Quotes by Andrew Bird

About Andrew Bird:

Andrew Wegman Bird is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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

Andrew Bird

I am, in some sense, a writer. Even though I kinda downplay the word thing, I do enjoy writing sometimes.

Andrew Bird

Since I first picked up the violin, I've been very interested in tone and texture: I would have very visceral reactions to the texture of a snare drum or a pedal steel guitar or a violin.

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.

Andrew Bird

Well, my main instrument is violin, but I think of myself as a songwriter who happens to play violin.

Andrew Bird

I still kind of believe this absurd line that if you have to write it down, it's not worth remembering.

Andrew Bird

All the folks I play with come from jazz backgrounds or at least appreciate spontaneity within the parameters of a pop song.

Andrew Bird

No, it's not dissatisfaction that inspires me to tinker with my songs, it's just restlessness.

Andrew Bird

I've always been fascinated and stared at maps for hours as a kid. I've especially been most intrigued by the uninhabited or lonelier places on the planet. Like Greenland, for instance, or just recently flying over Alaska and a chain of icy, mountain...

Andrew Bird

I write a lot more when I'm happy, because you're hopeful, you're motivated.

Andrew Bird

The idea of writing songs because you're depressed and you need to communicate it somehow, that isn't really true for me.

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.

Andrew Bird

Playing the violin and singing and whistling are just three different ways of making sound.

Andrew Bird

I guess I'm attracted to more archaic words because they can be imbued with more meaning, because their definition is elusive.

Andrew Bird

Guitars are kind of just, you know, sexy, especially old vintage ones.

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. I'm happy to be in that category.

Andrew Bird

I mean, you still can't jump offstage and go read a book. But I'm getting better at it. It is something you can manage. You can still give everything you have to the audience onstage, and have something for yourself.

Andrew Bird

The first notes I still play when I start a sound check are classical. Those are my roots.

Andrew Bird

There was a fascinating handmade poster scene in Chicago in the '90s, and I became friends with many of the artists; the posters were often more impressive than the bands.

Andrew Bird

In school I was painfully shy. But as soon as I had to get up in front of the class and give a book report, it was alarming - I'd suddenly be very articulate.

Andrew Bird

My head is full of shifting patterns and polyrhythmic stuff; but I want to use all acoustic instruments and create this kind of tapestry of interlocking lulling parts.

Andrew Bird

Author Bio

  • NameAndrew Bird
  • Descriptionmusician
  • AliasesAndrew Wegman Bird
  • BornJuly 11, 1973
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionSinger; Singer-songwriter; Fiddler; Jazz Musician