THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
Boston band Dropkick Murphys have made a record using the words of one of America's all time great singer-songriters and activists, Woody Guthrie. And great news for DKM fans – they're coming back to the UK in 2023.
'Two 6's Upside Down' is the first single from the forthcoming album This Machine Still Kills Fascists [named for the message Woody emblazoned on his guitars]. It is a murder ballad – the titular Two 6's Upside Down being the money the narrator has lost, as well as the 99 years he has to serve in prison after employing his .44 on the man who stole his woman.
Singer Ken Casey says, "'Two 6's Upside Down' is acoustic, but it's still tough. It's edgy and these lyrics are menacing. We just wanted to show right out of the gate that even though this album is acoustic, it's still going to have some fire."
The record marks a change for the Dropkick Murphys, a Celtic/Irish punk band. Woody Guthrie's daughter Nora has worked with the group, extracting previously unrecorded lyrics from Woody's archives. She explained: "I collected lyrics on all kinds of topics...lyrics that seemed to be needed to be said – or screamed – today. Ken Casey [the group's singer] is a master at understanding Woody's lyrics, which can be complicated, long, deadly serious, or totally ridiculous. DKM is capable of delivering them all."
The band's James Lynch added, "Nora gave us the privilege of going through the archives and selecting some lyrics to use. The common thread that I see through everything was this love for people and this understanding of the universal truth that there is no one person fundamentally better than another person." Dropkick Murphys pride themselves on their working class community roots and have raised millions of dollars through the years for people who's lives have been destroyed via the opioid pandemic in the US among other causes.
The album was recorded at The Church Studio in Tulsa, minutes from Woody Guthrie's birthplace and the Woody Guthrie Center. It will be released digitally and on CD September 30 via the band's Dummy Luck Music / PIAS. Dropkick Murphys ended up with so much material based on Woody's lyrics that they recorded two albums, with Vol. 2 scheduled for release in 2023.
Watch the video for 'Two 6's Upside Down' here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5yrNwMWff0
See Dropkick Murphys playing live:
January 2023
13 BELFAST Telegraph Building
14 DUBLIN 3Arena
16 NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE O2 City Hall
17 GLASGOW OVO Hydro
18 MANCHESTER O2 Victoria Warehouse
20 CARDIFF Motorpoint Arena
21 LONDON SSE Arena Wembley
22 BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy Birmingham
Tickets: www.dropkickmurphys.com
