I always know when a song is good or close to finished. When I sing it, it makes me feel the emotion. My tears will start flowing or I'll start laughing. I'll start feeling whatever intensity or emotion was the seed of that song.
Michael FrantiMusic is sunshine. Like sunshine, music is a powerful force that can instantly and almost chemically change your entire mood. Music gives us new energy and a stronger sense of purpose.
Michael FrantiThe most difficult part for me is feeling connected to the people that I love but always being on the go to different places.
Michael FrantiDon't settle for something that's not great. Don't feel like having a relationship that is not serving your needs is more important than having a relationship with yourself.
Michael FrantiI believe that in order to tackle the big issues of the world today, like environmental issues, we need everybody's involvement. We need the resources of the corporate world. We need the cooperation of governments. We need the wisdom of indigenous people.
Michael FrantiStar Wars is mythology. Its like Greek mythology or Shakespeare. Its the story of good versus evil over a very long span of time. The storytelling is universal and timeless.
Michael FrantiThe music industry has been hijacked by corporate interests, but the way music affects people and resonates with them hasn't changed.
Michael FrantiI think my soul is intact, but my methods of reaching people are completely different.
Michael FrantiThe world can't have a global solution to climate change with U.S. action alone; and the world can't have a global solution without U.S. action.
Michael FrantiI went to the University of San Francisco on an athletic scholarship. I didn't study in high school. I was just there to get by and to play basketball. But a funny thing happened to me when I got to college. I got challenged by the work and the professors.
Michael FrantiA lot of times we look at the whole world and think, 'it's so daunting, how can we change the whole world?' and you don't need to do that, what you need to do is change your world a little bit, and see if you can, through example, inspire others to do the same thing.
Michael FrantiI think right now is when we need to hear different voices coming out of all parts of the world. You can't just hear the politicians and the military leaders. You have to hear from the taxi drivers. You have to hear from the painters. You have to hear from the poets. You have to hear from the school teachers and the filmmakers and musicians.
Michael FrantiThrough music I either tame my demons or unleash them and allow them to be what they are. I don't want the music to be about provocation, I want the music to bring you to a place where you feel at home
Michael FrantiIf you love the planet or the neighborhood - you're finding ways to satisfy the soul of the planet or satisfy the soul of the neighborhood.
Michael FrantiWe only have X amount of days and time on this planet - how am I going to spend that time? The way that I want to spend it is caring about the people that I love the most, and fighting to make the world a more livable place for everybody.
Michael FrantiI've always found that the poorer the places that I go, the more smiles I see, and the more happiness I see.
Michael FrantiI've been in those relationships. You go through years of your life and at a certain point you wake up and you go, god, what am I doing here? What have I spent the last three years doing? Part of it is learning, this process you've gotta go through. You have to recognize the point at which you're not learning anymore, and be able to let it go.
Michael FrantiLife is too short to make just one decision, Music's too loud for just one station, Love is too big for just one nation, AND GOD IS TOO BIG FOR JUST ONE RELIGION...
Michael FrantiIt was hard for me, as a father, to imagine going through what my birth mom went through, to raise a child inside of her for nine months, and then have to say goodbye. And so it's hard for me to understand that pain and that process.
Michael FrantiI think the main thing I would say is, don't settle. Don't settle for something that's not great.
Michael FrantiThe hardest part about what I do, the most vulnerable place is my relationship with my family and Sara, my amazing partner, because I'm leaving a lot. And as a touring artist, I'm constantly coming and going, but also when I'm at home, my studio's at home. I'm leaving to go into a music world in my head.
Michael FrantiCollectively, we activists are essential to advancing U.S. policy to help empower marginalized people to lift themselves and their communities out of poverty for good.
Michael FrantiMusic gets us in touch with our emotions in a way that's more intimate than any other art form.
Michael FrantiI don't know if music can change the world overnight but I know that music can help someone make it through a difficult night.
Michael FrantiI've always wanted to be a communicator of ideas through music. Today, I wanna be the most effective musical communicator of social change I could be, so I try to find different ways to do it and I'm always challenging myself to find new things, learn new instruments. But I always try to find in my heart, what it is I really want to say with words.
Michael FrantiWe don't have to be good, you know? No one's telling us that we have to do good things, but we do them because we know it makes other people feel good and it makes us feel good.
Michael FrantiThe corporate media is there to push the agenda of the sponsors, and many of those sponsors are weapons manufacturers. So it stands to reason that you won't get a diversity of opinions on television.
Michael FrantiPlaying on the streets of Iraq, or in Israel or the Gaza strip, I'd sing angry protest songs against war. People would say, 'Make us clap, make us dance, and laugh and sing.' It really made me think about the importance of happy music.
Michael FrantiIf the first casualty of war is innocence, then perhaps with each bullet fired, bomb detonated, leader overthrown, wall built, economy destroyed and family member killed, we are not creating goodwill and harmony, but rather another child who believes violence is the only means to bring about change in the world.
Michael Franti