Pete Muller is a jack of all trades and a master of them all. An Everyman; a Renaissance Man; a Polymath. He’s a successful businessman, surfer, philanthropist, and educator – he’s also a published creator of crossword puzzles! But it’s the music of this Santa Barbara resident we’re interested in here at EP, music that’s so expertly crafted that one would think he spends his entire time composing sounds and writing lyrics. His signature sound is a seamless blend of jazz, folk, pop, and country, and on tour he’s performed at Montreux Festival, in Switzerland, Jazz Fest, in Umbria, Italy, and Colorado’s iAM MUSIC Fest as well. Three of the singles from his most recent album, ‘Dissolve’, found their way into the Top 30 on the Adult Contemporary charts.
Muller has such a bond with his touring band, The Kindred Souls, that they decided to make a record when they finished their last tour. Comprising multi-instrumentalist (mostly sax) John Whooley – he’s also a recording engineer and his guitar playing and harmonising are held in great esteem; Missy Soltero on vocals (she also plays cajon), who’s toured with Muller for a decade; and Martha McDonnel, a classical violinist and fiddler, who’s played with major orchestras and Broadway shows. She’s also performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, and The Tony Awards, among others.
Speaking about the group, Muller said,
“John, Missy, and I have been playing together for years and we share a great chemistry with one another. When we started playing more and more with Martha we realized we had something truly special as a group. We decided to make it official and call ourselves the Kindred Souls.”
Produced by Peter Katis, known for his work with Interpol, and The National, ‘For What It’s Worth’ is the first single to be released from ‘The Sound’ EP. The Kindred Souls have taken Buffalo Springfield’s protest classic and transformed it into a soulful, bluesy number, adding fiddle, keyboards, and woodblock percussion, as well as three part harmonies, and yet without losing any of the emotion of the original. It’s the perfect release, and timed perfectly for the upcoming Presidential inauguration, and in light of the attempted (and thankfully failed) coup at the Capitol building the other week.
The music video shows the group as they are, an exceptional touring band, who are equally at home in an arena as they are on stage in a tiny venue. The choice of locale is the perfect match for the timeless tune of “us versus them”, and the fun the band are having while playing is utterly palpable. As Muller comes out from behind the keys to sing the outro with the rest of the band, it’s easy to catch hold of the idea that we’re all in this together.
Watch the music video for ‘For What It’s Worth’ below. You can check out Pete Muller and his music online on his official website.
