Yorn has something in-store for his fans

Coming soon to a music store near you: The new music of Pete Yorn as well as, well, the rock singer-songwriter himself.

Yorn has a three-venue L.A. club crawl this week -- he plays the Whisky tonight, the Roxy on Tuesday and the Viper Room on Wednesday -- but the more telling booking is tonight’s 11:30 appearance at the Virgin Megastore at 8000 Sunset Blvd.

That’s because the singer has become a surprisingly aggressive believer in the power of that old indie-rock tradition, the in-store performance. In recent months, at every stop of his 40-city club tour, he hit the local record store for an afternoon gig to prime fans for the release of his new CD, “Nightcrawler,” which arrives in stores Tuesday.

On tap, he has store stops in Chicago and New York to work the release.

“It makes for a long day, I’m telling you, and for some of the stops I was bit delusional from rolling in after traveling all night from the previous show, but it was really important to me to get a look at my fans here in 2006 and let them get a look at me,” Yorn said Saturday. “They’re up close, a lot closer than they are at night

Each in-store acoustic show was recorded by Yorn’s crew, and later his label shipped back a limited-edition EP unique to each store. Some of them were excellent, others a bit rough, but each was unique -- especially the one at Kief’s in Lawrence, Kan., where, mysteriously, the fans got a live album that cuts out in the middle to be replaced by a bit of intense rap.

“We have no idea what happened somewhere in the production, but it sounds like Three 6 Mafia or something,” Yorn said. “I kind of like it. I had them send me a copy just so I could check it out.”

Yorn’s career had a bit of interruption as well, but it was characterized by the sound of silence. This is his first touring in three years, and “Nightcrawler” is his first release since “Day I Forgot” in 2003. That album failed to stir fans as much as his bestselling title “musicforthemorningafter,” which drew considerable discussion of his potential in 2001. He seems to be back with redoubled effort. During his store tour, he not only sold about 7,500 of the live EPs, he also sold 6,000 pre-ordered copies of the new album.

Some early good reviews have helped the “Nightcrawler” cause, and he has some guest stars on board as well, with Natalie Maines and Martie Maguire of the Dixie Chicks and Foo Fighter Dave Grohl appearing. Yorn is heading soon to Australia to open for the Chicks. Don’t be surprised if he drops by a few record stores there with guitar in hand.

“It’s amazing to me how much things have changed in the last few years. With the traditional labels and the way people get their music and everything, it’s been wild,” Yorn said. “It’s exciting too. But I wanted to really get out there and look my fans in the eye so I could see where I’m at.”

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-- Geoff Boucher