Dropkick Murphys are back to their high-energy electric shows after a foray into acoustic territory exploring the music of folk legend Woody Guthrie. The band is capping off this period with a new documentary, “This Machine Rising.”
The film chronicles the Dropkick Murphys’ two-year journey working with previously unreleased Woody Guthrie lyrics to create the critically acclaimed albums This Machine Still Kills Fascists and Okemah Rising. “This Machine Rising” focuses on the recording sessions in Oklahoma, the subsequent acoustic tour, and fully captures the enduring power of music to connect with working-class struggles. The film features performance highlights from the intimate acoustic shows, international rock concerts, a French television appearance, and the band’s world famous hometown St. Patrick’s Day week shows in Boston.
In “This Machine Rising,” guitarist James Lynch discusses the responsibility of interpreting another musicians’s songs, emphasizing the importance of respecting Guthrie’s legacy while putting a new face on his music. “There’s a certain amount of responsibility handling someone else’s work. I think one of the best things about our relationship with Nora is that she trusts us with the legacy and that’s something we’ve very respectful of and grateful for. We took the material, let it steer us in a different direction, and are making sure to make it ours while preserving the original message. There’s nothing that he [Woody] wanted to say in these songs that we’re removing by any means. We’re just providing a new vehicle to take that message to a different audience.”
Dropkick Murphys frontman Ken Casey notes the parallels between Woodie Guthrie’s massage and their own. In addition, he points out how relevant Guthrie’s lyrics, many of which are 70 years old, are in today’s social and political climate. “Acoustic folk and protest music has always been one huge chunk of the puzzle that makes up Dropkick Murphys,” he says. “We were trying to find lyrics to hit the same areas that were important to us – social [and] economic injustice, organizing the working class, standing up to fascism or conservative values that we don’t agree with, fighting for the working class people…There are a lot of similarities in the band’s mindset. To read these lyrics that were written in the ‘30s or ‘40s that are so apropos to today, it’s kind of scary and powerful at the same time because it’s so relevant now.”
And multi-instrumentalist Tim Brennan reflects on the creative challenge of approaching Guthrie’s songs acoustically, pointing out how fulfilling it was for the band to step outside its comfort zone and be emotionally expressive with someone else’s lyrics. “Dropkick Murphys are known for amping up folk music,” he says. “We’re always going to do what Dropkick Murphys are known for doing, but to be able to step outside of our musical comfort zone and flesh these songs out in a different way than we had ever tried to do before [made me] incredibly proud of all of us and so excited for everybody to hear it.”
The documentary also includes commentary from musicians influenced by both Dropkick Murphys and Woody Guthrie. Tom Morello describes music as a “sledgehammer to fight for justice,” while populist folk-punk Billy Bragg praised the unifying live energy of the Dropkick Murphys. “There’s almost a sense of communion among everybody coming together and singing together in the sweat, the beer, the lights and the noise…there’s a solidarity here. It’s something that you can’t get online. You have to be there. To have that feeling, you have to be in that room. I think we need that as human beings. I’ve seen it at St. Patrick’s night in Boston and it’s mightily impressive.”
Dropkick Murphys will release live acoustic versions of two classic Dropkick Murphys songs to coincide with the documentary’s release.
The band will return to the road again in September for a North American tour with Pennywise and The Scratch. They also have upcoming festival appearances and will support NOFX on their final tour.
Dropkick Murphys Tour Dates
