Michael Franti first made his mark on the music scene in the early Nineties with The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy an outfit that mixed the elements of industrial noise and hip-hop beats to a polemic of political and social issues. After the band’s demise, he went on to form Spearhead which expanded further upon Franti’s socio-discourses but against a more funk and reggae infused musical backdrop. Michael Franti & Spearhead’s most recent outing was last year’s Yell Fire!, which was inspired by Franti's trip to war-torn Baghdad, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Joe Matera recently caught up with Michael Franti to discuss his travels, his approach to making music and his trusty Maton guitar.

You like to take yourself and your guitar and travel through worn torn countries, what do you hope to achieve musically by doing this?

The main thing is to provide music for other people who are living in difficult situations. Second, is to connect with people through music. It opens doors that you otherwise wouldn’t go through if you’re a stranger walking through a village where no one knows who you are.

Can you share some of your experiences with our readers of these travels?

Recently, I went to Iraq, Israel and the occupied territories of Palestine and played music on the street and spoke to people about their lives there and the conflict. I met people whose homes were destroyed who were really dealing with the most dire circumstances—no electricity, food water. Having a guitar there was really the thing that enabled me to connect with people and swap music and share with people.

What's it like being a musician in some of these places you visit?

Well, I feel like a troubadour. It doesn’t matter if I’m playing on stage, at a festival or in someone’s living room. I really believe that music has the ability to heal people and that’s what I love about it and why I share it.

In some cultures the musician is considered on a par with the community shaman, would you agree with this statement?

Yeah. The history of culture and civilization has been told through oral tradition and music tradition longer than through books or internet for that matter. The thing is musicians can express more than what happed or how it happened to but can express a feeling, what people were thinking and feeling during that time. When we listen back through popular music there are those songs that remind of certain emotions, shown through music.

A similar question from a different perspective... do you think the guitar is a universal instrument that transcends all cultures, races and above all else, in some ways, has a divine element to it where it's able to bring people together as a community?

Yeah definitely, it seems like every culture that I’ve been around has some sort of guitar. Before the guitar was around, it came into existence at some point and people picked it up. The thing I find most interesting about the guitar is the way it’s held. You hold it to your belly you can hear the vibration when you strum it. It is close to your heart. When you sing the song it comes out of body through guitar and it’s a real connectivity that you don’t have if you’re playing a trumpet or a wind instrument. When you have a drum, you don’t have the melodic element. A piano, you can’t take anywhere.

A recent documentary of your travels called "I Know I'm Not Alone" was released and has garnered critical acclaim, this must give you a sense of joy to know that what you're doing is not only being endorsed by the general public but by some of those in the media, the very type of outlet you have challenged and discussed in song?

The thing that has made me the happiest with the film is the reaction of soldiers in the military and their families. To see how a lot of soldiers have taken this film and the album Yell Fire!, as something that is speaking their truth. There are a lot of veterans who were fully supportive of the war and are now coming back with the loudest opposition to the war.

You play and use a Maton, can you tell us about your Maton guitar?

I can play any guitar I want and I do. I pretty much only play one guitar and it’s a Maton EA80, which ironically is called the Australian. I named it Grandma Brown and it’s the only one I really play. I have extras on stage as back up but I pretty much play this one. In the studio I play others to create other sounds but pretty much take Grandma Brown everywhere --studio, beach, show, war-zone.

Why do you choose the Maton and what do they bring, quality wise, to your music that another brand of acoustic may not?

The reason I play it is I love the sound and how the guitar feels in my hands. When I went to the Maton factory six months ago, I saw how guitars are made from tree to it finally being strung up, tuned and played. The craftsman takes each guitar personally not like a factory where they are cranking out a certain quota that they need to fill. They are trying to make an instrument that is going to be around for generations and that people want to play and cherish. The people there are all musicians, so it’s not a factory of people making cabinets one day, guitars the next. They care about the instruments.

How do you approach the acoustic guitar, do you view it more as a "colouring" for your music or more as an important element within the context of your music?

It depends on the song. Some songs playing with the band, the guitar is used as a rhythmic accompaniment to the chord structure but it’s not the main melodic force in the song. There’s other times, I’m finger picking and the guitar is the melody and essentially the whole tune…its just acoustic guitar, it can be either way.

Can you detail what the songwriting process is like for you and Spearhead?

It never happens the same way twice-- I wish there was a formula. Sometimes it comes from a handful of cords that I string together. Other times, I come up with words first and then from there I create the melody. Sometimes from the band jamming and it comes from that. Most times though, I write the song first and bring it to the band.

Is the guitar for you used as a springboard for ideas or do song ideas come from elsewhere, such as your life experiences?

They all come from life experiences. But sometimes the guitar helps to interpret those experiences.

In your early band Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy you played with guitarist Charlie Hunter. What was it like working with Charlie and what did you learn from him from a guitar playing perspective?

In my band Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy I was fortunate enough to play with one of world’s most talented guitar players, that being Charlie Hunter. He has since gone on to record several albums for Blue Note Records playing an 8-string guitar. When I met Charlie he bought his first 7-string guitar and started to play bass, chorus and melody at same time. He graduated to 8-string which is what he plays now. I don’t play anything like him—I use a handful of chords that I play over. I was witness to his disciple and to see how by changing 1 chord how that can change the mood or melody of a song, it really opened my eyes. Up to till then I was only using drum machines and doing hip hop.

What have been some of your proudest moments in your musical career?

There’s times where we gone to cities where we never imagined we’d be able to play for instance rural places in the south and conservative towns. You think, who is going to come to see us there, and we show up and the place ends up being sold put. I never imagined our music could reach such a far out place. That always makes me feel good.

What's your most prized possession and why?

My passport because it is my key to unlocking the gates to every country in the world. I wish everybody on the planet had the ability to travel anywhere we want to when we want to. I hate that we have to have passports but I’m incredibly grateful that the one I have gets me to some many places. I wish everyone had the equal right to do that.

What can we expect from Michael Franti this year, both recording and touring wise?

We are working on a new album currently, lots of writing. We’ll continue to tour the world. I think we will be back to Australia in September or October.

In one sentence give us your philosophy you live by?

Stay human!

If you were granted three wishes, what would you wish for and why?

I’m not really an idealistic person so that’s hard for me. I don’t know we’ll ever live in a world where we don’t kill each other, all the time but I know, we can live in a world where we kill each other a lot less of the time. I wish that not only mine but everyone’s music would play a larger role in making that process occur.