On the long road you've got a long time to sing a simple song

Above: Prepping the stage for Spearhead

Michael!

Hear that?

It's the sound of sunshine. I've been a fan of Spearhead for around 14 years--since right after Emma was born. I was introduced to them by a boyfriend in Taos, and their albums Home and Chocolate Supa Highway quickly became favorites at the bar I owned there. "People in tha Middle" was practically always on repeat.

Years later, when the bar was sold and Emma and I relocated to Western NY, Stay Human was released and Emma, age 5, was smitten. We played it constantly. Soon after that arrived Everyone Deserves Music, and I was blindsided by the amazingness of it.

Songs from the Front Porch made me love Michael Franti even more--i could imagine sitting on the porch with him on a sunny summer afternoon, sipping lemonade, listening to him play his guitar. A whole fantasy world was borne from that album!

I didnt really connect with Love Kamikaze, but I still play it when I want to hear relaxing, chill, background music.

Yell Fire came into my life when I needed it most. I needed to hear someone else's frustration with the world and know that I wasn't alone. Michael is not afraid to speak out and I admire his self-confidence, total awareness, and deeply-rooted morals.

All Rebel Rockers and The Sound of Sunshine are Franti's poppy-happy records, and I love them. "Say Hey" put him on the charts, and at first I was resentful of the sudden outcropping of Spearhead fans (he's mine, I knew of him first, I pouted, annoyed that other people were claiming him now), but then I realized that we all deserve a little Franti in our lives.

Everyone deserves music.

Sweet music.