Read a book with Dropkick Murphys

The Irish punk septet is shipping out to CoMO for a show at The Blue Note Nov. 18.

By Andrea Kszystyniak
Nov. 11, 2008

Courtesy of Born & Bred Records

Courtesy of Born & Bred Records

The Dropkick Murphys never expected to hit it big. Formed in the basement of a friend's barbershop, the seven 30-something men started playing music for fun back in 1996. To their surprise, people actually liked it and as a result, the band has been recording and touring ever since. A blend of traditional Irish music and hard-core punk, Dropkick has been the soundtrack to millions of drunken Irish jigs as well as the Boston Red Sox World Series wins. Much more than boobs, beer and bad-mouthing President Bush, Dropkick is a breath of fresh air from the predictability of modern "punk" bands. The band will be paying CoMo a visit Nov. 18 and granting this sleepy city a night of green beer and utter chaos.

MOVE recently corresponded with drummer Matt Kelly to discuss music, the Boston area and the band members' lives as "family guys."

MOVE: Why'd you guys start playing music?

Matt Kelly: Because we weren't good at anything else and wanted to emulate the bands we listened to and put our own twist on it.

MOVE: How'd you all get together?

MK: Originally, it was guys who were in the Boston scene in one capacity or another who just thought it'd be a good idea to play some tunes. Ken had a name and a song ("Barroom Hero"), and we went from there.

MOVE: What were your biggest influences?

MK: The Clash, The Pogues, The Swingin' Utters, The Bruisers, Stiff Little Fingers, AC/DC, etc. and local life in and around Boston.

MOVE: What's the origin of your name?

MK: Dropkick Murphy was a football player, a boxer, a pro wrestler and a boxing coach. He was an ex-drunk who helped a lot of his boxers clean up their acts. He opened a clinic at his farm, and thus, a legend was born. He became a bit of a Boston-area legend. We took the name off that maniac.

MOVE: When "Tessie" came out during the Red Sox World Series win, all of Boston went Dropkick-crazy. How did that affect you guys?

MK: Until that song, your typical Boston yahoo didn't really know who we were. Now the people who wouldn't have pissed on us if we were burning are now like, "Dooood, fuckin' Dropkicks, brah!" So I guess the local Boston townie crowd is a bit more tolerant of punkers and skinheads now.

MOVE: Your latest album, The Meanest of Times, is much more reflective than past albums. Why is that?

MK: I don't know. I think most of our albums have a bit of reflection on the follies of youth, etcetera. This one more so? I don't really know. This was the quickest album we ever wrote. Before we knew it, we had 21 songs.

MOVE: Why is your ethnicity so important to you as a band?

MK: I think it's more our backgrounds and that ethnicity happens to fall in there. It's more so where we come from in our upbringings and social class than anything exclusively like what we come from. 

MOVE: How does your Catholicism play into your music and your career as a band?

MK: Not everyone in the band is Catholic, but I guess the influence it has is that maybe we try to be upstanding people and not be your typical "rock" jerks and live up to some image of coke, strippers and infidelity. We're family guys and that's the No. 1 thing for us.

MOVE: What one song has been the most meaningful to you?

MK: Probably "Your Spirit's Alive."  It's about our good friend Greg Riley who died on his motorcycle. He was one of the best people any of us knew and will be missed.

MOVE: What's your favorite song to play together?

MK: A lot of us really dig playing "Wheel of Misfortune." Not sure why, but it's a stirring number.

MOVE: How has this tour been for you guys? Any interesting stories, weird stuff?

MK: Second gig, so it's early to tell. We had a blast in Maine, and today we're in Atlantic City. Having a blast so far! 

MOVE: How would you describe the typical Dropkick fan?

MK: Between 12 and 70 years old, from every background, subculture and likes rock 'n' roll.

MOVE: What sort of influence do you hope to have over the people who listen to your music?

MK: To check out the bands that influence us and bands from their neck of the woods. We're a "gateway drug" of sorts, and there are plenty of great underground bands out there. I hope we inspire people to delve into punk and rock from their area and get into their scenes, support their local bands and small venues.

MOVE: You recently released a the single "Last Letter Home," which contained excerpts personal letters between Sgt. Andrew Farrar, his mother and his wife. You donated all of the proceeds to the Farrar family. What does the song mean to you?

MK: It's about the double-edged sword that is fighting for your country. It's an honorable thing, but it can be a savage loss to one's family.

MOVE: Your Web site makes it evident that you are definitely really close with your family and friends. How do you make a compromise between family, friends and touring?

MK: We try to only tour about three weeks at a time tops these days. I think we did an 11-month stretch one year and that was a bit much. Nowadays with guys having families and stuff, we like to keep it to the above three-week max. Also, sometimes we bring wives and kids for short runs.

MOVE: Well, I'm from the Boston area and I've been meaning to make it to a St. Patrick's Day show for some time now. It might as well be a Boston holiday. What does that show mean to you?

MK: Well, when you say "show," it's "shows." Normally it's a week with about 10 gigs and coming off from touring. Guys actually find playing a long stretch at home much harder than being on tour. It's like worlds colliding. There's very little sleep involved, and if we were to be drunk the whole time, we'd all come down with pneumonia. What it means to us is that a bunch of our family and friends come to Boston and we get to see them but not really hang out with them. It's a giant party for most people involved and a special time for us. Our fans and friends come out in force from across the globe for it.

MOVE: How many liters of Guinness would you say you as a band pound back on the average St. Patty's Day?

MK: Zero. Bud. Weis. Er. Bud. Weis. Er. Bud-weis-er. Budweiser. That's basically the band's favorite beer.

MOVE: Your band is getting older, with some of the members in their mid-forties. You've been playing together since 1996. Do you think you'll stop playing music anytime soon?

MK: No. My dad is 58 - not old by any stretch, just saying - and still plays out almost every weekend. I don't see why it should be different for me. I love playing music, so there's no stopping me or the other guys from ruining people's ears.

MOVE: A special Dropkick Murphys track pack was recently released for Guitar Hero, containing tracks like "Famous for Nothing," "(F)lannigan's Ball" and

"Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya" off Meanest of Times. Do you play your own songs on Guitar Hero?

MK: I've never played Guitar Hero in my life. I think a couple of the other guys tried it out but quickly got bored with it. Read a book, folks.

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