This March Dropkick Murphys released their seventh studio album, Going Out in Style. We recently conducted a phone interview with drummer Matt Kelly and he readily offered detailed responses to all of our questions. In addition to discussing the new record at length, we also spoke about international touring, his early encounters in Boston’s punk scene, the group’s involvement with films like The Departed and The Fighter, professional sports and more. Matt was a very gracious interviewee and we would like to sincerely thank him for his time.

Bill – Your new record, Going Out in Style, is somewhat of a concept album that’s based around a fictional character named Cornelius Larkin. Where did this idea stem from and are you happy with how it turned out?

Matt – We had talked about doing a concept album for almost ten years. At the turn of the last century it was common for albums to go along with a story or a play, and we always thought it was a cool idea. Basically, when we started writing the album we didn’t really have a plan to do a concept album. In that sense it was business as usual, just writing tunes and writing lyrics. About a quarter of the way through we found that a couple of the songs had a common thread. We then had in-mind that this might work as a concept album, or that there might be an actual album concept as opposed to writing songs to fit within a certain concept. That’s what we did not do. The songs are all independent of each other, it’s not like a rock opera or anything bloated. It’s not like Tommy where some pieces don’t make sense without the others, whereas on this record I think they all stand separately as different songs. After kind of coming to the realization that it might work as a concept album we got in touch with Michael Patrick MacDonald, who we kind of run in concentric circles with through meeting him with charities and this and that. He basically wrote an obituary for a character who’s the subject of most of the songs. That obituary sort of turned into a short story, as you can see on the inside of the album, and the name Cornelius Larkin is sort of based on our guitar player James Lynch’s grandfather, Cornelius Lynch. He came over here from Ireland to fight in the Korean War and married his sweetheart. That’s the subject of the song “1953”. It was kind of like taking stuff from his life and stuff from Kenny’s grandfather’s life who was a union organizer. It was a lot of stuff from our families’ lives, our ancestors’ lives and even from our own lives, and making it into a composite character and the story of his life.

Bill – I take it you’re pleased with how everything came together then?

Matt – Yeah, definitely. Again, not being restricted with having to write within the parameters of some kind of story, we sort of carved the story out of the material we had for the album. We’re very happy with it because we could kind of steer it whatever way we wanted. Obviously the songs are more important than the concept and they were there first, so it worked out nicely. The concept just kind of wraps it all together in a pretty little package. It gives it a bit more depth and life than just a bunch of songs.

Bill – Going Out in Style was produced by Ted Hutt and it sounds great. On the one hand it’s very pristine, but on the other it’s almost like a live record with tons of energy and a touch of rawness. What was working with Ted like?

Matt – It was great. We hadn’t worked with a producer since the album The Gang’s All Here. Lars Frederiksen from Rancid produced the first two albums, Do or Die and The Gang’s All Here. We thought we’d spread our wings because with the subsequent albums up until this one we’d produced ourselves. I love the way 99.9% of all that stuff came out, I think it was great, but with this album we took a different approach. We haven’t written any other album in such a short amount of time. We had bits and pieces of songs dating back to the earlier months of 2010, just messing around here and there. There were things that we had worked on that didn’t make the record, but acted as catalysts to get the writing process going. By the end of August, we were in our practice space five days a week, eight hours a day. We had Ted come out and we did like we used to on the first album and wrote everything acoustically. We came into my kitchen with acoustic guitars and various other crap, like mandolins and banjos. We just kind of wrote stuff that way, as far as melodies, riffs and progressions. Meanwhile, Ken, Al and I would get together and have different sessions where we’d work on lyrics. Granted it was more their lyrics and I’d just help out because I want to make sure the songs make sense and are grammatically correct. I’m pretty anal-retentive like that, (laughs). We’re banging stuff out in the kitchen and Ted would be like, “That’s good, but can you do something else? Why don’t you try something a bit plainer or something a little flashier?”. I like to say that he was constructive without being intrusive on the songwriting. He’d be like, “Why don’t you go for something a bit more grandiose?” and leave it to us to come up with something else. We got a big group of songs together and then we went back to the practice space. Ted went home and it was back to five or six days a week, ten hours a day, banging stuff out and molding these songs together. He came back a couple weeks later and we just really concentrated on making sure the rhythms were locked and synched. What that ends up doing is making these brand new songs feel like songs we’d been playing for months. Getting all that rhythmic stuff together usually takes playing the songs live. A song like “The State of Massachusetts” from the last record, we had to play live for a year before we recorded it. That was as tight as it was going to get when it came to getting in the studio. With Going Out in Style, we didn’t have the luxury of tightening these songs up for months on end. Ted’s constructive instruction and his method really helped us hone the songs to their best in a short amount of time. We went in the studio and 99% of the work was done on the music. It was just go in there and record the stuff. We did some experimentation with vocals and bells and whistles and stuff like that. Ted was amazing to work with and we’d really like to work with him again. I think he’s down for that too. He’s an amazing producer and a hell of a guy.

Bill – Awesome. I think he’s quickly becoming one of the best producers out there. I pretty much love everything he does.

Matt – And we love the way the record sounds. It does sound kind of live and has that sort of energy to it. It sounds crystal-clear, but it doesn’t sound sterile and that’s important to us. If you come and see us live we sure as hell don’t sound like a studio band. It’s a mess up there, (laughs).

Bill – With this being your seventh full-length album, how do you feel it compares to your other records?

Matt – I tell you what, somebody asked me this question the other day, and before this came out it was The Meanest of Times or Do or Die that were my favorites. I love all the other records in between too, don’t get me wrong, there’s nary a song we wrote that I don’t like playing. I’m just so happy with this record and after four years without any new songs it’s great to play new stuff. They fit with the set great and we’re all just really on cloud nine as far as how well it came out and how the songs are going over live. That’s where it’s important is in the clubs and how people react to it. You don’t want to bum people out. I saw Iron Maiden a few years ago and they did their whole new album and a couple old songs and everybody was just hating life. Their new songs were decent, but it wasn’t the same. I think people seem to really be psyched about our new songs. Some are going over as well as songs like “Barroom Hero” and “The Fighting 69^th”. People are already singing the lyrics and stuff. It’s a really cool thing to see when people get our new record and they know it like the back of their hand already. Playing the new stuff is awesome.

Bill – By and large, this record is very upbeat and uses a lot of different instruments. Were those things that you decided on beforehand or did it more just come together in the studio?

Matt – No, no, a lot of the songs were written on banjo or mandolin. When we went into the studio we all had our parts. It wasn’t like they were an afterthought; they were pretty much integral in the writing process. Even some of the riffs would definitely not have been as obvious to write on say a guitar as it would have on a banjo, because a banjo is strung differently and there’s different chord groupings or structures. It’s kind of a different animal. All of these instruments were definitely a part of the plan from day one of writing.

Bill – “Memorial Day” is my favorite song on the record. It’s undeniably catchy and has a really positive message involving individuality and ambition. What does the song mean to you?

Matt – It’s a summation of what we’ve always said, like the first line, “You’ve gotta pick yourself up by the bootstraps”. Kind of think for yourself, if you’re down in the dumps don’t piss and moan about it, get out there, get up and try it again. Basically only you can change your position in life, your station in life, if you happen to be out of a job or something like that. Nobody’s going to be there to pick you up. You’re going to have to do it yourself. It’s a self-empowerment song.

Bill – “Peg O’ My Heart” features a guest vocal appearance by the legendary Bruce Springsteen. How exactly did this end up happening?

Matt – His son is a fan of the band. They came to see us in New York in 2007 at the Roseland. It was like, “Would it be okay if they came and met you?”. We were like, “Are you friggin’ kidding me?”. Most of the guys in the band are ridiculous, diehard Boss fans; Tim, Jeff, Ken and Al are all huge Boss fans. Obviously I grew up listening to the guy too, so it was like, “Oh my god, this is crazy”. We met him and he was a down-to-earth, cool guy, no rock star pretentious. He was there with his kid and as far as comfort level goes, he was really easy to get along with, really cool. He was like, “Hey, when we come through Boston, why don’t you guys come down to the show?”. Sure we took him up on the offer, are you kidding me? So we went and got to see him at the Garden. Literally, right after his three-hour set he was like, “Yeah, come on backstage”. We’re shooting the breeze with him and he was just very, very accommodating and welcoming. If we played a three-hour set I’d be looking for a freakin’ oxygen tank, not hanging out with some scrappy punk band. He was such a cool dude, really, really nice guy, talked a lot about this and that. The next time he came through, it wasn’t even a year later, he invited the band to come and play a song with him. Jeff, Ken and Tim went up and played with the E Street Band onstage. After the song was done, Tim stayed up there and he actually called his then-girlfriend up and proposed to her, right onstage. Then they played what became their wedding song right after that. I don’t know how The Boss takes it, but for us it was like a relationship was cultivated. We kind of struck it off pretty cool. He was like, “Anytime you guys want to do something, give me a call”. We were in the studio and we were like, “Why don’t we take him up on this cause that would be pretty awesome”. We happened to be in Australia at the time on tour, but he happened to be in the studio. With the magic of the interwebs we sent him the track over via Pro Tools and what have you, no more 2-inch tape these days, unfortunately, but the ease of that definitely made it worth it. He banged out some lyrics and some vocals and it was awesome.

Bill – “Sunday Hardcore Matinee” talks about some of your initial experiences with going to shows as a kid. What are some of your fondest memories from when you first got involved in the punk scene?

Matt – January 12^th, 1991 at The Channel, The Channel is basically the main focus of that song. Al wrote the lyrics, but it’s kind of in the spirit of a lot of us coming up. I’m from Central Mass, which is about 40 miles away, and out here that’s a long distance. I didn’t really get to go to shows out here till I was like 15. So yeah, January 12^th, 1991, it was Agnostic Front, Sick Of It All, Wrecking Crew and Burn at The Channel. The Channel’s been gone since about ’92 or ’93, but I kind of came out at the tail end of the big hardcore thing in Boston. You’d go to The Channel and there’d be 1,000 kids there. You’d see all these kids that you might have seen out at shows my way. Seeing the bands onstage and what they had to say in between songs and just the camaraderie of it all. You only heard about the shows through word-of-mouth or if somebody handed you a flyer. There was no internet, no cell phones; you didn’t get updates or Tweets. You couldn’t go on a band’s website because they didn’t have one. If you wanted to talk to a band you’d write them. For better or worse it’s different today and that’s part of the chorus, “Things are different today”. That one show was huge for me. That was my first Boston show and it kind of came late. I attempted to go to a show I think about six months before that, but somebody announced it wrong on a college radio station and we missed it. The sense of community at these shows was friggin’ awesome and it was very palpable. You could tell you were a part of something. People weren’t so jaded either, because you couldn’t just lookup information on the internet and then boom, you’re an expert on something, even though you never lived it. Back then you had to live it to know it. And if you didn’t live it then you didn’t understand. I remember being a freshman in high school, this was like ‘89 or ’90, and kids were like, “You guys go in those mosh pits? What is that? Is that like out in a sand dune or something?”. People had no friggin’ concept, because this was before Nirvana blew up. That was people’s only insight into what was going on in the underground. Hardcore punk was certainly underground and we were the diametric opposite of your jock, football playing-types and all that.

Bill – I started going to shows in ’95 and like you said, it’s almost weird to think about now, like how did we even find out about these shows without the internet?

Matt – Right, I guess out of necessity you figure it out somehow. It’s funny because now the popular, cool kids in high school skateboard and listen to punk. I don’t know, there’s nothing for the outcasts to listen to anymore. Maybe they’re like Juggalos or something, those kids are weird. That I do not back, (laughs).

Bill – What are you most looking forward to regarding your upcoming European tour?

Matt – I was just looking at the dates now, we’re playing up in France and Germany. Germany is always huge for us. It’s amazing, especially down in Bavaria. We’re playing Belgium and a lot of festivals too. We’ve got a lot of friends over there. We’re also playing some places where we’re not historically that big, like in Italy and Spain. It’s always fun when you’re trying to win over a crowd. It’s good to have to fight and give everything to win them over. In like Milan, Barcelona, Madrid or even Bilbao, you’re going to have to work your butt off to win those kids over. A lot of times it’s the first time they’ve ever seen you, so you better put on a good show and give 100%. Not that we don’t anyway. If you don’t give it your all, then you don’t belong up there. That European tour, that’s going to be a good time. We haven’t been there in a while and I’m really looking forward to it.

Bill – You guys have written songs for both the Boston Red Sox and the Bruins, as well as performed at each team’s stadium. In your opinion, why is Boston such a great sports town?

Matt – Well, up until 2004 we were the perpetual underdogs in every friggin’ sport, except for Major League Soccer we were pretty good. Aside from that, the Bruins haven’t won the Stanley Cup since ’72, the Red Sox hadn’t won since 1918 and the Celtics hadn’t been very good since the ‘80s. It’s always kind of been a big blue-collar town and on a Friday or Saturday night, after you’re working 40, 50, 60 hours a week, you want to go out with your buddies, have a beer and cheer on your team. It’s similar to Chicago or Milwaukee; there are places where you need a pressure relief valve. Again, I think that’s why hardcore punk has always been big here too. It’s the same thing for similar reasons. Boston is a weird parochial town and we’re very passionate and very jealous of our teams and their success or lack thereof. We’ll kill for the black and gold, that’s how it is.

Bill – Your song “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” was of course featured in The Departed, and recently “The Warrior’s Code” was used in The Fighter. Both are well-regarded films, but which do you think did a better job of incorporating your music in the movie?

Matt – Well, I definitely think Micky Ward really went to bat for us getting “The Warrior’s Code” in there. I don’t think they wanted to use it in the movie, but he was like, “Hey, listen, you’re making the movie about me, put these guys’ song in the friggin’ movie. I want a little input here”. I have to say that The Departed used “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” to a more dramatic effect. It was definitely louder too; you can barely hear it in The Fighter. I’m not taking anything away from that movie. I got to say, Christian Bale nailed the Lowell, scumbag, crackhead vibe and accent. I’ve never heard anybody do a northeastern Massachusetts accent so well. It was perfect, unbelievable. It’s better than Boston guys, they always overplay it or they sound like they’re from New York or something. I can’t stress how good and true to form he was. In The Departed, I think where they chose to use that song, they used a little in the jail scene and then also in the car chase. I think that might be part in parcel why people like that song so much, because it reminds them of that fervent car chase. It’s not that awesome of a song. It kind of took the song and pumped it full of goodness, where before it was just a decent song. It’s also on the menu page for the DVD. I got one and I turn it on and I’m like, “Oh god, not this song again”. It’s highly-displayed, well-displayed in that movie.

Bill – Dropkick Murphys has achieved a level of success that few bands ever attain. Specifically, you’re known throughout the world, you’ve flirted with mainstream success, but never compromised your integrity and you guys will be remembered for many, many years after you stop making music. With that said, what else do you want to accomplish?

Matt – I wouldn’t mind playing with AC/DC. I think as a band, they’re probably the definite one band we can completely agree on, aside from The Ramones, Stiff Little Fingers or The Pogues. AC/DC is just the primal, dirty rock ‘n roll that we’ve always been influenced by from day one and still are. I don’t know about collaborating with them, but maybe just play a show with them, or god willing collaborate with them. Especially with Malcolm or Angus Young, maybe I could have Phil Rudd teach me some timekeeping lessons. We’d love to play South America, we’ve never played Central or South America, and we’ve only gone as far south as Monterrey, Mexico. That’s as far south as we’ve gone in the west here. We’d love to play Argentina or Brazil or any of the major cities down there, just because it’s uncharted territory. Russia or Italy, specifically Rome, never been there before and would love to see Vatican City and all the wonders there. There’s still a lot we haven’t accomplished. We were supposed to play China at one point and our visas got denied and we couldn’t go there. There’s still so much. A lot of these weird milestones we’ve achieved we never dreamed of. Bruce Springsteen played onstage with us the other night. That was ridiculous. As a kid, my big dreams were getting tattoos, playing in a band and riding a motorcycle. It was pretty simple. Never did I ever imagine playing onstage with Bruce Springsteen. My uncle’s been seeing him since 1975 and that was the first time he got to meet him. Being able to do that was just amazing. Last year, with the Claddagh Fund we raised over $500,000 for children, veterans, and alcohol and drug recovery charities. I’d like to see that doubled. You touched on it in the question, but I’d like for the band to actually be remembered not just for things like “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” and stuff like that. I’m hoping a song like that is a catalyst. That’s one song out of probably 100 some odd songs we’ve written and it’s by far not our best; it’s just the lucky song that got us something. I’d like to be remembered for the length and quality of our musical output and not just a couple novelty songs. Aside from that, what else to accomplish? We’ve accomplished stuff we’ve never set out to do. I can’t really think of anything else except for the longevity of the band. Just because we love doing it and we’re not stopping anytime soon.