Ken Casey Discusses Dropkick Murphys’ Legacy, New Album + More

Ken Casey joined Loudwire Nights on Thursday (July 17) to dive into For the People, the latest album from Dropkick Murphys.

Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

“Anytime you release new music and you’re about to go on tour, it’s exciting,” Casey told host Chuck Armstrong.

“A lot of time goes into that process — we started to write these songs a year ago. By the time you write them, record them, do all the stuff you got to do with the artwork and submitting it, come on, it’s a long process. So it’s like Christmas when it comes out.”

For the People marks Dropkick Murphys’ 13th studio album and Casey admitted it’s hard to believe the band is at this point.

“I don’t know how that happened,” he admitted.

“The band started on a bet. I never played music and a kid that I worked with had me put a band together to open for his band with three weeks notice … Now, three decades later and 13 albums and I look at a bunch of the laminates and where we’ve toured and all the miles we’ve gone, if someone said would you do it again, I’d probably say no.”

Casey said he takes every step of his journey one day at a time and he attributes the longevity of the band to that mindset.

“We got the three decades by doing the next show and the next album and very much enjoying the ride along the way,” he shared.

“But yeah, sometimes, it does make me want to scratch my head and go, ‘How the hell did that happen?'”

Casey told the Loudwire Nights audience that he typically doesn’t spend much time reflecting on his career, but as Dropkick approach 30 years, he can’t help but pause and look back.

“We’ve spoken out against racism and far-right politics and social injustice since we started,” Casey said.

“If you were going to be a band of that ilk for 30 years and now you’re in this moment and you didn’t speak out, why would you do that? Frankly, a lot of people [are doing that] because they’re bending the knee, because they’re scared. They don’t want their business affected or maybe they don’t want to have the army of trolls come after them or whatever.”

READ MORE: Tom Morello Discusses Rage Against the Machine’s Legacy While Celebrating New Solo Music

As Casey thought about that, he was quick to say that has never been an option for Dropkick Murphys.

“A lot of people are choosing to just kind of keep their head down in this moment. But that would be a betrayal to everything that Dropkick Murphys was created to be about. So here we are.”

What Else Did Dropkick Murphys’ Ken Casey Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• The authenticity of his band’s songs: “I don’t think we’ve ever written a song about something that we weren’t, you know, emotionally impacted by or involved in. Well, maybe ‘Kiss Me, I’m Shitfaced,’ we weren’t emotionally impacted by it … [But even that] is about the annoying person who’s not living in reality because they’re drunk and stupid. But that’s the beauty of Irish music. People can take the most downtrodden song, a song about death and war and famine, and still sing it like it’s an anthem.”
• Why he doesn’t get overwhelmed by writing music that carries a message: “The easier road in anything you do is often not the rewarding road, you know what I mean? So sometimes taking a more difficult path about speaking our mind is what makes it rewarding. It would be easier and more peaceful if we shut our mouth. But then I don’t think I’d be fulfilled as a person as much.”
• Why he’s excited to hit the road with Bad Religion: “It’s nice to be a band for 30 years and go on tour with another band where we’re the little brothers. Their message and music has inspired us and it’s bands like that that were outspoken and political [who] gave us a voice that we were able to use. It’ll be nice to spend a summer with like-minded people.”

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Ken Casey joined Loudwire Nights on Thursday, July 17; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.