The Wooden Birds' soft-spoken frontman, Andrew Kenny, has led an eventful musical career that has taken him, along with his previous and current bands across the country, stopping once in Grand Rapids.

"We've been to Grand Rapids before, when we opened for another band," Kenny said. "It's way different from anywhere in Michigan -- the fans were great and we had an awesome time playing there. For this tour, we knew we wanted to make it back because it's so desirable."

Not only does that say a lot about Grand Rapids as a city, but it says a lot for Kenny as a person, a Fort Worth, Texas native, who made his way to New York and back to live out his dream.

"I had a great time there (in New York). Half of the Birds live there, but really it was just time for a new phase of my life. I got married and wanted to settle down I guess in the way our society views settling down. New York's fast-paced lifestyle wasn't what I wanted anymore."

The two members of The Wooden Birds that still reside in New York are lead guitarist and vocalist, Leslie Sisson and guitarist Matt Pond, who also perform in Pond's band, Matt Pond PA. The Birds' drummer, Sean Haskins, resides in Seattle, but his friendship with Kenny stems from their stint as the two-man band, American Analog Set. With miles between them, it seems as if the band would suffer, or break up, though Kenny says that all of them view it as a positive.

"We all discovered some time ago that we actually like playing music. We're a tight-knit group but we have no problem walking away for a while, between records or tours, or what not, so that we can pursue other things. The breaks allow us to always bring back something new to the table, based off of our experiences."

The Wooden Birds Founders Brewing Company, Grand Rapids July 9, 8:30 p.m. $5 foundersbrewing.com, (616) 776-1195

The band's latest album, Two Matchsticks, stands as a symbol of what happens when the band takes some time off. Its 2009 debut album, Magnolia, showed what the band was capable of, though Two Matchsticks has pushed Kenny specifically.

"Compared to any rock record, my stuff has always been the mellow project," Kenny said. "Matchsticks is the closest thing I've ever come to making a mid-tempo rock record. This one has a lot more energy than Magnolia did."

One would think that with artists pushing themselves to new heights, the recording process would be frustrating. But Kenny feels they encountered nothing in the way of detrimental digression.

"I love the whole process, but because I'm kind of a career home-recordist, the best part for me was mastering the tracks because I know I can't mess with them anymore," Kenny said. "As an artist, you're always going to find things that you want to change, no matter where you're at in the process. But I enjoy the finality of it because it's really important to be able to walk away and be cool with it."

So on July 9, when The Wooden Birds play at Founders, we can expect to see the band in its top form after playing half of their slated shows. But the touring life is never truly finished.

"This tour will take us to late July, and then we'll probably separate for a bit and do our own things," Kenny said. "Then maybe we'll close out the year with another tour."

Photo: Alicia Vega