LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Watching the Dave Matthews Band moments before they take the stage is like watching a football team bursting out of the locker room before a big game.



Dave Matthews says he bellieves strongly in the power of community.



They slap hands. Bump fists. Jump up and down, exclaiming "Feel the love, feel the love!" The energy in the air is electric.



And when they walk out on stage, the energy explodes into thousands of shining faces. People dance in the aisles. Others sing every word to every song. A few share funny cigarettes.



For more than three hours, the jubilant atmosphere creates a sense of community between an amphitheater filled with strangers and the ethnically diverse musicians leading the charge on stage.



But then DMB is all about community -- creating its own and giving back. BAMA Works Fund -- the group's charitable foundation -- has handed out $5 million in grants to worthy causes, including schools and victims of Hurricane Katrina.  Watch Matthews sound off on the album -- and racism »



And despite the unexpected passing of saxophonist LeRoi Moore due to complications from an ATV accident last summer, the band members seem to be recharged. In June, DMB notched its fifth consecutive No. 1 album on the Billboard chart with "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King."



We caught up with Matthews just as news hit the Web that former President Jimmy Carter believed racism was the root of some of the negativity directed toward President Obama in recent weeks. The 42-year-old singer-songwriter offered a unique perspective, as a man who split his childhood between the United States and South Africa during apartheid. The following is an edited version of the interview.



CNN: President Carter said he thinks that a lot of the animosity directed toward President Obama is race related.



Dave Matthews: Of course it is! I found there's a fairly blatant racism in America that's already there, and I don't think I noticed it when I lived here as a kid. But when I went back to South Africa, and then it's sort of thrust in your face, and then came back here -- I just see it everywhere. There's a good population of people in this country that are terrified of the president only because he's black, even if they don't say it. And I think a lot of them, behind closed doors, do say it.



Maybe I'm paranoid about it, but I don't think someone who disagreed as strongly as they do with Obama -- if it was Clinton -- would have stood up and screamed at him during his speech. (Shakes his head) I don't think so.



CNN: Everything has gone to such a frenzied pitch.



Matthews: I think a lot of it has to be on the press. We give the podium to a lot of people who shouldn't have the podium. The message that's delivered the loudest and in the most entertaining way is the one that we're going to put on because that's what we want. We want ratings more than we want to deliver information. That's just where the culture's gotten.



There's no way that Walter Cronkite, as a young journalist, no way Ed Murrow would be hired to do news today. Not a chance.



CNN: Because they're too low-key? Because they're not bombastic?



Matthews: Because they're thoughtful, and they're patient, and they're tying to tell you a truly balanced story. They're trying to impart information. I don't think that's the goal [now] because it's not a good business plan. ...



Everyone's outraged all the time. Why are you outraged? There's war -- there's always been war, as long as most of us have been alive. There have always been people being abused, there's always been horrible things in the world. Why are we outraged? We should just be quiet and figure it out, and work it out together. ... There's no solution
Dave is not surprised at anger towards whom? Who said I just see racism everywhere? What he said about news media? Wat is "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King""? What is the aim of Dave Matthews band? Who made the record Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King? What Dave Matthews said about raising of racism?
President Obama Dave Matthews want ratings more than we want to deliver information. fifth consecutive No. 1 album creating its own and giving back. Dave Matthews Band in America that's already there, and I don't think I noticed it when I lived here as a kid. But when I went back to South Africa, and then it's sort of thrust in your face, and then came back here
question: Dave is not surprised at anger towards whom?, answer: President Obama | question: Who said I just see racism everywhere?, answer: Dave Matthews | question: What he said about news media?, answer: want ratings more than we want to deliver information. | question: Wat is "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King""?, answer: fifth consecutive No. 1 album | question: What is the aim of Dave Matthews band?, answer: creating its own and giving back. | question: Who made the record Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King?, answer: Dave Matthews Band | question: What Dave Matthews said about raising of racism?, answer: in America that's already there, and I don't think I noticed it when I lived here as a kid. But when I went back to South Africa, and then it's sort of thrust in your face, and then came back here