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GrooveBites
Mick Bird "My CD na'au, represents every element that fills my life these days; family, the sea, fears, faith, friendship and love.”
Mick Bird entered Jackson Browne's Groove Masters studio in Santa Monica, California and recorded na’au. With music legends Jackson Browne singing harmony on "Talk of the Sea" and Timothy B. Schmidt of the Eagles adding his vocals to "Listen to the Light", Bird couldn't have dreamt of better collaborations. "When you're writing about what you know, what you feel, and you're writing from your na'au and your heart - you can't go wrong." In addition to those great artists, Mick was joined on his guitar and piano by the studio’s A-list session players and backup vocalists that currently record with James Taylor, Linda Rhonstadt and Crosby, Stills and Nash. “I added an extra touch just to get everybody in the right place. I had my mom call into the studio from Hawaii and from the speaker phone right there in the control room, she gave her puli (Hawaiian prayer) and blessed the session. I could tell the guys knew this wasn’t going to be your average recording gig.”
Bird entitled his CD "na'au", Hawaiian for "the insides" or "from the heart".
But don't think Mick Bird is a typical artist living on the shores of Malibu or Hawaii. He is a man both energetic and enigmatic, managing to pursue and fulfill a paradox of his personal passions. He followed his love of aviation into the cockpits of jet trainers, while a cadet in the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. He chased his love for composing and performing his music to Nashville, where he became a popular singer/songwriter with album and Billboard hits to his credit. Bird pursued his love for travel on the seat of a bicycle he rode 4,000 miles across the United States. He followed his love for the sea by kayaking 3,000 miles from Key West, Florida to Nova Scotia, Canada. As a man born in part to the genuine Polynesian heritage, he embraced his ancestral love for the oceans by establishing Hawaii as the launch point for his visionary Trans-Oceanic expedition.
Bird set out on a solo voyage around the world. What could possibly inspire a family man and emerging recording artist to attempt what nobody had every accomplished – to be the first to ever row around the world? For Bird, a successful completion of this voyage will symbolize the triumph achievement of a lifelong dream while providing consummate testimony to the unconquerable power of the human spirit. That’s because for Mick Bird, the relentless and omnipotent driving force of his daring odyssey is the simplest yet most powerful of all natural forces - love.
Bird ‘s wife, Stacia, supported Mick’s vision. “When we first met, Mick told me he intended to row a boat around the world. So I knew we were heading for perilous waters right from the very beginning. But his deep commitment and his spiritual integrity is one of the reasons I fell in love with him.”
After 269 days at sea, 11,000 miles and half way around the world, Mick landed in Indonesia and returned home to repair some equipment. He never returned. “I love the ocean and was in the best position to complete my goal. But, my family is bigger than all the oceans in the world.” Mick is in the middle of writing his book “Oars To Ponytails”, about his voyage and the shift from his personal dreams to his family.
Mick, his wife and twin 9 year-old daughters currently live in Vancouver, Washington, where he is the lead designer and owner of his digital media company, True Compass Designs.
For more information on Mick’s voyage, go to www.goals.com
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