Jude Haines

My Story

Born in London, Ontario, Jude Haines’ lifelong passion for guitar and making music began as a child. At the age of seven, he was writing and performing his own songs for friends and family. Digging through his parents’ record collection, he discovered foundational influences such as Cat Stevens, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Jim Croce, and Nick Drake among others. In his high school years, Jude acquired a 4-track and continued to record his songs, while actively participating in theatre and musical productions. 

Jude graduated from Ryerson University’s Theatre School in 1996, and started his career as an artist performing in a wide range of theatrical productions from Shakespeare to contemporary musical theatre. It was during this time that he met Ian Caruso, a songwriter from North Bay who had recently moved to Toronto.  Ian’s music inspired Jude, and he became the lead guitarist for Ian’s band The Robber Who Robbed the Town. This band would stay together for over a decade, touring across Canada twice and being signed to East Coast indie label No Records, earning recognition as one of the quirkiest and tightest Canadian indie bands of their time. 

In the summer of 2003, Jude began performing as a solo artist, gigging regularly around Toronto and developing relationships with local musicians. He recorded his first demo and attempted to make a full-length album out of those songs, but due to ongoing struggles with mental health and addiction, he withdrew from Toronto and regrouped in his hometown of London. During this period, he wrote most of the material for what would become his self-titled debut release, and teamed up with his former guitar teacher and fellow songwriter Ben Heywood to produce and record the project.  After a year and half of writing and refining, Jude recorded his 2006 debut release at Canterbury Sound Studios, with Jeremy Darby and a top-notch studio band that included Paul DeLong, Russ Boswell, Rob Gusevs, Kevin Breit and Kevin Fox. The album received considerable critical acclaim, but Jude’s unaddressed issues with addiction and depression once again caught up with him and derailed his momentum to promote and tour the project effectively.  Over the next three years Jude composed electronic music under the name of Hyperchase, recorded with artists including Treasa Levasseur, The Matavaras, Pavlov’s Dog Orchestra, and The Nate Daniels Band.

2010 was a turning point for Jude, he entered recovery and dedicated himself to healing.  During this time, he met his wife Jennifer, had two kids (Maxwell and Emily) worked in the corporate sector as a biometrics trainer, a video media guru, and acquired his AZ/DZ license.  He currently works as a full-time driver, and moonlights in the transport and sound departments for film and television. After spending over a decade working on himself, Jude has returned to his first love, songwriting, and undertaken the project he has always wanted to create. His life experiences, diverse perspective and emotional connection with the world around him has unfolded into a full-length album project with a clarity of vision and a message to share.  In a world of turmoil and upheaval, Jude has leveraged his own personal journey into a series of songs reflecting these times.  He hopes to complete this project by the end of 2023.