State Radio is a Boston-based rock trio comprising singer and primary songwriter Chad Stokes Urmston (also a member of Dispatch), bassist Chuck Fay, and, formerly, drummer Michael Najarian. The band's songs focus on social and political issues and have been musically described as a combination of reggae, punk and rock. Biography Chad Urmston, whose previous band Dispatch disbanded in 2002, formed State Radio later the same year in Sherborn, Massachusetts with second guitarist Pete Halby, bassist Chuck Fay, and drummer Mike Greenfield. The band, originally known as Flag of the Shiners, released an eponymous debut EP on Fenway Recordings in late 2002. The EP was later re-released under the band's current name, however the title remained the same. State Radio went on a temporary hiatus throughout 2003 as Urmston recovered from throat surgery. They returned to touring and recording in 2004 as a slimmed-down trio with new drummer Brian Sayers. The band released a second EP entitled Simmer Kane in March 2004. This EP was a departure in style from the debut EP Flag of the Shiners as it featured acoustic guitar and Erin Lashnits Coughlin ("Ras LC") on vocals. In December 2005, State Radio released its first LP, Us Against the Crown. After touring for a few months in support of this album, drummer Michael Najarian was brought in to replace Brian Sayers, playing his first show at Emo's in Austin, Texas. With this lineup, the band recorded and released their second album Year of the Crow in September 2007. State Radio opened for Dave Matthews Band on May 30 and 31, 2008 in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, and on June 3 and 4, 2008 in Camden, New Jersey. In August of that year, State Radio played at a concert near the 2008 Democratic National Convention alongside Rage Against the Machine and other politically active bands as an act of protest against the Iraq War. Official recording sessions for State Radio's third album began on November 3, 2008, in North Brookfield, Massachusetts at Long View Farm Studios. The album, entitled Let It Go, was released on September 29, 2009. In support of the album, State Radio launched their winter 2010 U.S. tour, titled "Lefty Rides Again." State Radio also completed a small European tour during the last two weeks of March 2010. At the beginning of summer 2010, State Radio embarked on a cross-country tour, opening for John Butler Trio during