BAND: Dropkick Murphys
INTERVIEWER: Sarah Boger (Sarah@bandvibe.com)
INTERVIEWEE: James & Tim
DATE OF INTERVIEW: 03.03.10
BAND MEMBERS:
Al Barr-lead vocals
Ken Casey-lead vocals, bass
Matt Kelly-drums, bodhran, vocals
James Lynch-guitar, vocals
Tim Brennan-guitar, accordion, vocals
Jeff DaRosa- mondolin, banjo, bouzouki, whistle, acoustic guitar, keyboard, vocals
Scruffy Wallace-bagpipes
Sarah: You guys have been at this for quite a while now, what’s changed for you as a band over the years?
James: Most obviously the lineup. The way time fly’s around here it seems like we’ve been with this lineup forever.
Tim: The newest guy has been around for 3 St. Patrick days now.
James: That’s how we judge time.
Tim: I mean it seems like yesterday we were at a club practicing with him about to take him on his first tour. We would hang out in Boston and rent out a club there for a couple days and practice, and that seems like it was 2 months ago.
James: That’s really the only thing different, this thing is a thing in an of itself and we just go and do and it’s always the same thing. It doesn’t matter where we are, big show, small show, club, Stubbs. It’s the same thing.
Sarah: That brings me to another question. So big shows, small shows what ones do you like better?
James: It’s all great. A big show can be amazing and a small show can be amazing you know?
Tim: I agree with that.
James: I thought you might.
Sarah: So in the aspect of shows, you guys are doing Warped Tour again this year, how is it different from other tours? I know it’s a crazier, your sets are shorter, but is it more fun? Or is it just really tiring?
Tim: The last time we did it in 2005 we did the whole thing and at that point we kinda had it figured out, how to make it as comfortable for us as possible. We’re definitely looking forward to it, it’s a chance for us to get across to people that haven’t heard of us because Warped Tour has turned into a completely definitely thing in the past few years as far as the lineup. But we make things as comfortable as possible for us out there.
James: It’s a blast. You’re with the same bands the whole time. I mean going on the road with anyone an inevitable relationship forms there because it’s not a regular way to live and traveling with that many bands, that many people it’s like a little mobile society. It’s a lot of fun, I’m looking forward to doing it again. Now that it’s a lot easier for us. The first time we did it, it was like hell on earth.
Tim: And we’re only doing like 8 days.
Sarah: Yeah you’re just doing like the last leg.
James: We’re doing the old man version.
Sarah: What kind of bands do you enjoy touring with? Do you enjoying touring with the more seasoned veterans like you, or the younger kids that maybe haven’t toured as much?
James: There’s pros and cons with both. Like Larry and His Flask is on tour with us right now and they’ve never done something like this before. They’re just pumped every night and it’s really fun to watch. Bands that have been around and touring longer than you may learn a new way to keep your feet clean.
Sarah: So you guys just did a live album that is going to be out, actually really soon.
Tim: Yeah in 13 days.
Sarah: Do you guys like doing the live albums or studio albums more?
Tim: It was, well we made the mistake of recording all 7 shows, so then we had to whittle it all down to one. So that was kinda hard because we had to sit and listen to everything you know? But at the end of it all I think we got something that really represents what we do as far as our live shows. It’s always difficult in the studio to try to capture what the songs are going to be like live, because we’re a live band that’s our bread and butter. I think it was a good time for us to do the live thing, we had been touring so much so we were all pretty on point so it’s really a good representation of the band at this point.
James: I was excited about it too. This is the second live album that we’ve done. With the first one I was still fairly new to the band so I was the other guitar player was new to the band, we were all fairly young and I think just trying to play the songs as good as we could, you know? This is like 8 or 9 years later or something and we’ve got different people now and better at playing so it’s not just us playing the songs it’s more like a live show in that aspect.
Sarah: What was your favorite album to produce so far?
James: Everyone says it and everyone hates hearing it. The last one, “The Meanest Of Times”. I think it is the best thing that the band has done in a long time.
Tim: I would have to agree with that.
Sarah: You guys have some fan favorites, but what is your favorite song to play live?
Tim: We just like s of tonight we’ll be playing an older song that will soon be my favorite one live. We do like a newer version of one off of our first record called “Far Away Coast” I really like Playing that one.
Sarah: That is actually one of my favorites.
Tim: Oh Cool.
James: It really goes night to night for me, we play for an hour and a half a night so it becomes one big thing Ya know, I just try to have has much fun for every second of it.
Sarah: How did you get started in music?
James: My father was a musician, and it was the only thing I could do. It was one of those things that didn’t feel like a choice.
Tim: My brother and I both, our parents aren’t musical or anything, but we both started to pick stuff up when we were younger and started playing in bands in town, but I don’t know it just kinda happened. It seems like I was just learning how to play fucking, “Come As You Are” and now I’m up there, so I’m not sure how it happened exactly.
James: Look, a tumbleweed.
Sarah: Yeah you’re in Texas, probably don’t get those too much up in the Boston area.
James: No not really.
Sarah: So how do you go about writing songs, is it a group process or mainly one person takes over?
Tim: Someone will come up with a riff or something and bring it in, and we’ll go from there. There’s 7 dudes in the band so it gets a little rough when we’re all in the room together trying to work out a song, so it’s kinda done in shifts like the bass will get written and stuff gets added to it like pipes and the Irish stuff. But it usually starts with someone coming in with like a riff or a vocal idea or something.
James: The song writing is definitely a group process.
Sarah: Who are you listening to right now?
Tim: I don’t know, we listen to a lot of stuff constantly
James: There are a bunch of staples in the bus. Springsteen is always around.
Tim: A bunch of Rock ‘n Roll stuff. Chuck Barry
James: I love the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack.
Sarah: First album you ever bought?
James: The first record I ever had was The Stray Cats.
Tim: I don’t remember the first album I ever bought myself. Probably some bummed out cassette tape like New Kids or something.
James: I would like to that my dad for being cool enough to give me a cool answer for that.
Tim: Yeah I got nothin’ my parents listened to like Elton John and stuff.
Sarah: First concert you ever went to?
James: My dad snuck my in to Los Lobos, he lied and said we were from the sound company and I was terrified that we were going to get thrown out the whole time.
Tim: Uh the first concert I ever went to was, well some friends dad got like the hook up with some big show in Hartford where I lived and it was like Lollapalooza 95 or something like that and the Bosstones opened and after they were done I did not give a shit about anybody else.
James: 95 was a big year for them too.
Tim: It was like the I Don’t Know How To Party era, or maybe, well whatever year it was it was impressive.
Sarah: What’s the one thing you want to go home to the most? Loved ones and friends aside.
James: My lunatic side project The Side Effects
Tim: His lunatic side project The Side Effects.
Sarah: Worst injury sustained on stage?
James: I had a half full bear can hit me in the head, and then security came and took me off stage, that was in Amsterdam. It wasn’t really an injury though I was fine.
Tim: I haven’t really injured myself on… Now you got me saying that, um well I’ve never injured myself yet.
Sarah: Zombies are attacking, what do you grab to defend yourself against the army??
Tim: Evan.
James: Evan good call. Our tour manager.
Sarah: Now is he bait or like a weapon?
Tim: Nah he just takes care of them.
Sarah: What's one question you want to be asked in an interview but never have been?
James: I’m not too fond of interviews, so I never really considered the question.?
Tim: I’ve never even thought about that myself. Huh.
Sarah: Well that you guys, that’s all I got. It was a pleasure.
James & Tim: Thank you!
For more official information on Dropkick Murphys, please log onto:
www.dropkickmurphys.com/
www.myspace.com/dropkickmurphys
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