His father managed a trucking dealership, while his mother worked at home, taking care of six children.

After taking a year off, he was encouragemed by poet James Tate to return to Amherst, where he completed a three-year MFA in creative writing.

The band released The World Won't End in 2001 on Pernice's own label, Ashmont Records and Yours, Mine & Ours in 2003.

He has also released a single "Pega Luna Manny" along with Jose Ayerve, a member of the Pernice Brothers, a song about Boston Red Sox player Manny Ramirez which enjoyed moderate success when the Boston Red Sox won the world series that year, for the first time in 86 years.

The book features a narrator "hiding from the wreckage of a one-day marriage by holing up in Cape Cod with his soon to be ex-brother in law.

[14] Along with the release of his latest CD, Goodbye, Killer, Ashmont Records published a limited-edition collection of Twitter tweets between Pernice and his label co-owner Joyce Linehan.

These tweets currently are serving as the basis for an ongoing series of short, humorous videos featuring puppets of Pernice, Linehan and some other characters.

Pernice is currently based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he is married to Canadian musician Laura Stein, formerly of the band Jale.