'Night' ends 'Day'

VAIL - By his own account, Pete Yorn spent large portions of his career at Syracuse University holed up in a dorm, avoiding the dismal winter weather and writing songs that would eventually guide his musical career - first West, and later to success with three hit albums.

"I really didn't venture out much at all - I stayed inside and wrote like three songs a day," Yorn said. "By the end of junior year, I knew I would stay in (school) to graduate, but at that point I started thinking about writing songs for a career and heading out West to do that."

Fast-forward ten years: Yorn just released "Nightcrawler," his third album and final installment in a triptych that matches his rootsy, classic-rock songs with the cycles of a day. "Musicforthemorningafter" and "Day I Forgot" showcased Yorn's appealing Brit-pop hooks with an Americana-rock sensibility reminiscent of The Jayhawks or Tom Petty; "Nightcrawler" sees him delving deeper into a signature, confident sound.

"It's not meant to be a dark record or a record 'for the night' - it's just kind of a metaphor for a later period and a later perspective," Yorn said. "I kind of re-examined some themes in my life; now that I've experienced a lot more, I kind of wrote about the same things from a different perspective."

Yorn only realized he might have a trilogy on his hands midway between the recording of the second and third albums. When he looked at the songs from afar, he began to connect the dots.

"In between discovering what I was drawn to as a writer, I just kind of felt the parallels," Yorn said. "People could relate to the songs across the albums - in the way that most songs dealt with relationships or the problems involved with developing relationships. I pick rough themes in the way a painter might pick landscapes to paint over a series."

To realize his vision for the final album in the cycle, Yorn called in some high-profile pinch hitters: Dave Grohl plays drums on lead single "For Us," and the Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines and Martie Maguire contributed to the ballad "The Man." Yorn knew the Dixie Chicks from contributing to their song "The Neighbor," and he met Grohl while touring with the Foo Fighters.

"When Dave (Grohl) came, it was a pretty fun day in the studio; everybody was freaking out," Yorn said. "He just wanted to go for it - we got it on the second take. But he kept wanting to do more. I was like, 'we got it,' and he said 'no, no! I can do better' - he's a real perfectionist. I kind of had to pinch myself when I remembered this was the drummer from Nirvana."

As a native son of New Jersey, Yorn often gets critical comparisons to Garden-state god Bruce Springsteen. Even though the two share some surface similarities (man with a guitar - check; brooding looks that make the ladies swoon - check), they traffic in different styles of songwriting.

"I'm a huge Bruce fan, so I'll take it - even though I think ultimately our style of songwriting is very different," Yorn said. "I'm a little more abstract, while he paints literal pictures of characters. But being from Jersey, it's a really cool comparison to get."

Yorn now resides in LA, and he finds that West Coast living suits both his lifestyle and his songwriting chops.

"I'm one of the people who love it - I've seen people get caught up in the wrong scene, but I have tons of friends and family out here, so it's grounding for me. Living my life here has informed my songwriting, and through the people I've met I've learned and become a lot better songwriter."

For his next act, Yorn hasn't decided whether to take it one album at a time or embark on another high-concept series.

"The whole concept behind (these three albums) is a way to keep my options open. I haven't made any decisions, and I'm just excited to celebrate all these songs on tour. I'm in that mode."



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Tuesday 'Nightcrawler'

What: Songwriter Pete Yorn rocks out, pulling material from his three-album 'day cycle.'

Where: Club 8150.

When: 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Cost: $25

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Arts & Entertainment Writer Ted Alvarez can be reached at 748-2939 or talvarez@vaildaily.com.



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