I recently had the privilege and pleasure of interviewing the phenomenal musician Chad “Stokes” Urmston from State Radio. Urmston started the band State Radio shortly after Dispatch’s unfortunate break up. State Radio carries on Dispatch’s legacy of political and social activism through its lyrics and work beyond the realm of music such as the recent Dispatch: Zimbabwe benefit concert and Urmston’s personally founded Elias Fund for Zimbabwean youth. The boys of State Radio are fantastic musicians who play with passion and energy, getting the crowd involved in the show and making sure to play all of the fan favorites.
The Mirror: You guys originally went by the name “Flag of the Shiners.” Where did that name come from and what was the reasoning behind the name change to “State Radio”?
Chad Urmston: “Flag of the Shiners” was a name taken from this book by Jack London called “The Road.” The Shiners were this unofficial police force that policed the Mississippi Way back in the late 1800s and early 1900s. We ended up changing the name because we had this song called “State Radio,” and “Flag of the Shiners” was a little bit of a mouthful for people.
TM: Would you say that there is still a lot of influence from Dispatch and the experiences you had during that time within the music that you make with State Radio?
CU: Well yeah, I feel like it’s, at least for me, this really natural progression. I think that if Dispatch had continued to play, then a lot of those State Radio songs would be Dispatch songs right now. I think that also with this project that I can be a bit more overt with several beliefs of mine such as coming down on capital punishment or being against the war, whereas with Dispatch I didn’t necessarily feel that the other guys in the band might have felt the same way.
TM: You recently played the Dispatch: Zimbabwe shows to benefit the country of Zimbabwe in general. How was it playing this mammoth benefit show and how did you feel playing with the guys from Dispatch again at Madison Square Garden?
CU: It was a great experience. Getting back with Brad and Pete was really cool but we had a lot of work to do. There was a lot of money raised, and the people who came to the shows were awesome; it was a really good feeling. We played with an African children’s choir and we had a Zimbabwe band called “Bongo Love” join us, so it was a good celebration. It was also really great to raise awareness about a country that is quickly dying and is on the brink of mass starvation and the poverty levels are extreme.
TM: Dispatch’s “Time Served” has become a State Radio staple within the set list along with several other covers such as “Just Like Larry” and Rage Against the Machine’s “Bullet in the Head.” Could you let us know why those songs in particular so often find their way into your live performances?
CU: I think these guys Mad Dog and Chuck play “Time Served” really well, and I wouldn’t want to do a Dispatch song if we couldn’t do it justice. The other tunes are just like on whims because you know “Just Like Larry” you can sing over pretty much anything and the Rage stuff is always a trip; we really love the Rage Against the Machine. So, if the show is going that way we’ll break out “Bullet.” We’d actually really like to play a few more covers in the live show but we don’t practice that kind of stuff enough to get them to a certain level.
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