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By: Victoria Powell
On Friday, November 11, I took a trip to Philadelphia to see State Radio live at Union Transfer. It was a great show as usual, and my best friend even won a signed banner with the help of Calling All Crows.
Calling All Crows is a non-profit organization that was started by State Radio’s lead vocalist, Chad Stokes. They work to create change through humanitarian aid, volunteerism and issue advocacy. For this particular show at Union Transfer, all fans were encouraged to bring canned goods to donate to Philabundance. Bringing a canned good earned you a raffle ticket, so of course we brought some canned goods and my friend turned out to be the lucky winner of the raffle prize.
On Thursday, November 3, I had the chance to interview Chad Stokes of State Radio. Some people also know him from his former band Dispatch.
Interview with Chad Stokes of the band State Radio
Victoria: How and when did you first start to play music?
Chad: I started playing trombone when I was 12, then switched over to the guitar when I was around 13 and started playing in bands, you know, all through high school and started from there.
Victoria: How did your band (State Radio) form?
Chad: Let’s see… Chuck was an old friend and we had grown up together with his family when they lived in Massachusetts for a little while. We lost touch for a little bit and then we met up again when we were in different bands playing the Northeast circuit. Then Mad Dog was playing buckets outside of Fenway Park and I just started hanging with him- listening to him play his buckets and then talking to him and it turns out I went to high school with his cousin. So we just kind of fell into place.
Victoria: Who inspires you?
Chad: The Dalai Lama, Howard Zinn, Gandhi, [and] Jethro Tull. [Also] Loni Anderson from WKRP in Cincinatti- a popular actress from the early 80’s… not really but she is kind of inspiring in her own way
Victoria: Do you believe that music can change the world?
Chad: Yeah, you know, it’s the universal language. I think it can cross borders that nothing else can.
Victoria: Where was your favorite place to ever play a live show?
Chad: Probably when we played in the Boston garden during a Bruins game in between periods and they just rolled a stage out on the ice. And that same night, that same game in between the other periods, we put on skates and skated against the ice girls in a relay race. That was really fun. We lost, but we came close. And the bassist in State Radio doesn’t really skate so we were enjoying his falls.
Victoria: Is there some place you have never played, but dream of playing live there in the future?
Chad: Ahh, let’s see. I’d love to play in Mongolia. Out in the great plains of Mongolia, where you can only get there by horseback… that kind of thing.
Victoria: What is one thing that makes you the happiest in life?
My wonderful partner Sybil and my little dog Lefty.
Victoria: How did Calling All Crows come to be?
Chad: Sybil and I felt like we were doing a bunch of benefit shows here and there for different causes and we felt like if we could organize our own cause, we could be more effective. And so we started Calling All Crows. We have a bunch of people on staff and it’s been really cool to see people kind of take up that torch and help us out with all sorts of different causes. It’s been really special.
Victoria: What advice do you have for musicians who also want to “save the world”?
Chad: Just be honest about what you do and try to incorporate what you believe in into your musical career so that it’s not kind of one or the other but you can do both at the same time.
Victoria: What bands have you been listening to recently?
Chad: I’ve been listening to The White Buffalo, Rx Bandits, Tracy Chapman, [and] The Boorays.
Victoria: Is there anything you would like to add to the end of this interview?
Chad: I’d like to say how much we miss our friend Troy Davis who was executed about a month ago, and we hope that the justice system in this country recognizes the wrong in capital punishment.
On Friday, November 11, I took a trip to Philadelphia to see State Radio live at Union Transfer. It was a great show as usual, and my best friend even won a signed banner with the help of Calling All Crows.
Calling All Crows is a non-profit organization that was started by State Radio’s lead vocalist, Chad Stokes. They work to create change through humanitarian aid, volunteerism and issue advocacy. For this particular show at Union Transfer, all fans were encouraged to bring canned goods to donate to Philabundance. Bringing a canned good earned you a raffle ticket, so of course we brought some canned goods and my friend turned out to be the lucky winner of the raffle prize.
On Thursday, November 3, I had the chance to interview Chad Stokes of State Radio. Some people also know him from his former band Dispatch.
Interview with Chad Stokes of the band State Radio
Victoria: How and when did you first start to play music?
Chad: I started playing trombone when I was 12, then switched over to the guitar when I was around 13 and started playing in bands, you know, all through high school and started from there.
Victoria: How did your band (State Radio) form?
Chad: Let’s see… Chuck was an old friend and we had grown up together with his family when they lived in Massachusetts for a little while. We lost touch for a little bit and then we met up again when we were in different bands playing the Northeast circuit. Then Mad Dog was playing buckets outside of Fenway Park and I just started hanging with him- listening to him play his buckets and then talking to him and it turns out I went to high school with his cousin. So we just kind of fell into place.
Victoria: Who inspires you?
Chad: The Dalai Lama, Howard Zinn, Gandhi, [and] Jethro Tull. [Also] Loni Anderson from WKRP in Cincinatti- a popular actress from the early 80’s… not really but she is kind of inspiring in her own way
Victoria: Do you believe that music can change the world?
Chad: Yeah, you know, it’s the universal language. I think it can cross borders that nothing else can.
Victoria: Where was your favorite place to ever play a live show?
Chad: Probably when we played in the Boston garden during a Bruins game in between periods and they just rolled a stage out on the ice. And that same night, that same game in between the other periods, we put on skates and skated against the ice girls in a relay race. That was really fun. We lost, but we came close. And the bassist in State Radio doesn’t really skate so we were enjoying his falls.
Victoria: Is there some place you have never played, but dream of playing live there in the future?
Chad: Ahh, let’s see. I’d love to play in Mongolia. Out in the great plains of Mongolia, where you can only get there by horseback… that kind of thing.
Victoria: What is one thing that makes you the happiest in life?
My wonderful partner Sybil and my little dog Lefty.
Victoria: How did Calling All Crows come to be?
Chad: Sybil and I felt like we were doing a bunch of benefit shows here and there for different causes and we felt like if we could organize our own cause, we could be more effective. And so we started Calling All Crows. We have a bunch of people on staff and it’s been really cool to see people kind of take up that torch and help us out with all sorts of different causes. It’s been really special.
Victoria: What advice do you have for musicians who also want to “save the world”?
Chad: Just be honest about what you do and try to incorporate what you believe in into your musical career so that it’s not kind of one or the other but you can do both at the same time.
Victoria: What bands have you been listening to recently?
Chad: I’ve been listening to The White Buffalo, Rx Bandits, Tracy Chapman, [and] The Boorays.
Victoria: Is there anything you would like to add to the end of this interview?
Chad: I’d like to say how much we miss our friend Troy Davis who was executed about a month ago, and we hope that the justice system in this country recognizes the wrong in capital punishment.