Hayden Not Dead

Great news for casual fans of brooding Canadian folkster, Hayden: Not only is he not dead, but he's also releasing a new album to follow-up 1998's The Closer I Get.The last time ChartAttack heard anything from the acoustic anti-hero, Hayden was popping up on stage with Howie Beck in T.O., but other than that one little appearance, he'd been flying under our radar.Diehard fans, of course, have been kept in the know by the brilliantly thorough wasteyourdaysaway.com fansite. Now that we're hip to its existence, we can give you all the jive on his disc, Skyscraper National Park which features appearances by the aforementioned Howie Beck and Kurt Swinghammer.Trying to get back to his pre-Everything I Long For days, it doesn't look like Hayden will be doing all that much press for the album. Right now, it's only available as a 500-copy limited edition and set to be given away at upcoming live shows during his approaching cross-Canada tour. Of those 500 copies, a mere 100 are the ultimate Hayden-collectible: an ultra-rare hand-made version, signed and numbered, complete with birch bark cover, felt-marker-written liner notes and art.Word on the street is that 10 copies went on sale in a Toronto-area record shop (dropped off by Hayden himself, no less) and sold-out at $30 a pop in a matter of milliseconds. For those panicky they won't be able to snag a disc, it's rumoured a major distributor may be found for it by October, but no word yet on the finality of that. In other words, until you hear tour dates, keep checking ebay frantically.For now, feed your Hayden-habit by downloading online versions of "Dynamite Walls" and "Long Way Down" on the site. Or, head on over to Hayden's own label site to check out cover art of the disc and hear an MP3 of "All In One Move."The complete tracklisting for Skyscraper National Park is as follows:1) "Streetcar"2) "Dynamite Walls"3) "Steps Into Miles"4) "I Should Have Been Watching You"5) "Long Way Down"6) "Tea Pad"7) "All In One Move"8) "Bass Song"9) "Carried Away"10) "Looking For You In Me"11) "Lullaby"— Erik Missio