It ain’t Riverdance

Seventeen years ago Dublin-born musician Dave King made the jump from London to Los Angeles at the urging of a Geffen Records executive.

And it paid off. He was playing to big crowds at large venues, but interest fizzled, and eventually he was reduced to scrubbing bathrooms at the Los Angeles clubs he played.

But his love for music and search for new ways to express himself kept his dreams alive, and when he met fiddle player Bridget Regan, he found what he had been looking for.

“About 14 years ago Bridget [Regan] and I met, and she was a fiddle player, and we got together and started playing,” he said. “There really wasn’t much direction back then…. When I did hear Bridget play the fiddle, it did something that had never happened before: It made me want to — at the time I couldn’t go home to Ireland, and I think I neglected a lot of inspirations I had forgotten about and left so long ago, and it just took me right back.”

Later, the story was completed as King and Regan met six other players and formed Flogging Molly in 1997. The band, which mixes traditional Irish folk music with a blast of punk rock attitude, will play Saturday at the UC Irvine Bren Events Center.

Flogging Molly shows are a sight to be seen. Flogging Molly’s brand of punk is upbeat, and the mosh pits are less angry, probably due to the fun songs and catchy lyrics.

“The music is obviously up-tempo; it’s very lively, very in-your-face,” King said. “It’s all about celebration as opposed to kicking the crap out of each other. It’s about good times; it’s about bad times; it’s just about life and people who have been with Flogging Molly for a long time, and they know they’re just there to have a good time.”

The songs are inspired by life, history and tradition, including the tumultuous plight of the Irish over the past few centuries. The songs celebrate victories and lament defeats, but they celebrate the use of music throughout history. The songs also comment on King’s own life, reminding him of his youth in Dublin.

“It tends to be a bit of everything,” he said. “The songs are about life and the good and bad, and it can take you back to places you haven’t been in years or even thought about in years. I mean I remember thinking about a few songs, and it took me back to Beggar’s Bush in Dublin and the atmosphere that was there.”

More and more bands are fusing the traditional with the unconventional these days, but Flogging Molly could easily be considered an early purveyor of the style, although King said other bands may not have been as much in the public eye.

It’s a sound he and the other band members don’t necessarily try for, but rather it’s just the music that comes from their souls.

“It’s just the way it developed, you know, just the way it came about,” King said. “No one preconceived where we were going to go and who we were going to play with.”

Along with Regan’s fiddle and tin whistle, Matt Hensley plays accordion, and Bob Schmidt plays banjo and mandolin. The traditional instruments are joined by King’s unmistakable Irish accent, acoustic guitar and anecdotes about his life; Dennis Casey’s electric guitar; George Schwindt on drums; and Nathan Maxwell’s bass.

The absence of any of the instruments would create an entirely different band, King said.

The Irish licks are kicked up and made faster, with driving beats and King’s belted-out vocals, but they are still inherently Irish-influenced.

Flogging Molly is a live band. They tour extensively. This summer, the band traveled Europe, playing festivals and shows to big crowds. They even played twice a day because of demand. He said playing for crowds is as exciting for the band as it is for the fans.

“It’s life…. We do travel a lot and work really hard, so it’s fulfilling to see so many people get so much enjoyment out of a song that’s very personal for you — that is lovely,” he said. “A lot of people have said some lovely things about how it affects their lives and about making a change in this world by playing music — and in a small way I think you can — and that’s important when you travel and play to as many people as we do.”

The band is on SideOneDummy Records, a label known for its eclectic grouping of rock and punk bands with unconventional sounds and instruments. Flogging Molly is one of the label’s most successful and popular acts, often selling out shows and selling millions of records worldwide.

Other SideOneDummy acts Zox, the label’s newest band, and Bedouin Soundclash will open for Flogging Molly on Saturday.

From playing every week at Molly Malone’s to playing at the Bren Center, which can seat more than 5,000 people, the band has come a long way. The band has released four albums, plus the latest: a documentary-style CD/DVD in July called “Whiskey on a Sunday,” which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Top DVD Music Video chart. The band plans to start recording a new album after the college tour.

The Bren Events Center hosts a mishmash of events, including UC Irvine basketball and volleyball, but the center holds musical events about once a month.

“It worked out with the dates, and they’re actually a group I actually like, so I was pleased to have them come,” booking manager Jeff Grady said. “And a number of students said they were a interested in seeing Flogging Molly.”

The band is ready to head back to Orange County to play for its fans and for themselves to simply enjoy life.

“We just celebrate life in a certain way and we try to have fun doing it,” King said. “We’re not here to batter people over the head with our beliefs. We just do our best to have fun.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Irish punk band Flogging Molly

WHERE: UC Irvine Bren Events Center, Mesa Road and West Peltason Drive in Irvine on the UC Irvine campus

WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday

COST: $24 through Ticketmaster

INFO: www.floggingmolly.com or www.sideonedummy.com