Pete Yorn is out on a solo acoustic run, An Evening with Pete Yorn and will be stopping at The Taft Theatre on Thursday, October 18th! This is going to be a special evening you will not want to miss.
Yorn started his music career in a roundabout way. He began by writing music for film and television. Yorn was recruited to score Me, Myself, & Irene, a Farrelly Brothers movie starring Jim Carrey. One of his own pop/rock numbers, "Strange Condition," appeared on the film's soundtrack and was subsequently released as a single, where it fared well on the modern rock charts and increased public demand for Yorn's songwriting. Yorn then scored a record contract with Columbia and went to work on his debut album, 2001’s Musicforthemorningafter. It went gold by April of 2002. Since then Yorn has released six studio albums, two live albums, and seven Ep’s.The most recently released EP with Scarlett Johansson, Apart, continues to incite applause from fans and critics alike.
We had the chance to chat with Pete Yorn before his stop in Cincinnati!
CincyMusic: How important was music in your household growing up?
Pete Yorn: I believe music is a big part of life...someone said we need water and music to survive. My parents were into records from the 60’s and bossanova. My mom was a piano teacher to the local jersey kids. We had a baby grand piano. Most influential though were my older brothers; they turned me on to all sorts of stuff that would become a big part of my identity. In our basement I learned to play drums on my older brother Rick’s set. From a young age of around 7, I would watch my brothers (who were in high school already) and their friends set up amps and a PA and attempt to play, first Judas Priest covers, and then it evolved to the Clash and The Jam and early U2. Seeing live music up close in my own home was invaluable.
CM: When did you decide that music was what you wanted to do as a career?
PY: I enjoyed playing music but never really thought it would be a career until later. I think towards the end of college I was just writing so many songs I figured I would give it a try before attempting to go to law school and if I didn’t get anywhere, then law school would be my fallback.
CM: It seems that you received a taste of success pretty quickly and have been rising to the top ever since. What advice do you have for local bands?
PY: Invest wisely.
CM: What is your favorite song to play live?
PY: Depends on the mood and the night, always changes.
CM: Tell us how the new EP, Apart came to be and should we expect Scarlett to make an appearance in Cincinnati?
PY: SJ and I have a long history, we made a record back in 2006 called Breakup, last year our universes reconnected and we had some time to get in the studio, the result is the newer EP. Regarding SJ making an appearance in Cincinnati, I’ll say she’s always full of surprises.... but don't hold your breath ;)
CM: You have shared the stage with so many great bands. What is your best on the road story?
PY: It’s not fit for print.
CM: What is next for Pete Yorn?
PY: Lots of new music coming soon, stay tuned....
