Access All Areas.net.au: You must be excited to be back out on the road with a new album! Michael Franti: Yeah we’ve been out on the road for last month and we just got home yesterday for a couple of days and I’ve just start recalling the shows and what we’ve done and how much fun we had and a great exciting time we’ve had in America because there’s just so much change taking place in America right now.
Access All Areas.net.au: What sort of message are you hoping to portray through this album? Michael Franti: The message is to stay possitive in this time of crisis in the world and not to give up and everyday you pick up a newspaper and you read about stuff happening that can be depressing about what’s going on and we can make music address this thing and to tell people to stay up and keep going.
Access All Areas.net.au: How have you differed as an artist since your last album and how have you portrayed this through the new album? Michael Franti: Well the last album we sort of touched on some elements or reggae but on a more rock side of things and we did more songs that were more inspired by rock whereas with this record there’s definately more inspiration by reggae and dance hall and we wanted to make record where you can dance to every song even songs that have more serious messages in them but still songs you can dance to and that was our goal.
Access All Areas.net.au: For those who havnt had a chance to check out Michael Franti and Spearhead, what can fans expect to see from your live shows? Michael Franti: The first thing is that we’re all about the interaction with the audience and getting the audience involved and singing along and dancing. Me talking and connecting with people and the most important thing for me and then for the whole thing is about dancing and celebrating.
Access All Areas.net.au: You’ve always had a strong influence with your music from politics and such, why has this been? Michael Franti: Well I think musically its a unique experience to be able to awaken people and sometimes its an awakening of sadness or of joy or of passior or of love and sometimes it’s an awakening of things taking place in the world so I always try to do all of those thngs and I think as time goes by I’ve got more skill of writing songs that have meaning and that can be perceived in different ways…. They can be political songs but hidden in a love song.
Access All Areas.net.au: Your previous albums carried somewhat of a theme to them for example ‘Stay Human’ touched upon the unjust nature of the death penalty and corporate globalization whilst ‘Everyone Deserves Music’ promotes unity and persoanl empowerment. What sort of theme does All Rebel Rockers’ touch on? Michael Franti: The title of the album is “Rebel Rockers” and to be a ‘rebel’ means to go up against the system, but today the system is bringing in negativity, and bringing in environmental destruction so to be ‘rebel’ means to bring positivity and the the antitode to war and to fear and to bring prescription to finding solutions to environmental destruction and I guess the message today to be a ‘rebel’ doesn’t just mean to throw a brick through a window at McDonalds.
Access All Areas.net.au: So whats ahead for the you now – are there any plans to tour Australia again soon? Michael Franti: Yes definitely…. We’ll be coming to Australia in October this year!
Michael Franti and Spearhead
BIOGRAPHY
One of the most moving and politically charged writers, Michael Franti and his band Spearhead, return with their eagerly-awaited album, All Rebel Rockers, via Liberator Music. Recorded in Kingston, Jamaica, with reggae's most prolific production teams, Sly & Robbie (No Doubt, Alicia Keys, Sean Paul, Bob Dylan), this new release deviates from Franti’s previous sound and comprises a hybrid dub-infused soul flavor with some hard-hitting dub rock production. Alongside Dave Shul (guitars), Manas Itene (drums), Carl Young (bass) and Raleigh Neal (keyboards), the album also features Zap Mama founder Marie Daulne and Jamaican soul/dancehall star Cherine Anderson.
Californian-born poet, musician and composer, Franti blends hip hop, funk and reggae together with his outspoken political and progressive lyrics and has gone on to become renowned as not only a worldwide million-selling artist, but also a leader in the peace and social justice movement. Franti continues to influence people with his speaking engagements at Universities, panels at W.H.O./U.N. in Geneva, his work with N.G.O.’s such as Oxfam, Amnesty Int’l, but most notably is the international message and expansion of his own ‘Power to the Peaceful’ festival which has drawn more than 50,000 people for one day to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco over the last 9 years.
In December of 2007, Franti brought the 1st annual festival to Sao Paulo, Brazil, featuring his band Spearhead & Brazilian star Seu Jorge.
In 1999, Franti began a more soulful and deeper exploration of his musical sound and politics. His writing with The Beatnigs and Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy delivered a more aggressive format for controversial themes inspired by current affairs while Franti’s albums with Spearhead carries a more compassionate delivery with a few hell raisers thrown in. ‘Stay Human’ touched upon the unjust nature of the death penalty and corporate globalization; ‘Everyone Deserves Music’ promotes unity and personal empowerment. In 2006, inspired by a journey into the war zones of Iraq, Palestine and Israel Franti released the album ‘Yell Fire!’ and his directorial debut and award-winning film titled ‘I Know I'm Not Alone.’ The documentary explores the human cost of war through poignant imagery and narrative with a dose of humor to break the tension. The film garnered support and critical acclaim from Anthony Minghella, Chris Blackwell, Serj Tankian, the Amnesty International “Audience Award Winner” and the Harlem International Film Festival “Best International Documentary”.
Historically, Franti has toured non-stop worldwide, early on with his group The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy supporting U2, followed by his band Spearhead performing with Ben Harper, The Fugees, Dave Mathews, Cypress Hill, Billy Bragg, Matisyahu and many festivals such at Glastonbury, V-Fest and Japan’s Fuji Rock. The band will be in announcing world-wide tour dates soon, so watch this space…
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