Emily Haines: she used to share her bathroom with eight musicians—no wonder going solo seemed appealing

At few points in her adult life has Emily Haines, singer for the indie-rock quartet Metric, been alone. After graduating from art school in Canada in the late '90s, Haines and her then-boyfriend, Metric guitarist James Shaw, moved to New York and took up residence in a Williamsburg, Brooklyn, loft--one which would become an incubator of sorts for future members of bands such as Broken Social Scene, Stars, Liars, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. "We were so broke," recalls Haines, "It was nine people and two bathrooms at one point. We were all working day jobs and just being miserable."

Luckily for Haines, misery sometimes begets inspiration. This fall she ventures out more or less on her own with her solo debut Knives Don't Have Your Back (Last Gang), a collection of passionate, moody piano ballads. "I'm very much about the observation and details of things," says Haines. "As a writer I try to be as honest as possible. Unfortunately, that usually yields some unpleasant discoveries."

But Haines's exploratory nature has also yielded devoted fans--and even a couple of nonmusic collaborations with indie-film auteurs Olivier Assayas and Guy Maddin. "I think that what ties these different projects together is my desire to not be one-dimensional," Haines says. "If you love music and writing and your friends, you just remember that really what you want to do is that. And all the time, that's what I want, however I can do it."

Emma Cooper is a New York City-based writer.

COPYRIGHT 2006 Brant Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning