Sportsology: Viva La Dropkick Murphys

Posted by Rick Morris

Our good buddy Russ Cohen of Sportsology was fortunate enough to attend this year's Winter Classic, as he has for every outdoor NHL game since Edmonton in 2003. While there, he was able to take in a great performance by the Dropkick Murphys, thus inspiring this column.

Dropkick Murphys Are Just A Bunch of Regular Guys
By Russ Cohen

This band's music is heard at so many sporting events now that it made complete sense that the NHL had the Dropkick Murphys at the recent Winter Classic at Fenway Park. Growing up a Sawwks fan, Scruffy Wallace was doing most of the talking and the conversation centered around having tickets to great events.

“It’s all about the tickets, baby,” he said, smiling. “It’s all about the tickets. Whatever we’ve got to do to get in here.”

They had all-access credentials and yet they seemed it awe of the process. They write about sports topics and when push comes to shove, they are just some guys from Boston that have a rock band.

“The NHL was kind enough to give us an hour of ice time for a charity we are involved with, and you know, we were kind of one of the first groups to come out and skate. You forget yourself when you have the opportunity once in a while to get on the field like we do; you forget how amazing an experience it is.”

Well, these sports fans are gearing up for a tour, and here’s the 411!

DROPKICK MURPHYS SET TO RELEASE ‘LIVE ON LANSDOWNE, BOSTON MA’ CD AND DVD MARCH 16

THREE-WEEK HEADLINING U.S. TOUR LAUNCHES FEBRUARY 23 IN NORFOLK, VA AND WRAPS WITH SIX HOMETOWN ST. PATRICK’S DAY WEEK SHOWS IN BOSTON

DROPKICK MURPHYS have captured the intensity and camaraderie of their annual Boston hometown St. Patrick’s Day shows on LIVE ON LANSDOWNE, BOSTON MA, a CD and DVD set for release March 16, 2010 via the group’s own Born & Bred Records (ILG). LIVE ON LANSDOWNE features 20 fan favorites and was recorded at seven Boston shows in March 2009. It will be available in various formats: CD, double disc digipack with CD and HD DVD, as well as a double gatefold vinyl with bonus CD insert.

LIVE ON LANSDOWNE marks the critically-acclaimed group’s second live release recorded during their annual string of St. Patrick’s Day week gigs, following 2002’s Live On St. Patrick’s Day From Boston MA, which has sold over 250,000 copies worldwide. LIVE ON LANSDOWNE features an entirely different track listing from the previous release and a guest appearance by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones on DKM’s platinum-selling single “I’m Shipping Up To Boston.

This March, the MURPHYS--known for their complex distillation of classic punk rock, Celtic folk and American rock 'n roll--return to Boston’s House Of Blues for six always sold-out gigs St. Patrick’s Day week (March 12-17). Each year, the band--who’ve released 10 full-length CDs and sold over 3 million copies worldwide--break house records when these shows go on sale. The St. Patrick’s Day shows are the peak of DROPKICK MURPHYS’ touring calendar, and fans travel to Boston from around the world for a chance to become part of this unique experience. A very limited number of tickets are still available for the March 15 and 16 shows.

Leading up to the Boston gigs, DROPKICK MURPHYS--KEN CASEY (vocals, bass guitar), AL BARR (vocals), MATT KELLY (drums, backing vocals), JAMES LYNCH (guitar, backing vocals), TIM BRENNAN (guitar, accordion, piano, backing vocals), JEFF DaROSA (mandolin, accordion, banjo, bouzouki, tin whistle, acoustic guitar) and SCRUFFY WALLACE (bagpipes)--will tour Europe from January 22 through February 4 and kick off U.S. dates February 23 in Norfolk, VA. The group will return to the U.K. and Ireland for headlining shows from April 12-22. Support acts for the U.S. tour dates will be announced soon.

In other news, DROPKICK MURPHYS continue their tradition of supporting Boston sports teams. On New Year's Day, the band performed their hit, “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” before the NHL Winter Classic hockey game between the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghYrYXvy2wY). This year, the annual outdoor hockey game and pre-game performances--nationally televised on NBC--were held at Boston's Fenway Park.

"We try to choose our sports stuff wisely because we have an undefeated record any time we've ever played at a game," singer/bassist KEN CASEY told AOL’s Spinner.com (12/29/09). In fact, every time the band plays at a game, the home team emerges victorious. So far, DKM has performed at four Bruins games, six Red Sox games and a Glasgow Celtic soccer game.

CASEY also drew on his love of hockey to organize a recent event benefitting his new charity The Claddagh Fund. The Claddagh Fund “Skate in the Park,” was held December 19, 2009 on the ice at Fenway Park and was followed by a reception at the House of Blues. The event raised over $50,000 for the fund. CASEY established The Claddagh Fund to support non-profits that champion the causes of children, veterans and those suffering from alcohol and drug addiction. The organization is committed to the three attributes symbolized in the Claddagh ring: friendship, love and loyalty.

"There's something about kind of being able to take matters into your own hands as opposed to always doing something for someone else's charity," CASEY told Spinner.com. "It's a great way to maximize our fundraising capabilities with the band…we could really turn it into a legion of people doing stuff to raise money."

The full track Listing for LIVE ON LANSDOWNE, BOSTON MA is as follows:

Famous For Nothing
The State Of Massachusetts
Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya
Time To Go
Sunshine Highway
Flannigan’s Ball
Bastards On Parade
God Willing
Caught In A Jar
Captain Kelly’s Kitchen
Citizen C.I.A.
Fields Of Athenry
Your Spirit’s Alive
The Warrior’s Code
The Dirty Glass
Tessie
Forever 2009
Worker’s Song
Kiss Me, I’m Sh*tfaced
I’m Shipping Up To Boston (featuring The Mighty Mighty Bosstones)

Catch DROPKICK MURPHYS on tour in the following cities:
Date City Venue
1/22 Madrid, Spain Sala Heineken
1/23 Barcelona, Spain Sala Razzmatazz 2
1/25 Milan, Italy Alcatraz
1/27 Munich, Germany Zenith
1/28 Paris, France Olympia
1/29 Antwerp, Belgium Lotto Arena
1/30 Offenbach, Germany Stadthalle
1/31 Amsterdam, Netherlands Heineken Music Hall
2/2 Berlin, Germany Arena
2/3 Hamburg, Germany Sporthalle
2/4 Dusseldorf, Germany Philipshalle
2/23 Norfolk, VA The Norva
2/24 Montclair, NJ Wellmont Theatre
2/25 Atlantic City, NJ House of Blues
2/27 Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center
*DKM performance will begin immediately after the Admirals (AHL) hockey game
2/28 Kansas City, MO Beaumont Club
3/1 Dallas, TX House of Blues
3/2 Houston, TX Warehouse Live
3/3 Austin, TX Stubb’s
3/5 Tampa, FL The Ritz
3/6 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Revolution Live
3/7 Orlando, FL House of Blues
3/8 Charlotte, NC The Fillmore
3/9 Washington, DC 9.30 Club
3/10 Wallingford, CT The Dome at Oakdale Theatre
3/12 Boston, MA House of Blues
3/13 Boston, MA House of Blues
3/14 Boston, MA House of Blues
3/15 Boston, MA House of Blues
3/16 Boston, MA House of Blues
3/17 Boston, MA House of Blues
4/12 Glasgow, Scotland Barrowland
4/13 Newcastle, UK O2 Academy
4/14 Leeds, UK O2 Academy
4/15 Manchester, UK Manchester Academy
4/16 Birmingham, UK O2 Academy
4/17 Nottingham, UK Rock City
4/18 Brixton, UK O2 Academy
4/20 Belfast, Northern Ireland St. George’s Market
4/21 Cork, Ireland Savoy Theatre
4/22 Dublin, Ireland Olympia Theatre

www.dropkickmurphys.com
www.claddaghfund.org
Press Assets: http://eastwest.ilgpress.com/dropkickmurphys/media/

About DROPKICK MURPHYS:
Known for their complex distillation of classic punk rock, Celtic folk and American rock 'n roll, critically-acclaimed DROPKICK MURPHYS have released 10 full-length CDs and sold over 3 million copies worldwide. 2007’s The Meanest Of Times marked the band’s highest Billboard Top 200 chart debut ever (#20) and is their fastest selling record to date with over 300,000 copies sold worldwide. The Meanest Of Times was #40 on Rolling Stone's Top 50 Albums Of The Year and "The State Of Massachusetts" came in at #83 on their Top 100 Singles of the year. The group’s single "I'm Shipping Up To Boston”--from 2005’s The Warrior’s Code CD which has sold over 250,000 copies--was certified gold by the RIAA with sales of over 500,000 copies. “I’m Shipping Up To Boston,” a song with lyrics penned by Woody Guthrie, gained mainstream notoriety after being prominently featured in Martin Scorsese's film The Departed. It can be commonly heard at sporting events and on television as a theme song for many sports teams (even outside of Boston). The Boston Garden plays it at pivotal moments throughout Bruins and Celtics games and Red Sox pitcher Jonathan Papelbon uses it as his entrance music when he comes out of the bullpen. In keeping with his passion for his hometown teams, DKM bassist/vocalist KEN CASEY joined forces with film producer and baseball historian Peter Nash in 2008 to officially re-establish and re-open McGreevy’s 3rd Base Saloon--“America’s First Sports Bar and Baseball Museum”--in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. www.mcgreevysboston.com