Early in his career, Pinfield worked as an on-air host and music director at WRSU-FM, the official radio station of Rutgers University.

Pinfield developed a close personal relationship with a number of British alternative rock bands such as Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Pop Will Eat Itself, and The Wonder Stuff.

[2] In 1992, Pinfield appeared in an episode of the first season of MTV's The Real World when he interviewed members of the rock group Reigndance on-air at WHTG.

[3] In 2001, Pinfield became Vice President of A & R and Artist Development for Columbia Records, signing and overseeing the making of albums by acts including Coheed & Cambria and Crossfade.

During the same time, he hosted WXRK's The Buzz and made cameo appearances on several albums, including a secret spoken word track on Limp Bizkit's Significant Other.

[8] In July 2009, Pinfield worked the counter at Jack White's Third Man Records pop-up store, which operated for two days on Chrystie Street in New York City.

[citation needed] Every February, Pinfield spins 80s/90s alternative classics at the now annual Melody Bar Reunion in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

[1] In January, 2012, Pinfield was chosen to host Flashback, the classic rock weekend show on 219 radio stations owned by Cumulus Media.

[15] In January 2021, Pinfield began hosting New & Approved, a Sunday evening program featuring new rock music, on 95.5 FM KLOS in Los Angeles.

[18] On March 28, 2024, Pinfield was introduced on-air as the new afternoon drivetime host for KCSN, a AAA-format public radio station based in Los Angeles.

It was later reported on January 30 that he was left "incapable of moving or making cognitive decisions", and his daughters applied for a temporary conservatorship in light of his condition.