‘Sometimes I envy the simplicity of a normal, steady life’ — Pete Yorn mournfully wanders music’s gritty back alleys
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Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
Wednesday, September 5 - Wednesday, September 5
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Growing up in Montville, New Jersey, Pete Yorn wanted nothing more than to get out on the road and live the life of a rock star. Now that he’s doing just that, Yorn often wonders if a more sedentary lifestyle wouldn’t be more to his liking.
“As much as you dream about being a rock star when you’re young, there are times I envy the simplicity of a normal, steady life of being in one place,” says the 33-year-old singer, who is opening for the reunited Crowded House on their North American tour.
Power pop tunesmith Brendan Benson once said he found it difficult to adjust to “normal” life following months of touring, and that relationships had suffered because of it. Yorn, a longtime road warrior, admits that a musician’s lifestyle is not always conducive to a stable family life.
“All of my friends are at the age when they’re getting married,” says Yorn. “When you’re on the road, it’s very hard to have a real relationship. If I want to have kids, it’s important to settle down and make it work. Every time you come back from tour it’s like, ‘Let’s see if we can sort something out now.’”
Still, Yorn realizes that he is in an envious position. Odds are many of his friends would trade places with him in a second. “When my friends come see me after a show, they’re so happy for me, but you can tell they just want to get on the bus and go,” he says. “I’m sure if I was at home full-time and fell into a routine, I would definitely miss the road. I suppose I will eventually get to a point where I’d want to stake my flag somewhere.”
For now, Yorn is content with touring and promoting his latest CD, Nightcrawler. While the album lacks the full-blown catchy pop songs of his two previous releases, musicforthemorningafter and Day I Forgot, it is Yorn’s most lyrically sophisticated and musically textured release to date and showcases his impeccable sense of melody and raspy, Springsteen-esque vocals.
Yorn also played most of the instruments on the album — guitar, bass, organ and drums to name a few. He’s had a remarkable knack for music since he taught himself how to play drums at the age of nine. His future as a singer was cemented during a high school battle of the bands, where he wowed his fellow students with a rousing rendition of The Replacements’ “Talent Show.” Yorn – who had never sung publicly before — so impressed the audience that a rival group dragged him back onstage to sing Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” with them.
That respect from fellow musicians has never stopped. Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl plays drums on Nightcrawler’s first single, “For Us,” and The Dixie Chicks’ Martie Maguire and Natalie Maines show up on “The Man.” Yorn has also opened up for the likes of Weezer, Dave Matthews Band, The Fray and fellow New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi. All the musical love has certainly kept him busy and helped to raise his profile. It’s no sedentary life, but for Yorn, it’ll have to do.
