Dispatch is an American indie-roots band founded in 1996 in Middlebury, Ver… Read Full Bio ↴Dispatch is an American indie-roots band founded in 1996 in Middlebury, Vermont.

The band originated in the early 1990s as One Fell Swoop, but changed their name to Dispatch in 1996. Chad Urmston, Braddigan, and Pete (Francis) Heimbold, who were all attending Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont comprised the band's lineup throughout their entire career. Their music has drawn on several influences, such as acoustic folk-rock, reggae, and funk.

Dispatch gained much recognition outside of New England, without any help from a label, and stuck together long enough to release seven albums, three of which were live performances. During concerts, the band had been known to improvise upon their album releases, often resulting in a song ending in twice the length of the original. The group was also fond of switching instruments and vocal duties when playing live.

Upon the announcement of its break-up in 2002, the band scheduled one final concert. The free show was performed at the Hatch Shell in Boston on July 31, 2004. "The Last Dispatch," as it was referred, is said to be the largest concert in independent music history; roughly 110,000 fans from over 20 different countries attended the show. Parts of the performance were released as a CD/DVD two-disc set later that year, entitled All Points Bulletin, along with an earlier show in Somerville, Massachusetts.

All three of the band's members are currently still in the music industry. Urmston is now the frontman of State Radio, while Corrigan (now credited as Braddigan, a nickname by which he was known since his time with Dispatch) and Heimbold (now credited as Pete Francis, his middle name) are succesfully pursuing solo efforts.

After the song Elias, written by Urmston after his experience living and teaching in Zimbabwe, the "Elias Fund" was formed to send children from the ravaged country to college.

Dispatch came out with a movie entitled "Last Dispatch" in July 2005, which documents their final 12 days together as a band and tells the story of how they became "the band that redefined independent music history". The film was released and previewed in Boston. Chad, Brad, and Pete attended the showing and celebrated throughout the weekend with their fans.

On December 22, 2005, Corrigan helped to organize a benefit concert, known as the Relief Project, at Irving Plaza in New York, New York. Along with several other performers, Corrigan invited Heimbold and State Radio to play. The three reunited very briefly, playing the song Here We Go as an encore. Corrigan stated there that he plans further Relief Project concerts featuring all three and perhaps sometime in 2007, a major Dispatch reunion concert.
Entitled "Dispatch: Zimbabwe", Dispatch arranged for one show in Madison Square Garden, with all the money sent towards relief efforts in Zimbabwe. Originally billed as a one show deal on July 14, Dispatch was surprised how quickly this first show sold out and set two more shows for the 13 and 15. After all three shows sold out, Dispatch announced another smaller show on July 11th at Webster Hall in New York, where they made their comeback debut to great success.

Dispatch had a second set of reunion concerts beginning at Red Rocks amphitheater in Denver, Colorado on June 3, 4, and 5th, 2011. These performances launched a reunion tour around the US and the release of their Dispatch EP on May 17th.

In 2017, the band released the song, "Only The Wild Ones" from their album, America, Location 12.

Bats
Dispatch Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Old man river said
You can go your own way
If you just leave him alone
Do not deliver all your things today
We are going home
Oh mama we now so hungry

I got bats in the belfry

I'm in the kitchen, boiling society
I'm in the open catching all the leaves
We all see what we want

Old man river said
You can go your own way
If you just leave him alone
Do not deliver all your things today
We are going home
Oh mama we now so hungry

I got bats in the belfry
I'm in the kitchen, boiling society
I'm in the open catching all the leaves
We all see what we want

I have a crazy idiosyncrasy
It's affinity to serendipity
And in this eternal epiphany
No hypocrisy or duplicity

Oh mama we now so hungry

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Dispatch's Bats In The Belfry describe a sense of alienation and desire for independence. The phrase "Old man river said, you can go your own way if you just leave him alone" suggests a generational divide, with the old man symbolizing society's expectations and the singer seeking to break away from them. The repetition of the line "we are going home" could represent a longing for a place where they truly belong and can be themselves. The phrase "I got bats in the belfry" is an idiom meaning to be mad or crazy, which further emphasizes the theme of non-conformity. The singer describes being in the kitchen "boiling society", potentially suggesting they are fed up with societal norms and expectations. They then mention "catching all the leaves", which could symbolize trying to capture fleeting thoughts or ideas that are different from what is expected. The final lines repeat the sentiment of hunger, which could be interpreted as a desire for something more substantial or meaningful than what they have currently.

Line by Line Meaning

Old man river said
Someone wise once told me

You can go your own way
You have the freedom to make your own choices

If you just leave him alone
But you should not interfere with others' lives

Do not deliver all your things today
Don't try to accomplish everything at once

We are going home
We are returning to a place of safety

Oh mama we now so hungry
We are feeling a strong desire for something we need

I got bats in the belfry
My mind is full of strange and unsettling thoughts

I'm in the kitchen, boiling society
I am trying to change the world around me

I'm in the open catching all the leaves
I am taking in everything around me, trying to learn and understand

We all see what we want
Our perceptions and beliefs shape our understanding of the world

I have a crazy idiosyncrasy
I have a strange and unique personality trait