Meet the Laurel Canyon Animal Company team

Twenty years ago, two songwriters, Skip Haynes and Dana Walden, formed the only record label in-the-world that creates music about, for, and with animals. It’s the only label in the world that uses psychics to involve animals directly in the creative musical process. They are the first record company to co-produce an album with a gorilla and to use psychics to communicate, not only with dogs and cats, but also with Pink Dolphins. They are, to this day, dedicated to local interests and projects that have global ramifications as they continue to build bridges with music between animals and humans.

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Skip Haynes

Skip Haynes wrote the Classic rock song Lake Shore Drive and was lead vocalist for Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah – popular Chicago based band in the 70’s and early 80’s. He produced and wrote five albums and several singles with AHJ. He is also the author of three non-fiction books. The Book of Rehab, Road Stories (or what’s a nice guy like me doing in a band like this/) and Waiting For Rosie (a coyote’s story).

He moved to Los Angeles in the early 80’s and continued to write and produce music. He was an assistant art director for the GRAMMYs for eight years.

Skip is an advocate and co-founder of CLAW (Citizens For Los Angeles Wildlife) a non-profit dedicated to saving and preserving wildlife and habitat in Los Angeles. He has co-authored two ordinances in coordination with Paul Koretz, a Los Angeles City Council member. One to ban rodenticides and one to create wildlife corridors in Los Angeles.

Haynes has been an anti-development political activist for the last fifteen years in Los Angles where he now lives. The album “Hold Them Accountable” is the result of his experiences dealing with government. “Everybody Wants A Piece Of The Pie” is the single from that album.

Haynes actively works to hold local government accountable through The Kirkwood Bowl Foundation, a non-profit organization he is the Community Relations and Spotlight Projects Director.

However music, dogs and the Laurel Canyon Animal Company remain his first loves.

Dana Walden

Dana is an award winning composer, performer, producer and director. His early career included two multi-million selling pop songs, How ʻBout Us and Try Again, which were international hits with CBS recording artists, Champaign. He toured internationally with numerous appearances on American Bandstand, Soultrain, and Solid Gold. He has written more than 70 scores for film and television and has worked with such illustrious artists as Johnny Cash and June Carter, Bonnie Raitt, John Denver, Don Edwards, Roy Rogers, Earth, Wind and Fire, and many more. His varied career also includes numerous genres including the childrenʼs market, where his Pac Man books and records sold over 1 million units. He also composed and produced successful music series for Looney Toons and Donkey Kong, as well as the soundtrack for the CBS special Alice in Wonderland. More recently, Dana has shifted his attention to film where his credits include producing and composing the soundtrack for the PBS special All My Friends Are Cowboys, starring Wilford Brimley, Johnny Cash, and Roy Rogers. In parallel time, Dana has focused his talent and passion on educational activities, including being co-creator of ChimeIn.org. Danaʼs film directorial debut came with the documentary Dreaming Heaven, for which he also wrote the score. Dana is a bridge that connects an incredibly diverse group of talents to a common purpose, helping all those who come in contact with his projects to realize the dream of Heaven on Earth.

info@laurelcanyonanimalcompany.com