Singer/songwriter Pete Yorn looked back at his past albums and decided his new recording should tie them together.

So he named it "Nightcrawler," which, with his other two albums — "Musicforthemorningafter" and "Day I Forgot" — completes a "day-in-the-life" trilogy.

"It's a loose concept if you want to get technical," Yorn said by phone from Chula Vista, Calif. "The new album is like the late pages of my life, but there are constantly things happening in my life, and I write a lot.

"I think the most prolific I've ever been was in college, but after I graduated, I knew that I needed to take a chance and go for my music. My thought was, if music failed, I could go back to law school."

Yorn said he was naive when he moved to California from New Jersey. "I thought, once I get here, I would play all these clubs and get a record contract. Well, four years later, I was no closer to that, except that I was living in California and not in New Jersey."

Still, Yorn had a group of friends who supported him on his musical quest. "They all told me that I was crazy to stop playing music. So I kept at it."

That tenacity paid off. In 2000, the Farrelly Brothers, who were directing the Jim Carrey flick "Me Myself & Irene," tapped Yorn to record a song called "Strange Condition" for the soundtrack. A year later, Yorn released "Day I Forgot."

"Although I'm making a living making music," Yorn said, "I still have those days when I think to myself, 'What am I doing?' But it all boils down on how you handle stress. Some people come unraveled. I do at times, but I also think about the reasons why I do what I do."

Back in high school, Yorn, who was originally a drummer, entered a talent show and decided it was fitting to sing The Replacements' song "Talent Show." "It was then that the bug bit me. And that's why I'm making music. When I'm onstage, I still get that thrill of being in that talent show."

Yorn also said his feelings dictate how he chooses which songs to write. "I remember listening to music when I was young, and if I heard a good song, I'd get this awesome feeling. It didn't matter who played the song. If I felt it, I knew it was good.

"That's what happens with my own music. If it makes me feel a certain way, then I know it's the best I can do."

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If you go . . .

What: Pete Yorn, Minibar

Where: Suede, 1612 Ute Blvd., Park City

When: Thursday, 9 p.m.

How much: $18

Phone: 467-8499 or 800-888-8499

Web: smithstix.com

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E-mail: scott@desnews.com