He also uses an octave pedal to give the violin the range of a bass. He began using loop pedals to compensate when performing alone on stage, but later found that looping helped him to "embrace repetition," and compose his songs in a more straightforward manner, since he felt his writing style was too chaotic. Bird does not have a regular band that he plays with, and personnel changes with each album. Throughout his career, he has performed with a rotating cast of musicians. However, some musicians have appeared on several different albums, and performed with Andrew Bird on multiple tours. Originally "supposed to be a lark, kind of a between records thing,", the Hands of Glory was an old time band started by Andrew Bird. The group toured and recorded one eponymous album under the name in 2012. Andrew Bird currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife Katherine and their son Sam.