Guitar, bass, and drums...is there a more elemental form for a rock and roll band? But in today's world of manufactured pop idols and pre-packaged bands created to appeal to specific demographics, that almost makes Dispatch somewhat of an anomaly: three-piece band that has risen up under its own power, fueled not by clever marketing or expensive image campaigns, but by the sheer force of its music and its enthusiastic devotion of its legions of hard-core fans.
With elements of rock, funk, reggae, Dispatch music isn't easy to define, which is one reason the band hasn't actively courted mainstream radio play. Instead, Dispatch has won over its fans the old-fashioned way: they earned it, gig by gig, fan by fan, driven by strong word-of-mouth and internet discussions about the band's powerful live shows, three-part vocal harmonies, and impressive instrumental prowess, eventually earning the band a massive underground following. Perhaps most of all, however, audiences turned in to the band's obvious love for music and playing, and the genuine, long-standing friendship between its members: Brad (Braddigan) Corrigan on vocals, drums, guitar, and percussion; Pete Francis Heimbold on vocals, bass, guitar; and Chad Stokes Urmston on vocals, guitar, bass, and percussion. As a result, attending one of Dispatch's shows became being a part of something larger than the event itself.
Because all three members started out playing guitar, singing, and writing songs before Pete took up the bass and Brad switched over to drums (the members freely swap instruments during their live sets), DIspatch music is unusally cohesive, but with strong, disparate elements that are thankfully free from any of the standard rock cliche. In this band, each of the members is essentially a musically skilled front man capable of singing lead vocals or playing lead guitar, or contributing harmonies, bass lines, or percussion when the song calls for it. Driven by propulsive rhythm, sudden tempo shifts, and an energetic eclecticism that mizes rock, reggae, funk, folk, world, and even rap into a freewheeling, genre-blending fusion of sound, Dispatch music is more than something you'd just want to listen to; it's something you'd want to learn how to play: high-energy, jump-around-the-stage enthusiasm the band regularly displays during live shows.
Despite its ever-growing fan base and strong sales of its independent albums, Dispatch has continued to spurn the advances of major labels. The band embraced the hardcore D.I.Y. ethic, using the power of the internet and hitting the road for a series of non-stop shows, traversing the country in their much-beloved can to fill legendary concert halls across the country. Dispatch's sound and songs are uniquely their own: original, powerful, and heartfelt. And because all three members write songs, sing lead and harmony vocals,and play multipleinstruments, musicianship is always the highlight of a Dispatch live show.
