Interview: Chad Stokes
Photo Credit: Margarita Platis
Interview by Jillian Martin
I recently spoke with musician and activist Chad Stokes — of Dispatch, State Radio, and Chadwick Stokes and the Pintos — ahead of the 17th annual benefit weekend for his organization Calling All Crows, taking place April 4th in Somerville.
Calling All Crows is a non-profit organization dedicated to mobilizing social change and furthering feminist causes in the music industry. We spoke about the upcoming event, the second rendition of Stokes’ rock opera 1972, the evolution and growth of Calling All Crows, and motivations as an activist.
Chad Stokes (CS): Go for it.
Jillian Martin (JM): Okay. So, this is the 17th annual benefit for Calling All Crows and Boston seems like a really special place in particular. How does it feel to see this event continue to grow and evolve over the years, especially in your hometown Boston setting?
CS: Yeah, it’s just always a nice place to kind of have this yearly touchstone where we all gather together. So many who come to that show and are involved in that show, you know, we see each other throughout the year, but this is a weekend where it’s a bit of a a reunion in that way, but also to reflect on the year and the different campaigns that Calling All Crows has had and just thank people for their support for volunteering here or there, just a way to kind of commemorate everything.
JM: And since the first benefit concert in 2008, how do you think the format or participation has shifted?
CS: We try to do something slightly different every year and sometimes it’ll be Dispatch or State Radio or just me solo or some friends or the Pintos. So we kind of change it up, depending on what we did that year before. Last year we were kind of shoulder deep in the rock opera 1972, so while it might seem like we’re doing the same thing, relatively it is not quite the case just because the story and the songs have changed, so much has happened in a year. It’s been revised, it’s been revised very much so and so it’s a bit of a different show. And it’s kind of where we are right now and it goes so well with our Voice Your Choice campaign, you know, trying to hold on to what reproductive rights we have and to try to gain more. So it’s kind of the topic as well.
JM: Yeah, you mentioned 1972, I think it’s really cool that this story’s being told in the rock opera formatting. I wanted to ask why you chose that route, and why this story was best told as a rock opera.
CS: I don’t know, I think I always wanted to write something like this, but I just didn’t. You know, years and years went by, and I think when Roe was overturned, it was like, ‘Oh, okay. Now I know what this main character needs to do in her life.’ And I think I always intended to tell the story with music. I remember growing up with musicals like Hair or Pink Floyd’s The Wall having such a huge influence on me. Being so blown away that a story was being told through 25 songs and I think I was just waiting for the right moment in my life when things kind of float into each other, in storyline, music, you know, did I have the songs? Do I have a cohesive storyline and then do I have friends in the Boston area who can help me bring this to life at the moment? You know, things like that. So it just kind of came together.
JM: Yeah, no, I thank you for sharing that. I definitely remember exactly where I was when I found out about the Roe decision. So it’s really, especially in this current climate around reproductive rights, I feel like this comes at a very poignant time.
CS: Yeah, we were hoping the election wouldn’t go this way. Yeah. But of course, this nightmare that we’re in now, it is like there’s certain lines in the opera or the musical that really, um, there’s definitely a little bit of a heightened urgency to playing these songs and telling this story.
JM: It’s maybe even more needed than if there were other results. I’ve also found it really interesting that it’s been almost two decades of your organization Calling All Crows and it seems like we’re only seeing the beginning of potential outreach and growth. There were a lot of really cool collaborations last year, artists I personally love — Mitski, Clairo, Phoebe Bridgers, etc. How do you think the next generation of musicians and fans and the industry are influencing this sort of activism and how that is shifting?
CS: Yeah, I think, well, one thing I thought of just for the first time while you were speaking was that like a lot of the artists you mentioned, there’s more female artists or nonbinary artists in the world, in our world, in the music industry, and they’re the ones who are making a difference; who are thinking to themselves, ‘Hey, I wanna do more than just play some music out here. I wanna bring certain things to light’ and they found Calling All Crows and we can help them with this. But it’s not lost on me that Calling All Crows is a feminist organization that trumpets feminist causes and that one of the reasons we’re out there as much as we are is because more women are out there in rock and roll bands and folk bands or any bands. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that it’s the women who are taking the lead in really bringing certain issues to light. I think that’s one reason our Here For The Music campaign was so taken in by other bands. And so I think because you know, there are these bands who aren’t just like four dudes or five dudes, and it’s like there’s a new consciousness out there. I think that’s part of the reason Calling All Crows is out there more and and can be more effective.
JM: Yeah, I feel like you see a really tangible shift, even as a fan, as a viewer at a live performance. I saw Clairo two March’s ago, and it was a really hot venue and somebody collapsed and she kind of saw that immediately and stopped the show, made sure everything was good with them. And I feel like you really see a lot more attention and care.
CS: Yeah, yeah, and that’s been a big part of what we’ve been trying to do. Just inform the culture and tweak the culture away from what it was, where it’s just so much assault and harassment. It’s just overlooked. And now there’s, like you said, just a little bit more care and a little bit more of a conscientious experience, in a good way, where we’re really looking out for people. I really first saw that in the punk world when State Radio was playing with Anti-Flag and there were these huge mosh pits and everything, but there was this real undercurrent of love and like we all take care of each other. So, I’m glad that you feel that maybe there’s a little bit of a swing there.
JM: Yeah. Especially, like you said, in shows where it’s more of a mosh sort of vibe, my sister’s really into that scene and she’s like tiny and somehow she always survives, somebody’s always keeping her safe. So it is kind of incredible.
Also on the note of expansion and outreach, it seems like Calling All Crows is trying to do a lot in reaching more diverse audiences, including engaging men in the conversation around gender violence and the like. What do you see as the next steps for Calling All Crows?
CS: Well, I mean, it’s we’re in such a fucked up time now, so it’s we all kind of feel like all hands on deck, right? So we intended to go full bore. I think that the confluence of 1972 and Voice Your Choice campaign, the kind of symbiosis of that and running with that is definitely something we feel strongly about. We feel strongly about holding on to and continuing the Here For The Music program, and having that be adopted by more and more bands and Voice Your Choice too, hopefully is adopted by other bands. Even in small ways, like to table wherever you are, you know, local organizations tabling at shows. And share the options, for instance, if someone at the show is looking for options about how to find an abortion or access to an abortion, even in these scary times there are ways. So it’s something like that. We feel like, shouldn’t all bands be doing this, you know, just like looking after each other kind of vibe. I think we intend to just go as far as we can and be part of the resistance because it can get really dark out there at the moment. Hopefully this merging of music and activism shows that there’s so much love in that world. Hopefully we can combat that darkness with the love of you know, activating together and volunteering together and being all together and dancing and listening and singing — that that love and that sound can combat some of some of what’s going on.
JM: Yeah, and that presence is so, so important right now. Just to pivot, I don’t want to take up too much of your time but as a final question: all of your projects — Dispatch, your personal projects, State Radio, these initiatives with Calling All Crows — it seems like your music and your career has always had a really strong thread in activism. What do you think keeps you motivated in this work?
CS: I think it’s just the singular stories that you hear, that kind of human stories of things because we can get lost in like the headlines and this and that and feel very separate from one another or even families getting together for holidays now can be a really tough thing. Everyone’s in their camps and there’s all this vitriol against each other. I think in writing songs, it’s really about the characters and it’s about that singular story. And I think everyone can identify with, they might not be able to identify with the headline, but they can identify with someone’s emotional journey. And that’s where I feel like we got to keep on keeping on, and realizing that we’re much more the same than we are different. That it’s our own kind of personal sharing of our personal journeys or listening to other people’s personal journeys where we really find our common humanity, which we really need right now.
JM: Yeah, I feel like people don’t realize that kind of every experience is shared. Well, thank you so much for talking to me today and answering these questions. I’m really excited to see how 1972 goes and how the benefit concert goes and to watch these upcoming projects.
CS: Thank you. Yeah, I’m psyched y’all were interested.