Matt
Dropkick Murphys return to the legendary
Aragon Ballroom on Feb 19th for their 20th
Anniversary Tour. This month's "Hello,
My Name Is..." connects with DKM drummer Matt Kelly, who has logged in nearly
two decades on the drum throne with the
band, bashing out their passionate brand of
of victory, but I have to admit that football bores me to tears! Me, I like my
family, listening to records, a nice
flagon of ale, and the Boston Bruins.
Dropkick Murphys, 2016
IE: One more Boston sports question. I
saw a lot of fans on your Twitter page
longing for DKM to play the NHL
Winter Classic. Were you guys ever
lined up to play the show or were those
fans just calling out the NHL brass?
MK: We were asked to do it but the
stipulations were…less than savory. All
I can say is that we were approached to
do it, and we turned it down. I was
very happy to be there as a fan in the
stands and see the whole spectacle.
Unfortunately, it went south almost as
soon as the puck dropped! Tailgating
02•2016
Boston-based Celtic punk rock.
IE: First, sorry about your Patriots.
They didn't make it to the promised
land, but in many ways it was their
gutsiest performance this year - considering all the injuries - they went further than many out of town NFL fans
thought. I know hardcore Patriots fans
expect more. Bears fans don't understand that line of thinking though (no
playoffs in eight years!).
Matt Kelly: Yeah, I heard it was a
tough loss. It’s never fun to see the
home team get snatched from the jaws
before a hockey game was pretty frigging pisser though!
IE: DKM has a passionate connection
to fans in Chicago. Your Riot Fest 2014
show was one of the highlights of the
weekend. It was electric! There are similarities between Boston and Chicago:
blue collar towns, storied Irish immigrant population, passion about our
sports teams, dedicated and thriving
music scene. Do you think that's a reason for the connection with the band?
MK: Thanks! Riot Fest was a blast, and
I wish I’d have been able to get into
8 illinoisentertainer.com february 2016
town early and stay for the whole
thing. There were so many great bands.
Though I at least got to see Naked
Raygun, which was inspiring to say the
least. Yeah as far as the connection,
we’ve clicked with Chicagoans since
day one. Our first gig there was in the
cellar of Bulldog Records with
Gangreen in the summer of ’97. We
met a lot of friends whom we still hang
out with when we’re out there. So
many great people in the Chicagoland
area. And I think there’s a lot of similar
grit in both cities and, like you said, the
blue-collar ethos ingrained in the culture.
IE: What do you remember about some
of your early gigs in Chicago - and
what were some of the venues you
played?
MK: Well as alluded to above, there
was the Bulldog Records place, the
Metro, the Vic Theatre, and some
smaller places whose names now slip
my mind…but playing out there was
always the balls, and still is. Chicago is