Korn‘s Jonathan Davis was so excited by ORGY that he created his own record label …
If you’ve ever had a cold or the flu, you’d know your voice can drop a few decibels to get all husky, coarse, and unintentionally sexy—that’s Al Barr, only he has a full bill of health.
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“Hey, how are ya?” he mutters with a smooth nonchalance. The vocalist of legendary Boston punks Dropkick Murphys rumbles a little about the band’s excitement at returning to Australia to perform at December’s Good Things festival.
Before the Aussies get their chance at the band, out now on tour in North America, Dropkick Murphys have laced the walls of their social media with photos of completely insane crowds and densely packed venues. “You can’t gauge your success by how many records you sell anymore,” begins Barr, “You just really kind of see how many people are coming to your shows and for 22 years we did that, and we continue to grow as a band. It’s awesome.”
Forgiving the phrase, even after 25 years of driving mayhem and powerful rhythms, Barr agrees he still gets those ‘What the f*&%?’ moments on a daily basis, constantly living in disbelief at the success of Dropkick Murphys and the extent their nine studio albums have resonated with fans the world over. “I get those moments every night when I go on stage, I really do.
“I don’t walk out there and go, ‘Oh well of course they’re here for us, kiss the hand.’ You’re living right then in that moment, stepping onto that stage, wherever that is, those people have taken the time out from their schedule to make time to spend with you, so you’re gonna spend time with them and we’re all gonna have a fucking great time.
“We really do, we sit there and we go ‘Holy shit!’ People still come, we still grow as a band – that’s not supposed to happen! Things were supposed to calm down a while ago for us.”
Barr continues to state the obvious, that Dropkick Murphys aren’t a radio band, they’ve never been a hit-making band, they only do what they do live and that sustains them. He may not feel they’re a hit-making band what Dropkick Murphys are a band for the people. Everything they’ve ever put out has resonated with people in a way unlike most other bands of their stature. When crowds are chanting words back at Barr it’s a wonderful phenomenon for him. “There’s probably no greater feeling than that – except maybe tickling my kids and hearing them laugh,” he adds sweetly. “There’s no greater feeling in the sense of ultimate connection and joy. However that song is processed to them and how they’re relating to their own experience, you’ve made a connection and that’s a special thing.
These days, especially as people are so fucking anchored to their phones, it’s such a rare thing to make connections – thank God for live music!
[AL]
For live music, we all have to do our bit to keep it alive, Barr taking a dig at band’s who perform with vanity over music in mind. “It’s funny, we put on screens behind us on stage, ‘Only jackasses take selfies on stage.’ It’s so funny, we have pictures of people doing selfies – and by the way, I hate that fucking word, “selfies” – we’re using that word but under protest.
“When I say the word “selfie”, I’m shocking myself with a high voltage stun gun! I fucking hate that word so much!”
Barr is off on a tangent now, the character in his voice shifting between a musician’s disdain and a strict instruction from a teacher. “There’s certain things, you know? It’s like hey, you wanna take a picture, take a picture, but when somebody’s like ‘Hey can I get a selfie?’ Well, first of all, the word “selfie”, that’s a solo thing, man. You want me to take a picture of you? What does that mean?
“The fact that these words are being accepted by the status quo but it’s like if you defrosted someone from 30 years ago and threw them into the world today, they’d literally go, ‘What the fuck is going on?!’”
Laughter is elicited because Barr’s statement is true – he has conviction, and that’s to be appreciated. “Well, I’m a father of three, I sit back and wonder what the hell’s going on. Maybe some of these ideas are old-fashioned or whatever but I don’t think so.
“Is it old-fashioned to want to connect with people and live in love? I don’t think that should be old-fashioned.”
Catch Dropkick Murphys playing at Good Things Festival this December, or at HQ Complex, Adelaide on 10 December.
GOOD THINGS FESTIVAL
Friday 7 December // Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne
Saturday 8 December // Parramatta Park, Sydney
Sunday 9 December // Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane
