The Mighty Mighty BosstoneS’ Dicky Barrett Discusses New Band, The Defiant

In 2023, the Defiant made their debut with If We're Really Being Honest, a 12-track collection of fresh, catchy punk rock recorded by a 90s supergroup of sorts: drummer Pete Parada of the Offspring, bassist Johnny Rioux of Street Dogs, guitarist Greg Camp of Smash Mouth, multi-instrumentalist Joey LaRocca of the Briggs and frontman Dicky Barrett of the Mighty Mighty BosstoneS.

"You go, 'Hey, someday we should get together and make music,'" Barrett told Chuck Armstrong on Loudwire Nights Tuesday night (March 5) about wanting to record with these guys over the years.

"You put that plan in the back of your head and then when I decided that I wanted to try something else and see if I could write with other people or see if I could create an album that said the things I wanted to say right now, I thought of calling Greg. Me and Greg talked and we said, 'Hey, let's try our hand at this.'"

Barrett admitted that it didn't take long for him to realize that he and Camp were creating something that he would be proud to release.

"It just sounded good to us and the thoughts were cohesive and the message seemed clear and the music seemed great," Barrett explained about why he was convinced to keep pursuing this new music with Camp and the rest of the band.

"The stars aligned and everything sort of fell into place."

As Barrett celebrated the music of the Defiant — music that he said is some of the best music he's ever created — he was also very open about his time with the BosstoneS.

"I never really felt inhibited," he said about his time with the legendary ska punk band that he helped form in the early-'80s. "To be completely fair to the BosstoneS, they never really policed the things I was saying and, you know, 99.9-percent of the time, we were always on board with the same things."

While it may seem like the Defiant is a new vehicle for Barrett to express himself in a different way, he reiterated to Chuck that he always felt like he could be open with the music the BosstoneS were making.

"I never shied away from issues or subjects that I felt needed to be addressed or that I wanted to sing about," he said.

"As the primary lyricist of the Mighty Mighty BosstoneS, I had a forum. I had a place where I could say what I wanted to say, but this is sort of a different time and a different era. Did the BosstoneS all agree with me? No, I would say no, and I think the fact that we're currently not together kind of bears witness to that."

READ MORE: Toadies' Vaden Todd Lewis on Why He Still Enjoys Recording Music

As Barrett said those words, he was quick to also show gratitude for his partners in the Defiant.

"There's justification that I've found in writing and being with these guys and making music as I'm currently making it."

What Else Did Dicky Barrett Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• What the songwriting process is like for the Defiant
• Why the Defiant is more than just a hobby or a one-off thing
• Why he feels like he's getting a second shot at music even though he knows he was given a pretty big chance the first time around with the BosstoneS

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Dicky Barrett joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday, March 5; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand. Read more about the Defiant here.