pastepunk.com interview - Dropkick Murphys

I don't think there is another punk band in America that currently has as strong a following as the DROPKICK MURPHYS. As the band's sound has progressed and widened, so has the number of people attending their shows. Are these guys THE CLASH of this generation? Well that might be jumping the gun, but there is no doubt that this band has etched their way into punk rock history. Their new album, "Sing Loud, Sing Proud," has sold over 40,000 copies in just its first eight weeks, and their two month trek across the states featured sold-out shows nearly the entire way through. I sat down with vocalist Al Barr and Drummer Matt Kelly at the Nation, in Washington DC before the show and we talked for about 35 minutes. Here's just about everything that went on. Conducted by Jordan A. Baker on March 15, 2001.

pastepunk: Okay, I guess I'll start off with a tough one. Do you guys think that if you didn't have the song "Barroom Hero" on the first "Give 'em The Boot compilation," do you think you'd have the same level of success as you do now?

Al: Definitely, I mean that was just one song. Success is measured in many different terms but I think the main reason people like us is because they can sing along, and we tour like fucking crazy, and they know about us. That song was a great way to introduce the band and get our name out there, but there were a lot of other factors.

pastepunk: So you don't think that it was a "at the right place at the right time," kinda thing?

Al: Well, that had something to do with it I'm sure, but it wasn't like someone came to us and said "we're gonna make you happen with this song on this compilation." Bands like RANCID, the MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES have helped us out a ton, but our touring has probably been the most important thing. There wasn't one place or one time that really made us popular.

pastepunk: "Sing Loud, Sing Proud," debuted in the Billboard's top 200 chart in its first week, which is pretty awesome. What do you think about that?

Al: We were totally floored by that. It did almost 10,000 sales in the first week. We never shoot for that kinda stuff, but to see it actually happen is incredible. Toni Braxton was like one spot lower than us and it was a kick to see.

Matt: It was very flattering and overwhelming. You work so hard for so long, constantly on the road, and it's great to see that people are into what we do so much that they go out and buy the cd on the first or second day its released. It's an amazing feeling.

pastepunk: You guys did a whole bunch of in-store appearances promoting the new album, which I think is a great idea. How did those shows go, and whose idea was it?

Al: Initially, the idea was presented to us to do appearances and signings, but we're not that kinda band. We offered to play acoustic sets instead, and then if kids wanted our signatures, that'd be okay. We weren't going to go and say, "hmm, where is my tea? would you like an autograph young girl?" So playing an acoustic set was just natural.

Matt: We had been talking about doing some acoustic sets before and this was the perfect opportunity for that. And the shows wen't amazing. It was chaos. (Check out the DKM website for pictures!). I didn't know what to expect crowd wise or sound wise, but we had a killer time doing it.

pastepunk: Would you consider doing a small acoustic tour at clubs?

Al: It would probably work at a club too, but when people come to see us at a club, they are used to seing us in our usual element and that would have thrown everyone for a loop if we came "unplugged." At the record stores, it was cool, because that already wasn't our usual environment. And the kids turned out in droves. There were mosh pits at Tower Records!

Matt: For an acoustic thing, the reception was pretty good. We thought they'd be sitting down like hippies or something.

Al: No way, it was intense. There was crowd surfing, kids were knocking the monitors over. Some of these stores, they didn't even remove the cd rows. So we'd be like, "Alrighty, those over by the N'SYNC lunch boxes, let's hear ya sing this one!"

pastepunk: I'm sure you've heard this since people started reviewing the new album, but there is an obvious shift in style, partly due to the production. Why is there so much of the celtic influences this time than on prior stuff?

Al: We didn't really shift our sound, we just made it more elaborate. The answer to the celtic part is pretty simple. We had been discussing before using these celtic influences since it is in all of our backgrounds, but we wanted it to sound great in the studio and not half-assed. By touring, we had come to meet many punks who played these instruments well and were able to assemble a crew in the studio.

Matt: It's the same sound but we added more texture and broadened it a bit. The bagpipes, mandolin, tin whistle, dolcimer(?!?), it all just worked well with our song structures and we love the way it came out. With the thick production, the songs just sound authentic and all, which was what we were truly going for.

pastepunk: On that note, I think the gang vocals are probably louder than ever before. How many people did you have in the studio helping you out on those?

Matt: About 500, nah...actually it was more like 35-40 people who had come down to our big room. One day I had bought a few hundred dollars worth of meat and beer, and we just had a big party. The problem though was that we started serving the alcohol before we told everyone the lyrics and recorded the vocals, so the drunken sounds are real. We're all screaming out of key, it was fun as hell. There were a ton of people just hanging out. Guys from the DUCKY BOYS and BLOOD FOR BLOOD came down...it was very cool.

pastepunk: I've always like the artwork on all of your releases, but especially on the "The Gang's All Here." The military theme was extremely sharp. Who was responsible for that concept?

Matt: We had been looking at WWII posters and war bonds literature...a lot of the propaganda pieces and they had just inspired us through the vein of art of that era. "The Gang's All Here," is a modern colloquialism, ya know. My Grandmother says that phrase all the time when the whole family gets together. When we got to Germany, a lot of the people didn't quite get the artwork's theme and were confused over its message, but it was more or less oriented as a non-intentional theme. We're not a "war" band or anything, but it sure looked nice.

pastepunk: I know the band is involved with Flat Records, and I'm curious as to how the alliance with TKO came about?

Matt: Yeah, that's Ken's project, and I help him out with a lot of the stuff. I'm actually Vice-President, heh. Since we tour all the time, it was becoming increasingly difficult for us to put a lot of time into the releases that we were putting out. The label originally started out as a way to put our some of our releases but we wanted to help some friends out too. THE DUCKY BOYS, THE TROUBLE, 30 SECONDS OVER TOKYO, mostly local Boston stuff. We did RUNNIN' RIOT from Northern Ireland. We eventually merged with TKO b/c we didn't have time to advertise our stuff, and our distribution was pretty small. The deal is cool. We sign the bands and stuff, but they take care of all the business side aspects of it and give the bands the push they need. TKO is great, we've been good friends with those people for awhile now.

pastepunk: I just think its great when people in bands start labels because it is like they are giving back to the scene that helped spawn them. If I like the band, most likely I'll dig the bands they think are good. A good example is Tim Armstrong and Hellcat Records. Anyway, I'm from New York,and I'm not too familiar with the Boston scene, please describe it to me...

Al: Lots kids, but no venues and few shows. There is just no place to play. All the good clubs have been destroyed. The Rat is gone, The channel is gone. No more all-ages shows. The Middle East, the old-church, it's all gone. It's all because of the techno-dance crap. It's a big college area and all the kids are into that stuff. (Al subsequently makes some funny techo beat sounds).

pastepunk: The same kinda thing happened in NYC, but that was more due to gentrification rather than the techo stuff. Coney Island high, Tramps....

Al: Yeah, we had done a record release show at Coney Island high, that's pretty crappy with what happened to them. We did a show at the Sam Goody in NYC on that acoustic tour and I went to go hang with Bryan of the BOUNCING SOULS because he lives around there, and I went up to St. Marks street, and I didn't even recognize the area, and I used to live around there back in 1987. Like Tompkins square park? Where was tent city? It was fucking winter, where were all the homeless? It's just weird. I got lost because the area was so nice that I no longer understood where I was. It took me a little while get my orientation back.

Matt: Yeah, the same kind of gentrification is happening in Boston too. One of the most historic old-town stores was torn down a few years ago and now it's like a fucking Starbucks.

Al: Right, because that is just exactly what this world needs is more fucking Starbucks.

pastepunk: On the song, "The Fortunes of War," that song is dedicated to the memory of Brian Deneke, the Texan punker who was murdered. That incident has gotten a lot of press lately, would you like to talk about it some more?

Al: Sure...well his death wasn't well publicized at first at all, but the punk community has been getting the word out about it. Tomorrow we're getting interviewed by MTV about it actually, and Brian's Mother gave me a shirt to wear about it tomorrow. We were inspired by him to write the song. We had played a show in Lubbock, Texas and we were then approached by his brother who told us that it was two weeks ago from that date that he was killed and one week since he was buried, and that we were his favorite band. Two of his favorite songs by us were played at his funeral and wake, and that just moved us. That night we dedicated the set to him and about a 1.5 years later, we came through and did a benefit for the family in Amarillo, Texas. There was no justice in the entire case, it's a real shame. The murdered was a rich kid who got like 10 years of probation...

pastepunk: I hope that goes well with the whole MTV thing.

Al: Yeah, the good thing is that it's not just about us, it has a great cause behind it and it's something that is truly important to us.

pastepunk: The last question I got written down is about your relationship with Lars, can you talk a little bit about that?

Al: Ah, we hate the guy, we fight like cats and dogs everyday, heheh...nah...Lawrence, er Lars is an amazing guy. When he recorded our first two albums he came and crashed at Kenny's house for two weeks and this time, we didn't have that. So we figured that we'd take his new project out on the road with us, and those dudes are fucking excellent. Wait till you see them live. They are phenomenal. Lars is just one of the best humans I've ever met. He's just totally real.

pastepunk: So who do you want to really take out on the road that you haven't been able to do so yet?

Al: That's a tough one. There are a ton of bands that we really like and would love to have out on the road with us, but so many of these bands don't understand what it takes to go out and spend 2-3 months doing this touring stuff at a time, and that playing with a band like us is okay, but the rest is up to them to get to the clubs, to make sure their van works, to make sure their equipment is working and that they get to the club on time. We've been in a difficult position sometimes because if we bring friends along for a few dates, you might have to get mad at them if they screw up. You don't ever want to apologize to a club for a band being 2 hours late. We've got a wishlist...but right now the biggest is getting BLOOD FOR BLOOD out of retirement and to come to Europe with us.

pastepunk: So you picked REACH THE SKY too for this tour then? Ian's an awesome guy.

Al: Yeah, we've done a few mini-tours with them, and this is their first monster tour with us and they will also be coming to Europe with us also. Ian's definitely a cool guy, and REACH THE SKY are one of the most interesting hardcore bands around.

pastepunk: Are there plans to tour for the rest of the year?

Al: We're not doing Warped, but we'll be on the road for most of the rest of the year. We have a couple of weeks off after this tour and then it's off to Europe. Then a couple weeks and we are off to Japan to play the Mt. Fuji Fest, which actually isn't on Mt. Fuji. It's a big music festival. We've been to Japan before and we saw Mt. Fuji from like 10 miles away and it was immense. We were hoping this one would be on the mountain, but oh well. We've been out to Japan before by ourselves and it was great. We did four shows with their local bands. It was cool except for Nogoya where we ended up playing with some wacky polka band. That was fucking weird. We're tyring to get ready and stuff, but all of sudden this "oom-papa" stuff comes through walls. They had a tuba player...it was bizarre circus music. They had lotsa accordian instruments and other celtic stuff, but all these other instruments too that made no sense. We were embarrassed to play with them, it was like some out of hand high-school joke.

pastepunk: Ok, Al, you've been in bands for like what, 18 years now between your time in THE BRUISERS and the DROPKICK MURPHYS, what is the single most important thing you have learned not to do?

Al: Hmm, that's probably one of the most interesting and tougest questions I've even been asked during an interview. Wow, I don't know even how to answer that. I can tell you what I've learned though...You don't ever want to be involved with big rock stars (thee Lars Frederiksen enters the room at this very moment - I momentarily freak out and quickly grab a sticker and give it to him, quivering the entire time), heh...I've learned so many things...Okay, my voice tends to sound a lot better the more shows I play than when we have breaks in between. If we have 20 days in a row its great for my voice, but we have like 3 shows over 10 days its tough.

pastepunk: Good answer. REACH THE SKY's about to go on and I want to catch them, thanks a ton guys!

Big thanx go to: Charlie @ Epitaph, Dropkick's Manager, The very nice stage crew at the Nation that let me watch the entire show backstage, and to the killer photographers who took these pictures. Grant Thayer, and Rami of Totalpisser.com (check out that site!)

www.dropkickmurphys.com