Dispatch (band)

Dispatch

Dispatch was an American indie/roots folk band formed at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. They were active from 1996 to 2002, and have come together twice for reunion concerts, first in 2004, and again in 2007. Dispatch experimented with a variety of genres, and as such, they are known as a very difficult band to categorize. The band was also instrumental in the creation of the non-profit organization, The Elias Fund. Dispatch consisted of Brad Corrigan (vocals, drums, guitar, percussion, and harmonica), Pete Francis Heimbold (vocals, bass and guitar), and Chad Urmston (vocals, bass, guitar, and percussion).

Different styles and genres employed by the band include: reggae (examples are "Outloud" and "Passerby"), ska ("Bats in the Belfry" and "Railway"), folk ("Craze" and "The General"), funk ("Just Like Larry"), and rock ("Even" and "Time Served").

Band history

The beginnings

The band originated as an all-acoustic trio in the early 1990s as One Fell Swoop, but soon changed their name to Dispatch, after a dispute with another band of the same name. Chad Urmston, Brad Corrigan, and Pete Heimbold, who were all attending Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont comprised the band's lineup throughout their entire career. Their music drew upon several influences, such as acoustic folk-rock, reggae, and funk. They did several concerts in their early years both in and around Middlebury, gaining a name for themselves at the college.

Active Years and Break-Up

Dispatch gained much recognition outside of New England, without any help from a label, thanks to peer-to-peer file sharing programs such as Napster and LimeWire, as well as word-of-mouth. During their rise to indie fame, they put out four studio albums, which progressed from acoustic albums to more distortioned records. After the release of their last album, "Who Are We Living For?", they began to tour extensively nationwide. Tensions began to run high between the band members, and arguments over lyrics in certain songs and just simple ego battles broke the band. They announced an indefinite hiatus in 2002 after a performance on Craig Kilborn's late night talk show.

The Last Dispatch

Main article: The Last Dispatch (documentary)

The band eventually scheduled a farewell concert to their fans, in order to get closure on the Dispatch portion of their lives. 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. The original prediction of the turnout was between 10,000 and 30,000. Fans reportedly flocked from Italy, Portugal, South Africa, and Australia among others, making up an estimated total audience of 110,000. The performance was released as a three-disc set (2 CD, 1 DVD) later that year, entitled All Points Bulletin, along with recordings from a warm-up show in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Dispatch then released a documentary entitled The Last Dispatch in July 2005, which chronicles 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. Urmston, Corrigan, and Heimbold attended the showing and celebrated throughout the weekend with their fans. The film was released on DVD September 26 2006.

Post-breakup

All three of the band's members are currently still in the music industry. Urmston is now the front man 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, Francis being his middle name) are successfully pursuing solo efforts.

Dispatch: Zimbabwe

On January 5, 2007, the band announced a benefit concert entitled "Dispatch: Zimbabwe" which reunited the band on July 14, 2007 at Madison Square Garden. All of the money raised from ticket sales went directly to charities that are fighting disease, famine and social injustice in Zimbabwe; a portion was allocated to local charities that the band supports in the United States. On January 10, during the first half hour of the exclusive presale, available to their MySpace friends only, the band announced that the show was "officially sold out." Dispatch quickly scheduled another show scheduled for Friday, July 13, 2007. This show sold out within 24 hours, resulting in the addition of yet another night: July 15, 2007. Tickets for this show went on sale January 20 at 9:00 AM on Ticketmaster, which also sold out. The band has held multiple charity ticket auctions for the show through Ticketmaster that raised an additional $20,000+ for The Elias Fund.

Shortly after the announcement of the three Madison Square Garden shows, the band also announced a show at New York nightclub Webster Hall July 11, 2007. Tickets to the show were available on Ticketmaster through online auction only between June 20 and July 2. The minimum bid for a pair of tickets was $50 per ticket.

On the day of the concert on July 14, several charity and volunteer events were held in New York City relating to the concerts. Members of the band made appearances at the events, greeting fans and thanking them for coming.

At the Madison Square Garden concerts, the band alternated full band performances on the venue's main stage and acoustic numbers on top of their iconic van, Wimpy, in the middle of the arena. They were joined onstage for some songs by various musicians such as the African Children's Choir, Bongo Love (a group from Zimbabwe), and various horn and percussion players. The concert was also split into segments, divided by informational videos on the current state of famine, poverty, and AIDS in Zimbabwe.

Recordings of the concerts were made available in various forms. Hours after each show ended, official audio recordings were sold through SNOCAP on MySpace. A video stream of the July 14 concert in it's entirely was also streamed from the band's MySpace for a week. In December of 2007, a DVD directed by award-winning photographer and filmmaker Danny Clinch, highlighting the weekend will be released in a Collector's Edition, along with a photo book. A regular edition will be released in store in early 2008, along with a CD from the weekend.

The Elias Fund

Main article: The Elias Fund

After the song "Elias" was written by Chad Urmston about his experience living and teaching in Zimbabwe, the nonprofit organization the Elias Fund was formed. The Elias Fund looks to provide hope and opportunity to Zimbabwean youth through community development and education while empowering the American youth culture to embrace their global role and make it an active one.

The Relief Project

On December 22, 2005, Corrigan helped to organize a benefit concert, known as The Relief Project, at Irving Plaza in New York City. 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.

Discography

Studio albums

• 1996: Silent Steeples - Bomber, Foundations, Universal Records platinum x 3
• 1998: Bang Bang - Bomber, Foundations, Universal Records
• 1999: Four-Day Trials - Bomber, Foundations, Universal Records
• 2000: Who Are We Living For? - Bomber, Foundations, Universal Records

Live albums

• 2001: Gut the Van - DCN, Universal Records
• 2004: All Points Bulletin - Dispatch

DVD's

• 2002: Under the Radar - DCN, Universal Records
• 2005: The Last Dispatch - Fabrication Films
• 2007: Dispatch: Zimbabwe - Live at Madison Square Garden

Compilation albums

• 2005: The Relief Project: Vol. I by Various Artists (as part of The Relief Project)

Band members

• Chad "Chetro" Urmston
  • Instruments: Vocals, guitar, bass, percussion, trombone, and piano
• Brad "Braddigan" Corrigan
  • Instruments: Vocals, guitar, percussion, drums, and harmonica
• Pete "Repete" Heimbold
  • Instruments: Vocals, guitar, and bass

External links

Official sites

• Dispatch
• The Elias Fund
• The Relief Project
• Last Dispatch Documentary
• Dispatch: Zimbabwe - Live at Madison Square Garden DVD

Post-Dispatch projects

• Braddigan
• Pete Francis
• State Radio

Fansites

• PatchMusic
• SpatchPatch

Other links

• Dispatch collection at the Internet Archive's live music collection