Spearhead delivers lyrical, ethical message
By Caroline Mooser
Add a dash of politically-motivated lyrics to a variety of music genres. Mix with dreadlocks and a slightly older crowd. Result: A Michael Franti and Spearhead concert on a Monday night in Leavey Center.
The concert coincided with the Human Rights Awareness Tour, which sponsored a Fair Trade coffee night on Sunday and a No-Sweat Fashion Show on Tuesday to promote the selling of products produced under ethical and environmentally-just standards.
According to Meredith Brown, a sophomore and member of GREEN Club, it is only fitting that Franti should perform this week, as his socially conscious song lyrics are so in line with what the tour promotes.
Brown, along with Coury Jacob, senior music manager for the Activities Programming Board, organized the week's events at Santa Clara with the Human Rights Awareness Tour. When Jacob discovered Franti's affiliation with the tour, he jumped on the opportunity to book the band.
The original cost of Monday's concert was $80,000, but Jacob said, "We got him nearly half-off because he supported the tour."
Sophomore Camille Grigsby-Rocca has been a long time fan of Franti and heard him speak on Darfur a couple of years ago. She admires his decision to donate a lot of his concert proceeds to charity.
Before the opening act, J.R. Corkery, who created the tour, spoke of the need for activism at a time when apathetic attitudes prevent the opportunity for social change.
Like hip hop artist Mos Def, who performed on campus last year, Franti is known for using his provocative lyrics to inspire listeners to work for social justice, as is apparent in the lyrics from his song "Bomb the World:" "We can chase down all our enemies / Bring them to their knees / We can bomb the world to pieces / But we can't bomb it into peace."
References to religious conflicts, a "war on Muslims, a war on Jews, a war on Christians and Hindus," as well as "Bush war one" and "Bush war two" resonated with listeners in the song "We Don't Stop" from Franti's 2003 album, "Everyone Deserves Music." Franti also rocked out to other crowd-pleasers from his "Yell Fire!" album.
As a vegan and supporter of the Green Party, Franti is one of the few artists whose lifestyle reflects the socially-responsible practices he preaches. For example, Jacob confirms that in Franti's hospitality trailer there isn't any bottled water.
He said it is a breath of fresh air to host an artist whose music does more than just entertain. Jacob aims to book artists who bring "the Santa Clara community together for a night of entertainment," while also being able to "synthesize a positive message" for audience members to take away from the show.
Santa Clara is the third stop on the Human Rights Awareness Tour. As Corkery explained the premise of the project is to draw attention to human rights violations in the context of a "fun and social" event that takes place outside the academic classroom.
According to Corkery, the tour also aims to remind consumers of their power to pressure companies into producing "socially conscious products."
Contact Caroline Mooser at cmooser@scu.edu.