Forget the violin. Forget the classical background. As troubadour Andrew Bird puts it, ''At this point the violin just happens to be the instrument I have on hand to make the sounds that I hear. I like to abuse it and pull as many sounds out of it as I can.'' Bird is a masterful and intuitive singer / songwriter, and what he does while performing-alternately plucking and bowing his violin, then immediately sampling the results, layering the sounds with guitar, whistling, glockenspiel and vocals ��Ǩ'bears little resemblance to what most people might expect. It's only one of several devices in his arsenal of instruments, melodies, and imaginative wordplay. 
