Artist description COFOUNDER AND LEAD SONGWRITER FOR THE DROPKICK MURPHYS, RICK BARTON, WITH HIS NEW BAND THAT JUST MADE A NAME CHANGE FROM THE HARDCORE TROUBADOURS TO ---- THE SHADOWCHASERS--: see History for the BOSTON SOUNDCHECK MAGAZINE article on Rick titled

Music Style Power Pop, Punk Rock, Americana Roots Rock

Musical Influences The Rolling Stones, The Clash, Social Distortion, The Sex Pistols, Bruce Springsteen

Similar Artists The Dropkick Murphys, The Outlets, Steve Earl, The Rolling Stones, Blink 182, The Clash, Social Distortion, Cracker, Bruce Springsteen

Artist History "Redemption, Re-Birth and Revenge" writer: Jesse Mayer/ Photos: Janet Caliri"Redemption, Re-Birth and Revenge" - Rick Barton’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Journey “ May, 2001 Issue BOSTON SOUND CHECK MAGAZINE ARTICLE BY: JESSE MAYER PHOTOS BY JANET CALIRI Rick Barton hits the mic; legs spread, Gibson to the knees, sweat flying spits out anthems of broke down drunks, busted knuckles, fierce loyalties, and an undying working class ethic all through a Johnny Rotten sneer. Some 20 years into his punk rock journey Rick is channeling all that is good about Mike Ness, Billy Zoom, Steve Earl, and Dee Dee Ramone making it his own and finally fronting the band. It all started in the ‘80s; Barton played rhythm guitar and shared the stage with his brother Dave in Boston legends The Outlets. By the end of that era Rick found himself musically, spiritually, and personally bankrupt. He fell off stage and crawled into a bottle. But his story was far from over. Barton cleaned up and in the process reclaimed his “inner punk.” The result was the creation of a ferocious little street - oi! band that took its name from a notorious Quincy flop-house and detox. The Dropkick Murphys were born. Over the next five years they released an E.P., four full-length disks, and toured relentlessly around the world. Just after recording “Sing Loud, Sing Proud” the band seemed poised for global domination. Barton decided to leave the band. His first solo CD is due out this summer on Boston’s One Way Productions label. The following interview was done during those sessions. But, before we continue - rest in peace Joey Ramone. Boston SoundCheck Magazine: Let’s start with the very obvious question first; you’re a founding member of the Dropkick Murphys, you have all those years of blood, sweat, and tears touring, creating that band, taking it to the level you did, and then you choose to leave right before that band has what looks to be a huge commercial breakthrough. Why would you do that? Rick Barton: The reason I would do that is basically disagreements with the other founding member of the band, or I should say the last remaining founding member of the band. I guess I just wanted to do some different things. I didn’t want to be confined to working in that band. I don’t think the band would have gone on if I stayed in it. BSM: Do you want to go into any depth of what those disagreements were? RB: Basically, when we first started out there was a show at The Rat, it was like our second all- ages show at The Rat, they were putting those on back then in like ‘96. One day we made like $800 in merchandise, and for a guy who had never sold a T-shirt in his entire career, I was flabbergasted. Like Cyndi Lauper’s old song “...money changes everything...” from that point forward in one guy’s eyes the band became a business, and in my eyes the band became let’s just take advantage of this thing, just go crazy, and have some fun; and when it dies it dies. But he turned it into a business, then he’s turning it into a successful business, depending on what you gauge as success, he was probably right. I just wanted to have fun, when it ended it ended, big deal. Because I had been in music for 20 years and I had never made a dime, and still don’t make a dime off music. BSM: What is your definition of success? RB: That’s a hard question. My definition of success would be to have a nice little life, have a little bit of inner peace, and basically make enough money to get by. Have some close friends and have a good relationship with my family. That would be success. BSM: What were the reasons that you picked up the guitar as a little kid and why won’t you put it down? RB: I picked up the guitar when I was a little kid ‘cause my brother needed someone to play some chords so he could practice his lead guitar playing. So I said just show me the chords and I used to play “Wild Thing” over and over for hours at a time while he went [makes guitar lead sounds, laughing]. Consequently, I never learned to play lead ‘cause I thought it was stupid to put in all that time to just go [makes guitar lead sound again, laughing.] But anyways, I kind of liked playing those three chords over and over, something was good about that, I don’t exactly know what, but it was good. And today I’m still playing those three chords over and over, and that’s why I don’t put it down ‘cause I like those three chords. BSM: By the time kids starting showing up at Sex Pistol gigs with Mohawks, leather, and spikes Johnny Rotten got pissed off about this ‘cause he felt at that point that kids have missed the whole point about punk being rebel rock. That was 25 years ago, is it possible for rebel rock to exist in punk now? RB: No. BSM: Why not? RB: ‘Cause nothing is shocking anymore. Everything’s exposed. Commercial radio is all about how many swears they can say. MTV the same thing, how much they can show sexually. Now the new thing is all that violence and stuff, like the straight on violence. Nothing is going to shock anybody, no matter who does it. Unless they have live executions on cable TV and that’s close, so what else is there? Actually, Alice Cooper did it all back in the ‘70s and they’ve been trying to duplicate that ever since. BSM: So you equate the shock value with what punk was really all about? RB: Yeah, definitely. What else would it be for? BSM: I want to talk about your new project, tell me all about your new band. RB: My new band is just a bunch of old bastards from Boston. Even Craig, who plays drums, is 32 so he’s an old bastard, too. It’s old bastard Billy Loosigian on guitar, a legend. Just the other night he was talking about doing a show with Devo and The Police at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland back in ‘78, when he was in Willie Alexander and the Boom Boom Band, and they actually kicked The Police off the bill, Devo did, which was really unusual. That was when the Police were doing their station wagon tour of the U.S. Who else, Paulon bass, from the Swinging Steaks. There’s actually two drummers on the project, Joe Donnelly also, he’s another old bastard. These guys when they get together at these practices man, they tell stories and it just becomes story time of old Boston rock. We have Carl Plaster who’ll be working on it, he’s another one, and these guys just go off on the old stories. We never get around to doing too much playing. Basically the project is my music and my songs because since I left the Dropkick Murphys I’ve written about 40 songs and I need an outlet to express myself. You know I can’t do it with the Dropkick Murphys anymore, in fact the last album we put out was basically the end of my songwriting career with those guys, I would imagine. BSM: How much of that record did you write? RB: The new Dropkick Murphys’ record Sing Loud Sing Proud? There’s 12 original songs and I think I was the co-writer on nine or 10, I’m not sure, I don’t even have a copy of the album. From what I’ve heard, in fact you played me the record one day that was the only time I heard it, and I think I’m on nine or 10 of those songs. Since I left the band a year ago I’ve written over 40 songs and I have to keep writing, that’s the key I have to keep writing songs. That’s why I have this band together. We’re going to go away and record the album next Monday and we’ll be done by May 1st and I’ll have a brand new solo album in my hands completed. BSM: Do you know who is going to put it out? RB: Yeah, my old friend Brooks Whelan of One Way Productions. We’re going to press 2,000 CDs, it’s going to be low budget, and I just want to have something that I’ve done. BSM: Are you going to tour? RB: Eventually. My plan right now is to write two or three albums this year, 2001, which I know is rather ambitious, and in the fall I plan on doing a U.S. tour to support the records. BSM: If there was one thing that you could wish for as a musician what would it be? RB: To have a good singing voice. BSM: If Lemmy from Motorhead and Joan Jett got into a fight who would win? RB: Joan Jett. BSM: Why? RB: She seems to be a lot healthier then Lemmy. BSM: If you hadn’t been a rock musician what do you think you would have ended up doing? RB: Probably what I am doing, painting houses, the high school dropout that I am. BSM: What’s your message to the kids starting out? RB: What I’d like to say to the kids who are thinking of picking up the guitar and going after it is first of all, if your desires are in any way to gain some sort of spiritual satisfaction through music I would say you shouldn’t go after it because you’re not going to find it. And if you are looking for any kind of financial satisfaction please don’t go after it. In fact, go down to Home Depot and get a nice gas chain saw and go out to your garage and cut up all of your equipment right now, ‘cause you’re not going to make any money. In my opinion musicians are definitely self centered, they got the big ego, low self esteem thing going, and I think that’s because of the world and the environment that they decide to pursue music. The business is very shallow. Anyway, if after you’ve reviewed those two areas and you’re still passionate about what you’re playing in your music and you realize that’s what you need in life, then go for it. But don’t have any false hopes that you’re going to get any of those satisfactions that I talked about out of music, ‘cause you’re not. BSM: Can I address what you just said, ‘cause I think you’re on the money on one thing, Part B. But I think you’re full of shit on Part A. I’ve shared rehearsal space with you, I’ve seen you on stage, I know what happens when you strap a guitar around your neck and I know what happens when you go to the mic and open your mouth, you channel something that’s a power greater than yourself. I think if you’re looking for spiritual satisfaction it’s there. RB: Yeah, if you believe in your music and if you don’t believe that you need to sell that music. BSM: That’s commerce, that’s a whole other side of it. RB: RIght but that’s what everybody does. The minute they step out of their garage or their cellar or wherever they’re practicing, they’re beginning to try to sell their music. BSM: When your band is playing right now, when you guys stop telling stories and actually play I would imagine it’s pretty good? RB: Yeah... BSM: Would it be fair say that when you guys are banging all together you guys have a group conscious? RB: Oh yeah... BSM: And it just sort of happens, so spiritually you’re channeling something. RB: Yeah. BSM: So why are you bothering to take this band out of the garage? If you know you’re not going to make any money, your past experiences shows that you won’t, and you know that the entire business is full of it, then why aren’t you just content to just play in the garage in Quincy on Saturday and Sunday and have a good time? RB: Well believe it or not I am content to do that. I’m very content to do that, the only thing is you need to have projects because it’s hard to find other musicians who are just content to do that. So in order to interest other musicians that you want to jam with you better create projects because that’s what musicians live for, to record and to play. I’m not going to be able to find four guys like me who just want to stay in the garage every Saturday or Sunday night, that’s hard to find. Someday I will when I’m really old and I’m able to sit out on my front porch and play the acoustic guitar and maybe someone off the street will come sing with me. I like recording music, I like putting a band together, I like all of that stuff. I even like loading up the van, I like organizing where all the equipment goes and I actually lost a lot of that in the Dropkick Murphys when we got big road crews and I didn’t do any of that stuff, used to just show up and play. I like the camaraderie of having a band ;it’s that simple. BSM: What’s the best thing and the worst thing about being in a rock band? RB: The best thing is all the chicks. The worst thing is when you get married and you can’t get all the chicks.

Group Members This action packed twelve song endeaver features performances from such diverse Boston talent as Joe Donnelly; drums ["The Del Feugos"], Billy Loosgian; lead guitar ["Willie Alexander and the Boom Boom Band"], Jimmy Gambino; keyboards, Paul Kochanski; bass & Craig McIntyre; drums ["The Swinging Steaks"] and, last but not least Greg Burgess; guitar ["The Amazing Royal Crowns"].

Instruments guitar, drums, vocals, keyboards, percussion

Additional Info The prolific Rick Barton has emerged from Woolly Mammoth Studios in all of his tattered glory. One Way Productions'

Location Somerville, Massachusetts - USA

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