Although you might not recognize the name, I can confidently guarantee that you’ve heard their music, which has become synonymous with the underdog, outcast, rebel, and fighter. Formed in 1996, they’ve dominated the celtic rock genre, infusing traditional rock instruments with bagpipes, tin whistles, accordions, and more. From their music in Scorsese’s movie “Departed” to the romcom “Fever Pitch,” their music represents the rough and tumble and the heart and spirit of Boston. 

This Monday, the Dropkick Murphys, along with supporting bands Pennywise and The Scratch, are coming to The Factory in Chesterfield as a stop along their St. Patrick’s Day tour. I sat down with Murphys’ guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Tim Brennan ahead of the concert to talk about the band, his influences, the upcoming show, and more. 

Tim attended Assumption University as an English major, taking a break to temporarily join the Murphys, and ultimately joining full time. He started out selling merch for the Murphys, which he did on the 2003 Warped tour while in college. For those who don’t know, the now extinct Warped tour was a touring music festival that launched the careers of everyone from Eminem to Blink-182 to Katy Perry; It was a gritty, real, energetic amalgamation of music, skating, and more — punk rock in the figurative sense.

Brennan describes his experience, saying, “It was certainly intense. It was three months, and it was the first time that I had gone out around the country. I was 21, super excited, but it was tough. I would be up at 7 a.m. every day, and then I’d be the last person on the bus at night after getting all the merch taken down.” 

Brennan would play a few songs with the band but was not yet a full member. hile on tour with the reunited Sex Pistols, it got to the point where Brennan decided to return to school for his senior year. A month or so after being back in college, a member of the Murphys left and Brennan received a call from band member Ken asking him if he wanted to join full time. 

We kept talking about the Warped tour, specifically 2005, which featured The Transplants, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and the Murphys. “2005 was cool for me because I was a band member. I was used to running around for 14 hours a day selling shirts and stuff. This was different,” Brennan said.

Speaking with Brennan only increased my love for the Murphys. He was kind, down-to-earth, and funny. There is an enigma of power and fight surrounding the Murphys, but Brennan was relatable; I felt a human connection with him. A bad ass on the stage and a kind human off, Brennan was a pleasure to talk to. 

While Brennan always wanted to be a professional musician, he had a cautiously optimistic mindset about it. “I had hoped to do it for a living, but I wasn’t banking on it,” Brennan shared. “I was studying English and my plan was to go back to my high school and teach English and coach basketball. In my late teens, I auditioned for a couple of bands trying to make a go of it, but it was sort of the right place at the right time that made it all happen.” 

Brennan’s advice for college musicians thinking about becoming professionals is to “just be as absolutely, 100% prepared as you can. I had worked really hard at getting good at all the instruments that I was playing. People always need great songs and good musicians in their bands, so keep working.”

While Brennan is currently a guitarist for the Murphys, he is, at his core, a multi-instrumentalist. He started out on drums and has adapted to whatever instrument is needed. “I don’t come from a hugely musical family but when I was younger I started learning different instruments, guitar, bass, etc. When I was a teenager, my English teacher introduced me to the band The Pogues. Their melding of Irish music and punk changed everything for me. They didn’t use your average instruments, so I started picking them up,” Brennan said. 

When asked about some unexpected influences on their music, Brennan talked about soul music, noting that the Murphys “listen to pretty much everything except for, like, neo country.”

As for Monday’s show, Brennan says you can expect a lot of deep cut Murphy songs that “people haven’t seen us do in a while.” You can find tickets for their show at https://www.thefactorystl.com/event/dropkick-murphys/. I’ll be going, so stay tuned for my review of the concert.