MICHAEL FRANTI is a musician, poet, filmmaker, and social justice crusader whose radical message of peace and uncompromising principles have pushed him to the fringe of the mainstream. This however, has not stopped him from obtaining long-term success, impressive global sales and international recognition. 

After turning his back on a major record deal in 1994, Franti refused to fade into obscurity. Through his own label, Boo Boo Wax, a never ending touring schedule at international concerts and festivals, including his own annual Power to the Peaceful, a documentary film and even a Youtube channel, Franti has ensured that his music and his message are globally heard.  

From San Francisco to the streets of Baghdad, and the hotel rooms in between, Sounds Like a Revolution chronicles the inspiring and uplifting personal journey of this troubadours' struggle for acceptance as a bi-racial child adopted into a white family and his subsequent motivation to give a voice to the voiceless. We the people have the power to bring peace and justice to the world; Michael Franti will provide the soundtrack.

MIKE BURKETT A.K.A. FAT MIKE (NOFX)
In 2000, George W. Bush won the Presidency by 537 votes. Only days before the election Fat Mike played to over 30,000 kids in Florida and in his drunken haze never mentioned a single word about the vote only hours away. Fat Mike would later realize that had he told his audience to vote and a few of them acted upon his advice, he could have changed the course of history – “We could have had a different President”. 

Determined never to make that mistake again, he turned his apathy into activism and started punkvoter, the first ever punkrock lobby force aimed at mobilizing disenfranchised youth into a never before seen punkrock voting bloc. With exclusive interviews, the film follows Fat Mike from his early years of booze, drugs and apathy, to his new role as political campaigner against Bush in 2004. See how punkvoter and music lead organizations that sprung out of ’04 fed the youth movement for change in Washington in 2008 to elect the first African American President, Barack Hussein Obama.

PARIS HIP-HOP Guerilla funk
Militant hip-hop artist and Public Enemy producer, Paris is famous for his smooth rhythmic stylings and infamous for his raw uncompromising indictment of racism, violence, political corruption and injustice. After his song “Bush Killa” dropped, so was he from his label, thanks to a visit from the Secret Service. In yet another act of defiance against the governing powers, both corporate and political, Paris started his own label, Guerilla Funk Records, to “fight the climate of corporate suppression that currently exists”. 

Sounds Like a Revolution follows Paris’ career as he challenges censors with his provocative lyrics and cover art. Paris dealt with artist censorship in a post 9/11 world after he released an album entitled “Sonic Jihad” with the image of a plane flying into the White House on the album cover. Without a doubt, he created a firestorm of controversy. Unrepentant Paris responded, “it looks like something that was done to capitalize on tragedy…my rebuttal to that is, THIS government is capitalizing on tragedy.” Sounds Like a Revolution reveals how Paris’ guerilla tactics and web-based approach empowers his audience to usurp traditional distribution channels and create opportunities for artists who challenge the status quo of race, politics and art. Paris shows us that real hip-hop isn’t only about cars, women and bottles of champagne. It’s about rhyming a revolution.

Meet ANTI-FLAG, one of the most influential political bands of this generation. With songs like “911 for Peace”, “Angry, Young and Poor” and the “Red, White and Brainwashed”, Anti-Flag has become the voice of social discontent and youthful rage. 

Driven by their personal experience with poverty, the band are educating poor youth about the predatory recruitment practices of the U.S. military. Furious over a provision in the No Child Left Behind Act which provides the military with private information about every child in the public school system, Anti-Flag fights back using the same grassroots DIY techniques that made them an indie success. 

Sounds Like a Revolution illustrates how their music and message is transcending the traditional punk rock genre, geographical borders and physical space to create “a new kind of army”, one that’s “too smart to fight, too smart to die and too smart to kill”. But like all calls to oppositional activism, not all are digested easily into popular culture. Victim of big box censorship policies, Anti-Flag is forced to decide between their principles and reaching a wider audience.