Andrew Bird
Andrew Bird grew up no stranger to music, and he started playing the violin was he was four, using the Suzuki method. But Andrew argues he wasn\u2019t \u201cprodigy material.\u201d Yes, he was naturally musical, but classical training requires strict adherence to rules and technique, and that just wasn\u2019t his thing. \u201cI always had this rebellious response to my teachers. I was trying to bust out of it before I had the basics. They would say, \u201cJust learn what we\u2019re trying to teach you, and then you can do that other stuff.\u201d Of course, my response was, \u2018But\xa0when?\u2019\u201dIt took a bit of time, but in his late teens, Andrew finally discovered a scene that piqued his interest. \u201cWhen I came out of music school, I started going to the club Lounge Ax in Chicago, and I was perplexed by this thing called indie rock. The guitars were spitefully out of tune, and the singing was a little waif-ish, but I was fascinated by it.\u201d The DIY nature of the genre was even more appealing\u2014he didn\u2019t need to wait for permission or for someone to say, \u201cOkay, now you have earned a place in the orchestra.\u201dOnce Andrew took the reins, he made a name for himself with his unique melodies and unconventional way of playing the violin. Over the years, he\u2019s released music at a prolific pace\u201415 albums in the past 13 years.\xa0My Finest Work Yet\xa0is his latest, filled with infectious melodies, cinematic themes, probing lyrics, and his signature whistle. It\u2019s clear that a large part of his success comes from his self proclaimed pride in \u201cbeing the weirdo.\u201d No wonder he\u2019d love to call his early music teachers and say, \u201cHey, look! I\u2019m breaking all the rules, and people are loving it.\u201dAndrew joins\xa0Off Camera\xa0to talk about the madness that drives his songwriting process, why he hates headphones, and why he whistles when he works, constantly.