For Brad Corrigan, lead singer of Dispatch, one reunion simply wasn’t enough to recapture the magic of their early days.
“When we got back together in 2011 we were little bit guarded.” Corrigan explains to amNewYork. “This last record, we brought everything to the table . . . we were all in.”
Corrigan talks up his favorite new tracks off “America, Location 12,” the mental block while recording their last album “Circles Around The Sun” and the “indescribable gift” that is Dispatch.
You guys seem rejuvenated on “America, Location 12.” How was this album different from when you recorded “Circles Around the Sun” in 2011?
[In] 2011, everyone was testing the waters. Everyone wanted to play together, but a lot of time had gone by and we weren’t sure if everyone was on the same page. It just took us a while to build back up that trust and alignment. And now, in the last few years, we are all really excited about still making music. We’re all super grateful for this journey and our friendships.
How has the concert crowd responded to the new music?
The crowd has been really generous. I think they’re connecting with the new material really well. They sing along and it’s such a great feeling. “Only The Wild Ones” is doing really well. We play it acoustic and the tune just really unifies. “Skin the Rabbit” has been a really good one. It’s really fun to play and is the exact opposite of “Only the Wild Ones.” “Painted Yellow Lines” has more lyrics in it than any other song written and we have a lot of people singing along with that one.
A lot of music groups break up, but then discover their fans have been awaiting their return the whole time. Did you guys get the same sense?
It’s pretty much an indescribable gift. There’s no guarantee that people will wait for you. When we stopped playing, we were never sure we were going to play again. It was the right decision at the time, but we realized we wanted to keep the friendships and the music. It’s so incredible to have people that will go on this long journey with us and have new ones jump on the train.
IF YOU GO: Dispatch play Forest Hills Stadium on July 6 at 6 p.m., $46-$66, 1 Tennis Place, Forest Hills, bowerypresents.com
