There's just something about a guy and his guitar ... and his drums, and his harmonica, and his bass and his voice.

It's been a long bus ride since Pete Yorn briskly adorned modern music's landscape with his critically acclaimed debut, musicforthemorningafter, that to which he played every instrument.

"I've been on the road ever since the album came out," Yorn said.

The bus stops here tomorrow night when Yorn takes main stage for Movin' On 2002.

On some down time backstage at the Granada Theater in Lawrence, Kansas, Yorn took 16 minutes and 45 seconds after a quick sound check to tell some anecdotes about life on the road.

"One night I went into this restaurant's bathroom. When I walked out, this guy says to me, 'Hey, are you Pete?' I said 'Yeah.' He said, 'I'm Rick Springfield.'"

Being recognized by one-hit wonders isn't what Yorn intends to do with his music. Instead, Yorn pours his energy and emotions into his work, a technique tailored to attract more and more listeners.

"I like to believe that what I do is make music that I believe in," Yorn said. "If that's what I'm remembered by, that's great."

Yorn is glad positive reception is coming from all ages. Magazines preemptively label him as a new Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen, but Yorn keeps a level head amid his career's sudden launch.

"I see myself as a person who definitely respects the past and his elders," he said. "I think that people need to understand that the people that stuck around are the ones who have their own sound."

There are some selfish motivations, however.

"I don't want to be 30 years old without a record deal," he said.

As for Yorn's current and seemingly endless tour, fellow Movin' On performers Elbow warm up the crowd for Yorn, an act Yorn himself occasionally catches before taking stage.

"Elbow is amazing," he said. "They're one of my new favorite bands. I dig 'em."

He's also spent some time with Movin' On headliners' Jimmy Eat World in Europe.

"Jimmy Eat World is awesome," he said. "We had a great time together and they are real good on stage."

Concertgoers at Penn State have been treated fairly well this year with acts ranging from Bob Dylan to Mos Def. On paper, Movin' On has a lineup aimed to please the masses and hopefully prevent any shoes thrown at Yorn this time.

"I was playing with bands like Sevendust and Puddle of Mudd at some radio show in Savannah," he said. "They were throwing shoes and stuff at me but I didn't care. I just kept rockin' out."

Yorn is set to take the stage at 4:15 tomorrow afternoon preceded by current partner in crime, Elbow.

"We'll play for about an hour and a half. I'm only supporting one album so I can't play that long," Yorn said.

"I'll pop out some new stuff though."

All of this though is under the "strange condition" that Yorn himself isn't the one behind his bus's wheel.

"Where's Penn State at?" he asked.