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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels March 24, 2004 Franti shows his growth in Ashland set with Marley By Steve Zimmerman Ashland Daily Tidings When Michael Franti hits the McNeil Pavilion stage at SOU on Monday, it will be a different sounding Franti people see and hear. Franti, who is appearing with reggae legend Ziggy Marley, recently released a new CD, "Everyone Deserves Music." The CD offers a wide range of sounds, from the classic alternative rock of the '80s group The Clash to the smooth sounds of Curtis Mayfield. On tour in St. Louis, Franti said the tour with Marley was one of the best he has ever done. "It is very unusual that we tour with a band we get to spend a lot of time with," he said. "Most of the time when I am touring with another group, we pass each other on the way to sound check and say 'hi' and 'bye.' "With Ziggy, our crew, his crew and his band, we pick one day a week when we all get together, cook a meal and hang out. Ziggy and I talk every day before and after the show." Franti said he agrees with critics that call "Everyone Deserves Music" possibly his best work ever. "I think it is the best record I have made," he said. "I really feel like I am beginning to come into my own as a songwriter. When I first started writing songs, I was very limited in the emotional breadth I chose to tackle. I would only write about things that ticked me off and now I try to write about the whole rainbow of human emotions. "Secondly, I really didn't have any skills as far as playing instruments. Now I have a much deeper understanding of music, chords, rhythm and melodies, as well as how to use the studio. I feel I am a much stronger songwriter today and it is something I work on every day." Having a son has served to help change Franti over the years. "As soon as I started making music, my first son was born," he explained. "So as I have gone through my career in music, I have always had my son as a measuring stick. He is 16 1/2 now and loves music and does make music. He is very driven to not just make music but to do other things to heal the planet. I get a lot of inspiration from him." Among the activities his son is involved in are political campaigns and a teen group that advises the San Francisco City Council. Franti said he has become more socially active as he has grown older. "When I first started writing songs, I felt powerless because I was writing songs about things that ticked me off and I felt I could not change them," he noted. "But then as the years went by and each year passed, I got more and more involved with working directly with groups that were dealing with social change. And the more I became involved, the more I realized we don't just need songs that tell us how screwed up things are, we need songs that encourage us to keep moving on and that is what I write now." Many musical influences come through when listening to "Everyone Deserves Music." "It is just how I have been raised," Franti said. "I always have been a fan of songs more than particular genres so when I hear something I like, it inspires me to write. There is a lot of music I came to later in life because it wasn't a part of my childhood. To me music like the Rolling Stones and the Beatles sounds fresh to me because I never heard it as a kid. Those influences are now making their way into my music." Franti blames globalization within the music industry for the decline in music sales, the quality of music being released and lagging concert ticket sales. "As these record labels have been purchased by bigger and bigger fish, we now have only four or five major label groups instead of 30-40 major labels," he said. "And that has changed the music because those labels are now so beholden to shareholders at the end of each quarter. In the past, they were more beholden to the goddess of music. "So today you are not going to see labels going out and looking for the next Bob Dylan or the next John Lennon, Curtis Mayfield or Bob Marley. They are looking for the next Britney Spears and Ludicris and Justin Timberlake. And I think that is unfortunate. I think a lot of the soul has been sucked out of music. The 's' in the middle of music has been replaced by a dollar sign." Franti will be in Ashland a day early for a special appearance at Yoga Sanctuary, 340 A St. He will be joined for an afternoon of Yoga and music by California yoga instructors Eddie Modestini and Nickie Doane. Franti will perform acoustcally during the event, which begins at 12:30 p.m. Franti and Marley's concert is sponsored by SOU One World and Jefferson Public Radio and begins at 8 p.m. Tickets are $34 for general admission, and $19 for SOU students and children under 12. Tickets are available by going to www.oneworldseries.org or by calling 552-6461. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams