Franti Goes To Baghdad

Franti Goes To Baghdad

Michael Franti got his guitar, then headed to Iraq. Any requests for anti-war music?: Aidin Vaziri | No one can accuse Michael Franti of armchair activism. When U.S. and British troops invaded Iraq three years ago, lots of musicians spoke out with songs, letters and freshly peeled bumper stickers. But the lead singer of the Bay Area soul-funk group Spearhead handled the situation in his own typical way. He turned off CNN, grabbed a guitar and started pricing tickets to Baghdad. "I knew I wasn't getting the whole truth on TV," he says. "I wanted to see with my own eyes what was going on there." Although the members of his own band didn't expect anything less, they were too afraid to join him on the trip. Other musicians he called not only turned him down but tried to talk him out of going as well. It didn't work. In May 2004, Franti rounded up three video cameras and a ragtag eight-person crew, and made the journey to Iraq via Jordan. After some mild confusion at the customs desk, he was welcomed into the country as a tourist. "I didn't feel like a tourist at all," laughs Franti, 39, who spent most of his time in Baghdad busking in the streets and chatting with locals.