Actual Birds

Being raised in the small paper mill town of Otsego, MI, the boy who would grow into Actual Birds had two notable aural experiences early in life, both integral to understanding his development as a musical performer: the constant playing and replaying of Brian Hyland's 1960 hit "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini", and the cacophonous blast of exhaust emitted almost daily from the paper mill that sat kiddy corner from his childhood home.