[7] Also in 1996, Hayden performed both nights of Neil Young's annual Bridge School Concert, and contributed the title track to the soundtrack for Steve Buscemi's film Trees Lounge.

[8] For his second album, 1998's The Closer I Get, Hayden worked with several big name record producers, including Steve Fisk, John Hanlon and Scott Litt.

[9] He toured North America with a full band, including Josh Malinsky and Mitch Roth of Poledo and Damon Richardson of Change of Heart, to support that album.

[4] In 2001, Hayden distributed 100 hand-written, packaged and numbered copies of Skyscraper National Park to friends and independent record shops throughout Toronto.

[10][11] In 2004, Hayden released his follow up album, Elk Lake Serenade, and toured North America with Oshawa's Cuff the Duke acting as his back-up band.

[8] In November 2012, it was announced that Hayden would release his seventh studio album on Canadian indie label Arts & Crafts,[13] and would play five shows in Europe as a warm up to his performance at All Tomorrow's Parties Festival, curated by the National.

[15] The album is largely biographical in nature, with tracks like "Almost Everything" noting how family now takes precedence over art in his life, and "Instructions", which details what he wants done with his body when he dies.

[14] Upon the release of his follow-up album Us Alone in 2013, he joked that "I think I realized that you need to let people know you have a record out,"[22] and acknowledged that the death rumour was a key influence on his decision to sign with Arts & Crafts, rather than continuing to handle his promotional efforts on his own.

[22] In recent years, Hayden has organized and performed at Dream Serenade, an annual charity concert in Toronto to benefit children with special needs.