me on that question…but never does.

Dennis leaves the room with what looks like a bottle of tea (I was hoping it'd be one of the trademark Guinness') and I adjust my attention back to Nathen. Nathan Maxwell & the Original Bunny Gang is his side project that I was very interested in getting more info about.


"I've got this band I kinda put together with my father. I have some songs that weren't really what FM does and I was sharing them with the band during our last writing session in Ireland. I was playing these songs and Dave was like ‘ya know Nate, I love your songs, you got your own story I think you really should tell it in your own way. And I think you should feel free to do that,' and he told that to everyone in the band he was like, ‘I think you should all feel free to express yourselves in any way you want whether its jamming with other bands or doing your own side projects,' so once I got his encouragement and the encouragement of the other bandmates it was like well shit, why not? We should do this, so I called my dad and got a hold of Ted Hutt who produced a couple FM records and I worked with him on a Chuck Ragen record where I played bass. He was the guitar player when I first started playing with FM so I called him up and the three of us made this record. I'm really proud of it and we just did our first kind of headline tour of the west coast and played some really small little places but it was a lot of fun and through that we got a tour coming up in November with Ozomatli so I am really excited."

How could one not be excited about this epic tour that is about to kick off in November? I'll be there, and you should be too. Nathan seems really well rounded musically so I wanted to get a feel of what he's been listening to in recent months.

"I listen to a lot of different thing. I listen to a lot of old reggae…I'm a pretty big reggae fan. Delray Wilson - I listen to him a lot, his trombone. Big fan of Manu Chao . The new Casualties record. I just got that and its pretty fuckin cool. They are actually doing some reggae tracks…"

I interrupt to explain that I was never a big Casualties fan because when I was 16, I had these punk rock beliefs that if you claim to be a punk or in a punk band, you shouldn't be able to buy your album at Wal-Mart.

"I was like that! If it wasn't Econo Christ or Rudimentary Peni, Aus-Rotten you know, I was like screw that, I didn't want anything to do with that you know? But, I hope they're stoked about that [having their album sold at Wal-Mart]. It's a hard thing with music you know the whole selling out thing it's like, there are two sides to that. I get the whole d.i.y. thing because that's where I come from but at the same time you know, I personally, at this stage in my life, I want to share our music with as many people as possible and if that means having our CD at a Wal-Mart - I mean I've got a song called ‘Wal-Mart Skatepark' and its about destroying a Wal-Mart - that means so many more people will be exposed to our music. It's all about the music and connecting with the people so you know if you want to make change you got to get in the belly of the beast. For the record, Casualties are punk as fuck. They're hardcore, they've been living it for a long time."

We then start talking about other punk bands that we like and dislike, and old Southern California venues that shut down like the Tiki Room and Showcase Theatre (R.I.P.) and how excited he is to be playing at the Greek on this particular night I'm talking to him.

"Well we never played the Greek theater and we are here tonight and I'm pretty fuckin stoked. Growing up in LA, it's a pretty big deal. To be a musician and headlining the Greek Theater, I am very proud of this accomplishment and I'm hoping this will be my favorite place to play and the same thing with playing Red Rocks in Denver in a couple weeks. So I'm hoping those two venues will be at the top of the list. Internationally I like playing Japan. That's my favorite place to go, it's really beautiful."

I really wasn't expecting Japan to be his favorite place to tour and wonder what the fan base is like out there.

"We have a pretty modest fan base. We are probably good for about 100 tickets. Maybe a little more in Tokyo, maybe 500 in the other cities so it's pretty modest but we all love it so much that it's worth it we like to go once a year if we can."

The faint ghost aroma of Japanese food fills my nose when I think of how good the food must be.

"The food is amazing the people are amazing, I mean just little things when you travel around in Japan you don't get on a tour bus or an airplane, you take the bullet train places, and I love traveling by train it's just the most classy way to handle it. There's beer everywhere, vending machines on the corners everywhere selling beer, you can drink on the streets."

"So it's like Vegas?"

"Yeah! It's like Vegas, it's like really, really fun, really kind of wild but also really safe and clean in a way. It's like exotic in a really safe fun way. It's part of the culture, your walking by you see a guy in a full business suit lying down with like a thing of noodles maybe with a little puke comin' out of his mouth like, ‘oh I couldn't make it home, I got tired and have work in the morning so…'its probably not that common but its also just okay ya know, they don't arrest the guy. They're like, as long as he gets up and goes to work!"

Apparently Japan is the best place on earth, and I will be moving there ASAP.

"I'd love to go to New Zealand, I'd love to go to South America. I'd like to hit every continent, that's a goal of mine, to play music on every continent. South America, Argentina, I'd love to go to Buenos Aires."

I'm surprised FM has never been to South America.

"Never been to South America, so I hope FM can get down there and New Zealand, I've never been over there and I've seen lots of footage and it seems like a pretty epic place."

I fill him in on New Zealand and how there are literally more sheep than people over there.

"Sounds good to me!"

"I guess if you are into that kind of thing..."

"Hey, lamb chop is my favorite kind of meat!"

I'm sure it is, Nate! So in order to change the subject from sleeping with sheep, I ask him what his favorite FM album is and what song is his favorite to play live.

"Well right now my favorite one is Drunken Lullabies because I just got the gold record!"

Naturally, I congratulate him.

" Yeah, thank you...It took 7 years I'm stoked, I'm proud of it! 7 years, 200+ shows a year, I know that we earned that. Nothing was given to us and I'm proud of that. Very proud of that. It was also the first FM album that I wrote a song and sang a song on so I mean nostalgically it's a pretty big deal."

He then tells me "If I Ever Leave This World Alive" is his favorite song to play live. Now, before I went to the interview I told my mom I'd be talking to the band and she told me to tell them how much she loved ‘If I Ever Leave This World Alive e'. She also told me to play that song at her funeral and at the chorus, she wants everyone to take a swig of wine and have everyone get drunk and celebrate her death. Naturally this upset me but I felt it was a worthy enough story to tell Nate. He then tells me that the band actually played the song for one of their bandmate's mothers' funeral as well. "The sentiment of the song means a lot."

Since the vibe in the room got a little too heavy for my liking, I lightened the mood by bringing up the subject of good piss. Obviously Guinness is FM's trademark but I wanted to get an idea what else is hiding in the fridge of Nathen Maxwell.

"I like a lot of beer! There are a hundred beers that I know and like, maybe more. There is a beer called Coopers from Australia - you can actually get it in the state and it is a really good beer. I'm a big Dos Equis fan too. A lot of people are like ‘really? Guinness and Dos Equis?' I'm like ‘Yeah, I grew up in LA, I love Dos Equis. On a hot day with a nice taco, some guacamole, I'm like ‘Yeah! Right on time with Dos Equis. I like chilada's too. Lager and chilada yeah, it's pretty rad. It's like a trailer park bloody mary. It's right on time, I love it."

I ask what his favorite bar is and feel cliché, so I propose he gets the beer questions a lot.

"Hey! Rightfully so! Spent the last, how many years drinking? My favorite bar is Hensleys Bar & Grill in Carlsbad, California and it is our accordion player's bar. It's great, you walk in and there is a big portrait of Bob Marley, Johnny Cash and Devo. It's got the loudest music, pool tables, yeah, it's a pretty cool place and it's family friendly. You can bring your kids there up until a certain hour, live music every night, it's just perfect. It's right off the 5 freeway off of Tamarack I believe."

Enough about boozing it up, we proceed to the topic of- uh oh- marijuana! We all know Flogging Molly like to get their drink on, but do any of them like to get their toke on?

"I smoke a lot of weed. I am an unapologetic pot smoker. Unfortunately, it is illegal where I live, which is pretty sad."

I am pleasantly surprised by his answer being an unapologetic pot smoker myself, so I'm curious as to how illegal weed is in Denver.

"No it's not a big deal. Most people I know whether they admit to it or not smoke a little herb but pretty soon it will be legal everywhere."

Yeah, so I have a newly awakened crush on Nathen Maxwell, what of it? We talk about the legality of herb in California as he shows me his tattoo on his inner left arm of California's outline with 215 written above it. For those of you who don't know, Proposition 215, also known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, was a California ballot proposition on the November 5, 1996 ballot regarding medical use of marijuana….that passed with 55% of the vote.

Sitting with Nathan for that short 20 minutes was probably one of the best times I had interviewing an artist. Not only is he extremely talented but one of the most down to earth guys you could ever meet. It was nice to meet a rock star had the same roots and background as not only me, but a lot of other kids around the world. Being a drunk punk and wanting to destroy the system, to making the system work for you without being a candy coated pop star. Nathen Maxwell, you are my hero.

Don't forget to check out Flogging Molly and Nathen Maxwell & the Original Bunny Gang when they hit a city near you this year, it is going to be a show not to miss!