Anna Waronker
Encyclopedia
Anna Jeanette Waronker is a singer/songwriter, composer, and producer best known as the former frontwoman of That Dog. She is the daughter of producer Lenny Waronker
and actress/musician Donna Loren
, the sister of session drummer Joey Waronker
, and is married to Steven Shane McDonald
of Redd Kross
.
. After graduating from high school, Waronker formed the band that would become That Dog. The group consisted of Waronker on lead vocals and guitar, Petra Haden
on violin, Rachel Haden
on bass, and Tony Maxwell
on drums. That Dog released three albums on DGC Records
: That Dog, Totally Crushed Out!
, and Retreat from the Sun
. They toured with such acts as Beck
, Weezer
, and Blur
. That Dog announced their breakup in 1997 after their third album, Retreat from the Sun, which had originally been intended as Waronker's first solo record.
albums On
and The Hair the TV the Baby and the Band
.
Waronker is a member of Ze Malibu Kids, which also includes Steven McDonald, Jeff McDonald
, and Astrid McDonald.
Waronker has composed and scored for film and television, including Josie and the Pussycats
and the television series Clueless
(1996–1999), where she collaborated with Charlotte Caffey
(the Go-Go's
). Five of Waronker's songs were featured on the television series Dawson's Creek
.
Waronker recorded a cover version of the song "Catch" by The Cure
specifically for the Songs For Summer compilation album, a memorial for Summer Brannin. The song was not included on the album upon its release, but was made available later on the record's promotional site.
Waronker founded her own record company, "Five Foot Two Records," with her sister-in-law Charlotte Caffey
, on which she released her first solo record in 2002, titled Anna By Anna Waronker.
In the early 2000s, Waronker played several solo shows and a few other shows with the short-lived Ze Malibu Kids.
Waronker is also heard in the song "No Soul" by the band Say Anything
.
Anna provides vocals on the tracks Be Calm and At Least I'm not as Sad as I Used to be by New York band Fun.
, allowing people to preview some of her new songs. The songs "How Am I Doing" and "Beautiful Life" were released for purchase on iTunes
.
Waronker recently provided the score as well as the song "Beautiful Life" for a short film (co-written and directed by Mary Wigmore and Gwyneth Paltrow
) called Dealbreaker as well as doing some of the original score for a film called Freshman Orientation. Dealbreaker premiered at The Sundance Film Festival in January 2006.
Waronker played Joan Jett
in the film What We Do Is Secret
written and directed by Rodger Grossman. In 2005, she contributed to the UNICEF benefit song, "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?
". In 2007, Waronker appeared on Say Anything
's "In Defense of the Genre
", where she performed guest vocals on the track "No Soul". In late April 2007, Waronker's song "How Am I Doing?" was played at the end of a Grey's Anatomy
episode, entitled "Desire". A sample of her song "I Don't Wanna" was played in the 2008 Movie The Haunting of Molly Hartley
.
In October 2008, her work with Charlotte Caffey came to the stage at the Hayworth Theatre; as Lovelace: A Rock Musical
debuted and performances have been extended twice - currently thru Feb. 2009.
On February 8, 2011 Waronker's California Fade was released via digital download and limited vinyl orders.
Ze Malibu Kids
Solo Work
Lenny Waronker
Lenny Waronker is a record producer for Warner Bros. Records.-Career:He produced recording sessions for Nancy Sinatra, The Everly Brothers, Van Dyke Parks, The Beau Brummels, Harpers Bizarre, Randy Newman, Ry Cooder, Arlo Guthrie, Maria Muldaur, Gordon Lightfoot, Rickie Lee Jones, James Taylor, ...
and actress/musician Donna Loren
Donna Loren
Donna Loren is a singer and actress. A very prolific performer in the 1960s, commenciong while still attending Venice High School in western Los Angeles, she was the Dr Pepper spokesperson from 1963–1968, prolific vocalist on ABC-TV’s Shindig, and a cast member of the American International...
, the sister of session drummer Joey Waronker
Joey Waronker
Joseph "Joey" Waronker is an American drummer and music producer. He is the son of record producer Lenny Waronker and singer/actress Donna Loren; his younger sister is musician Anna Waronker; and his grandfather is record executive and professional violinist Simon Waronker. He has three other...
, and is married to Steven Shane McDonald
Steven Shane McDonald
Steven Shane McDonald is the bass player in the Los Angeles alternative rock/power pop band Redd Kross. He is also a member of the hardcore punk band OFF!, which formed in late 2009. Other projects included The SMG and Green and Yellow TV - both were Los Angeles-based groups from the 2000s...
of Redd Kross
Redd Kross
Redd Kross, a rock band from Hawthorne, California had their roots in 1978 in a band called The Tourists begun by Jeff and Steve McDonald while the brothers were still in middle school...
.
That Dog (1991-1997)
Waronker was born in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. After graduating from high school, Waronker formed the band that would become That Dog. The group consisted of Waronker on lead vocals and guitar, Petra Haden
Petra Haden
Petra Haden is an American violinist and singer. She is or has been a member of several bands, including That Dog, Tito & Tarantula, and The Decemberists; has contributed to recordings by The Twilight Singers, Beck, Mike Watt, Luscious Jackson, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Queens of the Stone Age,...
on violin, Rachel Haden
Rachel Haden
Rachel Haden is the current bass guitarist for Todd Rundgren on his "Arena Rock" tour, and one of the triplet daughters of jazz bassist Charlie Haden....
on bass, and Tony Maxwell
Tony Maxwell
Tony Maxwell is an American musician.From 1991 to 1997 he was the drummer for the band That Dog. After the breakup of the band, he worked as composer on the films Chuck & Buck and The Good Girl....
on drums. That Dog released three albums on DGC Records
DGC Records
DGC Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and currently operates as an auxiliary label of Interscope Records.-Company history:...
: That Dog, Totally Crushed Out!
Totally Crushed Out!
Totally Crushed Out! is the second studio album from That Dog , released in 1995 on DGC Records. The recording is a loosely-based concept album about love and crushes, featuring an album cover that resembles artwork from the Sweet Valley High young adult book series. This theme is further...
, and Retreat from the Sun
Retreat From The Sun
Retreat from the Sun is the third and final studio album from That Dog. It was released in 1997 on Geffen Records.-Track listing:All songs written by Anna Waronker except where noted.#"I'm Gonna See You" – 4:15#"Never Say Never" – 3:16...
. They toured with such acts as Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
, Weezer
Weezer
Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
, and Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
. That Dog announced their breakup in 1997 after their third album, Retreat from the Sun, which had originally been intended as Waronker's first solo record.
Other work
During the time she was with That Dog, Waronker and bandmate Petra Haden backed up Beck on a number of demos and b-sides. Waronker has also co-produced with her husband Steven McDonald on several projects, including his revision of the White Stripes album Redd Blood Cells, and the Imperial TeenImperial Teen
Imperial Teen is a San Francisco-based indie pop group made up of Roddy Bottum primarily on guitar/vocals, Will Schwartz primarily on guitar/vocals, Lynn Truell primarily on drums and backing vocals, and Jone Stebbins primarily on bass and backing...
albums On
On (Imperial Teen album)
On is the third album by indie rock band Imperial Teen. It is the follow-up to their second full-length record What is Not to Love , and was released in the U.S. on April 9, 2002 from Merge Records...
and The Hair the TV the Baby and the Band
The Hair the TV the Baby and the Band
The Hair the TV the Baby & the Band is the fourth album by indie rock band Imperial Teen. It is the follow-up to their third full-length record On , and was released in the U.S. on August 21, 2007 from Merge Records...
.
Waronker is a member of Ze Malibu Kids, which also includes Steven McDonald, Jeff McDonald
Jeff McDonald
Jeff McDonald is a rock and roll singer and guitarist who co-founded the alternative rock, power pop band Redd Kross with his younger brother Steven Shane McDonald and remains in the band. In the early 2000s he played in Ze Malibu Kids, with his wife, Charlotte Caffey, of The Go-Go's, his brother,...
, and Astrid McDonald.
Waronker has composed and scored for film and television, including Josie and the Pussycats
Josie and the Pussycats (film)
Josie and the Pussycats is a 2001 comedy film released by Universal Studios and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Directed and co-written by Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan, the film is loosely based upon the Archie comic of the same name...
and the television series Clueless
Clueless (TV series)
Clueless is a television series spun off from the 1995 teen film of the same name . The series originally premiered on ABC on September 20, 1996 as a part of the TGIF lineup during its first season...
(1996–1999), where she collaborated with Charlotte Caffey
Charlotte Caffey
Charlotte Irene Caffey is an American rock and roll guitarist and songwriter, best known for her work in the Go-Go's in the 1980s, including writing "We Got the Beat."...
(the Go-Go's
The Go-Go's
The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....
). Five of Waronker's songs were featured on the television series Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
.
Waronker recorded a cover version of the song "Catch" by The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
specifically for the Songs For Summer compilation album, a memorial for Summer Brannin. The song was not included on the album upon its release, but was made available later on the record's promotional site.
Waronker founded her own record company, "Five Foot Two Records," with her sister-in-law Charlotte Caffey
Charlotte Caffey
Charlotte Irene Caffey is an American rock and roll guitarist and songwriter, best known for her work in the Go-Go's in the 1980s, including writing "We Got the Beat."...
, on which she released her first solo record in 2002, titled Anna By Anna Waronker.
In the early 2000s, Waronker played several solo shows and a few other shows with the short-lived Ze Malibu Kids.
Waronker is also heard in the song "No Soul" by the band Say Anything
Say Anything (band)
Say Anything is an American indie-punk band from Los Angeles, California, fronted by Max Bemis. The band was formed in 2000 with Bemis and four of his friends. Within two years, they self-released two EPs, Junior Varsity and In Your Dreams, and the full-length Baseball: An Album by Sayanything.In...
.
Anna provides vocals on the tracks Be Calm and At Least I'm not as Sad as I Used to be by New York band Fun.
Recent activity
Waronker is in the process of releasing a follow up record, which she claims will be "darker/heavier" than her first album. The tentative title for the album is California Fade. On January 18, 2006 Waronker joined MySpaceMySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, allowing people to preview some of her new songs. The songs "How Am I Doing" and "Beautiful Life" were released for purchase on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
.
Waronker recently provided the score as well as the song "Beautiful Life" for a short film (co-written and directed by Mary Wigmore and Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Kate Paltrow is an American actress and singer. She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as Se7en and Emma...
) called Dealbreaker as well as doing some of the original score for a film called Freshman Orientation. Dealbreaker premiered at The Sundance Film Festival in January 2006.
Waronker played Joan Jett
Joan Jett
Joan Jett is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and actress.She is best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts including their hit cover "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 from March 20 to May 1, 1982, as well as for their other popular...
in the film What We Do Is Secret
What We Do Is Secret (film)
What We Do Is Secret is a 2008 American biographical film about Darby Crash, singer of the late-1970s Los Angeles punk rock band the Germs. Rodger Grossman directed the film and wrote the screenplay, based on a story he had written with Michelle Baer Ghaffari, a friend of Crash's and co-producer of...
written and directed by Rodger Grossman. In 2005, she contributed to the UNICEF benefit song, "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?
Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?
"Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?" is a charity single inspired by "Do They Know It's Christmas?". It was released on October 11, 2005 in Canada on Vice Records by a cast of rock artists and other performers under the name "North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative"...
". In 2007, Waronker appeared on Say Anything
Say Anything (band)
Say Anything is an American indie-punk band from Los Angeles, California, fronted by Max Bemis. The band was formed in 2000 with Bemis and four of his friends. Within two years, they self-released two EPs, Junior Varsity and In Your Dreams, and the full-length Baseball: An Album by Sayanything.In...
's "In Defense of the Genre
In Defense of the Genre
In Defense of The Genre is the third full-length studio album by American pop-punk band Say Anything, released on October 23, 2007 through J Records as a double disc album. It debuted at number 27 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 25,000 copies in its first week. The first single, "Baby...
", where she performed guest vocals on the track "No Soul". In late April 2007, Waronker's song "How Am I Doing?" was played at the end of a Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
episode, entitled "Desire". A sample of her song "I Don't Wanna" was played in the 2008 Movie The Haunting of Molly Hartley
The Haunting of Molly Hartley
The Haunting of Molly Hartley is a 2008 supernatural horror film written by John Travis and Rebecca Sonnenshine and directed by Mickey Liddell starring Haley Bennett, Chace Crawford, AnnaLynne McCord, Jessica Lowndes and Jake Weber.-Plot:...
.
In October 2008, her work with Charlotte Caffey came to the stage at the Hayworth Theatre; as Lovelace: A Rock Musical
Lovelace: A Rock Musical
Lovelace: A Rock Musical is a rock musical about the life of adult film star and women's liberation advocate, Linda Lovelace. The book, music, and lyrics are by Anna Waronker and Charlotte Caffey , with original concept and lyrics by Jeffery Leonard Bowman. The show debuted with a six-month run...
debuted and performances have been extended twice - currently thru Feb. 2009.
On February 8, 2011 Waronker's California Fade was released via digital download and limited vinyl orders.
Partial discography
That Dog- That Dog (1994)
- Totally Crushed Out!Totally Crushed Out!Totally Crushed Out! is the second studio album from That Dog , released in 1995 on DGC Records. The recording is a loosely-based concept album about love and crushes, featuring an album cover that resembles artwork from the Sweet Valley High young adult book series. This theme is further...
(1995) - Retreat From The SunRetreat From The SunRetreat from the Sun is the third and final studio album from That Dog. It was released in 1997 on Geffen Records.-Track listing:All songs written by Anna Waronker except where noted.#"I'm Gonna See You" – 4:15#"Never Say Never" – 3:16...
(1997)
Ze Malibu Kids
- Sound It Out (2002)
Solo Work
- Anna (2002)
- California Fade (2011)