There are few bands who ever affected me the way Dispatch did. And so, when Dispatch sadly called it quits back around 2004, I followed each of the individual band members’ new musical projects with interest. My love affair with Pete Francis is no secret, and I find Braddigan just so inspiring.
But the only one of the trio that I’ve ever managed to catch live since the split is Chad, and his band State Radio. That night was huge for me, and confirmed that Chad still had it.
Anyway, all this is a pretty convoluted way of saying that I have some major history with these dudes. So, when Chad announced that he was just about to release his debut solo album, Chadwick Stokes: Simmerkane II, on June 28, I was – to put it mildly – excited.
And so it’s with no small amount of pleasure that – a week before its official drop – you can now stream the full thing on Burgo’s Blog.
A note from Chad on the release:
“It’d been 6 years since last meeting up with John Dragonetti (checkout Jack Drag and Submarines) and recording Simmerkane in his attic in Arlington, MA. We’d been talking for a few years about getting back together and I was really excited to meet up with him at Jimmy Parr’s studio on Martha’s Vineyard this fall for round two. I played a bunch of songs – most of them from the last year or so: songs about growing up on the farm, some from the recent trips on the freight trains. As they developed, there seemed a singular story that was unfolding. A story about journeying away to understand what was left behind and trying to come to grips with love, loss, escape and return.. We had such fun making the record and being on the island during the stormy season made for warm days, cold windy nights and good surf… and Jimmy’s studio was made from wide planks of wood from the old schooner the Alabama. Thanks for everyone’s help!
– Chadwick”
It takes a certain type of musician to hop freight trains and barrel across the vastness of North America with his brother and cousin. Especially for an artist who, just years before, sold out Madison Square Garden for three consecutive nights. This album tells the tale of that trip.
So hop on that train, and ride along with Chad below…
