For generations of great American songwriters, the music and the message have been inextricably linked. Word and deed are one in the same, and the only thing more moving than the rousing call to action is the evocative melody that transports the words like a shell casing. These are fire-breathing poets of justice who sing about ordinary people in extraordinary ways, and can turn the world inside out with three chords and the truth. These are the tenets by which STATE RADIO’s Chad Stokes Urmston, Chuck Fay, and Mike “Mad Dog” Najarian are driven, and they once again flex that strength and sense of purpose on their third album, LET IT GO. But this is no soapbox symposium.
“It’s the only way I know how to do it,” says singer/guitarist Stokes about the band’s impassioned social consciousness. “It’s the only way State Radio has done it. This has always been an organic, grassroots thing. It’s about trying to be true to what we do.”
Like Rage Against The Machine and System Of A Down before them, State Radio roll up their sleeves as they practice what they preach, whether it’s riding bikes to gigs to support Bikes Not Bombs, hosting food drives in conjunction with Rock For A Remedy, or playing shows to raise money for the Learning Center for the Deaf. How’s Your News?, a film project created by Stokes while working at a camp for adults with disabilities, where the campers are the reporters, was just a way for Stokes and company to flip the standard interview format on its head with a different viewpoint before it was picked up by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for a run on HBO and MTV.
Action is hardly a new concept for all the members of State Radio. Before the band, Mad Dog volunteered as mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters, while Fay was and continues to be a powerful voice for Instant Runoff Voting and comprehensive election reform across the country. On tour, State Radio has joined with Amnesty International to expose the injustices and improprieties of the legal system by protesting the death penalty for Georgia’s Troy Davis. They’ve worked to minimize wildfire danger by removing invasive plants from areas in California, and have partnered with Oxfam America to organize home run derbies and 5K road races to raise money and awareness to help protect women against violence in Sudan. Most bands have touring schedules. State Radio have an Action Calendar.
During their sold out, 25-city tour this past February, the band performed service projects in every town they visited, from serving lunch at a homeless shelter in Houston to building a community garden at an inner city elementary school in Washington, D.C. Calling All Crows (callingallcrows.org), the group’s platform for social action started by Stokes and State Radio tour manager Sybil Gallagher, is committed to continuing the group’s socio-political dialogue once the music ends and the lights come up. In less than a year, State Radio and their fans have amassed over 1,800 hours of community service through projects that have local, national, and global impact.
“There are times when there’s a service project every morning at 9am—and we’d had a late night the night before—where it’s like, ‘Are we a service group that plays music, or are we a band that does service projects?’” Stokes laughs. “There’s a balance between the two things because they feed each other. I want to experience the stuff I’m writing about.”
That same mindset held true for Stokes’ previous band, the roots rock outfit Dispatch, who formed while Stokes was a student at Middlebury College in Vermont. Though the group disbanded in 2002, they’ve reunited three times, the most notable being a three-night, sold out run at Madison Square Garden in 2007 to raise funds and awareness for poverty-stricken Zimbabwe. It marked the first time in history an unsigned band had headlined the Garden, let alone sold it out.
“It was a progression,” says Stokes’ of the shift from Dispatch to State Radio, who formed in 2002. “I think had Dispatch stayed together, all these State Radio songs would have been Dispatch songs.”
State Radio’s first album, Us Against The Crown, introduced listeners to the band’s raw, pop-punk sound. Tracks like “Mr. Larkin” and “Black Cab Motorcade” had all the boundless energy of a vigorous protest, while “Right Me Up,” a personal account of a friend with a disability, showcased Stokes’ reggae harmonies.
Their second album, Year Of The Crow, was recorded in the UK and produced by Tchad Blake (Peter Gabriel, Pearl Jam, Soul Coughing). Featuring songs like “Sudan,” “Guantanamo,” and “Gang Of Thieves,” the album pushed the group’s socio-political motivations even further into the forefront. It also broadened their sonic palette with bigger guitars (“CIA”) and more diverse instrumentation (“The Story Of Benjamin Darling, Part 1”). But the bridge between both records has always been Stokes’ transcendental storytelling, which continues to mature and evolve on Let It Go.
The album kicks off with “Mansin Humanity,” a gripping song about the Armenian genocide, then slides into “Calling All Crows,” a one-drop groove that calls the band’s legion of fans to attention as Stokes beckons, “It’s gonna be a showdown, said the rebel to the revolutionary, come with me!” Elsewhere, State Radio invoke the spirit of the Clash on “Doctor Ron The Actor” and “Knights Of Bostonia,” a raise-yer-pints anthem to the band’s hometown. (After all, Stokes did meet Mad Dog while he was drumming on a bucket outside of the home of the Red Sox Fenway Park.) Another track, “Held Up By The Wires,” mixes classic Boston references and Civil War tales with nods to Jack London’s “The Road,” sailing pioneer Irving Johnson, and Stokes’ own time spent in Zimbabwe. The track has been in the band’s repertoire since the early days, but it wasn’t until now that it found it’s way onto an album, a fact Stokes attributes to the way in which Let It Go was recorded.
While touring Year Of The Crow, State Radio enlisted Tchad Blake’s assistant, Dom Monks, as their front-of-house engineer; a critical position for a band with such a large live audience. When it came time to seek out producers for Let It Go, Monks threw his hat in the ring. He also suggested that the band record the songs in the same manner as they were performed: live off the floor, with all the instruments buzzing and howling at once.
“He has a great ear and he’s worked with the best guy,” says Stokes of his producer and friend. “He knew all our songs and he did an amazing job.”
Two-thirds of the album were recorded at Q-Division in Boston, while the remaining parts were tracked at the famous Long View Farm Studio, the preferred practice space of the Rolling Stones before all their US tours, and a location that houses just as much livestock as it does vintage pre-amps. The rustic setting provided the perfect atmosphere with which to coalesce the band’s trademark live energy, while recording straight to tape with limited tracks allowed them to be more succinct with the musical message they wanted to convey.
“We’ll take the long way around, we gather on the wall on the wrong side of town. We’ll surprise them all,” sings Stokes on “Evolution.” After years of social action and political awareness—not to mention playing in front of thousands upon thousands of fans with very little support by the mainstream—the 33-year-old Stokes knows a thing or two about how to serve up lighting in a bottle. Sometimes quiet persistence is the best way. Like when he and 15 other peers spent 28 days walking a headstone 433 miles from Sherborn, Massachusetts to Arlington National Cemetery to honor unknown civilians killed in war. (Alas, they were stopped at the bridge and not allowed to enter.) But after you’ve done the backstroke in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and shaken hands with the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, what do you do next?
“I think the dream would be to jump freights to each city,” says Stokes of their upcoming tour to support Let It Go. “Going out to the Democratic National Convention last year, my brother and I jumped freights from Massachusetts to Denver, then from Denver to California, opening up for Rage in the middle there.”
And have someone drive the gear?
“Or just get back line everywhere we go,” Stokes smiles, “and hit the rails that night.”
State Radio’s Let It Go is out September 29, 2009.
The Story Of Benjamin Darling Part 1
State Radio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They took on some rough seas.
The captain and his slave fought back the heavy waves,
But they were threatening to break her up so badly.
See two days before they left the outer banks,
And made good time up to Boston.
But just north of Essex the sky grew dark,
And life can change so fast.
The captain had seen many a day,
When the winds blew and the waters raged.
But it was just a part of the life he made for himself,
Running the coast of New England.
The ship heaved and cracked,
Threw the men on their backs as the water came rushing in.
The captain fought hard yet.
He yelled above the splintering wreck, I have done you wrong son.
I should be forsaken for what I have done.
But Ben reached a timber to stay afloat.
He grabbed the captain's braided coat.
He swam him to the nearest shore.
Dragged him up till he couldn't pull no more,
And left him breathin', yeah left him breathin' dry.
The captain said in all my days,
I have never seen anybody save the very person who kept him enslaved.
God dam it Ben, you should have your freedom
For what you have done.
And I should be forsaken for what I have done.
Somewhere off the Maine coast,
At the mouth of the New Meadows River there's an island,
Where a marooned man lived out his life quietly under tied and sky.
Never forgetting when the sea rose up so high.
The captain said in all my days,
I have never seen anybody save the very person who kept him enslaved.
God dam it Ben, you should have your freedom
For what you have done.
The Story of Benjamin Darling Part 1 by State Radio is a story about the captain of a ship and his slave who took on rough seas on a brig loaded with timber headed for the north Maine coast. The captain and his slave fought back the heavy waves but they were threatening to break the ship up so badly that they didn't look like they were going to make it. Two days before they left the outer banks they made good time up to Boston. But just north of Essex, the sky grew dark, and the captain missed his mark he was making. Life can change so fast.
The ship heaved and cracked so hard that it threw the men on their backs as the water came rushing in. The captain fought hard yet he yelled above the splintering wreck, "I have done you wrong son, I should be forsaken for what I have done." But Ben reached a timber to stay afloat, grabbed the captain's braided coat, swam him to the nearest shore, dragged him up till he couldn't pull no more, and left him breathing dry. The captain couldn't believe that his slave had saved his life and said that Benjamin should have his freedom for what he had done.
This song is an allegory for the historical issue of slavery, showing the humanity of a person who was so wronged by the world that enslaved him, yet still had enough mercy to save his captor. It is a story about redemption and the possibility of forgiveness no matter the circumstances. This song also could be interpreted as a warning to those in power, such as the ship's captain, to treat others with compassion and kindness for one never knows when they may need their help in return.
Line by Line Meaning
On a brig loaded with timber headed for the north Maine coast,
The story begins with a ship carrying timber cruising towards the north Maine coast.
They took on some rough seas.
The ship faced tough weather conditions while on the voyage.
The captain and his slave fought back the heavy waves,
The captain and his enslaved man struggled to survive the rough waves and harsh sea conditions.
But they were threatening to break her up so badly.
The extent of the impact of the rough waves on the ship was alarming to the captain and his slave.
See two days before they left the outer banks,
Two days before the incident, the ship departed from the outer banks.
And made good time up to Boston.
They arrived in Boston in good time.
But just north of Essex the sky grew dark,
While heading to their destination just north of Essex, the weather got worse.
He missed his mark he was making,
The captain did not hit his intended target due to the extreme weather conditions.
And life can change so fast.
Life can take unexpected turns, and things can change rapidly in seconds or minutes.
The captain had seen many a day,
The captain had seen many tough days in his life as a seafarer.
When the winds blew and the waters raged.
The captain had witnessed high winds and raging waters during previous voyages.
But it was just a part of the life he made for himself,
Challenges, storms, and sea rages were just a part of the captain's chosen seafaring life.
Running the coast of New England.
The captain was a seafarer who was accustomed to running along the New England coast.
The ship heaved and cracked,
The ship was in a terrible state, with high waves pounding and cracking it.
Threw the men on their backs as the water came rushing in.
The crew and the captain struggled to survive as the ship was hit by the massive waves, throwing them off balance.
The captain fought hard yet.
The captain did his best to keep the ship safe and afloat, even in the face of insurmountable odds.
He yelled above the splintering wreck, I have done you wrong son.
Amid the chaos, the captain acknowledged his shortcomings and publicly acknowledged his wrongdoing to his slave.
I should be forsaken for what I have done.
The captain was overwhelmed with guilt and believed that he should be punished for his misdeed.
But Ben reached a timber to stay afloat.
The enslaved man, Ben, managed to secure a floating timber to stay afloat amid the tumultuous sea.
He grabbed the captain's braided coat.
Ben rescued the captain by grabbing his braided coat and pulling him up to shore.
He swam him to the nearest shore.
Ben swam the captain towards the closest shore in a bid to save him from certain death.
Dragged him up till he couldn't pull no more,
Ben dragged the captain up the shore until he couldn't go any further.
And left him breathin', yeah left him breathin' dry.
Ben successfully saved the captain and left him breathing on the shore.
The captain said in all my days,
The captain reflected on his life and past experiences.
I have never seen anybody save the very person who kept him enslaved.
The captain was surprised that Ben, who he held in slavery, saved his life, which he considered a significant act of kindness.
God dam it Ben, you should have your freedom
The captain believed that Ben had earned his freedom for saving his life.
For what you have done.
The captain acknowledged the significance and impact of Ben's deed on his life.
Somewhere off the Maine coast,
The story is set in a region off the coast of Maine.
At the mouth of the New Meadows River there's an island,
There is an island located at the mouth of the New Meadows River.
Where a marooned man lived out his life quietly under tied and sky.
The story refers to a man who lived alone on the island for his entire life.
Never forgetting when the sea rose up so high.
The marooned man could never forget the incident when the sea was too high and caused the loss of the ship.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind