As the Founder of the Face the Music Collective Pete Kronowitt has continually helped musicians and artists engage in grassroots advocacy to drive today’s much needed social and political change.
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.”
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.”
Glide is proud to premiere the animated video for “Roly Poly” which examines the ecological decay that may spell our doom, snuffing out bees, butterflies and roly-poly bugs. ” Kronowitt brings paternal warmth and hummable hooks to his crafty brand of folk, rekindling the voices of Jim Croce and Jack Johnson.
“It’s not a stretch to see the small critters living among as an analogy for humanity facing catastrophe,” explains Kronowitt. “But we are not helpless. We can more effectively address climate change by supporting politicians up and down the ballot who advocate and commit to passing legislation and policies to drastically reduce carbon emissions in our atmosphere.. But don’t stop there. There’s a host of things we can personally do to make a difference. Just use one of our greatest gifts, imagination.”
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.”
