STREAM: Michael Franti & Spearhead - "The Sound of Silence"

Michael Franti & Spearhead released their seventh disc, The Sound of Sunshine, last week and the title track has now become the band's first #1 single.

This new disc was conceived after Franti was hospitalized for a ruptured appendix in August 2009. “Music is sunshine. It gives us new energy and a stronger sense of purpose. You can’t hold it in your hands, smell it, taste it or even see it, yet somehow just coming together and feeling these little vibrations that tickle our eardrums can somehow lift us all up out of our most difficult moments in life to unimaginable heights,” says Franti. The band began recording in Jamaica with legendary producers Sly and Robbie (Bob Dylan, Carlos Santana, No Doubt) as well as in Franti’s home in Bali and hometown of San Francisco. With the record still not complete, Franti decided to bring a mobile studio on the road with him while he toured with John Mayer this past winter. The album was finished in dressing rooms and hotel rooms along the way with Franti playing songs he had recorded earlier in the day to the audience that evening.

As part of the run-up to the current tour, which kicked off last week in Los Angeles, Michael and the band have been making live promo appearance, which included a stop at Yahoo!'s Maximum Performance for an interview and to perform three songs, "The Sound Of Sunshine," "Hey Hey Hey," and "I'll Be Waiting."

Below is a video of the band performing "The Sound of Sunshine" on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.



Tickets for the show at Terminal 5 are $35 in advance and $40 (DOS) and British singer/songwriter Bobby Long opens the show.

This show is part of an eight-city “Barefoot Concert Series” which is Franti teaming up with the charity Soles4Souls to sponsor 100,000 pairs of shoes to raise awareness of the need for footwear both nationally and internationally. The “Barefoot Concert Series” will allow fans to donate/sponsor shoes and learn more about the Soles4Souls initiative. Fans will be able to donate funds via text message by texting keyword “FRANTI” to 20222 or via www.michaelfranti.com and www.soles4souls.org. Local distributions, as well as additional promotions (including impromptu “busking” performances by Franti), will be held in select cities throughout the tour.

For every dollar that is raised, Soles4Souls will donate a pair of shoes to someone in need through the charity’s “$1 equals 1 pair” program. The partnership is especially significant for 2010, as it marks anniversaries for both Soles4Souls (the distribution of its 10 millionth pair of shoes) and for Franti, who decided to go shoeless 10 years ago after traveling the globe and seeing the poverty and lack of shoes worldwide.

Links:
Michael Franti & Spearhead