State Radio is an up-and-coming band worth looking into. This week The Mirror talked to frontman Chad Stokes (formerly of Dispatch) about the band’s music, their message and the upcoming tour to promote their new CD Us Against The Crown. They will be playing at The Space in Hamden, CT. on Feb. 15, with doors opening at 7 p.m. You can order tickets at http://thespace.tk
How did you guys meet and when did you officially form as a band? In 2002 we were all friends of a friend and had played in different bands. We knew we were starting something different. It is me (Chad Stokes), Chuck Fay, and Brian Sayers.
How would you describe your music? I’d say it is rock with a little bit of reggae. We’re influenced by lots of bands. Everything from Rage Against the Machine to Credence Clearwater Revival.
What are you looking forward to in the upcoming tour? We just got in to Somerville, Mass. and we practiced for the first time in two years. We have a bunch of new songs and I’m looking forward to playing in front of people that have heard the new album.
What do you guys do when you’re not touring? It feels like we always are working on something exciting. We worked on one project called “How’s Your News.” It is a news show where the news team is made up of friends of ours with disabilities. They are the stars and we are behind the scenes. We have done a CD with the group and a couple movies.
Do you feel your fans are able to make a separation between your work now and your work when you were with Dispatch? It is very similar to me. I feel like the people who come to the shows have come from the Dispatch nation. I think that it sort of is a natural progression. It feels sort of the same to me.
In your songs you sing about injustices facing the world. Would you consider State Radio political? That’s a good question. I think it’s okay if people get that from the music, but first and foremost we are a music band and we play what comes natural to us. Social injustices and social awareness is a big part of who we are and what we do. We love music and we see an opportunity to the give a message within the music. It is an added bonus …it is not the number one priority though.
Last election you were very active in encouraging young voters. Do you plan to be as active in the next presidential election? I feel sometimes we need to light a fire underneath the youth. I want people in youth to get interested in politics because we have the power to vote and put our officials in office. I think apathetic is the worst thing we can be at this moment. To be apathetic is to be irresponsible and that is not what we need from the youth of our country.
How do you feel that college-aged men and women can help recognize and work to correct injustices in the world? I think history has proven that college-aged men and women have made great strides in changing the U.S. for the better. We need that now. We would love to empower college age kids because that is where change usually starts.
You also were a huge proponent of Napster when it was in its glory. What do you feel is the state of peer to peer file sharing today? It is not as free as it used to be. I think it is still great. It encourages music that wouldn’t be heard to be shared. I am still in support of music being shared over the internet.
How has selling music on the iTunes music store affected State Radio? I was pretty confused why our EPs were there originally. Now, (that it is up there with our permission) I think it is great. iTunes is another great, artist friendly way for things to get out there. It is better way for the artist to get money for their work. I think it is great.
What do you see the future holding for state radio? I don’t know. We have a bunch of new songs. We would like to work on the next record. We have a trip planned for Germany, the UK and Europe. We would like to raise awareness of what is going on in Africa. Over 400,000 people have been killed in the region of Dafur in Sudan. The crises displaced 2.5 million people. If college students know about the extent of the suffering and loss of life, they should write petitions and let our congress men and women know we’re thinking of this.
We should empower each other to seek out what is wrong and try to right those wrongs. The power to make change is not taken advantage of enough.
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