The first episode of Ken Casey’s new Home of the Brave Backstage series is available now
Ken Casey, the frontman for Dropkick Murphys — the band Rolling Stone recently lauded as “punk’s loudest anti-Trump voice” — has begun hosting a video interview series, Home of the Brave Backstage, which will feature musicians discussing “the Trump administration, fighting authoritarianism, and the future of our politics.” The first episode finds Casey speaking with Bruce Springsteen about why he’s chosen to speak out against the president. Future episodes will feature chats with Joan Baez, Chuck D, and the Foo Fighters’ Chris Shiflett, among others.
The series’ title refers to Home of the Brave, a nonprofit whose goal is “amplifying voices of the brave Americans speaking out against the Trump administration.” It creates video content featuring everyday Americans speaking out against the president’s policies. Casey’s co-hosts include former MPD officer Michael Fanone, who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and Sarah Longwell, a member of Home of the Brave’s advisory board.
In the first episode, Springsteen tells the hosts how he’s found the American ideal a driving force for him. “I just grew up with a deep love and respect for what the country could be,” he said. “And I believed it was part of my job to show the distance between American reality and the American dream. And to do my best to narrow that gap. That was my job here on planet Earth, if I had one.”
Casey said in a statement that he appreciates the responsibility of conducting interviews like the one he had with Springsteen. “It was such a privilege to sit down and talk to such legendary talents and hear about their long history of using their music and their voice to speak up on behalf of the people,” he said.
The singer recently told Rolling Stone about the show and what it means to him to be working alongside Fanone. It turned out that the former policeman was a fan. “He was at the very first D.C. show we ever played,” Casey said.