Marie Haddad

While there are numerous singer/songwriters in San Diego who perform with a guitar, far fewer can be found playing the piano. Logistics alone prevent all but the hardiest musician from carrying even the most portable model from venue to venue, but those who do are often standouts — almost by default.
For some artists playing an instrument different from the norm can be a gimmick, but in the right hands it can be inspiring, as it is with Marie Haddad.

Haddad, who performs at Humphrey’s Backstage Lounge on Wednesday, Feb. 27, released her debut album “A Beautiful Road” in 2006, scoring a San Diego Music Awards nomination in the process.
Today, her music contains echoes of the likes of Leonard Cohen and Kate Bush, but early on her influences were far less respected.
“My parents used to watch the Lawrence Welk show every week,” Haddad said. “The piano player had a mirror above his keys. As a 4-year-old, I was fascinated watching his fingers in it and begged my parents to get one for me.”
Her parents soon bought her a toy piano but by her fifth birthday had upgraded her to a real upright model. While she loved the instrument, her first recital that year went less than smoothly.
“It was disastrous,” she said. “I blanked on my song.”
Seeing all the adults staring at her and not knowing what to do, she decided to improvise.
“I tried to make a piano piece up on the spot,” she said. “Not a good idea, but I bet it’d be hilarious to hear a recording of that.”

By junior high, Haddad had gotten the hang of performing and joined her first group, New Wavers Permanent Phaze.
In the ensuing years, Haddad performed with a cover band, Third Time Charm, and R&B-based big band The San Diego Beat Organization, but it wasn’t until she began recording her own album that she finally put together a trio with Down With Leo drummer Nasr Helewa and Billy Midnight bassist Jason Hee.
It’s a testament to Haddad’s talent that both musicans approached her.

“I was playing a monthly show at the now-defunct Twiggs coffee shop at the El Cortez, solo - just me and my keyboard,” Haddad said. “Nasr asked me if I had ever thought about adding percussion to any of my songs. Then a few months later, Jason approached me in the same way asking if he might add some bass lines to some of the songs.”
She considers the musical combination to be a perfect match.
“Because we were already friends, collaborating was fun and easy,” she said. “They both are amazing musicians and really helped in making the songs on the album what they are.”

While her originals have garnered Haddad most of the accolades, she also has a reputation for interjecting choice cover songs into her set list.
“I try to pick songs that I already love but that I can try to put my own spin on as a way of paying homage,” she said. “I generally wouldn’t pick a piano-based song, let’s say, by Tori Amos, or someone similar, because it would be hard to make it much different from the original.”
Haddad names Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” as an exception to that rule but otherwise chooses more eclectic fare like The Turtles’ “Eleanor,” The Cure’s “Love Cats” or The Cars’ “Just What I Needed.”

Currently in the studio recording her sophomore release, Haddad said she is happy with life as a musician. For her, the most important thing about being a performer is the personal connection with her audience.
“Hearing from someone after a show or someone via e-mail about a song that they’ve connected with means so much to me,” Hadad said.
Looking ahead, Haddad is confident she is setting her best foot forward.
“Most recently, a psychic came up to me at a show and offered a personal reading to me between my two sets. He saw some great things in my future, among which are a new pair of boots for the rain,” she laughed.

Haddad performs at Humphrey’s Backstage Lounge, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island, on Wednesday Feb. 27. Showtime is 8 p.m. for audiences 21 and up.
For more information, visit www.humphreysbythebay.com.
- Peninsula Beacon News (Feb. 2008)

In the three years since San Diego singer-songwriter Marie Haddad first wrestled stage fright to debut at Lestat's, she's had the chance to scratch a few things off her musical to-do list.

Having recently released her first full-length album, a Beautiful Road, Haddad couldn't be happier about the fruition of a musical dream, long held in the shadows of her mind. Full of soft piano arpeggios, minor chords, and Haddad's crystal clear voice, the album suggests the same clarity that artists like Tori Amos and Kate Bush have, but with a voice and lyrical landascape all Haddad's own.

As she sits, nestled in her vibrant red, voluptously comfy couch in her South Park apartment, Haddad reflects on the state of her present surroundings - buth musically and physically - as they currently seem to share similar attributes. Her apartment, like her music, is welcoming and comfortable, sporting interesting little trinkets everywhere. Hand-designed music posters, constructed during bouts of insomnia, hang from the walls, and instruments are strategically scattered throughout. Along the perimeter, shelves are stocked with neatly alphabetized 33 1/3 albums - a habit she still harbors from her days as a record store clerk - and photo albums, each tabbed with sticky notes to remind her where the snapshots were created.

A bright spirit, Haddad has welcoming eyes and shows a true concern for the well-being of those around her, even if she doesn't know them very well.

A widely self-taught pianist, she first began taking lessons at the age of five, however due to her self-proclaimed "short attention span" she ditched classical training at 11 and hasn't looked back.

Although she first took a crack at songwriting on her Casio keyboard in high school, it wasn't until about eight years ago that she upgraded to a real piano and became seious.

While Haddad had always dreamed of attending music school after high school - and was even accepted to one in Seattle - she said that, on the advice of her parents, she acquiesced to teaching instead.

It wasn't until she sold her piano while in college that she realized how big a part of her life music really was.

As the culmination of a dream, which had been years in the making, Haddad celebrated her CD release at Humphrey's Backstage Lounge last June. "The show represented so much for me: overcoming fears, growing musically, setting a goal and getting there," she reflected. "It was like I had waited my whole life for that one night."

A big part of what fuels her is the feedback she receives from fans who had connected with her songs. "Getting e-mails from people in other parts of the country and around the world, or having someone come up to me after a show to let me know that they think a certain song is beautiful or meaningful to them makes all of the work and effort even more beautiful."

Haddad will appear at Borders Books and Music, 159 Fletcher Pkwy. in El Cajon, Friday, October 6 at 7 p.m. For more informatino, fo to www.mariehaddad.com. - San Diego Troubadour (Oct. 2006)

While there are numerous singer/songwriters in San Diego who perform with a guitar, far fewer can be found playing the piano. Logistics alone prevent all but the hardiest musician from carrying even the most portable model from venue to venue, but those who do are often standouts — almost by default.
For some artists playing an instrument different from the norm can be a gimmick, but in the right hands it can be inspiring, as it is with Marie Haddad.

Haddad, who performs at Humphrey’s Backstage Lounge on Wednesday, Feb. 27, released her debut album “A Beautiful Road” in 2006, scoring a San Diego Music Awards nomination in the process.
Today, her music contains echoes of the likes of Leonard Cohen and Kate Bush, but early on her influences were far less respected.
“My parents used to watch the Lawrence Welk show every week,” Haddad said. “The piano player had a mirror above his keys. As a 4-year-old, I was fascinated watching his fingers in it and begged my parents to get one for me.”
Her parents soon bought her a toy piano but by her fifth birthday had upgraded her to a real upright model. While she loved the instrument, her first recital that year went less than smoothly.
“It was disastrous,” she said. “I blanked on my song.”
Seeing all the adults staring at her and not knowing what to do, she decided to improvise.
“I tried to make a piano piece up on the spot,” she said. “Not a good idea, but I bet it’d be hilarious to hear a recording of that.”

By junior high, Haddad had gotten the hang of performing and joined her first group, New Wavers Permanent Phaze.
In the ensuing years, Haddad performed with a cover band, Third Time Charm, and R&B-based big band The San Diego Beat Organization, but it wasn’t until she began recording her own album that she finally put together a trio with Down With Leo drummer Nasr Helewa and Billy Midnight bassist Jason Hee.
It’s a testament to Haddad’s talent that both musicans approached her.

“I was playing a monthly show at the now-defunct Twiggs coffee shop at the El Cortez, solo - just me and my keyboard,” Haddad said. “Nasr asked me if I had ever thought about adding percussion to any of my songs. Then a few months later, Jason approached me in the same way asking if he might add some bass lines to some of the songs.”
She considers the musical combination to be a perfect match.
“Because we were already friends, collaborating was fun and easy,” she said. “They both are amazing musicians and really helped in making the songs on the album what they are.”

While her originals have garnered Haddad most of the accolades, she also has a reputation for interjecting choice cover songs into her set list.
“I try to pick songs that I already love but that I can try to put my own spin on as a way of paying homage,” she said. “I generally wouldn’t pick a piano-based song, let’s say, by Tori Amos, or someone similar, because it would be hard to make it much different from the original.”
Haddad names Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” as an exception to that rule but otherwise chooses more eclectic fare like The Turtles’ “Eleanor,” The Cure’s “Love Cats” or The Cars’ “Just What I Needed.”

Currently in the studio recording her sophomore release, Haddad said she is happy with life as a musician. For her, the most important thing about being a performer is the personal connection with her audience.
“Hearing from someone after a show or someone via e-mail about a song that they’ve connected with means so much to me,” Hadad said.
Looking ahead, Haddad is confident she is setting her best foot forward.
“Most recently, a psychic came up to me at a show and offered a personal reading to me between my two sets. He saw some great things in my future, among which are a new pair of boots for the rain,” she laughed.

Haddad performs at Humphrey’s Backstage Lounge, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island, on Wednesday Feb. 27. Showtime is 8 p.m. for audiences 21 and up.
For more information, visit www.humphreysbythebay.com.
- Peninsula Beacon News (Feb. 2008)

San Diego's Marie Haddad has an ethereal, otherworldly voice that could take her into the outer stylistic orbits of an Enya or Stevie Nicks. But grounded by her straight-ahead piano playing, her debut CD, "A Beautiful Road," is much more focused than the above two singers, and more interesting too. In fact, she reminds far more of a Kate Bush or Jane Siberry.

The album opens with a trio of songs in a singer-songwriter folkie mode, "Obvious," "Didn't Deserve It" and "Wishing Well." Each one is intriguing but only hint at how good this album will get before it's over. About halfway through the dozen songs here, on "Faster," the album shifts gears into more of an art rock approach. Odd little time shifts, a right channel/left channel call and response from Haddad to Haddad ---- it all adds up to make the listener realize things are getting very intriguing. "Why? Why not." dabbles in a New Age mode, with a deep echo effect giving a lush sheen to Haddad's voice and piano. The overarching tension of "Red" reaches into XTC and Marillion territory.

Things never get too weird; Haddad's songs are all built around friendly melodies, which counters her more experimental arrangements. And that voice will hold your attention whatever she's singing.

Marie Haddad performs at her CD-release party today at Humphrey's Backstage Lounge in San Diego.

---- Jim Trageser

Staff Writer
- North County Times (June 2006)

San Diego's Marie Haddad has an ethereal, otherworldly voice that could take her into the outer stylistic orbits of an Enya or Stevie Nicks. But grounded by her straight-ahead piano playing, her debut CD, "A Beautiful Road," is much more focused than the above two singers, and more interesting too. In fact, she reminds far more of a Kate Bush or Jane Siberry.

The album opens with a trio of songs in a singer-songwriter folkie mode, "Obvious," "Didn't Deserve It" and "Wishing Well." Each one is intriguing but only hint at how good this album will get before it's over. About halfway through the dozen songs here, on "Faster," the album shifts gears into more of an art rock approach. Odd little time shifts, a right channel/left channel call and response from Haddad to Haddad ---- it all adds up to make the listener realize things are getting very intriguing. "Why? Why not." dabbles in a New Age mode, with a deep echo effect giving a lush sheen to Haddad's voice and piano. The overarching tension of "Red" reaches into XTC and Marillion territory.

Things never get too weird; Haddad's songs are all built around friendly melodies, which counters her more experimental arrangements. And that voice will hold your attention whatever she's singing.

Marie Haddad performs at her CD-release party today at Humphrey's Backstage Lounge in San Diego.

---- Jim Trageser

Staff Writer
- North County Times (June 2006)