From her early days with
that dog. to her later collaborations with artists including
the Decemberists,
Foo Fighters,
Sunn O))), and
Bill Frisell,
Petra Haden has made a name for herself as a versatile and distinctive artist. In addition to her multitude of collaborations,
Haden also showcased her gifts for vocal harmonizations on an a cappella cover of
Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," as well as a front-to-back vocals-only cover album of The Who Sell Out.
Born in 1971 the daughter of jazz bassist
Charlie Haden,
Petra Haden demonstrated not only an extraordinary ear for music, but the ability to re-create the sounds of musical instruments with her own voice -- in pop, classical, jazz, blues, or any other idiom or genre one cares to name. She began studying the violin when she was seven years old, and by her teens she was on her way to becoming a virtuoso and displayed proficiency on the trumpet, mandolin, and various keyboard instruments, making her a true multi-instrumentalist.
It was
Haden's voice, however, with its extraordinary range, that most caught people's ears. In high school, she taught herself to overdub vocal tracks on a four-track recorder her father gave her. In 1992, she and her sister
Rachel, along with
Anna Waronker (the daughter of renowned producer
Lenny Waronker) and drummer
Tony Maxwell, formed the group
that dog. The Los Angeles-based band released three albums: 1994's self-titled release, 1995's
Totally Crushed Out!, and 1997's
Retreat from the Sun. In 1996,
Haden recorded her first solo album, Imaginaryland, consisting of a cappella versions of cover songs.
Haden also joined former
Weezer bassist
Matt Sharp in
the Rentals, remaining with the group for several albums. In the ensuing decade, she worked with such artists as
Sean Lennon,
Victoria Williams, and guitarist
Bill Frisell, the latter of whom joined
Haden on a self-titled duet album that crossed classical, country, pop, jazz, and world music. She also worked with her siblings as part of
the Haden Triplets and with accordion player Alicia J. Rose as
Miss Murgatroid.
While recovering from injuries she suffered after being hit by a car in 2000,
Haden began work on an a cappella version of The Who Sell Out, which she recorded on an eight-track recorder given to her by
Mike Watt. The result was a 39-minute recording that sounded like
the Roches crossed with
the Swingle Singers. She released the album in 2005, and performed it live with a ten-woman choir dubbed
Petra Haden & the Sellouts. She built on the album's success with an a cappella version of
Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" that appeared on the 2007 compilation Guilt by Association, Vol. 1, and scored three commercials for the Toyota Prius in 2010.
During this time,
Haden became a member of
the Decemberists for their albums Picaresque and A Practical Handbook, released the 2008
Woody Jackson collaboration
Ten Years, and worked as a vocal coach and arranger on the NBC a cappella competition show The Sing Off. In 2011,
Haden formed the group
If by Yes with
Yuka Honda; their album
Salt on Sea Glass featured
David Byrne and
Nels Cline. Two years later, she released her third solo album,
Petra Goes to the Movies, for Anti-. It found her doing all-vocal versions of some of her favorite movie songs, and mixing in a few with backing from jazz heavyweights
Brad Mehldau, her old collaborator
Frisell, and her dad
Charlie. In 2014, she worked with
Jim Bianco as Hooray Matinee and with her sisters as
the Haden Triplets on their
Ry Cooder-produced self-titled album.
Haden also contributed vocals to the Blue Jean Committee Story, the first season finale of Fred Armisen and Bill Hader's IFC series Documentary Now! in 2015. The following year was another typically eclectic one for her; she collaborated with
Frisell on his album When You Wish Upon a Star and with
Jesse Harris on
Seemed Like a Good Idea, where she sang his songs aided by the songwriter himself. In 2019,
Haden collaborated with singer/songwriter
Mark Kozelek on the Joey Always Smiled album.
Kozelek's diary-entry-like songs were complemented by
Haden's lush layers of vocal harmonies. ~ Bruce Eder