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By Rachel Recker, The Grand Rapids Press
December 21, 2004
It's the perfect example of a symbiotic relationship.
A band gets national exposure when its music is used in a major motion picture, and the film gains some great tunes to help its storytelling.
That's what Dropkick Murphys gained when Martin Scorsese used the group's music in his Oscar-winning film "The Departed."
Now, the song -- "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" -- is practically synonymous with the popular movie, and Dropkick Murphys has gained a larger audience. The Celtic rock-punk band also is seeing renewed interest in its 2005 album, "The Warrior's Code," which included the tune used in "Departed."
Ken Casey, founder and bassist of the 11-year-old underground band from Boston, is happy about it.
"That song was released in 2005 ... People liked it, but it was by no means the bring-the-house-down crowd favorite," Casey, 37, said in a phone interview from Boston, where the band was preparing for its tour. The group plays the Orbit Room on Saturday.
Song enhances film scene
"That particular scene in the movie ... they're just kind of driving in a car. That song ... makes the scene seem so much more intense. (And) our song being played in that scene has made our song seem so much more intense.
"When I go to play it, I'm thinking of scenes. I'm, like, kind of replaying the movie in my head. I mean, it's a Martin Scorsese movie. ... It's cool to us."
The song contains only 27 words, and the band didn't even pen them. It's the second song the band has released in which they put their own music to unpublished Woody Guthrie lyrics.
Guthrie's daughter, Nora, whose son was a fan of the band, went to the group and asked them to put music to some of his grandfather's unrecorded words.
The song has added to the fan base for the band, whose members are Casey, Al Barr (lead vocals), Matt Kelly (drums, vocals), James Lynch (guitar, vocals), Marc Orrell (guitar, piano, vocals), Tim Brennan (accordion, mandolin, whistle, acoustic guitar, vocals) and Scruffy Wallace (bagpipes).
But Casey said the new listeners seem similar to the old. "Like people that probably should have known us a long time ago. ... Kindred spirits, you could say."
Still, it's not like Dropkick Murphys is going mainstream. Despite the movie's success, the band isn't the MTV type and never will be, he said. Its solid fan base is a passionate group, in true punk-band fashion, Casey said, and the group's live shows harness that camaraderie. Concerts can get intense, too, but that depends on the town where the band is playing.
"It all depends what Grand Rapids has. When we're in a town, and we have step dancers or pipers and stuff, it's usually 'cause somebody from the town contacted us.
"So I don't know what Grand Rapids will have, but whether there's bagpipers and step dancers or not, we'll be sure to wreck stuff and cause some chaos."