Ken Casey

This article is about the bassist for the Dropkick Murphys. For the author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, see Ken Kesey. For the composer of "Sweet Georgia Brown", see Kenneth Casey. For the neuroscientist, see Kenneth L. Casey. For other uses, see Kenny Casey.
Ken Casey

Casey in concert
Background information
Birth name Kenneth William Casey
Born April 15, 1969
Milton, Massachusetts, United States
Genres Celtic punk, hard rock
Instruments bass, vocals
Years active 1996–present
Labels Born & Bred Records, Hellcat
Associated acts Dropkick Murphys

Kenneth William "Ken" Casey (born April 15, 1969) is the bass guitarist, primary songwriter, and one of the lead singers of the Boston Celtic punk group Dropkick Murphys.[1] Casey was one of the original members, starting the band in 1996 with guitarist Rick Barton and singer Mike McColgan. He is the only original member of the Dropkick Murphys left in the band, though drummer Matt Kelly joined shortly after formation in 1997. He is known for his melodic vocal parts and solid punk rock bass playing.

Early life

Casey was born and raised in Milton, Massachusetts, the son of Eileen Kelly and Ken Casey, Sr. He is of Irish descent on both his mother and father's side of the family. His father died when he was very young and he was brought up under the wing of his grandfather, John Kelly, a teamster and union worker.[2]The Dropkick Murphys song "Boys on the Docks" is dedicated to Kelly.

He worked in various jobs and studied at University of Massachusetts Boston before forming the band.

Personal life

He lives in Hingham, Massachusetts with his wife and children. Casey considers himself a die hard Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins fan,[3][4] and also participated in the Boston Bruins AT&T Legends Classic hockey game on 2 January 2010. Other celebrities that participated were Tim Robbins, Bobby Farrelly, Terry O'Reilly, and Lenny Clarke among others.[5] Casey's team won with him making the winning shot in the second period.

Ken is also the owner of a bar in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston on Boylston Street near to Fenway Park, called McGreevy's Third Base Saloon. It's dedicated to the memory of the founder of the Royal Rooters, "'Nuf Ced" Michael T. McGreevy.

In 2009, Casey founded The Claddagh Fund which is a charity foundation of The Dropkick Murphys and is based on the attributes of the Irish Claddagh symbolism: “Friendship, Love and Loyalty.” It began in Boston with the help of the hockey star, Bobby Orr.[2][6]

In October 2014, Casey, a lifelong Democrat announced that he was co-hosting a fundraiser for Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker. Casey stated "Charlie is a Republican and I’m a Democrat, but I will take a big heart and strong character over political party any day" Casey, who publicly backed Mayor Martin J. Walsh's campaign in 2013 also said of Baker that he also helped the Dropkick Murphys charitable causes over the years including supporting military families. Casey is among many Democrats in Massachusetts who threw their support behind Baker.[7][8]

Nazi salute concert incident

On March 13, 2013, Casey was alleged to have assaulted a concertgoer who went on stage and displayed the Nazi salute. He then went on to say "Nazis are not fucking welcome at a Dropkick Murphys show!" Casey is well known for halting the band's concerts when he feels fans are getting out of control (many times involving a verbal response from Casey which will at times lead to the concertgoer being thrown out of the venue) and will even confront security if he feels they are mistreating fans sometimes physically getting involved in their altercation. Casey is always out to protect the fans there to enjoy the show and weed out the troublemakers or negative reactions from security.

References

  1. ↑ Ankeny, Jason. "Biography: Dropkick Murphys". AMG. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Foley, Denise, "A Chat with Dropkick Murphys’ Ken Casey", Irish Philadelphia, August 21, 2012
  3. ↑ Nash, Peter (2005). Boston's Royal Rooters. Arcadia Publishing. p. 8. ISBN 9780738538211.
  4. ↑ "Ken Casey: 'We'll get 'em in Game 6'". ESPN Boston. ESPN. 11 June 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  5. ↑ Bruins, Boston (2009-11-16). "Boston Bruins AT&T Legends Classic". NHL.com. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  6. ↑ Claddagh Fund website
  7. ↑ http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2014/10/dropkicks_ken_casey_a_democrat_to_co_host_fundraiser_for_gop
  8. ↑ http://www.golocalworcester.com/news/charlie-baker-gaining-democratic-support-heading-toward-election-day

External links