His brothers Rick and Kevin, who are his senior by 6 and 9 years, respectively, already had experience on guitars and drums, his mother was a concert pianist before she became a schoolteacher, and his father, a dentist, provided encouragement. Backed by his supportive family and surrounded by musical opportunities, Pete gained proficiency on several instruments. In fact, he learned to play the drums by age 9 and the guitar by age 12.Early on he admired the style of Morrissey as well as the Smiths after meeting a girl in the Bahamas who asked if he was a fan. You could say Pete's first gig was a 1990 talent show at his Montville New Jersey High School. His bandmates convinced him to head up the vocals in addition to keeping the beat on the drums. This impressive performance led another band in the competition to implore him to complement their sound with his versatile vocals. As it turned out, this band won the competition. Ever since, Pete has stepped up to the mic to make his meaningful lyrics, laden with emotion and realism, heard in his deep vocal undertones with an element of mystery.
After graduating from high school in New Jersey, he went on to Syracuse University in New York where he received a communications degree. The determination and perseverance that enabled him to obtain a college degree then led Pete to Los Angeles, California, with the vision of landing a record deal with Columbia. It would be four years before his dream was realized, and in the interim, Pete held various jobs including that of a bank teller and production assistant. Then, his distinctive sound began to be heard in local cafes, and his
songs appeared on TV shows "Dawson's Creek," "Felicity," and in the movies/movie soundtracks of Me, Myself, and Irene, No Looking Back, Orange County, and Spiderman. Then came the contract with Columbia and the production and release of musicforthemorningafter, Pete Yorn's debut album, which was largely recorded in R. Walt Vincent's Culver City, CA, garage with Pete amazingly playing almost all the instruments himself. Although he was in a band called Million early on and played with Ours while on the MTV Hand-picked Tour, he now rocks it up with a group of his college buddies including Jason Johnson on guitar, Joe Kennedy on keyboard and guitar, Luke Adams on drums, and Terry Borden on bass (Waz was formerly a guitarist in Pete's band before he branched off in hopes of developing his own music career) known as Dirty Bird. Now, Pete Yorn's intertwined Indie rock and British pop stylings are breaking onto the music scene and astounding audiences, fans, and critics alike. From TV appearances on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Night with David Letterman," among others, to radio interviews and magazine articles, appreciation of and interest in Pete Yorn, his music, and what he stands for have continued to climb. Pete Yorn is proof that through dedication and hard work dreams can come true and that increasing success isn't infallibly linked to decreasing integrity.