Rachel Haden
Encyclopedia
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
.
In the early 1990s, Rachel played bass guitar
for That Dog, a band that also included her sister Petra
. Her sister Tanya
also contributed cello on several That Dog recordings but did not tour as an official member of the band. Around this time Rachel also played drums and performed backup vocals for Beck
on the songs "Totally Confused" and "Steve Threw Up”. She also played drums for Beck’s “Pink Noise (Rock Me Amadeus)".
Later, Rachel became one of the four early members of the band The Rentals
, along with Rod Cervera, Weezer
’s Patrick Wilson
and Matt Sharp
. In 1996, she performed lead vocals on Weezer’s song “I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams”, the only released Weezer song to feature female lead vocals. This song was originally written for the abandoned Songs from the Black Hole
album. Rachel was Rivers Cuomo
's choice to play the "good girl" character, Laurel. As a special encore surprise for the audience, Rachel performed “I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams” with Weezer in the Hard Rock's "The Joint" in Las Vegas, NV on Friday January 21, 2011.
In 1999 Rachel contributed a cover of the song “Poems, Prayers, and Promises” for the album A Tribute to John Denver. Around this same time she played bass and performed vocals as a member of The Martinis
along with Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago
and his wife Linda Mallari.
More recently, in 2001, Rachel toured as a backup singer and keyboardist for Jimmy Eat World
. She contributed vocals to the Dntel
album Life Is Full of Possibilities
. In 2004 Rachel, along with her sisters Petra
and Tanya
, recorded a set of traditional country songs as The Haden Triplets with their longtime friend and former Dieselhed
member Zac Holtzman, currently of the band Dengue Fever
.
In 2004 she contributed backing vocals for four songs on Lucky Pierre's ThinKing album.
Rachel continues to make music in the Los Angeles
area, most recently with Petra Haden's acappella choir The Sell Outs and as a member of the most recent lineup of The Rentals
.
Rachel performs the female vocals for the duet "Heartache Vs Heartbreak" from Ozma
's 2007 album Pasadena.
Rachel performs the female vocals on the Fightstar
album One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours
. She sings backing vocals on the tracks "Unfamiliar Ceilings", "You & I", and the new B-Side "Gracious".
Rachel can also be heard doing vocals throughout comedian Neil Hamburger
's foray into music, the album "Neil Hamburger Sings Country Winners". Rachel duets with Neil on the song "Please Ask That Clown To Stop Crying".
Rachel has also contributed her vocals for a duet with Japanese alternative rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation
on the song "Hello, Hello".
She toured with Todd Rundgren
in late 2008, temporarily replacing longtime Rundgren bassist and collaborator Kasim Sulton
, who at the time was touring with Meat Loaf
.
Rachel is currently playing bass guitar and singing backing vocals for Brendan Perry
on his 2010 Ark
tour.
In 2011, she collaborated with Nerdcore group Supercommuter for the song "#1 Kyabajo" on their Album Products of Science.
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
on his "Arena Rock" tour, and one of the triplet daughters of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
bassist Charlie Haden
Charlie Haden
Charles Edward Haden is an American jazz musician. He is a double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman...
.
In the early 1990s, Rachel played bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
for That Dog, a band that also included her sister Petra
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,...
. Her sister Tanya
Tanya Haden
-Biography:Born in New York City, she was a member of several bands, including Let's Go Sailing, and is the creator of the Imaginary Bear puppet show. She has contributed to recordings of a number of Los Angeles musicians, including vocals and cello on Par Avion's EP, Pop Music United...
also contributed cello on several That Dog recordings but did not tour as an official member of the band. Around this time Rachel also played drums and performed backup vocals for Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
on the songs "Totally Confused" and "Steve Threw Up”. She also played drums for Beck’s “Pink Noise (Rock Me Amadeus)".
Later, Rachel became one of the four early members of the band The Rentals
The Rentals
The Rentals are an American rock band fronted by vocalist Matt Sharp, best known as the former bass player for rock group Weezer. The band is best known for their mid-1990s hit single, "Friends of P.". The group has released two albums, Return of the Rentals and Seven More Minutes on Maverick...
, along with Rod Cervera, 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...
’s Patrick Wilson
Patrick Wilson (musician)
Patrick "Pat" George Wilson is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band Weezer. He joined the band in 1992. In addition to his work in Weezer, he also fronts his own band, The Special Goodness....
and Matt Sharp
Matt Sharp
Matthew Kelly Sharp is a founding member and former bassist for the band Weezer. In 1994, he started a band called The Rentals and released their debut album shortly after Weezer's first release, their second album in 1999, and an EP in 2007...
. In 1996, she performed lead vocals on Weezer’s song “I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams”, the only released Weezer song to feature female lead vocals. This song was originally written for the abandoned Songs from the Black Hole
Songs from the Black Hole
Songs from the Black Hole is an unreleased, unfinished Weezer album. A space themed rock opera/musical, it was originally envisioned as the follow-up album to The Blue Album, but over the course of recording, the album's concept was discarded and the album was transformed into Pinkerton...
album. Rachel was Rivers Cuomo
Rivers Cuomo
Rivers Cuomo is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, lead guitarist, and principal songwriter of the alternative rock band Weezer. Raised in an Ashram in Connecticut, Cuomo moved to Los Angeles at age 19, where he participated in a number of rock bands before founding Weezer in 1992...
's choice to play the "good girl" character, Laurel. As a special encore surprise for the audience, Rachel performed “I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams” with Weezer in the Hard Rock's "The Joint" in Las Vegas, NV on Friday January 21, 2011.
In 1999 Rachel contributed a cover of the song “Poems, Prayers, and Promises” for the album A Tribute to John Denver. Around this same time she played bass and performed vocals as a member of The Martinis
The Martinis
The Martinis are a rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1993. The band consists of Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago and his wife Linda Mallari. They have released one album under the label Cooking Vinyl, Artist Direct, and Distracted/BMG...
along with Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago
Joey Santiago
Joey Santiago is a Filipino-American guitarist and composer. Active since 1986, Santiago is best known as the lead guitarist for the American alternative rock band Pixies. After the band's breakup in 1993, Santiago produced musical scores for film and television documentaries, and he formed The...
and his wife Linda Mallari.
More recently, in 2001, Rachel toured as a backup singer and keyboardist for Jimmy Eat World
Jimmy Eat World
Jimmy Eat World is an American alternative rock band from Mesa, Arizona, that formed in 1993. The band is composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Jim Adkins, guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch and drummer Zach Lind....
. She contributed vocals to the Dntel
Dntel
James Scott "Jimmy" Tamborello, more commonly known as Dntel , is an electronic music artist. He is sometimes cited as James Figurine, the co-programmer and vocalist for the electropop outfit Figurine. Other projects include Strictly Ballroom, Headset and The Postal Service. Tamborello has...
album Life Is Full of Possibilities
Life is Full of Possibilities
Life Is Full of Possibilities is an album by Dntel with contributions from several other artists, released October 30, 2001 on the Plug Research record label...
. In 2004 Rachel, along with her sisters Petra
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,...
and Tanya
Tanya Haden
-Biography:Born in New York City, she was a member of several bands, including Let's Go Sailing, and is the creator of the Imaginary Bear puppet show. She has contributed to recordings of a number of Los Angeles musicians, including vocals and cello on Par Avion's EP, Pop Music United...
, recorded a set of traditional country songs as The Haden Triplets with their longtime friend and former Dieselhed
Dieselhed
Dieselhed was a San Francisco-based band, originally from Arcata, California.-Early career:Dieselhed formed in 1989 in the San Francisco Bay Area playing a blend of country, punk, and pseudo-classic rock. Drummer Heifetz spread his time between Dieselhed and the genre-bending experimentalists Mr....
member Zac Holtzman, currently of the band Dengue Fever
Dengue Fever (band)
Dengue Fever is a six-member band from Los Angeles who combine Cambodian pop music and lyrics with psychedelic rock.-History:The band was formed in 2001 by Ethan Holtzman and his brother Zac after Ethan was inspired by a trip to Cambodia...
.
In 2004 she contributed backing vocals for four songs on Lucky Pierre's ThinKing album.
Rachel continues to make music in the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area, most recently with Petra Haden's acappella choir The Sell Outs and as a member of the most recent lineup of The Rentals
The Rentals
The Rentals are an American rock band fronted by vocalist Matt Sharp, best known as the former bass player for rock group Weezer. The band is best known for their mid-1990s hit single, "Friends of P.". The group has released two albums, Return of the Rentals and Seven More Minutes on Maverick...
.
Rachel performs the female vocals for the duet "Heartache Vs Heartbreak" from Ozma
Ozma (band)
Ozma is a rock band from Pasadena, California. The band's sound is a mix of new-wave–influenced power pop and Casiotone-driven melodies sustained by heavy guitar riffs. The complexity of Ozma's songs grew considerably during the band's initial nine-year history...
's 2007 album Pasadena.
Rachel performs the female vocals on the Fightstar
Fightstar
Fightstar are an English alternative rock band from London. They formed in 2003 and their lineup comprises lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist Charlie Simpson, guitarist and vocalist Alex Westaway, bass guitarist Dan Haigh and drummer Omar Abidi...
album One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours
One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours
One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours is the second studio album by British alternative rock band Fightstar, released on September 24, 2007 through Institute Recordings, itself a subsidiary of independent label Gut Records...
. She sings backing vocals on the tracks "Unfamiliar Ceilings", "You & I", and the new B-Side "Gracious".
Rachel can also be heard doing vocals throughout comedian Neil Hamburger
Neil Hamburger
Neil Hamburger is a standup comedian character played by comedian and musician Gregg Turkington.-Style:Hamburger's live act, which is quite different from his many albums, features a barrage of question/answer jokes aimed often at celebrity targets, including Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, The Red...
's foray into music, the album "Neil Hamburger Sings Country Winners". Rachel duets with Neil on the song "Please Ask That Clown To Stop Crying".
Rachel has also contributed her vocals for a duet with Japanese alternative rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation
Asian Kung-fu Generation
, typeset as ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, is a Japanese rock band formed in Yokohama, Japan in 1996. For nearly its entire career, the band has consisted of vocalist Masafumi Gotō, guitarist Kensuke Kita, bassist Takahiro Yamada, and drummer Kiyoshi Ijichi...
on the song "Hello, Hello".
She toured with Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
in late 2008, temporarily replacing longtime Rundgren bassist and collaborator Kasim Sulton
Kasim Sulton
Kasim Sulton is an American bass guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist. Best known for his work with Utopia, Sulton sang lead on 1980's "Set Me Free," Utopia's only top 40 hit in the United States...
, who at the time was touring with Meat Loaf
Meat Loaf
Michael Lee Aday , better known by his stage name, Meat Loaf, is an American hard rock musician and actor...
.
Rachel is currently playing bass guitar and singing backing vocals for Brendan Perry
Brendan Perry
Brendan Michael Perry is a singer and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work as the male half of the duo Dead Can Dance with Lisa Gerrard.-Early life:...
on his 2010 Ark
Ark (Brendan Perry album)
-Personnel:Musical* Brendan Perry – writer, composer, performerTechnical* Mastered by Aidan Foley at MasterlabsGraphical* Sleeve design by Graham Wood* Photography by * Photography by Sophia Wood- Charts :-External links:...
tour.
In 2011, she collaborated with Nerdcore group Supercommuter for the song "#1 Kyabajo" on their Album Products of Science.