Dispatch returns with a perfectly reasonable mission to unify the planet.
On the surface, the Dispatch story would seem to be a tale of an indie/folk/ska/jam outfit that’s been apart almost as long as it’s been together, victimized by the creative infighting that has decimated many good bands. In fact, the story of multi-instrumentalists/songwriters Chad Urmston, Pete Heimbold and Brad Corrigan goes considerably deeper, and their success in overcoming their daunting internal issues is borne out on America, Location 12 (Bomber), the band’s sixth studio album and its second since officially returning in 2012. It’s a towering example of its musical gifts.
“Dispatch 1.0 was each of us trying to figure out who we were and what the pecking order was,” says Corrigan. “In Dispatch 2.0, we’re content in our own lives, we’re not putting pressure on each other. We realize how fortunate we are to have a loyal, passionate fan base that cares for our music and story, and believes in the independent spirit that birthed Dispatch and the causes we care for. We’re trying to create amazing entertainment but hoping it points to something substantive beyond the music.”
Dispatch began as a New England jam band in 1996 and quickly amassed a fervent audience with its mixture of musical adventurism and social activism. Within three years, the trio devolved into a contentious triumvirate of individuals staking out creative territories within the band.
“We started as super close friends and accidentally found ourselves in a band,” says Corrigan. “Given that all three of us were songwriters and guitar players, we were stepping all over each other. When it was working well, it was our greatest strength. We have no regrets. Because we left each other, we were able to reconnect meaningfully in 2011 and say, ‘We know who we are, we don’t have to rely on each other for everything.’”
When the band split after 1999’s Four-Day Trials, Urmston formed State Radio, while Heimbold and Corrigan went solo as Pete Francis and Braddigan, respectively. They also redoubled their activist efforts: State Radio became Urmston’s political soapbox, Heimbold taught English, poetry and music at the Waterside School, which he co-founded, and Corrigan started Love Light and Melody, a nonprofit foundation that, according to its website, “is dedicated to battling the physical, emotional and spiritual effects of extreme poverty facing children and the communities where they live.”
Dispatch reunited for a 2004 one-off free show, The Last Dispatch at Boston’s Hatch Shell. The band expected about 10,000 attendees, but the concert attracted more than 150,000 fans from 29 countries.
“It gave us a glimpse at how flat the world was becoming, and that our music could really unify people from all over the globe,” says Corrigan.
Since then, Dispatch has annually reunited for two months at a time. From those 60-day periods, they’ve managed to record their 2012 comeback Circles Around The Sun and to play benefit concerts for myriad domestic and foreign causes. When they reconnected in 2015 to begin work on America, Location 12, they democratized their songwriting process, submitting and voting on material; as it happened, 15 of Urmston’s songs constituted the trio’s favorites, 11 of which make up the entirety of the album.
“The goal has been (to determine) what are the best Dispatch songs, and how can we arrange them together and bring our greatest strengths to them,” says Corrigan. “We’re already ready to do our next record and make changes to the process, but it’s a huge step in the right direction that the best stuff wins. The best stuff is the rising tide that floats all of our boats.”
—Brian Baker
