Quick Note to subscribers on where the fuck I’ve been. My Aunt passed away somewhat unexpectedly earlier this month and I’ve been dealing with her house and estate. It’s been a monstrously shitty month and I still haven’t quite processed this loss of one of the three women that raised me (my mom, grandmother and aunt). I’ll write about it soon.
Earlier this month I got a chance at the June 6th Unite for Veterans Rally in Washington DC to chat with Dropkick Murphys’ Ken Casey. The Dropkick Murphy’s performed an incredible set at the rally in sweltering heat. They mixed their own music with some old protest favorites like ‘Which Side Are You On?.’ The band also played some of their own protest songs, including one that will be released July 4th on their new album.
Ken Casey had just returned from Ukraine where he was part of a humanitarian aid convoy bringing in trucks for the war effort. Ken Harbaugh, the events MC explained that ambulances have an average lifespan of 11 days in Ukraine as Russia targets them. Be sure to watch his introduction to the Dropkick Murphys set in the video embedded below.
I asked Casey why, unlike so many other big acts he was speaking out at this time. He told me that he didn’t “want to look back on this era and go, oh, man, I had a platform and we didn't use it. So that's why we use it.” He made sure to give a call out to Green Day and Bruce Springsteen for speaking out. “When you talk about people speaking up. You just always got to know first and foremost, The Boss always speaks up.”
You can watch the whole set here:
[Rough transcript of the interview]
Ken Casey: When you talk about people speaking up. You just always got to know first and foremost, the boss always speaks up. Green Day spoke up, there's a lot of people speaking up, but more could always do it.
Zach D Roberts: There hasn't been a lot of that since, like 04. There was a ton of acts age Against Machine and all these... like, why, why do you think that, like, there isn't a lot of huge acts like you, like, out here on the, you know, at protest?
Ken: I think people don't want to. They're afraid of, like, getting the MAGA troll army after them and getting, you know, losing their fan base and stuff, you know, during the Bush years, during the Reagan years, if you spoke out against those bands, you didn't have people attacking you for it. But, we've never shied away from, disagreements. So. Well, we think we feel like this is in our heart of hearts that this is the right thing to do. And I don't want to look back on this era and go, oh, man, I had a platform and we didn't use it. So that's why we use it.
Zach: You’ve been metaphorically and I think sometimes physically punching Nazis for quite a while. What made you want to build that into your music?
Ken: The times dictated it, but it's, we're not out looking for it, you know? It's just where we are, and it's what we, you know, you can't you can't sing about, standing up for what's right and then not stand up for it when it's the time is right, you know? And, you know, I just, like I said, especially the veterans, you know what I mean?
These people promise, what they deserve. And to have it taken away is, is even worse than the other things that are going on, which is just not treating people well. And, but but for the veterans who, you know, stood up so people like me could play music, why should they have their rights taken away?
Zach: You went to Ukraine, what was that like?
Ken: The Ukrainian people are the special, special people. Brave bunch. And, you know, in the face of, you know, missiles coming down on them and sirens and drones, they're still they have a good attitude and and they do feel forgotten by the world. So I think that's why it's important that people go over and do these things to help bring aid, not not just because they need the aid, because they need the reassurance, but like the world still stands with them.
Zach: Do you have a message to, like young people, musicians that are coming out play that might be afraid?
Ken: Politics into their music? Have some balls. Have some balls. People.
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