Michael Franti Played Quotations

My house was filled with music. We had a piano, and my brothers and sisters played instruments. Even though I was around it, I played basketball.

Music was a central part of my childhood because my mother played organ and piano in the church, and that meant all us kids had to be in the church choir.

I took a trip in 2004, a year after the war started in Iraq. I played music on the streets of Baghdad for Iraqi civilians. I'd also play for U.S. soldiers at night when they were off duty in the bars. Then I would talk to people, and I would film them and ask them about their life and the conflict.