[1] As a teen, Pierre became a fan of alternative metal band Faith No More; in 1990, he regularly watched their You Fat Bastards videotape and the performance of frontman Mike Patton greatly influenced him.

[4] However, his friend Joshua Cain convinced him to continue making music and recruited Pierre to join his band, which would eventually become Motion City Soundtrack.

[4] Justin Pierre formed Motion City Soundtrack in 1997 with friend Joshua Cain,[8] becoming the lead singer as well as playing rhythm guitar.

Pierre was the primary lyricist for the band, and visually became noted for his pronounced sideburns, wild hair and glasses (which are Kirk Originals).

Pierre has struggled with alcohol and substance abuse problems in the past, and during the recording of the album Commit This To Memory, he relapsed and binge drank due to the ending of a relationship.

He began his promotional tour in Chicago on November 1 and was making his way around the United States doing "meet ups, impromptu performances, in store appearances, and other shenanigans that will surely ensue along the way."

[citation needed] He also sings and helped write a song with Michigan City band, Grown Ups, called Are You Kitten Me?

and was featured in Revolution on Canvas, Volume 2: Poetry From the Indie Music Scene inputting a short story about the love and loss of a certain person in his life who was also addicted to alcohol.

[18] Pierre joined actors Lance Henriksen, Bill Moseley, Danielle Harris and Tiffany Shepis, as well as AFI's Davey Havok and Battlestar Galactica's Nicki Clyne in the cast of the "illustrated film" series Godkiller.