Pete Yorn

Peter Joseph Yorn (born July 27, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first gained international recognition after his debut record, Musicforthemorningafter, was released to critical and commercial acclaim in 2001. He is known for playing the bulk of the instruments on his records.

His most recent release is 2018's Apart, an EP created in collaboration with actress/singer Scarlett Johansson.

Early life
Yorn was born in the Pompton Plains section of Pequannock Township, New Jersey, and raised Jewish. in Montville, New Jersey, the son of Joan, a former school teacher and real estate agent, and Lawrence K. Yorn, a retired dentist. Yorn attended Montville Township High School. His brother Rick is a major talent manager in Hollywood, and was responsible for teaching nine-year-old Pete to play the drums. His eldest brother Kevin Yorn is an entertainment lawyer.

Yorn mentions the Nova Scotia band Sloan as one with great influence on him, even admitting after seeing them live in 1999, he was so blown away by their talent that he wondered whether it would be worth continuing to even pursue his debut album. Sloan would later tour with Yorn in the US.

Film industry
Yorn was encouraged enough to maintain a focus on music while attending Syracuse University (class of 1996) where he was a major in the department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies and a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity. After graduating, Yorn moved to Los Angeles, where he began to attract a following with his performances at Largo. Shortly after signing to Columbia records in 1999, film producer Bradley Thomas (Kingpin & There's Something About Mary) liked Yorn's act enough to request Yorn send him some rough demos for possible inclusion in the Farrelly Brothers' film Me, Myself and Irene. Soon after, Yorn landed a job scoring all of the music to the film and also contributed the songs "Strange Condition" and "Just Another" to the film and its soundtrack. Yorn has spoken of the busy time mixing both his debut record while working on the Farrelly's scoring project. "Just Another" was also used in the soundtrack for "Bandits," the 2001 bank-robbery film starring Bruce Willis, Cate Blanchett, and Billy Bob Thornton

musicforthemorningafter
After experiencing this taste of success, Yorn released his 2001 LP debut, entitled musicforthemorningafter, which went gold on the strength of the album's lead single, "Life on a Chain." Rolling Stone Magazine named Yorn one of "Ten [artists] to Watch in 2001" and gave the album a favorable four-star rating. Yorn and his band "Dirty Bird" toured for 18 months straight in support of his debut record.

Yorn went on to release the 2003 album Day I Forgot which has sold over 275,000 copies in UNnited States and scored a third radio hit with the song "Come Back Home." Q Magazine, in its 4 star review, described the record as simply "wonderful". The record also featured the now classic "Crystal Village", and "Turn of The Century". The latter was featured in the 2004 film The Girl Next Door. On the heels of the extensive 'Day I Forgot' tour, Yorn released a double live album, "LIVE From New Jersey", which was recorded at the Community Theater in Morristown, New Jersey.

In 2006, Yorn released his third album, Nightcrawler and toured extensively in support of it. He preceded every show with an instore acoustic appearance at an indie record shop in the town he was passing through. All of these instore performances were recorded, thus creating an extensive series of Live EP's. (complete list of instore EP's below). Nightcrawler was named one of the top 20 records of 2006 by Paste magazine.

The Trilogy
Pete Yorn's third studio release, Nightcrawler, completes a conceptual trilogy of sorts, which spans his first three albums (EPs not included); beginning in the morning with the musicforthemorningafter LP, continuing through the day with the Day I Forgot LP, and arriving at nightfall with the Nightcrawler LP.

In September 2006, in an interview with silentuproar.com, Yorn elaborated on his true intentions behind the trilogy, remarking that it was at least partially a conscious trilogy but wasn't meant to be taken too seriously: "I didn't mean like a Star Wars trilogy where it's one story at all." Yorn expressed that the "trilogy" was more of a diary of sorts; a person gaining new life experiences and simply commenting on them in linear order. "So it's a sort of continuing analysis of those topics, and the Nightcrawler LP would represent a later phase," Yorn said.

Subsequent releases
In 2008, Pete Yorn recorded and released a new song, entitled "American Blues Vol. 1." A music video was shot for the single, and the song itself was released for free on Yorn's official website for a short period of time. Concerning the song, Yorn has said "I wrote American Blues Vol. 1. on the 4th of July after reading the morning paper. It's unlike any song I've ever written. I was moved by how much negativity I was reading about and how even groups were boycotting Independence Day because they were so disgusted with the state of our Nation. I was hoping things would improve...they obviously haven't yet...but I know they will in time."

Yorn appears on Canadian artist Matthew Good's 2009 album Vancouver performing backing vocals.

"Can't Hear Anyone," a song that Yorn wrote during the Nightcrawler sessions, was used for a Mercedes-Benz commercial and was released as a digital single on March 31, 2009.

Columbia Records released his Mike Mogis-produced album, entitled Back & Fourth on June 23, 2009.

Yorn toured with Coldplay as an opening act through summer 2009 and collaborated with actress/musician Scarlett Johansson to record a project entitled Break Up. The album was released on September 15, 2009, and its first single—"Relator"—was released digitally on May 26, 2009. The record has since gone gold in France.

Yorn released a self-titled album on September 28, 2010. This record was released by Vagrant Records, and produced by Frank Black of The Pixies. It received a favorable 8/10 stars in Spin magazine and 4/5 stars in Mojo. He toured North America and Europe in support of this record February 14 − June 12, 2011. In November 2012, Santa Monica-based radio station KCRW began spinning songs from a new record by a band called The Olms. DJ Jason Bentley has reported that Yorn is indeed a founding member of this group. On January 8, 2013, NPR's flagship station KCRW released a track by The Olms titled, "Wanna Feel It." The Olms' self-titled debut album was released on June 4, 2013 by the newly relaunched Harvest Records. On September 15, 2013, Yorn and The Olms performed along with Vampire Weekend at the iTunes Festival in London. An EP was released of the performance in conjunction with a documentary centered around their first tour which premiered on November 12, 2013. Allmusic.com in its 4 star review of The Olms had this to say: "...an excellent album by two guys who have discovered the transformative power that can be derived from collaboration".

On November 6, 2015 in a statement to fans, Yorn announced that he had signed to Capitol Records and would be releasing his sixth studio album, ArrangingTime in Spring 2016. In anticipation of the upcoming album, Yorn released a new track "Summer Was A Day" along with a lyric video.

On January 8, 2016, it was announced that ArrangingTime would be released on March 11, 2016. The first single, "Lost Weekend" and music video for the track were also released and was a top 5 song at college and AAA radio. ArrangingTime was well received, charting as high as #7 on the US Rock charts. Paste Magazine said of the record, "It’s a superb sound, and that’s one of many reasons why ArrangingTime feels like time well spent."

In 2018, Yorn once again collaborated with Johansson on a new EP, Apart, their first such project since working together on 2009's Break Up. In an interview with Forbes, Yorn remarked on how much the album, contrasted with the previous collaboration, provides perspective on how his life changed in the past decade, while Johansson teased a third album presumably to be released in the late 2020s.

Collaborations
Guitarist Peter Buck of the band R.E.M. has made appearances on several Pete Yorn recordings, including instrumentation on the single version of "Strange Condition" and a number of songs from the Day I Forgot LP. Yorn has worked with producers R. Walt Vincent, Brad Wood, and Ken Andrews of Failure and Year of the Rabbit, in addition to several other producers including Scott Litt, Butch Walker and Sonic Youth producer Don Fleming.

Yorn has shared bills with the Dave Matthews Band, R.E.M., Crowded House, Foo Fighters, Weezer, Coldplay, The Dixie Chicks, Semisonic, and Sunny Day Real Estate, among others.

Yorn has played at Carnegie Hall on two occasions as part of tributes to Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen. Yorn gave the 2011 commencement address to the Visual and Performing Arts class at his alma mater, Syracuse University.

Yorn can be heard on Guided by Voices' 2007 Live From Austin Texas album, singing back up and sporadic leads on "Cut Out Witch." Robert Pollard says after the song that he hopes it "doesn't ruin [Yorn's] career."

Yorn's song, "Lose You" can be heard just before the ending credits of the episode "Simple Explanation" during Kutner's funeral on the Fox show House, MD.

Yorn has collaborated twice with actress/singer Scarlett Johansson: first in 2009's Break Up and again with 2018's Apart. The pair have suggested a third album can be expected after another 10 years.

Live albums

 * Live at the Roxy (2001) #131 US
 * Live from New Jersey (2004)

EPs

 * Sunset (2000)
 * Westerns (2006)
 * You & Me Acoustic: Live from... (2006)
 * Live from SoHo (iTunes-exclusive) (2007)
 * The Demos: Garage Sessions Vol. 1 (2009)
 * Paradise Cove (2009)
 * Apart (with Scarlett Johansson) (2018)

Non-album tracks

 * "Hunter Green" – Trampoline Records Greatest Hits Vol. 1
 * "Suspicious Minds" (Dusk Version) – "Suspicious Minds" CD Single
 * "Suspicious Minds" (Dawn Version) – "Suspicious Minds" CD Single
 * "I Feel Good Again" – Trampoline Records Greatest Hits Vol. 2 and Concert Series Volume 1
 * "Do They Know It's Christmas?" – The Year They Recalled Santa Claus
 * "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" – We're a Happy Family: A Tribute to the Ramones
 * "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)" (Buzzcocks cover) – Shrek 2 soundtrack
 * "Red Right Hand" – Hellboy soundtrack
 * "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" – Just like Heaven soundtrack
 * "Skinny, Mean Man" – Say Anything's In Defense of the Genre
 * "It Never Rains in Southern California" Stuck on You soundtrack
 * "Undercover" – Spider-Man soundtrack
 * "I Belong" – Open Season soundtrack
 * "Where the Streets Have No Name," "Alice in My Fantasies," "I Feel Good Again," and "Chimes of Freedom" – Axis of Justice: Concert Series Volume 1
 * "Splendid Isolation" – Enjoy Every Sandwich: Songs of Warren Zevon

Unreleased songs

 * "Farmer vs. River"
 * "Model American"
 * "When She's Mine"
 * "You Never Knew"
 * "James in Liverpool"

Videography

 * "June" (2001), directed by Steven Orrit
 * "For Nancy ('Cos It Already Is)," directed by Malik Sayeed
 * "Life on a Chain" (2001), directed by Samuel Bayer
 * "Strange Condition" (2002), directed by Marcos Siega
 * "Come Back Home" (2004), directed by AV Club
 * "Crystal Village" (2004), directed by AV Club
 * "For Us" (2006), directed by Robert Hales
 * "American Blues Vol. 1 (2009)
 * "Sans Fear" (2010), directed by Eric Ernest Johnson
 * "Lost Weekend" (2016)

Backing band
Yorn's current touring band is:
 * Joe Kennedy – piano, keyboards, and harmonica
 * Scott Seiver – drums
 * John Spiker – bass guitar

Yorn's Back & Fourth touring band was:
 * Max Goldblatt – tambourine
 * Joe Kennedy – piano, keyboards, and harmonica
 * Mark Noseworthy – guitar
 * Jonny Polonsky – guitar and mandolin
 * Scott Seiver – drums
 * Zak Schaffer – bass guitar

Pete Yorn's Nightcrawler era touring band was Minibar, hailing from Britain and including the following members:
 * Malcolm Cross – drums
 * Sid Jordan – bass guitar and backing vocals
 * Joe Kennedy – piano, guitar, and backing vocals (not part of Minibar)
 * Simon Petty – backing vocals and guitar
 * Tim Walker – guitars

Pete Yorn's former backing band went by the name Dirty Bird and includes the following members:
 * Luke Adams – drums
 * Terry Borden – bass guitar and backing vocals
 * Jason Johnson – guitar
 * Joe Kennedy – piano, guitar, backing vocals
 * R. Walt Vincent – bass guitar
 * Scot Coogan – drums

Pete Yorn's "eternal bandmates":
 * Joe Kennedy – piano, guitar, and backing vocals
 * WAZ – bass guitar, guitar, and back vocals
 * Rick Yorn - drums