State Radio

State Radio

State Radio is a rock band formed by former Dispatch member Chad Urmston in 2002 after Dispatch announced their indefinite hiatus (after about two years on hiatus, the band announced a break-up and a final show). The band had origionally been called "Flag of the Shiners" after a group of peacekeeping 19th centuary pirates, before they changed their name to State Radio. (The name of an unreleased song.) Chad recorded and released one EP entitled "Flag of the Shiners", before solidifying the rest of the band's lineup and beginning to play shows. The band's first full-length album, Us Against the Crown, was released on February 7, 2006, although it had been available online for several months before. Their second (as-yet-untitled) album -- with producer Tchad Blake -- is slated for a summer '07 release.

State Radio's songs, written by Chad, are primarily a mixture of roots reggae and rock interspersed with more somber, low-key numbers. Of the forty-seven songs Chad has penned for State Radio, one can expect to hear any of forty-one (the number performed since Mike Najarian took over the drum kit) at a live show. In addition to these, Dispatch's "Time Served" has become a State Radio staple, and "Just Like Larry," more recently along with a cover of Rage Against the Machine's "Bullet in the Head," is often appended to "First One Shot." The Hermit Thrush (Urmston's pre-Dispatch band) song "Sister" has also been played once. Some State Radio songs were written during the Dispatch era: verses from "Once and Future King" and "Revolutionaries" were included in the Dispatch improv song "Cut It Ya Match It," a song consisting entirely of random verses from songs Chad had written or was writing at the time. "Riddle in Londontown" made its first appearance at Dispatch's farewell concerts in July 2004, then entitled simply "Riddle." State Radio is known for their outstanding stage presence, and encourage frequent audience participation. Another exciting aspect of live shows is that the band, instead of waiting to perfect songs before playing them live, starts playing new cuts soon after Chad comes up with them, and then improves them on the road. As such, the "Wicker Plane" played live back in 2002 is very different from the song's most recent renditions.

Band members

Current members

• Chad Urmston (Vocals, Guitar, 2002 - Current)
• Chuck Fay (Bass, Backup Vocals, 2002 - Current)
• Mike Najarian (Drums, Backup Vocals, 2006 - Current)

Past members

• Brian Sayers (Drums on Us Against the Crown and touring drummer from 2004-2006)
• Mike Greenfield (Drums on the Flag of the Shiners EP)
• Pete Halby (Guitar, Backup vocals)
• Matt Shardlow (Guitar, backup vocals)
• Nikki Glaspie (Drums, backup vocals)
• Erin Lashnits Coughlin aka Ras LC (Vocals on Simmer Kane EP)
• Kira Huseby (Vocals)

Discography

Year	Title	Label
2002	Flag of The Shiners EP	Fenway Recordings
2004	Last Dispatch Sampler (EP)
2004	Simmer Kane EP
2005	Peace Between Nations EP (Version 1)
2005	Peace Between Nations EP (Version 2)
2006	Us Against the Crown	Ruff Shod Records
2006	Camilo Radio Promo	Ruff Shod Records
2006	Warped Tour Promo	Ruff Shod Records
2007	The Barn Sessions	Ruff Shod Records

External links

• State Radio's website
• State Radio Interview from the Cornell Daily Sun
• State Radio collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
• ccbSayIt.com - The State Radio fan site including lyrics, setlists, streams and more
• State Radio Interview at Rocklouder