Biography
ABOUT LAURA BIRD
Laura’s songs speak to the strength, grace and truth she finds in the extraordinary and the everyday. Drawing inspiration from a mosaic of musical influences beginning with early folk roots and bluegrass to old jazz standards, her songs tug at the familiar; contemporary set against the backdrop of a traditional musical panorama. Through the keen eye of the observer her songs are sensitive, compassionate and heartfelt often drawing visual references from a childhood spent growing up in small town Ontario along the St. Lawrence River. With her warm, relaxed stage presence, finely honed guitar work, a painters' eye for lush images and sultry, smokey voice, you'll want to close your eyes and watch the mind movies inspired by Laura’s soundtrack.
Laura has served on both the OCFF and ArtsCan Circle Board of Directors; she co-founded the Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award; co-founded the Headwaters Acoustic Music Society and retired as Artistic Director of the Live! At the Opera House concert series in Orangeville in April 2008.
During the eight years she devoted to the work of ArtsCan Circle, Laura shared her music with kids at risk, traveling to remote Aboriginal communities of Northern Ontario and Labrador. Laura began working with bluegrass/jazz multi-instrumentalist and award-winner Emory Lester in 2005 producing an EP Demo of some new tunes. In 2006, her song 'Heavy Load' accompanied by Lester was included on the bluegrass compilation project North To Ontario that subsequently went on to win Recording of The Year at the Central Bluegrass Awards.
For the past five years Laura has toured southern Ontario during a spring celebration of International Women's Day with a 'Quintana' of songstresses called the Pomelos. (Katherine Wheatley, Tannis Slimmon, Marianne Girard, Heather Katz, Chris MacLean, Eve Goldberg) What originally began as a 'one-off' concert, quickly morphed into an annual event where a fluid collective of solo female artists present their music in "Lilith Fair" - workshop style format, supporting one another with instrumentation and vocal harmony.
Laura recorded her new full-length project with co-producer Gene Gouthro at his Athlone Studios in Everett Ontario, which was officially released November 15th, 2008 at the Orangeville Opera House. As she had done with her debut recording Dreamwalker, she once again assembled a stellar core of support musicians and musical guests representing the innovative Fly By Night Orchestra. The result is 'The Water In Between', a beautiful collection of fourteen original compositions, showcasing both maturity in her songwriting as well as the warm intensity of her rich sultry vocals.
In spite of the late winter release of this project, The Water In Between was included in Penguin Eggs Magazine’s DJ top ten favourites of 2008 and placed among CBC Galaxie Folk-Roots satellite radio top ten high rotation album releases of 2009 for three consecutive months (March-May 2009). After a full summer of festival performances including the Red Roof Women’s Music Festival, Blue Skies Festival and Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival, Laura has a busy fall and winter schedule shaping up with an East Coast tour planned for October/November and her eye on the Canadian West Coast for 2010.
Quotes & Reviews
THE WATER IN BETWEEN
A beautiful collection of fourteen original compositions painted on a colourful canvas of sultry vocals and stellar musicianship.
“Laura Bird's sophomore release The Water in Between is a delight in every way.” Robert Reid NIGHTLIFE STAFF Guelph-Mercury THE WATERLOO RECORD
“I'm sitting here listening to your new CD. What a delight it is! I love your voice and the songs and here's the bonus: it's one of the most gorgeously produced albums I've heard in quite a while! Just my cup of tea: clean, musical, lush and real. “
Paul Mills ~ Musician, Producer The Mill Stream, Toronto, ON
"Laura Bird's songs speak to the strength, grace and truth she finds in the extraordinary and the everyday." Jan Vanderhorst CKPC Just Us Folk, Brantford, ON
“The melodic development of Laura’s songs is solid and infectious, the lyrics always poignant and intelligent, poetic, earthy, and dramatic. Combine these ingredients with a voice dark, smooth, and full of richness and you got yourself some mighty swell musical stories well worth the listening." Lewis Melville ~ Songwriter, Musician, Producer
Instrumentation
Laura Bird - Lead Vocals & Acoustic Guitar
'Band' may comprise Duo, Trio or full Band accompaniment (up to 6 piece) utilizing a wide variety of world class multi-instrumentalist side players.
Discography
ALBUMS
2000 - DREAMWALKER Laura Bird
Independent Wigborough Music
2001- WAITING TO ARRIVE by Don Bray *Harmony Vocals
2003 - EP Laura Bird & Jack Walker
Independent Wigborough Music
2004 – CHOSEN by Don Bray * Harmony Vocals
2005 - EP Laura Bird & Emory Lester
Independent Wigborough Music 2005
2006 - NORTH TO ONTARIO Bluegrass Compilation
Featuring ‘Heavy Load’
Producers Tom McCreight & Gene Gouthro
2008 – NORTH TO ONTARIO Bluegrass Compilation
Featuring ‘Rosalita’
2008 - THE WATER IN BETWEEN – Laura Bird
Independent Wigborough Music
Links
| http://www.laurabird.com |