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Andrew Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American musician. He was born in Illinois and resides in the Chicago area. Bird is a singer-songwriter who is also a violinist, guitarist, and whistler.

Trained in the Suzuki method from a young age, Bird graduated from Illinois' Northwestern University with a bachelor's degree in violin performance, Bird released his first solo album, Music of Hair, in 1996. Vastly different from his later releases, this first album showcases his violin skills and pays tribute to his fascination with both American and European folk traditions, as well as jazz and blues.

His initial commercial exposure was in collaborative work with the band Squirrel Nut Zippers. He quickly was lumped in with the swing craze that swept the US music industry in the mid '90s, an affiliation that he is still working to shed.

Taking on the role of band leader in 1997, he released his first album, Thrills with his band Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire. This was followed by Oh! The Grandeur in 1998. Both albums were heavily influenced by traditional folk, pre-war jazz and swing, with Bird relying on the violin as his primary musical instrument.

In 2001, Bird released The Swimming Hour, his third release with the Bowl of Fire and a dramatic departure from previous recordings. The Swimming Hour featured a mixture of styles, from the zydeco-influenced "Core and Rind" to more straightforward rock songs. He has often referred to this CD as his "jukebox album". The Bowl of Fire unofficially disbanded some time in 2003, but featured many skilled Chicago musicians including Kevin O'Donnell, Nora O'Connor, Andy Hopkins (aka Mr. Rudy Day ), Jimmy Sutton, Colin Bunn and Ryan Hembrey.

Bird has released two subsequent solo albums distributed through the label operated by Ani DiFranco, Righteous Babe Records. The two CDs, 2003's Weather Systems and 2005's The Mysterious Production of Eggs continue a progression towards an eclectic indie/folk sound that is challenging to classify. In addition to the guitar, which he has been playing since 2004, Bird's songs often feature violin, glockenspiel, and his own whistling as a flute-like sound.

He was often pegged by critics as a musical chameleon early in his career, displaying his varied musical influences without, perhaps, adding anything new. His years of solo song-craft have now enabled him to produce a sound that is uniquely his own.

The artist's live solo shows have been notable in that he uses a multi-track system to sample and loop his own performance. For example, he may record a snippet of his performance on violin, then play a "loop" of that sound. This provides a more full-bodied sound and aurally suggests a band performance, rather than the sound of a solo artist.

Bird is currently working on a new full-length album. Several early versions of songs have been featured in his recent live shows, such as Sycophantitis, Plasticities, Dear Dirty, Dark Matter, and Armchair Apocalypse.

Instrumentation

  • Bird uses a vintage Silvertone guitar in his live performances
  • During his tour with Ani DiFranco, he used a custom-built horn speaker created by SPECIMEN. *
  • He uses a Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler as a phrase sampler

Discography

Other album appearances

see also albums by Squirrel Nut Zippers.

External links

Listening

1973 births | American rock musicians | Righteous Babe artists | People from Illinois | Living people

Andrew Bird

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Andrew Bird".

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