MONDAY,MAY6.2002
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3A
Band's Irish sound a flogging good time
By Andy Gassaway Jayplay writer
JOHN NOWAK/KANSAN
Lawrence received a head-banging, Guinness-fueled kiss from the Emerald Isle courtesy of Los Angeles' Flogging Molly Friday night at the Granada, 1020 Massachusetts St. The folk-punk seven-piece band is currently touring with guests The Slackers and Avoid One Thing in support of its sophomore full-length release, Drunken Lullabies.
Since 1997, Flogging Molly has played a brash, aggressive strain of Celtic folk anchored by Dublin native Dave King's vocals and acoustic guitar, Bridget Regan's fiddle and tin whistle, Robert Schmidt's mandolin and professional skateboarder Matt Hensley's accordion. Combined with Dennis Casey's electric guitar, Nathen Maxwell's bass and George Schwindt's drums, Flogging Molly's is a sound that expands upon the folk/punk vision of bands like the Dubliners and the Pogues with a louder,
more abrasive rock-and-roll edge.
Lead singer and acoustic guitarist Dave King is one piece of the Los Angeles septet Flogging Molly. The band, whose music mixes Irish-folk and punk rock, performed Friday night at the Granada.
"They hear us and say, 'You're taking what we did to the next level. You're taking it to now,'" King said.
King said Flogging Molly's sound melded two musical genres with more in common than meets the ear.
"Traditional music, at one point, was all the Irish people had. Their land was taken away, blood was spilt and all they had was their instruments, you know? There's a lot of energy and emotion in that," King said. "That's why it was so easy to marry these two breeds of music together. They're very, very similar. It's all about attitude, expression."
If steady sales of albums like the O Brother! Where Art Thou? soundtrack and even Flogging Molly's debut, Swagger, are any indicator, it seems that the American music-buying public is experiencing a renewed interest in traditional sounds.
"I think people want to hear songwriters again," King said. "Singer-songwriters are definitely an echo of the opinions of the world. It's very important, and a form of healing. We need to get closer together. Music is a way to bring us closer together, you know what I mean?"
Apparently the crowd attending Friday's show knew exactly what King meant, ready to help
him feverishly sing a few bars of the band's songs whenever prompted.
It became clear that for a night, they were happy to rock as one under the flag of Flogging Molly.
The band will continue touring the world until the end of 2002.
Contact Gassaway at agas-saway@kansan.com. This story was edited by Sarah Warren.
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Inner-city grade school teacher shares lessons
By Maggie Koerth Kansan staff writer
Ron Clark lives for excitement and adventure. In college, he went skydiving, rock climbing and once ran through the middle of a football game dressed only in his underwear and purple body paint.
But Clark found the most exciting adventure of his life in a grade-school classroom.
urday afternoon in Budig Hall.
Clark is a young Harlem, N.Y., elementary school teacher who won the Disney Outstanding Teacher of the Year award in 2000. He spoke to about 60 students and faculty from The University of Kansas' School of Education Sat-
Student Senate, the School o Education and Coca-Cola sponsored the speech.
Clark said his life at Harlem's P.S. 83 wasn't easy. He taught both fifth and sixth graders, a total of 37 students.
"The first day I got spit on, desks got turned over. It was a total wreck," he said.
But Clark knew the school's history of high teacher turnover and refused to quit.
Eventually, he said he was able to raise the test scores of the troubled kids in his class so much that they surpassed the school's "gifted" class.
Clark said he credited his success to an unconventional teaching style that matched what the kids were learning in the classroom with fun projects and field trips.
Kelly Lawson, Shawnee senior, said she came to see Clark speak because she had just finished a stint as a student teacher at a low-income school in the Kansas City area.
"He's inspiring. I want to hear his story," she said. "Anything he has to share would be valuable to
"We'd take them places like George Washington's house, and they could practically lead the tour guides around, they knew so much about it," he said.
me."
A book and ABC television movie based on Clark's life are due out late this year, but Clark said he wasn't overwhelmed by the attention. He said he was focused on his goal of starting a small, private school for at-risk inner-city children.
mkoerth@kansan.com. This story was edited by Justin Guenley.
"I am still me, I just happen to be on TV and stuff," he said. "If they called me tomorrow and said they weren't doing the book and movie, it wouldn't change me or my goals."
Contact Koerth at
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