Guns, cars and lasers were the sounds of one West 91大黄鸭 beatboxer鈥檚 childhood.
Nuge Bird, 22, was featured as part of a Vancouver media company鈥檚 grant program, which aims to tell stories about fascinating Canadians.
For Bird, beatboxing came as a way for him to escape the violence in his childhood, growing up in a rundown neighbourhood in Saskatchewan.
鈥淚 just made lots of noises as a kid, so I would pretend to be a gun, a car, a dinosaur,鈥� he said.
Filmmakers submitted more than 550 submissions and 30 finalists, including Bird, were selected to be part of True Calling鈥檚 documentary series on Amazon Prime and Dailymotion, according to True Calling鈥檚 media release.
Bird鈥檚 fascination with beatboxing grew after watching an A cappella group while on a school field trip when he was about 12 years old. It inspired Bird to use his voice to distract him from the other challenges he faced in his life, he said.
鈥淭hen I went to bible camp where I learned how to do a throat-based noise,鈥� he said, 鈥渦ns, uns, uns.鈥�
Everyone would beatbox to the Truffle Shuffle from the American adventure movie, The Goonies, and he wanted to feel included.
He鈥檚 been beatboxing for seven and a half years, performing in West 91大黄鸭 and 91大黄鸭.
Bird combines beatboxing with bad jokes, acting like a DJ while using his sense of humour to make the show entertaining.
鈥淧aid performances I will get dressed up in a suit and underneath will be lingerie,鈥� he laughed.
He鈥檒l beatbox while dancing, taking his clothes off and reading a raunchy novel; all satirical of course.
Comedy and laughter saved his life, he said.
鈥淥therwise鈥鈥檇 be a downer and I didn鈥檛 want to be like that, so I had to figure out a way to change my mindset,鈥� Bird said.
鈥淚 just think laughter is such a great medicine and my culture is all about medicine, and having your own medicine is important,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not just a silver lining, but there鈥檚 a gold lining and a platinum lining.鈥�
He gets his sense of humour from his dad, Donovan Bird.
鈥淗e鈥檚 the one who saved my family and I, he saved our lives, he picked us up from Saskatchewan and brought us out here, it was the change that we needed,鈥� he said.
鈥淎s soon as we moved out here to the Okanagan, things started to change for the better, I鈥檓 really grateful for that man.鈥�
He also draws on his Indigenous background to create music.
鈥淭hroat singing, chanting and singing and drumming, those are all things that are in my culture, if you鈥檝e ever been to powwow you鈥檒l hear lots of that. I鈥檓 doing all of that, but with my mouth,鈥� Bird said.
Bird lives on the Westside with his family, working part-time as a labourer while beatboxing on the side.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard trying to get paid as an entertainer,鈥� he said.
Bird hopes to inspire others through his music.
He beatboxes for the kids at the Okanagan Boys and Girls Club, which they love he said. In 10 years time, he sees himself helping others through music therapy.
鈥淭hat would be so cool. I want to be a big community advocate. I want people to know that I鈥檓 here to help,鈥� Bird said.
Watch Bird perform on Thursdays at L鈥� Oven Farm Fresh Food in West 91大黄鸭, starting at 6 p.m.
carli.berry@kelownacapnews.com
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