Star Apps: Michael Franti
Singer and musician Michael Franti's activism is a mainstay. What's changed over his almost 30-year career is his perspective on how best to effect change. "As I've grown, I want to be part of the solution, and I want to be not just pointing the finger at things that are wrong but saying how we can be part of fixing it," he says. I chatted with Franti about his tour, how he creates change at home, how we can be part of the solution, and the app that's become a positive force in his life.
Michael Franti wants to empower people to create change in their own lives.
On this tour, there are no veils. It's you onstage, playing acoustically and telling stories. That sounds like a very vulnerable place to be.
I feel very vulnerable. I am used to having this big band behind me that kicks a--, and I know everybody's gonna dance and have a fun time. But when I go up there and it's just me and a microphone and a guitar, it's a little more nerve-racking. On this tour, I decided that I wanted to go through all the songs through various periods of my musical life and play songs that I haven't played in a long time and then go back to that place in my mind and tell stories about where I was in my life in those times. There are a lot of really funny stories, some growing pains stories, and some remembering bad times when I was doing stupid stuff that I probably shouldn't have done. But mainly it's a lot of fun to play the songs just by myself.
I have three or four guitars that just live on chairs in my house, and I'm always picking them up and singing myself songs. Either something I just heard on the radio that I'm trying to figure out or an old Johnny Cash song or one of my songs. I love that experience of holding the guitar close to my body, feeling the vibrations go through me, and listening to my voice as it changes with the chords. I really feel like I'm inside the music when I'm playing acoustically, so I love that part of it.
You have a couple Spearhead members, bassist Carl Young and guitarist J Bowman, joining you onstage this time out. Why not just do another Spearhead tour?
I guess the main reason is we spent the whole summer touring with the Soulshine tour, with four bands in total. On the road there were 72 people between all the bands and crews. So we thought, "Wouldn't it be fun if it was just me and a couple guys and a couple acoustic guitars and just jump up onstage?" Right now I'm going through the start of making a new album, so I'm writing a lot of new songs. One of the tests I have for a new song is, can you stand onstage with a guitar or on a street corner and play it? Is it good just like that, and does it resonate stripped down? So I'll be playing some brand-new songs that haven't even been recorded yet. At the end of every night, though, we're going to do a DJ set, so we'll go from this acoustic vibe to a little bit of a dance party.
What can you tell me about the new material?
One of the things I've been going through in my life and in music is, when I first started out, I was observing things taking place in the world and was really angry. My activism was talking about all the things I was against and saying no to this and no to that and talking about how messed up the world is in so many ways. As I've grown, I want to be part of the solution, and I want to be not just pointing the finger at things that are wrong, but saying how we can be part of the fixing it. That's what I'm writing about -- about the transformation of taking dark energy and turning it into light, whether that's in a personal relationship or the way we look at social, political, and environmental issues that the world is facing today.
How can we be part of the solution?
When people ask me what they can do to end all the negativity in the world, my response is, "Do what you can." I love stories of people who just take their talent and find a way to apply it to the greater good. I think the first place to start is with a sense of optimism that things can be different and to dream of what it would look like. How would you want it to be? One issue that's meaningful to me is the issue of renewable energy. Everyone talks about climate change and burning fossil fuels to create energy, so I've been looking at how I can solarize my house and how to make this album I'm working on using solar energy. I want to see a world that's 100 percent renewable energy for 100 percent of the world's population. That's my vision, and it's starting with me doing it myself and then spreading the word myself.
What's the latest on your canceled Power to the Peaceful show?
When we first started Power to the Peaceful, it was just a gathering in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Over the years, it grew and grew and grew, till last year when we did it, it was 80,000 people. It was always a free event, and the city kept raising our fees for the use of the park to the point where we couldn't do it and have a free event anymore. It's hundreds of thousands of dollars to put on this event, which we just couldn't afford. So we had to put it on hold for a while till we could figure out a way to make it happen. It's sad for all of us that have done it for a long time.
But most of those involved have shifted our energy to a foundation that me and my partner founded called Do It for the Love. It's a Make-a-Wish Foundation for music, for people who are dying and kids with intense challenges and wounded veterans, sending them to live shows to meet their favorite artists. Last night we had a family up in Vancouver that was going to see the Christina Perri show. Just write to us at doitforthelove.org and say "I have a family member who is really in need of music," and we get them tickets and out to meet the artist.
What are your top mobile apps?
Obviously Instagram and Twitter. I use Shazam all the time to find out what songs I hear. I play Backgammon and Words With Friends obsessively. I have the Guitar Tuner app that I use all the time. My travel apps: Uber and United Airlines, 'cause I'm always traveling. But I think my favorite app, and the one that gets the most use and is not exotic at all is my Messages. I'm constantly texting and keeping in touch. To some people, texting is really annoying, but for me it's really changed my life. As a musician, I used to write postcards home, 'cause I was in Europe or somewhere, and it was impossible to call. Then it got to the point where I could make calls with a credit card. Then email came in, and I could write some emails when I could sit down at a computer. But now, through texting, I can keep in touch with my two kids, with my partner back home, and old friends and my mom -- all these people that are important in my life. So I view it as a real positive.
