With the Murphys’ last two albums The Meanest of Times and Going Out In Style charting in the top 20 on the US Billboard charts the band’s success appears to be growing, but Casey doesn’t see it as the band suddenly gaining more mainstream appeal. “It’s not like we’ve rocketed up the charts, we’ve stayed the same, it’s the rest of the music industry that’s plummeted, that’s the secret to our success, just wait it out!” Dropkick Murphys are heralded for their support of the unions and the working class man and Casey feels strongly that it’s this dedication to and consideration of their fans that has ensured their ongoing success. “You know we’ve got a strong loyal fan base and we play for a reasonable ticket price and in this economy you know, when people have to choose one thing as opposed to getting everything, a lot of people stick with us,” explains Casey. “You know less is more, maybe a lower ticket price means you’re playing to more people and it all comes out in the wash, maybe they’re happier paying less and they buy a t-shirt. It’s not very difficult to keep your fans happy but a lot of bands don’t even make the effort to do it.” Keeping that original generation of fans happy only generates more fans, literally, says Casey, “It’s growing, you know half of it after 16 years is people’s kids, their parents came to see us when they were teenagers and now they have their own kids that are listening to us – just have your audience spawn children that like you!”
When discussing what keeps the band inspired to keep playing after all these years, Casey explains it’s a combination of things, “The live show and from meeting the fans and the fact that we’ve been able to become respected in our own communities for who we are and what we do and being able to give back. In your hometown you wanna be liked and you know it’s nice to have that feeling of people being proud of you at home, so to speak. All those things combined make us very grateful, enthusiastic and motivated for being in the band.” Regarding their reputation for a consistently high octane live show Casey adds, “You might have a tiring long day, you might be sick and throwing up on the bus all day, but then show time comes and that first song starts and the adrenalin kicks in, all you’re thinking about is, this is awesome.”
Dropkick Murphys will be bringing their famed live show to our shores in April this year for Bluesfest and a side show at Festival Hall. The band will be touring in support of their eighth long player, Signed and Sealed in Blood which has just been released. Casey describes the songwriting process and recording for this album as a smooth one, “With seven band members it’s hard to get everyone on the same page you know, three guys might really wanna write while one guys having a baby or one guys on vacation, it was just like, organically at the same time everyone was just kinda like, let’s do this you know, and we just kinda put our nose to the grindstone and it came together really quick.” Rating Australia as one of their favourite places to tour, Casey is eagerly awaiting their return, “People in Australia in general have just been so welcoming to us and really made us feel like honestly we’re at home and the worst part of any Australian tour is the day I have to leave you know! And I don’t feel that way about many places. So yeah we’d like to thank you for all the years of hospitality.”
BY KRYSTAL MAYNARD
