Music
Petra Haden and Alicia J. Rose
Petra Haden
& Alicia Rose
(Miss Murgatroid)
Born: Petra Haden (left)
October 11, 1971
Birthplace: NYC
Born: Alicia J. Rose (right)
AKA Miss Murgatroid
January 9, 1970
Birthplace: Portland, OR
“It’s a fun, silly place…everyone is welcome there. Mondays we gather around and start the morning with a group chore. We take care of the garden and do cartwheels to balance the land. Tuesdays are tea days, we drink special tingly mint tea. Wednesdays we have our dazzling dumpling blueberry buffet.”
“We take the colour blue from the rainbow and colour the dumplings. Oh, and on Thursdays we have a big shindig. We dance to celebrate Friday’s full moon. The J.L. Philharmonic plays with the cricket violin section. Friday is moonmilk day. Late at night we take the canoes out to the centre of the river, climb the ladder all the way up to the moon and fill special buckets with the milk from the moon. Then we make moonmilk soup. We add razzle-dazzle raspberry twigs, and pebbles make a good stock. Saturdays and Sundays we fly kites and have a picnic and go cloud hopping.”
~ Petra Haden muses about Imaginaryland.
Whimsical and Free-Spirited
by Michael Holloway
Whimsical, free-spirited, and fun are the best ways to describe the zany world of Petra Haden. She is one of three daughters (triplets) of legendary jazz bassist Charlie Haden, her sisters are Rachel and Tanya Haden (the latter is married to actor/musician Jack Black.)
Imaginaryland
The title of the album, from which the above quote is taken and was inspired by Tanya. She had a favourite childhood teddy bear, Imaginary Bear, who came from a magical world called Imaginaryland, which fueled much of the triplets’ sense of quirky playfulness. Indeed, Tanya impishly relates one of the many scandalous exploits of this boisterous bear.
“There was a time when Imaginary Bear was much less innocent, recalling wilder times with a formerly coked-up Barney, who was a little too fun-loving before he realised his dream of mind control via TV programming for children,” said Tanya.
These mischievous triplets often worked and played together in their adult lives. However, at times, Petra also worked with other endearing eccentrics like Anna Waronker in the band That Dog, classical guitarist Bill Frisell, and accordionist Alicia J. Rose, better known as Miss Murgatroid.
Musical Benefit
Life has not been all blueberry dumplings and moonmilk for Petra. In 2000, while crossing a street in Venice, California, she was struck by a car and severely injured. To make matters worse, she did not have medical insurance at the time and was at a loss as to how she could afford her medical bills upon recovery. A couple of months later that year, musicians from the Los Angeles music scene came together in a benefit concert raising money to pay Petra’s medical bills and insurance.
Musicians who participated in the benefit included: Charlotte Caffey, Jane Wiedlin, Kathy Valentine, Gina Schock, Anna Waronker, Matthew Sweet, Jack Black, Beck, Victoria Williams, Abby Travis, Exene Cervenka, and the other members of Petra’s family, including her sisters, father, and brother, Josh Haden. Belinda Carlisle was regrettably booked solid for a tour in Europe and could not attend the benefit, so Waronker became an honorary Go-Go for the night and substitued marvellously for Carlisle.
At one point during the benefit, Petra actually wanted to get up and perform with her family and friends, although her father Charlie insisted she was not yet well enough, though he admired her tenacity and passion.
“The doctors told her she needs to take it easy,” Charlie Haden said. “If it were up to her, she would have been playing in the hospital.”
Petra did recover and went immediately back to working on various solo projects.
A Rich Tapestry of Expression
Imaginaryland is an interesting album, filled with lush vocal harmonies and Petra’s trademark expertise on the violin. Some of the songs were little more than a’capella chanting or overlaying musical scales, which might sound dull to some, but Petra makes them alive and vital. From her amazing mimicry of whale song (both vocally and instrumentally) to jaunty little ditties, this album is not perhaps intended for mainstream audiences, but if you’re an eccentric collector of the eclectic like me, then it’s perfect for meditation and relaxation.
Before releasing Imaginaryland, Petra and Rachel Haden (playing bass) were members of the Los Angeles punk band That Dog with Anna Waronker, who performed the lead vocals and played guitar. Petra could be heard performing backing vocals, and although That Dog ended up in the pound, this violin virtuoso was adamant about making her own style of music.
In 1999, Petra worked with an accordion player named Alicia J. Rose (better known as Miss Murgatroid) on a hauntingly beautiful album called Bella Neurox, which was followed by Hearts And Daggers, released in 2008. Voice, violin, and accordion came together in both these albums in a sublime blend of vivid musical dreamscapes, proving that good music does not necessarily always need a catchy lyric. Sometimes, a rich tapestry of expression and intensity is achieved with a simple weaving of melody and vocal layering.
An Accomplished Musician and Photographer
Miss Murgatroid released three solo albums without Haden, Methyl Ethyl Key Tones (1993), Myoclyonic Melodies (1994), and Through Alien Empires (1997). There are some beautiful original compositions, which rank with the best in classical music, as well as a few actual songs with catchy lyrics. Some of these irresistible pop-worthy gems include “Love Like Anthrax,” “Shadows On My Wall,” and “Used To,” in which Miss Murgatroid displays an impressive range from rocking the house with the former, and sonorous ballads like the latter two.
It is also worth noting that Alicia Rose has other career qualifications beside her musical life as Miss Murgatroid. More discussion about her lovely photography will be added very soon. Until then, feel free to check out her artistry on her Photography Website.
Collaboration for Many Projects
As for Petra Haden, she has worked on many more collaborative projects with The Foo Fighters, Yuka Honda, The Rentals, The Decemberists, and other members of the Haden family. She even contributed backing vocals for artists such as Bette Midler (“Lullaby In Blue” from her Bathhouse Betty album,) Jane Wiedlin on several songs from her Kissproof World album, and Abby Travis (“Of Eyes Remain” from her Cut Throat Standards And Black Pop album.)
Petra has also released two solo albums, Petra Haden And Bill Frisell, in which, renowned guitarist Bill Frisell performs instrumental duets with Petra on violin. On this album, Petra actually sings full-fledged songs, rather than her usual a’capella chantings. As a bonafide singer, Petra is angelic, though she retains her quirky perkiness when required. She wrote one song herself (“The Quiet Room”,) sings a song written by Frisell (“Throughout”,) and performs a range of covers, which in my humble opinion, outshine the original versions or any other covers of these songs. Some of these covers include: “I Believe” by Stevie Wonder, “Moon River” by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer (also memorably performed by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast At Tiffany’s,) “I Don’t Want To Grow Up” by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan, “When You Wish Upon A Star” by Ned Washington and Leigh Harline (which was written back in 1940 for the Disney animated feature Pinocchio,) and I’ve Got A Crush On You by George and Ira Gershwin. Together with a traditional Tuvanese folk song Bai-la Taigam, and a selection of other rare tunes, this album is the ideal showcase for Petra’s many talents, and I feel it is her best work to date.
Bizarre and Baked Beans
Perhaps the most bizarre project ever released by Petra is one in which she not only pays tribute to a classic band by covering a few songs, but she covers a whole album. Petra Haden Sings The Who: Sell Out was a great tribute to The Who and their iconic Sell Out album, because it remained respectful to the original source material and enriched and revitalised it with Petra’s own special nuances at the same time. The artwork also paid tribute to the original, though this time it was Petra sitting in a bathtub full of Heinz baked beans.
Compare the original baked beans photoshoot from The Who’s album (above) and Petra’s zany retake (below), photographed with striking attention to detail by Alicia Rose.
Ironically, Petra knew very little about The Who when she was asked by producer Mike Watt to make this tribute to his favourite band by covering his favourite album. Though the album was given a full blessing and stamp of approval by The Who, perhaps the reason it works so well is because of Petra’s unfamiliarity with the band.
As Mike Watt states: “I like the way she does music and I was interested in how’d she interpret a work with such a personal connection to me. Second, I know she has real focus and she can really apply herself, especially in those times when she’s had some intense things tugging at her. Such a trip to see something reinvented that I knew so well, but in a genuine way, since Petra knew nothing of it before. That’s what was in my mind – that Petra would bring an earthiness without any preconceptions and make it new for me. I don’t know, it was a weird thing to ask of her – like a dare, but I knew she was oh so capable.”
Watt gave Petra a copy of The Who’s original Sell Out album on cassette, and asked her to just sing along with whatever they had going there, no matter how weird it sounds. In time, she built up the tracks for each tune, one at a time, interspersing her own unique voice and style into the source material. When Watt heard the album for the first time, he was thrilled.
“Something so intense for me was now being bounced back through this sensitive soul in a whole different light, genuine and natural. It was a mindblow for me! It was generous of her to take on such a thing, something alien to her, but she seemed to enjoy the challenge of it. It was out of the goodness of Petra’s heart that she took it on. I knew that record inside and out, and Petra caught that spirit, big time.”