Pete Yorn was born in New Jersey in 1974 and raised in nearby Montville. At age nine, Pete taught himself to play his older brother’s drum kit and by the time he was in high school, he was playing drums in suburban basement bands with names like Backgammon For Troubled Youth and Cheese. Around this time he taught himself guitar and began to sing and write his own songs.

After graduating from Syracuse University in 1996, Pete headed to Los Angeles to take a stab at a music career. After a few years of playing around town, he began to attract a following with his performances at the famed Cafe Largo. He was signed to Columbia records in 1999 after an A&R scout heard some rough tracks that would ultimately become his debut album. Shortly after, film producer Bradley Thomas (Kingpin & There’s Something About Mary) requested a few demos for inclusion in the Farrelly Brothers’ film Me, Myself & Irene. Yorn also landed the job of scoring all of the music for the film.

In 2001, Yorn released his debut LP, musicforthemorningafter. On the strength of the album’s lead single, “Life on a Chain,” with its charming melding of American roots rock and PY’s teenage obsession with Brit-pop bands such as Joy Division and The Smiths, the album was certified Gold.  Rolling Stone Magazine named Yorn one of “Ten Artists to Watch in 2001.”

Pete Yorn’s first three albums on Columbia Records constituted a trilogy of sorts, a day-in-the-life: musicforthemorningafter (2001), Day I Forgot (2003), and Nightcrawler (2006). They all examined different perspectives on recurring themes as one evolves through life. When not headlining, he has shared bills with a diverse list of bands, including Coldplay, REM, Dave Mathews Band, Foo Fighters, Weezer and The Dixie Chicks.

In 2008, Yorn had his most prolific writing spurt since his college days and went on to release three new records in a 15-month period. The first of those releases, Back and Fourth, was regarded as “an acoustic beauty” by Rolling Stone. Three months later, he returned with an album of duets with actress Scarlett Johansson. The 29-minute Break Up (September 2009) featured the hit single, “Relator.” Yorn’s inspiration for the project was the 60’s French-pop duets of Serge Gainsbourg and Bridget Bardot. Most recently, Pete released Pete Yorn (aka “The Black Album”), in 2010 via Vagrant Records. The Times of London referred to the record as, “Yorn’s finest hour,” in its 4 star review.