Molly Hatchet was formed in Jacksonville, Fla. in 1975. The release of their self-titled debut album in 1978 established them as a force in the field of Southern rock. Their second album, “Flirtin’ With Disaster,” came out the following year. It sold more than 2 million copies and scored a major hit song with the title track.

The band’s roots go back to the early 1970s when Danny Joe Brown and Steve Ingram were in a band called Rum Creek. Brown went on to become Molly Hatchet’s original lead singer. Brown left the band in 1980. Ingram joined as lead guitarist in 1985. The group has gone through many lineup changes, with Ingram now the member with the longest amount of time in the band.

Brown returned in time to sing on the 1983 album “No Guts, No Glory.” The band split with their original record label, Epic, and signed to Capital Records for the 1989 album “Lightning Strikes Twice.” The album did not sell well and Capital decided not to pick up an option for another record.

Ingram said this led to several members quitting the group. He and Brown opted to carry on. “We loved the music,” he said. “We did not want to pack up and go home. We do not give up that easy.”

In 1996 they released “Devil’s Canyon.” Ingram said they asked some of the original members to return, but they were not interested. “Danny and I did as much as we could.”

Brown suffered from diabetes and died from complications of the disease in 2005. “He gave a lot of good rock ‘n roll to the world,” Ingram remarked.

Ingram suffered personal hardships, including a heart attack and the death of his wife and parents.

After the 2005 release of “Warriors of the Rainbow Bridge,” Ingram lost interest in writing and recording new material. That changed in 2009, when a 7-year-old girl named Somer Thompson was brutally murdered in Florida.

Ingram met her parents. The band wrote the song “Fly on Wings of Angels (Somer’s Song). They played some benefit shows and donated proceeds to the family and a foundation they established.

That inspired the group to write material for “Justice,” which was released in June. Ingram said the injustice done to the little girl formed the basis of an album focused on the theme of justice.

“We see a lot of injustice done to humanity. It is done to people, to religions. In every walk of life there has been injustice,” Ingram said. “We saw this as a worldwide topic we wanted to touch on, in the only way we know how - music.”

The recording was done using analog consoles, while the editing was digital. Ingram feels this captured the best of the old and new recording technology. “We are really proud of this album.”

They recorded it in Germany, in an isolated area up in the mountains. “I think it is great to get out of the country to record,” Ingram said. “You can block out a lot of distractions.”

The band began its latest tour this summer. The set list covers the history of the band, with songs from the first album all the way up to material from “Justice.” Ingram looks forward to their upcoming show in Spanaway. It has been some time since Molly Hatchet visited the Northwest. “There are some parts of the country we have not hit for awhile.”

He promised fans they are in for a show performed by “a gun-toting, flag waving bunch of rednecks. After three decades we are still flirtin’ with disaster!”

For more information about the band, visit www.mollyhatchet.com.

Molly Hatchet plays Uncle Sam’s Bar and Grill in Spanaway at 7 p.m. on Aug. 28.

Contact the writer at jlarson@tacomaweekly.com.