Pete Mroz on His Origins:
I was born in South Bend, Indiana to an engineer, Marine, Vietnam vet, race car driver. My mother was a waitress. So, I come from classic Indiana, blue collar stock. Go fast. Don’t think twice. That’s what a race car driver has to do, shuck and jive with the best of them. But you have to keep moving.
I started playing when I was 18 years old. A guy loaned me a thousand dollars to buy a motorcycle. I took part of that money, bought an acoustic guitar and never bought that motorcycle.
Self-Sabotage:
I thought I was going to be the next Garth Brooks. I had the big Stetson hats with the Mo Betta shirts tucked in my Wranglers. I cut my teeth writing songs in Nashville. I was in a group with Blake Shelton called the Young Riders. He wasn’t Blake Shelton at the time. He was just Blake. People would always talk about, “Who’s gonna make it first Pete or Blake, Blake or Pete?” Well, it was Blake.
In my twenties, I was my own worst enemy. I built it up to tear it down. I self-persecuted to write another song. I was cocky. Sony records wanted to sign a deal with me as a country singer. I showed up to this showcase for Sony, and I decided I was going to take my cowboy hat off, untuck my shirt, and play the blues on an electric guitar. My manager was like, “What are you doing?” I looked at the record label guy and I said, “Hey man, are we going to work together, or what? Let’s cut to the chase.” And he just kinda laughed at me like, “stupid kid.” But that was me at the time. I can think of many relationships I sabotaged just so I could write another song, or create drama. It’s a common thing I’ve seen with a lot of young artists.
Starving:
I’ve never really been a starving musician. Sleeping on a buddy’s couch and eating ramen noodles, that wasn’t me. I was always working other jobs, making money. Eventually, the other jobs became my main jobs. I started to develop my business acumen, worked in sales, worked in media production. I kept playing music, but I never sacrificed being able to pay my bills to live the life of a musician. I started a Kickstarter program to raise money for my album, Will Rise Above. I kept on playing music. I recorded more, released another album toured a little bit more.
The Late Life Big Break:
Fast-forward to the pandemic. That’s when The Voice on NBC called me and said, “Hey, we want you on the show.” I had auditioned and been rejected twice before, but then they changed their minds and wanted me on the Nashville season. I hadn’t seen Blake Shelton in 25 years, not since we were in the Young Riders together and everyone was wondering which of us was going to make it. He turned his chair around for me on that stage, and if you’ve seen the show you know this, but, he didn’t recognize me at all. Anyway, I had to choose between John Legend and Blake Shelton, and I decided to go with Blake and get the band back together, so to speak.
I didn’t win, but I made the top ten. It was an incredible experience and I got to actually enjoy the ride. When I was on the show, different production people would ask, “Are you nervous? What if this doesn’t happen for you?” I had the luxury of saying, “Well, when I leave here, you know, financially, emotionally, I’m good. It’s not going to affect my livelihood.” I’ve worked really hard, and in some ways I paid a price for that, because I didn’t pursue music full-time. But here I am on The Voice.
Life After The Voice:
The Voice is a rocket ship, but it’s a conflicting rocket ship. The Voice is not my life. I’ve led an incredible life, met amazing folks, and I’ve accomplished a lot. The Voice is just a part of it now. But since it has such a huge audience, people perceive me differently. I could be talking to somebody in my current job, and they look at me. They start staring at me. And I’m thinking, “Oh, no, here we go.” And then they say, “Hey, tell me what Blake Shelton’s really like.” And I’m thinking, “Not now.” Because I’m trying to accomplish something completely separate with them. I’m selling them something for their business. But I also don’t want to squash their excitement, and their dream, and their entertainment. So, I say, “Oh Blake, he’s a good dude. You want to hear a story?” I get into it a little bit but find a way to bring the focus back to what I’m there to do.
And that goes the other way, too. I’m sure it’s a little confusing to fans of the Voice when I say I manage a $4 million territory for the number one brand in golf. They’re probably like what? I thought you’re Pete the musician guy, the singer Voice guy. I really am just an average person.
Being a 46-Year-Old-Social Media Hustler:
You know what I like about social media hustling? I’m always in search of a heartbeat and every once in a while, you find a heartbeat in social media. I’ve enjoyed watching us try to learn how to truly communicate with each other through social media. It’s not easy. I have a love-hate relationship with it. The creative side of me loves making content and posting things, but I have the hate because I feel like I have to do it. I hate to say it like this, but sometimes I feel kind of like a slave to it, you know? Last night was a great example. I still interview contestants for The Voice, so when the show comes on, I feel like I need to watch it. When I do that, I’ve got my phone in my hand and sure enough, here come the DMs. I’m talking to fans; I’m talking to artists back at their hotel; I’m sending them messages and they’re talking back to me. And then I realize, my son should have been in bed 45 minutes ago, but here I am on my phone, dinking around in the vortex.
What He’s Listening To:
This week in the rotation it’s Alyssa Bonagura. She’s amazing. She got this song called New Wings, and I’ve been listening to the slow version. Speaking of slow versions, I’ve been listening to John Mayer’s slow version of Last Train Home. He does this guitar solo at the end. My. God. And I’ve been listening to Mary Chapin Carpenter. On her last album she’s got this song called Note on a Windshield and it is so good—the emotion, the quietness, the vulnerability, everything. Mary Chapin Carpenter is my goddess. She has this way of whispering in your ear and playing these beautiful tones. And that’s her playing. That’s not a studio cat. I’ve watched her play live and she has the most graceful, beautiful, brilliant right hand of anyone I’ve ever seen.
Guitars:
I’m not an elitist, but I know a great guitar for me. It has to sound good when the frequencies of my voice combine with that specific instrument. I got two things: I got my voice and I got the guitar. They have to meld and complement each other. I need something balanced.
I’ve always had a marriage with my voice and a love affair with guitar. So many people have told me, “Stop focusing on playing guitar and just sing, Pete; you’re a singer!” But I love guitars and I love playing the guitar. If I took the care of my voice like I take care of my guitars, oh my God, maybe I would have made it.
The first time I played a Breedlove was at a shop in Nashville. I thought, “Wow, this thing sounds really good.” I grabbed another one and went into a private playing room. And then I went back and played another one. I must’ve played ten of them. And I thought, “Wow, these are really great.” I wanted one, but at the time I was working with Martin [guitars], and it didn’t make sense to buy a guitar that I could only play in the privacy of my own home. But I never forgot playing those guitars, and so when the opportunity to work with Breedlove came up, I just jumped on it, man.
What “Chasing the Dream Responsibly” Means:
I was one of the oldest contestants that’s ever been on The Voice. I was on there with 16-year-olds who have the luxury of being irresponsible. I have to chase that dream and be responsible—make sure I keep in check what is really important to me. That’s my family, raising my kids, loving my wife, providing for them. It’s very rare in the music world that we talk about retirement. I don’t know if I’ve ever had that conversation with musicians other than as a joke.
But I made different choices. I didn’t prioritize my musical career above all else. I may not be Garth Brooks or Blake Shelton, but I have stability for my family and I have a music career. I get to do both. So, living the dream responsibly for me is playing more shows, connecting with more people, making more music, being a brand ambassador for a company like Breedlove, reading my son books at night, and knowing that I achieved all that without having to risk a stable future for myself and my family.
