These days, Michael Franti knows that every summertime means a long tour across America, about 60 dates timed to coincide with as many outdoor amphitheater show opportunities as possible, mixed in with club and theatre dates, too.
The music he plays with his longest-standing band, Spearhead, is perfect for the season, but he’s also got a lot of non-musical responsibilities on his plate. The five-dozen or so U.S. shows a year allows him to cover a majority of this country, while maintaining interests around the world.
Not many musicians, for example, can claim business interests in Bali, but Franti’s one of them. Not content to just dabble in investments there, he’s committed a chunk of his creative life to an ever-growing hotel and service industry role in Bali.
Bouncing between “being an artist and an entrepreneur,” as he puts it, is a challenge.
“We have a hotel in Bali that I started in 2008. We started with five rooms and we’ve gotten to 32 rooms, two restaurants and a nightclub there,” Franti said in a recent phone interview. “I shift gears between everything that has to do with the hotel and everything else I do in music and film. and now, with media and writing. With the hotel we have over 100 employees now and a lot of what I do is working with the team there. It’s incredible to work with people and (to) empowering them to use their own creativity to find solutions to problems we’re facing at the hotel. My job there is to do the big picture stuff, to think about what’s next.”
The retreat he and his family run is called Soulshine Bali, and the vibe is definitely in line with the messages that Franti and Spearhead have been channeling over the past number of years, a positive approach to life and the human connection.
His live shows with his band Spearhead, he said, are intended to hit a sweet spot with the audience, no matter how familiar they may be with the band’s material. Of course, many will be super-fans. Others will leave as fans.
“I’m super passionate about both,” Franti said. “I do feel that the ultimate pinnacle of music, where the rubber meets the road, is when the music is played to an audience and you see the reaction and feel the reaction. It’s humbling…Every time I’m writing a song, I’m thinking about how it will be played live. There’s the draw.”
Franti says that despite the amount of time spent on the road, there’s always time for a bit of remote studio work, even if it’s just plugging in his guitar to a simple recorder.
“I love the studio,” he said, estimating he puts thoughts and music down some 250 days a year, each and every year.
The most recent batch of creative work resulted in the completion and release last November of his latest album, “Big Big Love,” and now this summer’s Togetherness tour.
“Togetherness is the central theme in all the songs on our latest record ‘Big Big Love,’” Franti said in announcing the tour/ “How do we get that feeling of togetherness, that feeling of closeness, that we so often overlooked and took for granted, but now has become so important? How do we bridge these gaps so that people can feel close to one another again? I want to really use my music and my time in my life to bring closeness to people and help them feel like they’re not alone in this world.”
The excitement and sense of community that comes with being able to get back on tour post-pandemic was something Franti felt deeply.
“It’s one of the great passions of my life,” Franti said. “I went from touring half the year, to mostly the summer months, to not being able to tour at all with COVID. That was a very emotional time for me. I have this thing that I always thought would be there and is so integral to who I am as a person and suddenly it was pulled out from under my feet. It really made me think about who I am in the world.
“I’ve always known why I do what I do. I love connecting with people and seeing them bring their emotions to the joy of our music. I always thought that would be there. But when it was taken away, I went into a dark place for a while. Now on the other side of that, I have this incredible gratitude to do this thing we do.”
Franti’s music has taken him through a variety of settings, from early punk and industrial bands (like the Beatnigs, 1986-90), to hip-hop (notably the short-lived Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, 1991-93) to Spearhead, which brings in a host of influences, though a soul/rock/reggae amalgam characterizes much of the group’s shimmering, summery sound.
All of those experiences, Fanti said, have allowed him to travel the planet in a way that few get to experience.
“I’ve always had a lust for finding a new corner of the world, meeting people and experiencing new cultures,” he said. “Architecture, art and natural wonders…I’ve had an incredible opportunity to see these places and play.