Commentary: The Dropkick Murphys keep up the resistance, and have a Capitol Hill moment

For 3 decades, the Dropkick Murphys person played their riotous marque of Boston Irish Celtic punk for legions of tattooed, mosh-pitting fans, but it wasn’t until past period that they recovered a caller pursuing among an improbable demographic: C-SPAN viewers.

Washington argumentation wonks and governmental junkies who tuned successful to ticker erstwhile Justice Department peculiar counsel Jack Smith attest earlier the House past period were treated to lurid details astir President Trump’s alleged engagement successful 2020 predetermination meddling and the Jan. 6 insurrection. What they didn’t bargain for were the animated actions of erstwhile D.C. bull Michael Fanone, who was successful the enclosure wearing a Dropkick Murphys T-shirt that work “Fighting Nazis Since 1996.”

Fanone, who was brutally attacked by a pro-Trump mob portion defending the Capitol successful 2021, was intolerable to miss. He was seated straight down Smith and the lone feline disposable successful a set T-shirt. Also notable were his reactions to GOP suggestions that the onslaught connected the Capitol ne'er happened, oregon was everyone’s responsibility but Trump’s: He coughed retired expletives and flashed colorful manus gestures. Dropkick Murphys T-shirt income spiked.

“It was this crazy, integrated thing,” says Ken Casey, pb vocalist of the band. “We ne'er enactment up a poster saying, ‘Hey, deterioration our shirt!’ But implicit the people of the adjacent week, we sold similar 6,000 of those shirts.” And for those who privation 1 now? The garment is connected backmost order.

Casey, who speaks successful a thick, working-class Boston accent (think “The Departed” meets a Ben Affleck Dunkin’ Donuts commercial), isn’t a alien to mixing euphony and politics. He has been outspoken onstage and successful the signaling workplace astir his absorption to MAGA’s migration policy, racist rhetoric and warfare connected the moving class. And the set announced Tuesday they’re parting ways with the Wasserman Music bureau due to the fact that the namesake of the bureau turned up successful the Epstein files.

Casey spoke with The Times astir challenging MAGA done the rebellion of punk rock.

The Dropkick Murphys’ “Fighting Nazis Since 1996” T-shirt is simply a blistery point present acknowledgment to its quality connected Capitol Hill, via Fanone. He’s been precise progressive and adamant astir countering MAGA’s Jan. 6 narratives, including testifying with his colleagues successful beforehand of the House select committee investigating the insurrection.

Ken Casey: “Michael is an aged friend. He was astatine our precise archetypal Dropkick amusement successful D.C. successful 1996, truthful it’s not similar he’s immoderate benignant of jump-on-the-bandwagon guy. I admit conscionable however vocal helium is. It’s 1 happening to speech the talk, but it’s different to locomotion the locomotion and beryllium showing up astatine each those events, and truly putting himself retired there.

But wherefore is it important for the Dropkick Murphys to talk out? You’ve nary uncertainty mislaid fans.

I hatred to accidental it, but successful immoderate ways, MAGA needs to beryllium countered with a reflector of them, similar successful carnal appearance. They emotion coating themselves arsenic righteous warriors and the remainder of the state arsenic immigrants, oregon immoderate different anserine s— they travel up with. But it seems to trigger them much erstwhile idiosyncratic similar Michael Fanone and the Dropkick Murphys talk up to them due to the fact that it conscionable similar explodes their mind. It’s like, “You’re expected to beryllium connected my side!” It’s similar no, retrieve erstwhile you were connected our side? Before you got twisted up by this lying con man?

In immoderate ways, nary set has much to suffer due to the fact that our instrumentality basal is the colonisation that mightiness leap into MAGA. But determination is that mediate crushed — the radical who don’t person clip for politics. Who don’t travel it arsenic intimately arsenic you oregon I do. They perceive things astir Biden, perceive things astir Trump, and it’s similar “I don’t cognize what to believe.” That’s wherever voices similar [mine] are important. You’re proceeding it from idiosyncratic who truly doesn’t person tegument successful the game. I’m an American citizen, not a politician. I don’t person firm involvement progressive successful this.

And past there’s the caller involvement successful your band, from folks who are conscionable discovering you, oregon possibly conscionable cognize your worldly from movie soundtracks similar “The Departed” (“I’m Shipping Up to Boston”).

It’s besides brought backmost fans and there’s this [renewed] punk stone urgency and value to our shows. It’s gained america a batch of caller fans, successful theory, similar radical who don’t needfully perceive to punk rock, oregon who wouldn’t perceive to our euphony oregon travel to our shows, they present talk retired and say, “I enactment Dropkick Murphys for what they’re doing.” It’s enactment successful solidarity. For the [longtime] fans, it’s rekindled this caller dedication. It’s reconnected america with immoderate aged fans who had drifted away.

What bash you accidental to different euphony artists who are acrophobic to talk retired against what they spot arsenic an injustice oregon wrongdoing?

We’ve already had each decease threat, each friggin’ cancellation threat. So what would we accidental to different bands and different radical who are keeping their caput down due to the fact that they don’t privation to woody with each the play that comes on with speaking up? Come connected in. The h2o is great. There’s thing to interest about. The [trolls] are a vocal number — online is bots and paid influencer types. Don’t fto anybody soundlessness you.

At this year’s Grammy Awards ceremony, each different acceptance code contained anti-ICE sentiment, truthful it does look that much musicians are speaking retired against Trump’s policies.

Listen, if executions successful the streets of your citizens [by ICE agents] doesn’t get radical to talk out, past thing will. But it’s bully to yet spot there’s a question starting to peak, retired of vexation and realization. I tin besides archer from the magnitude of attacks we get that there’s immoderate backpedaling. Obviously, there’ll ever beryllium the die-hards — Trump could beryllium molesting idiosyncratic successful beforehand of their eyes, and they’d inactive instrumentality with him. But there’s a batch of radical trying to softly region themselves.

Ken Casey of Dropkick Murphys

(Riley Vecchione)

If we’re being historically accurate, the Dropkicks person ever had thing to accidental astir what’s going connected successful this country.

The precise archetypal enactment sung connected our precise archetypal medium was successful regards to however Reagan started the dismantling of unions and [created a] wealthiness gap, truthful we’ve been astir it the full time. We’ve been showing up connected picket lines the full time. Social justice, we’ve ever been astir it. But earlier Trump, we weren’t needfully having to marque it a societal media beingness benignant of thing. But we’re successful a antithetic clip now.

The Republicans started to cosplay arsenic working-class achromatic males, and radical bought close into it. There’s a information of this state that is sick and twisted and MAGA has been a large conveyance for them, but past there’s besides a large information of the state that conscionable got caught up successful the lies and the bull— and the rhetoric.

Your set is portion of a caller inaugural aimed astatine getting much punk bands to talk information to power.

The Dropkick Murphys and Michael Fanone, on with the guys successful Rise Against, person started a collaborative called Down for the Cause. It’s fundamentally going to beryllium benignant of a punk stone collaborative due to the fact that years from now, we don’t privation punk stone to beryllium disgraced by the silence. Just benignant of get involved, not needfully supporting candidates but much similar taking backmost the aerial waves fto radical cognize that we don’t person to judge this unacceptable behavior. Also reminding radical to vote, due to the fact that if each those radical didn’t enactment connected the sidelines successful the past election, we astir apt wouldn’t beryllium successful the messiness we’re successful now.

Your set conscionable released a caller song, “Citizen I.C.E.” But is it new?

The opus is really 20 years old. It was called “Citizen CIA.” It was fundamentally a mock recruitment opus for the CIA, poking amusive astatine the harm the CIA has done astir the world. Now we flipped it to a mock ICE recruitment song, with lines similar “Too frightened to articulation the military, excessively dumb to beryllium a cop.” It’ll beryllium retired connected a divided album, “New England Forever,” that we did with a younger Boston set called Haywire. We’re touring with them present [ connected the “For The People…In the Pit St. Patrick’s Day Tour”].

What bash you accidental to radical who accidental unopen up and sing.

I get that adjacent radical who aren’t needfully MAGA don’t privation to perceive to idiosyncratic [on a] soapbox. But I presumption wherever we are arsenic five-alarm fire, and if you got a microphone successful beforehand of your mouth, you amended damn good beryllium talking into it.