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Chasing That Ghost On Stage: The Haunted Continent And Andrew Bird's Apocrypha, Mary Elizabeth Lasseter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis traces the various physical and metaphorical journeys south of Chicago musician Andrew Bird. Using what historical record is publicly available, I examine Bird's formal musical training. I then explore the years between 1995 and 2001, or what I call Bird's period of apprenticeship. Next is an exploration of the canonical narratives surrounding the blues of the Mississippi Delta, especially the music of Charley Patton. When Andrew Bird encountered a canon, or dominant histories and meanings of southern music that influence how musicians play and how audiences interpret that music, he began to react against that canon in his …