Dropkick Murphys are one of the most outspoken bands when it comes to protesting the policies of the Trump administration, including the recent actions by ICE in Minneapolis and beyond. At the forefront is frontman Ken Casey, who recently caught up with Consequence to discuss the band’s activism, among other topics.
The veteran punk act recently kicked off their annual “St. Patrick’s Day Tour,” which hits a number of cities throughout the United States before wrapping up with five hometown shows in Boston in mid-March (pick up tickets via Ticketmaster or StubHub). At the tour launch in Portland, Maine, the band gave its anti-ICE song “Citizen I.C.E.” its US live debut.
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Casey actually reworked the lyrics to a 2005 Dropkick song called “Citizen C.I.A.” for “Citizen I.C.E.,” with the singer telling us in the video interview above, “ I was like, holy shit, these lyrics [just need] a few changes, and they really hit ICE on the nose. I just started changing it on the fly on tour in Europe… and people in Europe started to really react to it. Punk rock’s job in this moment is to keep speaking up, keep trolling the government, keep defying the government, and I felt like this was a good way to do it.”
As to why he thinks more bands aren’t speaking out against the Trump administration, Casey reasoned, “From some of my conversations with bands who aren’t speaking out, you could have anything from a portion of the band doesn’t wanna lose fans, doesn’t wanna get caught in the controversy. You could have some of the older bands, in particular, that are just like, ‘I don’t want to bring the potential of violence on my home in my family.”
He added, “Another reason Dropkick Murphys are speaking out is I think it’s important to say, ‘Hey, we’re all in, we’re getting trashed, trolled, losing fans, and guess what, the water’s fine. Come on in. Nothing to be scared about. No one’s stepped to me in public yet. It’s just trolls on the internet.'”
Elsewhere in the interview, Casey discusses his humanitarian trip to the Ukraine, the potential of a general strike in the United States, the punk acts that influenced him, and his band’s unwavering allegiance to Boston and New England. Watch the full conversation in the video above.
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