Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire

Last updated
Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire
Genres Indie rock, indie folk, folk rock, baroque pop, alternative rock, New Orleans jazz
Years active1997–2003
Labels Rykodisc
Associated acts Andrew Bird, Squirrel Nut Zippers
Website andrewbird.net

Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire was an American band fronted by musician Andrew Bird. After releasing his first solo album, Music of Hair , Bird appeared on three albums by Squirrel Nut Zippers before becoming the bandleader for Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire.

Contents

Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire released Thrills on Rykodisc in 1997, shortly followed by second album 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, as well as providing vocals along with his trademark verbose lyrics.

The Bowl of Fire featured musicians from Bird's home town of Chicago, including Kevin O'Donnell, Joshua Hirsch, Jon Williams, Nora O'Connor, Andy Hopkins, Jimmy Sutton, Colin Bunn, and Ryan Hembrey. Members of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Katharine Whalen and Jimbo Mathus also appeared on Thrills. [1] During this period, Andrew Bird was a member of the jazz group Kevin O'Donnells Quality Six, for which he was the lead singer and violinist and contributed to arrangements and songwriting for the albums Heretic Blues (Delmark 1999) and Control Freak (Delmark 2000) (both Delmark albums were produced by Raymond Salvatore Harmon).

In 2001, the Bowl of Fire released their third album, The Swimming Hour , a dramatic departure from their previous recordings. It featured a mixture of styles, from the zydeco-influenced "Core and Rind" to more straightforward rock songs such as "11:11". Due to this eclectic yet pop-like nature, Bird has often referred to it as his "jukebox album". Although gaining critical praise (The Swimming Hour received a 9.0 from indie music website Pitchfork [2] ), the band failed to attain commercial success or recognition, playing to audiences as small as 40 people. [3] In 2002, Bird was asked to open for a band in his hometown of Chicago, but fellow Bowl of Fire members were unavailable for the date. The reluctant Bird performed the gig alone, and the surprising success of this solo show suggested potential new directions for his music. [3] The Bowl of Fire unofficially disbanded in 2003, and Bird went on to gain mainstream recognition and re-invent himself as a solo artist.

In December of 2017, members of the band held a reunion performance at the Hideout Inn in support of the Foundations of Music's Andrew Bird scholarship. The line-up included Andrew Bird, Nora O'Conner, Kevin O'Donnell, and Colin Bunn, as well as Are You Serious bassist, Alan Hampton. [4]

Discography

Related Research Articles

Mammoth Records was an independent record label founded in 1989 by Jay Faires in the Carrboro area of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The majority of the acts on Mammoth were executive-produced by Faires and the label's general manager, Steve Balcom. The label was the first independent to produce two platinum records.

Squirrel Nut Zippers

Squirrel Nut Zippers is an American swing and jazz band formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, by James "Jimbo" Mathus, Tom Maxwell, Katharine Whalen, Chris Phillips (drums), Don Raleigh, and Ken Mosher.

Andrew Bird American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist

Andrew Wegman Bird is an American indie rock multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter. Since 1996, he has released 16 studio albums, as well as several live albums and EPs, spanning various genres including swing music, indie rock, and folk music. He is primarily known for his unique style of violin playing, accompanied by loop and effect pedals, whistling, and voice. In the 1990s, he sang and played violin in several jazz ensembles, including Squirrel Nut Zippers and Kevin O'Donnell's Quality Six. He went on to start his own swing ensemble, Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire, which released three albums between 1998 and 2001. Weather Systems (2003) was his first solo album, and a departure from jazz music into indie music. Bird's 2019 album My Finest Work Yet was nominated for "Best Folk Album" at the 2020 Grammy Awards.

Dave Sitek American musician and record producer

David Andrew Sitek is an American musician and record producer, known for his work with his band TV on the Radio. He has also worked with bands such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, Foals, Celebration, Little Dragon, Beady Eye, and Weezer, and produced free jazz-influenced remixes of songs by artists such as Beck and Nine Inch Nails, and has contributed a solo track to the Red Hot Organization Dark Was the Night charity compilation. He is also a photographer and painter.

<i>Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs</i> 2005 studio album by Andrew Bird

Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs is the third album of Andrew Bird's career post-Bowl of Fire, released in 2005, following his Weather Systems in 2003. The album art, along with track illustrations in the accompanying booklet were drawn by Jay Ryan. Bird expanded on his earlier work on Weather Systems; the song "Skin Is, My" is an outgrowth of his earlier song "Skin".

<i>Music of Hair</i> 1992 studio album by Andrew Bird

Music of Hair is Andrew Bird's first released album. The album came out in 1996. The tracks featured were written in Bird's early twenties, and the album was released when he was 23. The album features contributions from musicians Colin Bunn, Dave Dieckmann, Kat Eggleston, Al Ehrich, Kevin O'Donnell; and, James "Jimbo" Mathus, Katharine Whalen and Chris Phillips from Squirrel Nut Zippers.

<i>Oh! The Grandeur</i> 1999 studio album by Andrew Birds Bowl of Fire

Oh! The Grandeur is Andrew Bird's second album with the Bowl of Fire. The first track, "Candy Shop", was recorded as a demo track for the then-upcoming Tim Robbins film, Cradle Will Rock. Another track of note on this album is "Tea & Thorazine," which was inspired by Bird's autistic brother's experience with mental institutions. The song mentions a "Dr. B" and Bird identifies him in the album liner notes as Bruno Bettelheim, an early autism researcher.

<i>Hot</i> (Squirrel Nut Zippers album) 1996 studio album by Squirrel Nut Zippers

Hot is the second studio album by the Squirrel Nut Zippers, a retro swing band. Recorded as a follow-up to their acclaimed debut, The Inevitable, the group continued their use of big band sounds and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Upon its release in June 1996, the album drew favorable reviews from most critics, who praised the humorous lyrical compositions and the record's cross-generational appeal. The album peaked within the top 30 of the Billboard 200, and was certified Platinum by the RIAA in December of the year following its release. It also spawned a single, "Hot", which peaked in the top 20 of the Alternative Airplay chart.

<i>Sold Out</i> (Squirrel Nut Zippers album) 1997 EP by Squirrel Nut Zippers

Sold Out is limited edition EP by the swing revival band Squirrel Nut Zippers that was released in 1997. The album contains live songs and other obscure tracks.

<i>Perennial Favorites</i> 1998 studio album by Squirrel Nut Zippers

Perennial Favorites is an album by the swing revival band Squirrel Nut Zippers, released in 1998.

<i>Bedlam Ballroom</i> 2000 studio album by Squirrel Nut Zippers

Bedlam Ballroom is a studio album by the swing revival band Squirrel Nut Zippers, released in 2000. It followed several major personnel changes. The album reflects a stylistic shift, with the band incorporating a broader ranges of styles, instrumentation, and production approaches. The band broke up after the release of the album, eventually reuniting in 2007.

<i>Thrills</i> (Andrew Birds Bowl of Fire album) 1998 studio album by Andrew Birds Bowl of Fire

Thrills is an album created by Andrew Bird. It was released on April 7, 1998, on the Rykodisc label. It is the first Andrew Bird album released with Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire.

<i>Armchair Apocrypha</i> 2007 studio album by Andrew Bird

Armchair Apocrypha is American singer-songwriter Andrew Bird's fourth studio album and his third post-Bowl of Fire album. The album features more electric guitars, a change from the more acoustic-oriented Eggs, though the songs are similar in character if slightly more straightforward.

<i>Fingerlings</i> (album) 2002 live album by Andrew Bird

Fingerlings is a live album by Andrew Bird, released in 2002.

<i>Noble Beast</i> 2009 studio album by Andrew Bird

Noble Beast is American singer-songwriter Andrew Bird's fifth solo studio album released on January 20, 2009. Two songs from this album were previewed on his webpage, "Oh No" and "Carrion Suite", while the entire album was made available by NPR as a streaming feed. Noble Beast was made available as a standard CD release, a special limited-edition deluxe two-CD package and a double-LP package.

Jeff Parker (musician) American musician

Jeff Parker is an American guitarist and composer based in Los Angeles. Born in Connecticut and raised in Hampton, Virginia, Parker is best known as an experimental musician, working with jazz, electronic, rock, and improvisational groups.

Jimbo Mathus American musician

James H. Mathis Jr., known as Jimbo Mathus, is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his work with the swing revival band Squirrel Nut Zippers.

Kevin Morby American musician, singer and songwriter (born 1988)

Kevin Robert Morby is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He has released six studio albums: Harlem River (2013), Still Life (2014), Singing Saw (2016), City Music (2017), Oh My God (2019), and Sundowner (2020).

Tom Maxwell (singer)

Thomas Edward Maxwell is an American songwriter, singer, and musician. Most notably, Maxwell is the former lead singer of the swing revival band Squirrel Nut Zippers. He wrote the single "Hell" from the 1996 platinum-certified album Hot.

Joshua Abrams (musician)

Joshua Abrams is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist.

References

  1. ↑ Heather Phares (2010). "Andrew Bird's Bowl of fire". pandora.com . Retrieved 2010-09-19.
  2. ↑ Joe Tangari (December 31, 1999). "Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire: The Swimming Hour". Pitchfork Media . Retrieved 2009-01-13.
  3. 1 2 Jonathan Mahler (January 2, 2009). "Andrew Bird Discovers his Inner Operatic Folkie". The New York Times . Retrieved 2009-01-13.
  4. ↑ Jeff Elbel (14 December 2017). "In the Music Spotlight: Andrew Bird". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 22 Sep 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.