Pete Kronowitt — Current Clients

Pete Kronowitt’s new album, Do Something Now, presents the songwriter’s voice with a crisp production style that makes the tunes come vibrantly to life. The tracks are political and playful, embracing a variety of styles - acoustic folk, country, Cajun, rock and Latin. Like the folk artists he admires, Kronowitt blends the personal and political, making his a modern folk voice to be reckoned with. He co-produced the album with Spencer Hartling, at San Francisco’s Tiny Telephone Studio, creating hook filled songs that will move hearts and minds in positive directions.

“This is the first album I’ve made that captures the energy and spontaneity of a live show,” Kronowitt says. “I let the melodies guide the arrangements, so there’s nothing between the listener and the music. I collaborated with musicians I knew well and let them help shape the sound of the sessions. We were able to catch the magic of the moment.”

The players on Do Something Now include drummer Darian Gray (Booker T), steel guitarist Tim Marcus, stand up and electric bass player John David Coppola, Kronowitt’s longtime collaborator, backing vocals by Veronica Maund and Justin Kohlberg on acoustic and electric guitars. “We got really close to the sounds I imagined in my head when I was composing the songs. In some cases, the produced versions sound even better.”

“Stay Safe,” opens the album on a heartfelt note. It’s a tender, acoustic love song, featuring Kronowitt’s optimistic vocal, understated fingerpicking and the warm backing vocals of Veronica Maund. “It’s about our loved ones during the pandemic,” Kronowitt said. “We nailed it on the first take.” The laid-back folk-rock of “Roly Poly” examines the ecological decay that may spell our doom, snuffing out bees, butterflies and roly-poly bugs. A jaunty drumbeat and Coppola’s lively bass rhythm support Kronowitt as he laments, “We’re the choices that we make.” Roly Poly will premiere with an animated video in August.

Kronowitt wrote the song “We’re All Gonna Die” in five minutes during a stream of consciousness but the song came together with the magic that only happens in the studio. A driving rhythm section, crisp acoustic guitar strumming and the bright harmonies Maund supplies, gives an ironic, carefree air to the lyrics. “Big Ole Stick of Wood,” a country song with solid steel guitar work, sings the praises of music’s ability to banish our cares and worries. The set closes with “Are We Great Yet?,” a rocking ode to civil disobedience that denounces the current administration’s inability to face the truth. Kronowitt calls out Trump’s heartless policies, as Kohlberg brings the song to a close with a blazing solo.

Kronowitt was planning a major tour to support Do Something Now. Given the realities of the pandemic, he’s transferred his activities to arranging 50 online shows for competitive state and national campaigns and causes. “I’m helping out candidates vetted and endorsed by various organizations, and partnering with PACs like EveryDistrict and grassroots group Sister District Project, to help people who share their community’s progressive values get elected. I’ll be offering free online shows and bringing in well-known, regional artists to perform and help spread the word.”

Activism has always informed Kronowitt’s life and music, so starting the Face the Music Collective was a natural next step in his desire to foster positive change. “After the 2016 election, I organized a protest show in Cleveland and began looking for ways to combine activism and music into an organization that could make an impact. I learned from Sister District Project and the Bernie Sanders’ campaign and started to incorporate tactics they used to organize and get people to take action. That’s the core idea of Face the Music. During my concerts, I’d ask people to volunteer and over a third of the audience members would step up. If I could do it, I knew other artists could too—and not only for political campaigns, but for any cause. If an audience is singing along with you, caught up in the emotion of that moment, you can guide them to get engaged, and make sure the next step can help the cause you care about. Face the Music partners with other bands, artists and activist groups to help move more people toward progressive causes.”

Kronowitt was born in New Jersey and grew up in Florida. He always loved music, but didn’t pick up a guitar until he was in college at American University, in Washington D.C. He immediately started writing songs, but had a bit of stage fright. “I sang in the stairwell of my dorm, and for a few girls, but it took a while before I took the leap to performing in front of an audience.” After graduation, he got a “real job,” but kept writing songs, playing gigs and releasing albums, feeding his passion for music and social change. After a self-booked tour of East Asia in 2009, he set on path to do music full time finally leaving his “day job” in 2016. At that point, he sought to combine music and activism. “Trump is a symptom of a bigger problem, so I’ll continue making music for good causes, even if he doesn’t get re-elected. San Francisco is a center of activism that's full of beautiful, giving, and dedicated people working for greater equity and justice. Living here has allowed me to continue making music my own small contribution to making this world just a bit better.”