State Radio is more than a Dispatch side project. It’s Chad Stokes’ alt-rock powerhouse. With a backdrop of Chuck Fay (bass) and Mike Najarian (drums), State Radio can be aggressive, petal to the metal, and political.
Some songs can be mellow, however. Take “Right Me Up,” from State Radio’s 2005 album Us Against the Crown. The song attacks rock with a simplistic approach and lures us in with honest, hard to understand lyrics. The album was a stellar debut, featuring some of my other favorites “Mr. Larkin” and “Man in the Hall.”
Fast forward to 2009; the album is Let It Go. Wow. Some legendary tracks like “Calling All Crows,” “Bohemian Grove,” and “Knights of Bostonia.”
And just this October, State Radio came out with Rabbit Inn Rebellion. You’ll learn about the album’s name below. As a whole, it’s quite politically driven and expressive to its core.
I sat down to talk with Chad Stokes about his latest album and more. Then I picked up my phone and called him.
What is it like to release a record with both State Radio and Dispatch and then tour with both bands?
“It’s like living two different lives. It’s been a little crazy how the albums came out so soon after each other. It’s kind of cool, though. It’s like you’re just trying to accept the different realities for each one. It’s really fun to be in State Radio mode right now but it was a really fun Dispatch tour, too.”
What’s the difference between State Radio mode and Dispatch mode?
“In Dispatch, we’re playing some songs that I wrote when I was like 15… so… (laughs) That band’s been around for so long, so it has so much history. But at this point, State Radio’s been around for ten years as well, so, I guess State Radio is more political and a little bit more aggressive and more petal-to-the-metal.
“Dispatch kind of goes back and forth between some mellower stuff and we play a couple of acoustic songs with Dispatch and Brad and Pete string lead sometimes so I’ll play bass, so that’s quite different.
“On this State Radio tour, we have our friend Matt Embree, the singer for the RX Bandits, join us as the fourth member of our band so that just ratchets it up.”
What motivated you to create Calling All Crows?
“I think it’s because touring life can be a waste-away type of existence. You’re up till 5 in the morning, sleep till sound check at 4, and I just wanted the touring experience to be a bit more well-rounded and reflect things that are important to the band and to actually get our hands dirty and try to be part of the solution, so we kind of adopt different campaigns for different tours. We get to protest or volunteer; it’s been a great way to get to know people and get to know a city beyond the inside walls of a venue.”
Tell me about your new haircut.
“I lost a bet to Brad, in Dispatch, and the loser had to shave both sides of their head.”
What was the bet?
“We were playing dice. It was basically like who could win the most, and who lost, and Pete won.”
Well, it looks good.
“Kind of. You’re trying hard to say that.”
It’s funky and different.
“Yeah.”
What’s your favorite song to perform off Rabbit Inn Rebellion?
“We’ve only performed like five of them so far. Right now, I really like playing ‘Take Cover’ because it’s mellow and the message is there. It is kind of saying, ‘don’t forget our troops and soldiers coming home from overseas.’ At the same time, it goes from mellow to really rocking out and that’s a blast to sing and get lost in.”
So why are all these rabbits in rebellion? Who angered them?
“The Rabbit Inn Rebellion is based on a true story about cops who were chasing these kids in South Boston into a bar called the Rabbit Inn. The patrons in the bar covered for the kids and let them hide in there and cops couldn’t find them. he cops came in the next night and destroyed the place; beat up everyone in the bar. Parts of ‘Freckled Mary’ are based on that story and I changed it from Rabbit Inn Incident, how it’s historically known, to Rabbit Inn Rebellion — as if when the cops were beating up everyone, the kids came to their rescue and saved all the patrons in the bar who saved them the night before.”
When you come up with a cool riff or lyric that you like, how do you decide which band to use it for?
“It’s pretty telling. If a song is kind of hard, heavy, and politically pointed, then it’s easy to know it’s going to be a State Radio song. A song that depends and relies on full-on harmony is easy to go to Brad and Pete with, with Dispatch. With a song that is slower, maybe more personal, then I’ll save it for the Chadwick Stokes solo stuff.”
How do you get inspired to write these songs?
“Different things that come up in our lives, I guess. My friend Troy Davis, who was killed last year, executed in Georgia, was something that I was really affected by.
“Jumping freight trains across the country and seeing the world, or this country, through a different lens. I’m so used to seeing this country from the highway on a van or a bus, but it was so cool to see it from the rails. And the people you meet, the veterans, the bums — that subculture — it’s a whole world of America that you can’t see unless you really get into it.
“And then stuff that’s going on it my life, growing up on the farm when I was a kid… it kind of depends, I guess.”
After a few more records and a bigger tour, would you consider becoming Nation Radio?
“Good question! We do borrow it, you know how Red Sox Nation does that, and we do throw out State Radio Nation every now and then. But I think we’ll probably stay local.”
Though a musician who has played in front of 110,000 fans at the Hatch Shell in Boston with Dispatch, Stokes is a walking emblem of modesty and respect. Before the State Radio show this Saturday, November 10 at the Majestic Theatre, join Chad, Fay, and Najarian for a pre-show Calling All Crows service project with Habitat for Humanity. Register here. From the site:
Calling All Crows partners with musicians and fans to create change through hands-on service and activism. Founded in 2008 by musician Chad Stokes (Dispatch, State Radio) and tour manager Sybil Gallagher, Calling All Crows has raised over $250,000 to empower women in Sudan and Afghanistan and invested more than 20,000 hours of service in local communities across North America and Europe.
Get yours hands dirty. Give good rock music a chance. Come on out to the Majestic Theatre on Saturday.