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Andrew Bird

Andrew Bird Books

Musician

Andrew Bird, born on July 11, 1973, is an accomplished American musician known for his unique blend of folk, jazz, blues, and classical music elements. He is celebrated for his distinctive melodies and lyrics.

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“The real drag is trying to fly from country to country, day of show, with all your gear. You get hassled all the time. It's hard trying to keep it together.”

Trying Real Country Hard Shows Together Drag Gears

Author:Andrew Bird

“I've never approached classical music in a formal way, ever. I couldn't read very well. I'd have to play every piece and internalize it, almost as if I had written it myself.”

Ifs Way Wells Play Pieces Written Formal Classical Music

Author:Andrew Bird

“There's always a tension between wanting to write a really concise, instant gratification type song that gets under your skin the first time you hear it, and wanting to really stretch out. I think it's a healthy tension.”

Thinking Writing Firsts Song Type Healthy First Time Skins Instant Tension Gratification Instant Gratification Concise

Author:Andrew Bird

“I really believe there's more honesty in one live show than there may be in my whole output.”

Believe May Whole Shows Honesty Output

Author:Andrew Bird

“I put a lot into my records, and I won't release anything I'm not totally thrilled with.”

Records Release

Author:Andrew Bird

“I don't like to disappear between records. I like to play shows while I'm making the record.”

Play Shows Records Disappear

Author:Andrew Bird

“I can't relate to the process of just disappearing and writing a record, all at the same time, followed by the sort of drudgery of going out on tour and trying to recreate the record, playing the same 12 songs every night.”

Writing Trying I Can Night Song Process Records Disappear Relate Every Night Going Out Drudgery

Author:Andrew Bird

“Some of your best songs come from a desperate attempt to escape, so sitting in an airport for hours I can just start pulling out little fragments of songs from my head. A lot of times a melody will just occur to me and be my companion for a couple of months.”

Littles I Can Song Hours Months Couple Sitting Desperate Companion Melody Pulling Fragments Airports

Author:Andrew Bird

“The anti-aging advert that I would like to see is a baby covered in cream saying, 'Aah, I've used too much'”

Used Too Much Baby Aging Covered Cream Adverts

Author:Andrew Bird

“I think any songwriter or record, no matter how good it is, can become tedious if it's the same person's point of view. After four tracks, you start to get worn down no matter how good it is. It can be relentlessly good, but it's still going to wear you out.”

Ifs Thinking Persons Stills Matter Views Records Four Track Point Of View Worn Songwriters Tedious

Author:Andrew Bird

“The orchestra's an amazing instrument, but I don't want to just arrange my songs for it. I think that might be kind of boring and a little bit overdramatic, perhaps. I'm still just having too much fun doing it my way, for the time being.”

Thinking Way Want Kind Littles Stills Might Song Fun Bits Too Much Little Bit Instruments Boring My Way Be Kind Orchestra Too Much Fun

Author:Andrew Bird

“The problem is, when you're working with orchestras, you only get the orchestra for about two hours before the performance to pull it all together, and that doesn't sound like a real collaboration.”

Two Real Problem Together Sound Hours Performances Collaboration Orchestra

Author:Andrew Bird

“What's cool about indie rock is that one band can do effectively the same thing as another band, and one band nails it, and the other one doesn't. I like that elusiveness.”

Can Do Rocks Band Nails Indie Rock Elusiveness

Author:Andrew Bird

“I've always found that whatever you say about indie rock, it is the most inclusive genre or title for anything. It doesn't pin you down too much, like other labels would. It's just newer, it has less baggage.”

Found Too Much Rocks Labels Titles Genre Pins Baggage Indie Rock Whatever You Say

Author:Andrew Bird

“Melodies are just honest. They can only be what they are. Words have the capacity for deception. Theyre all full of subtext, and some of them are cliche and overused and vernacular. Theyre tricky. All I can say is, words are tricky.”

I Can Honest Capacity Deception Melody Cliche Tricky Vernacular Subtext Overused

Author:Andrew Bird

“I think when I was pretty young I got really into the tone of my instrument and I remember just playing one note for an hour to just kind of feel the resonance of the violin.”

Thinking Feels Kind Remember Young Hours Instruments Notes Tone Violin Resonance

Author:Andrew Bird

“Pretty much any given day, barring some major distraction, I get melodies coming to me. Lyrics don't come quite as easily. So I've been inventing little projects and challenges to sort of kick my ass with the lyrics.”

Littles Given Challenges Projects Majors Ass Kicks Melody Distraction Inventing

Author:Andrew Bird

“Songwriting requires some sort of ceremony to even get the process started, and it can be somewhat arbitrary.”

Process Songwriting Ceremony Arbitrary

Author:Andrew Bird

“I have the barn, it's just kind of like a studio. Almost all artists have la studio to work in, and that's really what it is. A place to get away. I'll spend maybe four days out there if I can, just completely immersed - like where I don't bathe or brush my teeth for a few days, just get up and make coffee and experiment until the sun goes down.”

Ifs Kind I Can Artist Sun Four Studios Coffee Experiments Teeth Get Up Get Away Brushes Barns

Author:Andrew Bird

“I'm not a home-studio guy. I spend a lot of time working by myself developing songs, but I really need some other counterpart to help me pull it all together, because you go nuts working if I had to finish an entire project all within my own head.”

Ifs Needs Helping Home Together Guy Song My Own Projects Studios Developing Help Me Nuts Counterparts

Author:Andrew Bird

“When I'm onstage, I'm completely comfortable, and I feel very vital and alive.”

Feels Alive Comfortable

Author:Andrew Bird

“Playing the violin and singing and whistling are just three different ways of making sound. It's not trying to replace a band, per se. It's become a completely different thing. And it's not just simply an effect. It's just a very surprisingly intuitive thing.”

Way Trying Different Three Sound Effects Band Singing Different Ways Different Things Intuitive Violin Whistling

Author:Andrew Bird

“The music that I write is often not necessarily full of doom and gloom. You'll notice in most of the darkest songs, the music is actually pretty peaceful and lulling.”

Writing Song Music Is Peaceful Doom Gloom Doom And Gloom

Author:Andrew Bird

“The earth almost looks like it's packed down and dense from so many feet treading over it.”

Looks Earth Feet Down And Over It Dense Treading

Author:Andrew Bird

“Sometimes I just think we're not meant to fly halfway around the world in a day. That some kind of mutation is going to happen.”

Thinking World Kind Sometimes Happens Around The World Halfway Mutation

Author:Andrew Bird

“I think life is a wondrous thing. I'm happy to try pretty hard.”

Thinking Trying Hard Life Is Wondrous

Author:Andrew Bird

“I've always felt that dark lyrics with dark music is pretty useless. Maybe that's a strong statement - not useless, but for me, it's just boring.”

Strong Felt Dark Music Is Boring Statements Useless

Author:Andrew Bird

“Most records, you build from the drums and bass up. This one, we started with the vocals in Nashville and recorded them live with just the guitars and tried to make that complete and lovely-sounding without any adornment at all. I really wanted to get something with the vocal that I've never gotten before Armchair Apocrypha.”

Wanted Records Guitar Lovely Vocal Bass Nashville Armchairs Adornment Drum And Bass

Author:Andrew Bird

“Every time I make a record, it's kind of like scarification or something. You work 15 hours until you're stupid. You're just kind of all jittery.”

Kind Hours Records Stupid You Re Stupid

Author:Andrew Bird

“I finished touring the last record and I started recording new .I never really left the bubble, which is I think a good thing. I was just very focused. Maybe I should have taken a break or something, and not done such a long push.”

Thinking Should Long Done Lasts Left Break Taken Records Should Have Good Things Focused Finished Bubbles Touring

Author:Andrew Bird

“It's like you don't know you're making a record unless you're half-killing yourself.”

Knows Half Records Like You Killing Killing Yourself

Author:Andrew Bird

“I still play solo shows. And some of those shows are still some of the best, most gratifying shows.”

Stills Play Shows Solo

Author:Andrew Bird

“I haven't had that many people onstage for a while, and I'm looking forward to that. They're all such creative musicians in their own right. They're all complete individuals. They're not just a pick-up band. They all have their own thing going on.”

People Individual Creative Havens Band Musician Picks Looking Forward

Author:Andrew Bird

“People who are thinking about your music almost as much as you are, that almost never happens.”

People Thinking Happens Thinking About You

Author:Andrew Bird

“You can build up expectations for a song before you record it, and then it's like nothing's good enough in the studio.”

Enough Song Records Expectations Studios Good Enough

Author:Andrew Bird

“I have some irrepressible pop impulses to write an appealing, concise song. And I also have some irrepressible kind of restlessness as well, and I need to keep myself interested. When I'm left to my own devices, there's a struggle.”

Needs Writing Wells Kind Song Left My Own Struggle Pops Impulse Devices Restlessness Concise Irrepressible

Author:Andrew Bird

“There's always that struggle between me wanting to keep [song] new and fresh and then be - I can never get with pop songs being so repetitive.”

I Can Song Struggle Pops Repetitive Pop Song

Author:Andrew Bird

“I'm coming from a place that's more experimental and indulgent already, so for the last 10 years, it's been more like, "How can I defend my own sensibilities by writing a nugget of a little catchy pop song?" That's how I'm stretching myself, by writing something really simple.”

Writing Years Littles Lasts Song My Own Simple Pops Sensibility Stretching Pop Song Catchy Nuggets

Author:Andrew Bird

“Sometimes I think I don't have much choice in the matter. It's just what happens, and I'm following my instincts the whole time.”

Thinking Sometimes Matter Whole Happens Choices Instinct Following

Author:Andrew Bird

“I just pay attention to what's in my head. That's my number-one rule.”

Numbers Pay Attention Pay Attention

Author:Andrew Bird

“If something gets under my own skin, and keeps reoccurring, it starts to take on a certain weight and value, and I think, "I have to put this in the song. I have no choice but to mention Greek Cypriots in this song." It's a little internal challenge to myself. Like creating little imaginary rituals in yourself to help the song go from nonexisting to existing.”

Ifs Thinking Littles Helping Certain Values Song Choices Challenges My Own Creating Skins Weight Greek Internals Ritual Imaginary Cypriots

Author:Andrew Bird

“I don't get particularly precious about things like this, though. Like the record company said, "We need a radio edit that delivers the hook" - I don't even know what they consider the hook in that song ["Oh No"] - "that delivers the hook sooner." So I'm like, "Okay. I see that." And they were all walking on eggshells, like is this going to be sacrilegious to me or something, to mess with this art I've created? And I'm like, "Great. I get to tinker with it, I get to mess with my song some more."”

Knows Needs Art Said Song Company Records Walking Okay Radio Mess Hook Edits Record Companies Sacrilegious Eggshells Walking On Eggshells

Author:Andrew Bird

“It's not set in stone. I like to keep it rolling and changing, and so I am like, "Great, I get to remake my song."”

Song Stones Rolling Remakes

Author:Andrew Bird

“If you take a little time, let's say three weeks off, after recording a song, and you listen to it every other day, you're just going to know eventually.”

Ifs Knows Littles Song Three Week Little Time

Author:Andrew Bird

“I definitely have to give myself permission, like on "Master Swarm," to rip a lead on that. Just play a violin solo that's - it's a bit showoff-y, but it's fun, so who cares?”

Giving Play Care Fun Bits Masters Permission Solo Who Cares Rip Violin Swarms Showoffs

Author:Andrew Bird

“The instrumental record is a bit subtler. It's the kind of stuff on sound check, when I first pick up my violin and start to play, the kind of melodies that just pour out of me. Some of them sound very classical. Some of them sound experimental, polyrhythmic loops that I make.”

Firsts Kind Play Stuff Bits Sound Records Picks Checks Melody Violin Loops

Author:Andrew Bird

“I really like the sound of analog things where clearly there's something being touched. You can sense that something is handmade. So much with digital, there's a disconnect.”

Sound Touched Digital Analog Handmade

Author:Andrew Bird

“With digital sound just becomes simply information, not the sum of its parts.”

Sound Information Digital

Author:Andrew Bird

“Anyway, I'm digressing, but this is just kind of this 10-and-a-half-minute, ambient - you hear cicadas and birds and the wind outside and crickets as I'm swelling the piece. I could never do that on a pop record. I could, but why would I want to be agitating?”

Want Kind Half Records Pieces Minutes Wind Bird Pops Cricket Swelling Ambient Cicadas

Author:Andrew Bird

“In New York, I'm playing in a church, solo, doing instrumental stuff. There's talk of doing more, like, installation-type things with some of the specimen horns I've played through. Just filling a room in a museum with these horn-speaker sculptures and then making loops that run all day, and you walk around the room and sort of mix the sound by where you stand. That's all way in the future, but that kind of stuff is a different way of thinking about performing.”

About the Author

Born: July 11, 1973
Known for: Musician
Quotes: 102

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