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Taken from Voice Yourself (December 27, 2003)
Everyone Deserves Spearhead
by Joe Gatto
 Michael Franti performed the song "Bomb The World To Pieces" in January at a peace rally in San Francisco. It was shortly before the U.S. government went to war against Iraq. It was a moving, acoustic performance that worked the 200,000-plus crowd into frenzy. After that day, the words "You can bomb the world to pieces, but you can't bomb it into peace," became a catch phrase in the Bay Area.
Two versions of that song appear on Spearhead's latest album, Everyone Deserves Music, the band's most musically diverse and appealing effort to date. Franti's music is rebel music. His scathing social commentary is always right on. His point becomes more universal and positive on the latest record and the songs mix soul, hip-hop and funk with an upbeat message--all this in spite of the harsh realities he addresses.
Franti is a dedicated activist and works hard to wake people up to the realities of what's really going on in America. Through his music, he educates and entertains in the tradition of Curtis Mayfield, Chuck D and Lynton Kwesi Johnson.
"Michael is such an example for us because he is getting out there and spreading his message at a time when it is not the most popular thing to say, but he is out there spreading love," said his friend Laura Louie. "Seeing him in concert is phenomenal. I left Maui in April of this year just because I felt like I needed to see Michael play live. His intention is to play for three hours. To see that is the way to start the New Year."
On Jan. 2, Spearhead will appear in concert on Maui. The show will be in conjunction with the group VoiceYourself.com, founded by Louie and her husband Woody Harrelson. Franti and I recently spoke by phone while he was on tour in New York.
"One thing that I've learned from my experiences on Maui is that you are very connected to the earth and the cycles of life," said Franti, who added that he has spent a little bit of time on Maui and looks forward to playing here and doing yoga afterward.
"You see it in trees, fruit, in the ocean," he said. "Right now for an incredible contrast I'm in Times Square, as far removed from Maui as you can possibly be. I think it is important even here in Times Square, that the part of nature that still exists here is in the hearts of the people, although it is removed from that part of nature that is in the planet."
His musical adventures take him to many exotic places (he will be coming here from Tasmania, for example) and his message resonates with people wherever he goes.
"We were in Istanbul recently which had just been hit two weeks before by car bombings," he said. "So we had to decide amongst the band if it was safe to go do the show. I left it up to each individual member of the band to decide if they wanted to come or not. Five members of the band decided that it was better to stay and two of us ended up going and I picked up three musicians in Holland and ended up teaching them our songs in ten hours. The people there who came to the show were so happy since all of the other acts cancelled. Turkey shares a border with Syria, Iraq, and Iran so it is a difficult time. People there are really in love with music though. When you walk down the streets and go into caf?s there are people singing songs and out in the street playing music."
Spearhead's songs detail a few rough situations, but always in a hopeful way. This positive vibe comes out clearer than ever on Everyone Deserves Music.
"Music is not the best educator, but it is a great inspirational flower," said Franti. "That is what we have. Music is a great opportunity to inspire other people to feel. Sometimes you watch things on the news and it makes us become crass because we hear all the political costs of war, the economic costs of war, but not the human costs. That's what music does--it brings us to the human place."
Michael Franti is the change that he wants to see in the world and works hard to inspire people and make the world a more joyful place.
"What we are doing is not going to change things overnight," he said. It is going to move in the time it takes a tree to grow. Each little bit that we add in terms of raising our voice whether it is at the water cooler at work, at the dinner table with our families, or going out in the street to raise our voice in protest all adds up. Without any of it, without each little bit of it our tree cannot bear fruit. It might not be fruit that we'll see in our lifetime, but over the accumulation of time."
Activism often creates an "us vs. them" mentality. This can be ineffective if it makes people too angry. Franti's music wakes people up, but makes them feel happy, too. Listening to Spearhead's albums from the first one to the most recent shows the evolution of a man and his powerful message.
"I don't know if we'll ever avoid the anger of people," he said. "They are angry because they feel powerless. When I started writing songs they came from a place of anger because I felt that same way. The more I became involved with working in prisons, schools, organizing demonstrations, working with music everyday to bring loving light to people, I feel that I do have a power. I feel like I can add something and be a service to others. So that's the thing I try to encourage is to get involved and use that energy for something positive. Then you find that what you really need is inspiration and that is where music and art come in to inspire people over time to continue to shine on from their hearts and not be reactive, but proactive year round in our daily lives to do loving acts in the world."
Through Spearhead's music, it is evident that Franti is a very conscious and aware man. It is clear he chose his path wisely and has given himself over to it completely.
"Something that I've always wanted to do is feel connected to the earth and the world I live in," he said. "Instead of reading about the world in the newspaper I try to read the world itself. I travel a lot, I'm on the road nine months a year and always try to go to places I've never been before and I always get out into the street to talk to people to stay plugged into what is happening. This gives me food for my soul and creative energy as well."
Taking a distinct path has led Franti to some deeper realizations that can be tapped into through such songs as "What I Be," "Pray For Grace" and "Love Invincible."
"I've operated outside of the mainstream for a long time and I happily decided that I would take the long road and just keep shining my light and keep going year after year so eventually when people do hear it that it is there and it is shining bright," said Franti. "It is clear to me standing here in Times Square that everyone feels a sense of disconnection and it doesn't matter from which background you come or how much money you have. We're all looking for something that is greater than the fanciest CD player you can buy. I try to write music that comes from that place and reaches out to the hearts of people who are looking for that."
The music of Spearhead balances fun, funky, entertainment with a message that needs to be spread to many people who have not yet awakened to that conscious vibe.
"I don't know what people need so I try to write what feels good to me," said Franti. "What feels good to me is music that you can dance to, music that has beautiful melodies, music that has lyrics that are thought provoking, inspiring and humorous. That is what I look for in music so I just try to write what feels good to me and hope that it taps into what other people are feeling."
Above all this concert will be a fun way to ring in the New Year while getting turned on to the important issues of our time. "The tours that we've been doing with the full band are always a very rockin' dance party and when people come they are going to experience being around people who want to shake their butts and let loose and end up falling on the floor in a state of ecstasy," said Franti.
VoiceYourself.com is an altruistic venture of Harrelson and his wife Louie. They say their organization "promotes and inspires individual action to create global momentum towards simple organic living and to restore balance and harmony to our planet."
Both Franti and the VoiceYourself.com family are dedicated to calling people to action, to inspiring individuals to make positive changes in themselves, thus the world, and to doing it in a fun way. Louie and Harrelson say they live connected to nature while on Maui. VoiceYourself.com is a forum where people can go to get turned on to low impact, sustainable styles of living. They share with Franti the desire to put forth a positive message and actually be that message.
"We have no choice but to emanate love and the Aloha spirit," said Louie. "The rest of the U.S. lives in fear because of sensationalized media. We all must realize that we are people and all part of the world community."
Like the intimate feel one gets when listening to Spearhead's Songs From The Front Porch or Live at The Baobab, VoiceYourself.com is like a get together with a friend.
"The whole concept of 'talk story' is really what VoiceYourself.com is all about," said Louie. "Share your story, tell us what is going on with you. We wanted to build the house, the location for people to come to and share ideas. VoiceYourself.com is trying to get people to raise questions and educate themselves, other than by flipping on the television or reading a major newspaper. This is why the internet is such a tool to get the truth out."
"Michael Franti really is the voice for what is going on in the world today," she added. "We are old friends and he has been an inspiration for us to keep going." -----------
Copyright ? 2003
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