Street Dogs
Street Dogs are good friends with this year’s Eastpack Antidote Tour Headliners Flogging Molly, so it’s no surprise that singer Mike McColgan, the ex Dropkick Murphy’s frontman. is itching to get back to partying with his buddies during our interview.
In fact he probably just wants to scold them for allowing him to walk onstage wearing a Manchester United football shirt in a room full of Manchester City fans! I caught up with Mike for a brief chat about his life as a punk rock icon, what makes him unique, and of course, about that fashion disaster.
How are you enjoying Manchester?
It’s great, it’s our second time here. We love it; it’s soccer mad and I think there are a lot of Manchester City fans here tonight but if they were real Man City fans they would have been at the game tonight watching it, not here watching us! I like Manchester United through some friends of mine so I decided to wear the shirt tonight to stir things up a bit!
What is it like being back on the road with Flogging Molly?
It’s good to be with them again because they have great fans and when we play we always come on full-throttle and go for broke. We aren’t wallflowers and we throw it out there and do the best we can.
You’ve opened for them a couple of times now, do their fans generally receive you well?
Yeah I think we share fans so when they offered us the slot of the tour it really made sense for us as we have a new record out at the moment too and we just completed a headline tour in the US.
To anyone who is yet to hear you, how would you describe your sound in five words?
Phonetic, Insane, Passionate, Heartfelt and Mean.
What makes you unique?
I don’t want to toot my own horn!
No we like that! Big yourself up.
I think my life experience then, I know it sounds weird when you’re talking about music, but I think it aids and abets our thoughts as it seems to resonate in trends and hit home with people here and in the US as well as even further abroad. I think that sets us apart from other people in our genre.
Not on this tour, what has been your favourite gig to date ever?
Great question! I think the best show we’ve ever had as a band would have to be in Boston, Massachusetts, on 19 December 2007. We sold out to 1,300 kids and it was like the homecoming for us as we hadn’t played there all year. I can’t even put it into words, the energy between the band and the crowd was just incredible.
Aww, I love it! So where would you love to play given the chance?
We just recently played Red Rocks in Colorado in the US which is of considerable prestige as far as venues go in the US. It’s like out version of Brixton Academy in London. I think playing venues in places that are less travelled like Russia, Israel and China or New Zealand are things we want to do. We would love to get off the beaten path.
That great as so many people would get the chance to enjoy you like we have! So you brought out your new album, State Of Grace, in June; has it been well-received by your fans?
It’s a difficult question because as a band you’re always the most enthusiastic about your release and it can often bring you down to Earth in some respect. If I’m honest I think that State Of Grace and Fading America Dream are in virtual deadlock as the best thing we’ve ever done.
State Of Grace was an effort to test the parameters of who we are and see how far we could push it. I think now we know who we are and so it’s going to be a big fifth record.
How do you come up with the material for your albums?
We all write both collectively and individually. I know this sounds crazy but we take inspiration from absolutely everything, relationships, politics, life experiences, loss and our love for equality and those who aspire to better things and those who labour for relief. Those are some of the things that drive us and motivate us and make our clocks tick.
What was the inspiration behind the title?
To do this for a living as well as having a family and lead a normal life is very difficult. Looking for that internal relief or that serenity or second chance or mercy from it all applies to us as individuals as well as the way in which people exist in general. A little break from the storm of life is basically where it comes from.
What have you got planned for when the tour is over?
In the Spring we’re going to play over here again and we’re going to tour in the US again. We’re going to be very busty next year.
What was the last album you bought?
The Gaslight Anthem. It’s a phenomenal record. I also bought Bruce Springsteen.
If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life - which would it be?
That’s a really tough question. I would have to say London Calling by The Clash.
You’ve just won a collection of movies starring only one actor or actress; who would you choose?
Can I have an actor and an actress?
Go on then!
Actor would be Robert De Niro and for Actress I would probably pick Cate Blanchett.
Every celebrity we interview, we ask them to come up with a question for the next person and Il Divo want to know if you’re married?
Yes I am.
So can you come up with a question for the next person I interview?
What are the weaknesses of your band?
FemaleFirst - Ruth Harrison