One YouTube video has the power to make great change. Realizing this, filmmaker Mark Johnson traveled the world to find and record 100 musicians from the United States to the Himalayans in a performance of “Stand by Me.” Nearly 30 million views later, Playing for Change has since spawned a PBS documentary and appeared on The Colbert Report and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Now, the band is touring to raise money for the Playing for Change Foundation, which aims to provide resources for musicians all over the world. The Weekly spoke with the band’s vocalist and percussionist Mermans Kenkosenki, who is originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Excerpts

TW: What does Playing for Change actually want to change?

MK: We are playing for change. We want to change the world to bring peace and unity. And we picked music to do that because we live in music. You don’t have to be from the same country. You don’t have to be from the same tribe. But you can play music together. Once you play music together, you connect and can see the world properly.

TW: Why do you think music has the ability to bring people together?

MK: The Playing for Change band is a ten-piece band with seven to eight nationalities. In one band! We don’t talk the same language, but we play the same music.

TW: How did they recruit musicians to tour?

MK: I was part of the song “Around the World.” We met the guys in 2006 when they were recording for the first “Around the World” album. We played “One Love.” Them, they put the band together.

TW: Did you ever expect Playing for Change would become such a worldwide sensation? Your videos on YouTube have reached almost 30 million views. So what do you think about that?

MK: I didn’t expect it to happen this way. It’s really amazing the way everything turned out. I believe that everywhere there are people who think the same way, and they’re not from the same country, but they feel the same way. Mark (Johnson) came up with the idea all the way from Santa Monica. Everywhere we go, there are people moving and supporting the art. It’s amazing.

TW: Would you say you’ve been inspiring to other people or that the people you’ve met have inspired you?

MK: It’s an exchange of inspiration. We meet the people and inspire them. When you talk to them, they inspire you too.

TW: What’s been the best part about touring?

MK: I liked the show in Phoenix and the people in Phoenix. I loved it. All I can say to the people is that we need to believe in ourselves and make the world a better place. That’s it.

Check out videos and more about the inspiring band at playingforchange.com.