The band plans to preview some tracks from Turn Up That Dial during their Dropkick Murphys St. Patrick’s Day Stream 2021...Still Locked Down to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on Wednesday, March 17 at 7:00 PM ET / 4:00 PM PT. The free streaming online concert – with no in-person audience – will be simulcast worldwide via www.DKMstream.com and will feature Dropkick Murphys performing socially distanced on an arena-sized stage with a full LED screen and a brand new video show.
“On this record, the overall theme is the importance of music, and the bands that made us who we are,” explains DKM founder and co-lead vocalist Ken Casey. “We just hope [the album] takes people’s minds off their troubles. We’re so fortunate and grateful to be in the position to share a little happiness in our own way. Our gratitude levels are off the chart. 25 years ago, somebody bet me 30 bucks I couldn’t form a band with three weeks’ notice to open for his band. As kids, we’d never been out of New England and here we are – we’ve made ten records and have been all over the globe. If there’s a message to this album, it’s ‘put your fist up and play it loud.’”
Over the last two years, following a surgery, bassist/co-lead vocalist Casey stopped playing, passing bass duties to longtime friend and road crew member Kevin Rheault. Working out of Q Division Studios in Somerville, MA with longtime producer Hutt, they recorded Turn Up That Dial in shifts of two members at a time.
For the final weeks of recording, Hutt ran the sessions via video conference from his studio in LA. For background vocals, the guys set up separate mics in five different rooms so they could all simultaneously sing safely. “We were all looking at each other out the window, at least,” recalls Casey.
The title track, “Turn Up That Dial,” includes the lyrics "You’re my inspiration, you got something to say / Now turn up that dial ‘til it takes me away.” Then there's new single “Middle Finger,” where Al Barr sings “I could never keep that middle finger down.” And Casey offers this reflection: “Thinking of my younger days, I made things a lot harder for myself than they needed to be – and still pay for some of those mistakes now.”
The band closes the album with a tribute to Al’s late father Woody Barr on “I Wish You Were Here” with accordion, bagpipes, and a drum march. “Al’s dad was just an incredible man,” Casey explains. “He and Al had a very special bond. To watch Al grieve his death was heartbreaking. He persevered through it, even when we had to go back on the road, away from family. He kept his head held high. We’ve never ended an album with a slow song, but we had to end it with a tip of the cap to pay our respects to Woody and so many others. It’s a moment to stop, count our blessings, and remember those who we’ve lost, including the 400,000-plus people to this virus.”
“We’ve all done plenty of lamenting, so the main goal was to keep this fun,” Casey adds. “The darker the times got, the harder we fought to uplift with this music. Whatever we’re potentially giving to fans, trust me, they’re giving it to us tenfold. Now, turn up that f*cking dial.”
While awaiting the release of Turn Up That Dial, join Dropkick Murphys to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day during Dropkick Murphys St. Patrick’s Day Stream 2021...Still Locked Down, which is presented by Boston-area tech company Pega (a leading provider of digital transformation software) and sponsored by YOU. Instead of charging for tickets, the band will “pass the virtual hat” to take donations to help support their efforts to keep paying their employees, and a portion of donations will go to charity as always. Those who donate in advance or during the stream (via www.DKMstream.com) will see their name scroll across the ticker at the bottom of the screen during Still Locked Down.
Dropkick Murphys have a long history of giving back and finding creative ways to connect with fans, and they’ve continued this tradition throughout the pandemic. On St. Patrick’s Day 2020, just as COVID-19 was hitting critical mass in the United States, Dropkick Murphys held their Streaming Up From Boston live stream event in lieu of their normal Boston Blowout St. Patrick’s Day celebration. To date, it’s been watched more than 13 million times across platforms, was featured on CBS This Morning Saturday, CNN, NBC Nightly News, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and in the Wall Street Journal, and raised more than $60,000 through the band’s charitable organization, The Claddagh Fund.
In May 2020, they masterminded the historic Streaming Outta Fenway live stream presented by Pega. Taking the infield at Fenway Park instruments in-hand, it stood out as the first-ever music event without an in-person audience at a major U.S. sports venue, and the first music performance directly on the infield at Fenway. Bruce Springsteen joined on the Jumbotron for a two-song “Double Play” of DKM’s “Rose Tattoo” and his “American Land.” Most importantly, they hauled in $700,000-plus to benefit charities such as Boston Resiliency Fund, Feeding America®, and Habitat for Humanity, Greater Boston.
Dropkick Murphys are: Al Barr (lead vocals), Tim Brennan (guitars, tin whistle, accordion, piano, vocals), Ken Casey (lead vocals), Jeff DaRosa (guitars, banjo, mandolin, vocals), Matt Kelly (drums, percussion, vocals), James Lynch (guitars, vocals), Kevin Rheault (touring bassist) and Lee Forshner (touring bagpipe player).
For more information on Dropkick Murphys, visit: www.dropkickmurphys.com.
Track Listing:
Turn Up That Dial
L-EE-B-O-Y
Middle Finger
Queen Of Suffolk County
Mick Jones Nicked My Pudding
H.B.D.M.F.
Good As Gold
Smash Shit Up
Chosen Few
City By The Sea
I Wish You Were Here
L-EE-B-O-Y
Middle Finger
Queen Of Suffolk County
Mick Jones Nicked My Pudding
H.B.D.M.F.
Good As Gold
Smash Shit Up
Chosen Few
City By The Sea
I Wish You Were Here
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