Spearhead’s Michael Franti on the reason he makes music
Spearhead’s Michael Franti on the reason he makes music
Michael Franti is a musician with a mission.
Since his days fronting the Beatnigs and Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, the San Francisco native has never lost sight of his motivation: preaching peace, love and good times.
On Spearhead’s ninth and latest studio album, “Soulrocker,” he draws sleek dance beats into the band’s bouncy reggae and acoustic jams.
Franti, 50, who recently married longtime girlfriend Sara Agah, will spend the summer on tour with the band, playing festivals like Mountain Jam.
Did you feel extra urgency to get new music out with the current news cycle?
[...] I turn over and — I dread to say — pick up my phone and I read the news.
Every day I wake up and think the whole world went crazy again: earthquakes, typhoons, terrorism, wars, police shootings, economic disaster.
Last year I met Dalai Lama and he told me, we need more compassionate people on the planet.
If you can’t stop to spend a night dancing on the beach, then you’ve lost sight of what it’s all about.
Do you feel like your message is getting through, or are you just a hopeless optimist?
[...] many great positive changes have occurred on our planet.
There’s been some incredible differences, but we still have an incredibly challenging future in front of us.
Aidin Vaziri is The San Francisco Chronicle’s pop music critic.
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