Musical forces at work

In times of political strife, societies look to their art to see things in a new perspective.

In apartheid South Africa, music was used as a powerful tool to unify the people and defy oppression in a nonviolent way. In order to survive the nearly 50-year racial segregation policy, black South Africans fell back on their roots of song to keep up the struggle.

The film, "Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony," documents those songs written and sang during apartheid. From the song, "Meadowlands," which connected the experiences of the people forced to move from their communities in the early years; to the defiant chant that translates to "Watch out, Verwoerd" in reference to then-Prime Minister of South Africa Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd; to Hugh Masekela's "Bring Him Back Home," the anthem for the movement to free Nelson Mandela, the oppressed people remained connected spiritually through song and were able to achieve their goal of freedom.

Politics aside, the power of music is in its gathering force. But musicians don't write in a bubble. They write about their personal experiences and the truths they've found there.

"If it's going on, it affects us all," local musician Arnie J. Green said. "It's kind of hard to keep one's mouth shut with what's going on in the world today. Most people are talking about it and for good reason."

Unlike the overwhelming oppression of apartheid, however, today's motives in song are in getting out the whole truth to as many people as possible.

"You can't blame most people for being ignorant and uninformed. They have to work their asses off, come home and eat dinner, then watch the news and are being fed propaganda," Eric McFadden of the Eric McFadden Trio said.

Crawford Byers, who books live acts for Sherpa & Yeti's in Breckenridge and State Bridge in nearby Bond, said where he sees politics and music meet is on the left. He considers the musical community to be generally of a like mind — liberal — with the exception of country. ("That's why the Dixie Chicks can't play south of the Mason-Dixon line, but are welcome everywhere else," he said in reference to the attention the band has gotten over its public anti-President Bush sentiments.)

"In this jam, funk, hip-hop scene there seems to be a real liberal slant. The majority of music that comes through my clubs are left wing. There is a certain amount of comfort in coming out and expressing disappointment with the war and the government," he said. "Whenever there are chances to, they slip it in."

A factor in this commonality, he said, could be that most of the traveling musicians he books come from liberal areas like the East Coast, California or the Northwest. And the history of a genre can also play a role. Angst against the president and government was an initiating seed of hip-hop.

But the current political atmosphere has brought out the politics in other groups as well.

"About a quarter of the musicians I bring through my clubs are from New Orleans," Byers said. "They have no reason to be cheering the government ... And it's even down to the hippie jambands. They're powering their buses with veggie oil and so (they're) probably not agreeing with opening up natural lands in Alaska to oil drilling.

"It's much different than when we went to concerts 10 years ago. Politics are much more apparent now and people are much more vocal about it."

And it's not only the gathering at shows.

"A lot of bands play together at festivals — the Bonaroos of the world have 100,000 people thinking the same way, feeling the same vibe," Byers said. "Those things are very political and feed into similar politics."

Artists of the sound medium often fall into two different schools of thought when playing to this new generation of listeners. The question is whether to enlighten with new perspectives and information, or offer a break from the hard stuff. Many musicians do a little of both.

Michael Franti of Spearhead decided if he was going to sing about Iraq, he should understand the human toll firsthand. In a recent interview with the Associated Press, he said, "I found that music was this incredible universal language. Every time I picked up my guitar to play, it didn't matter what country the people were from, which side of the conflicts they were on, everyone wanted to hear music and everyone would then open up in a different way."

His experience in 2004 yielded not only a new album, "Yell Fire!," with 14 new songs, but he also came back with the footage for his first documentary, "I Know I'm Not Alone."

In the AP interview, he said he visited the war-torn country to gain more information, but also acknowledged music's comforting power.

Michael Franti & Spearhead play the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver this weekend with Bob Marley's band The Wailers on Friday, October 20, and on Saturday with opener State Radio.

"I always say I don't know if music can change the world overnight but I know music can help us make it through a difficult night. Sometimes that's what we need when we feel frustrated is just to make it into tomorrow," he said.

McFadden sees his band as a uniting force, as opposed to the dividing tactics used by the current administration. He said the truth is not easily accessible, so with the forum he's given as a musician, he tries to bring some awareness. At the same time, however, he believes music can work as a healthy form of escapism.

"There's other things to think about, like sex and ice cream, music and bunny rabbits — happy things," he said.

Dave Watts of The Motet found the spaces in their instrumental music to be ideal for sound bites of outspoken social leaders.

Included in their latest album, "Instrumental Dissent," are the voices of Noam Chomsky, Harry Belafonte, president of Bolivia Evo Morales and others speaking out against the status quo.

"It's an important platform. A musician has to try and make a difference in society," drummer Watts said, citing the work of Bob Marley and Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti.

"They brought to light certain issues, and, incorporated into music and lyrics, it empowers people to feel like part of something that can make a change," he said.

And with the newfound freedom of the internet, it is more possible to open minds everywhere.

"These days music can travel far and wide without a lot of effort," Watts said. "People all over the world can check out our music; you never know who it's going to reach ... it could wake some people up."

"As long as they're thinking, that's the important thing," Summit County musician Green said.

After all, "Everyone wants the same thing — to be happy and have freedom and justice for all," said McFadden.



<i>Leslie Brefeld can be reached at (970) 668-4626 or lbrefeld@summitdaily.com.</i>