Bird of Paradise: passion project turned UChicago rock band.
photo via Bird of Paradise.
I first met the members of Bird of Paradise at Ex Libris Cafe in the Regenstein Library — fitting, considering we’re all undergraduate students here at the University of Chicago. After pulling six chairs around an absurdly small cafe table, my colleague Maria Kravtsova and I waited patiently for the band members to join us. First to arrive is Lucy Horowitz, the band's bassist and a second year math major in the college. She’s rocking mom jeans and a striped shirt, her brown hair cut into a short bob. An infectious smile is on her face as she introduces herself to us and takes a seat. Next, we meet keyboardist Amelia Simonoff, a fourth year double-major in neuroscience and music who happens to also be classically trained in the piano. With her was the long, curly brown-haired fourth year drummer, Elle Blom. Lastly, we meet fourth year singer, guitarist, and the band’s frontman Alexander “Xander” Rodriguez.
“What do we do? It’s a bunch of songs that I wrote a long time ago, or coming up to now, and bringing them to life together as a group,” says Xander, the band’s songwriter. Their origin story begins with Xander reaching out to his friend and acclaimed classical pianist Amelia. “It is really funny that I’m classically trained in piano and I get to fuck around with whatever this is,” says Amelia referencing the launchpad she uses in the band. The two had a vision for Xander’s songs, but knew they needed more bandmates to make it happen. Their solution? To put up flyers around campus. This is how the band found self-taught bassist Lucy, who had been playing since the fall of 2019, when she purchased her first bass guitar with her earnings from a summer job. Amelia then recruited drummer Elle.
They’ve all been musicians for a long time: Amelia and Xander started on the piano as children, while Lucy collected an impressive array of brass instruments to spite an elementary school jazz band after getting rejected. “At a certain point I started getting into harder rock and thought ‘Oh, this is cool, I wonder if I can do this as a creative outlet…over the years, I feel like I’ve figured out how to get this sound that’s in my head out,” says Xander. After realizing sheet music wasn’t quite working out for alt-rock songwriting, Xander taught himself to play guitar. He describes the band’s music as greater than the sum of its parts, “a constructive process.” This is where Bird of Paradise came in to help pull the puzzle pieces out of his head and into the world.
“I really appreciate the work of groups like Nine Inch Nails, we have that same degree of artistic ambition,” says Xander. Their music isn’t removed or abstract, it’s visceral and full of passion. Bird of Paradise leans into the humanity and imperfection of their craft. “There’s a lot to be said for not letting some abstract artistic ideal that you’re trying to get in the way of there’s a person playing an instrument that is making a sound,” says Xander. It’s part of the puzzle. “When it all comes together, it’s very satisfying,” adds Amelia.
“A lot of my experience playing with other people is very lowkey, nothing greater than friends banging on instruments together, so I really appreciate being in this band where it really is about the grand vision of it all,” tells Elle, who was used to jamming bluegrass in a basement. Amelia, on the other hand, was far more used to being a classical solo act before joining the band – “Not having sheet music really trips me up, but that’s okay.”
“A lot of what I’m trying to do is take an emotion, or a state, or a complex way of thinking about something and really consolidate it into really strong one liners that are expressing something as clearly as it can. Somebody will hear that and go – I get it.” responds Xander when I ask him to describe his songwriting. “It’s a lot about interpersonal relationships. It’s a different scenario or world within each song, and you just kind of have to try to exist within it for four minutes,” adds Lucy. Whenever she is playing bass she turns to Xander’s lyrics to guide her rhythm and style of play – something she learned to do playing in the pit orchestra for musicals in high school. Throughout the interview, the band emphasizes their cohesion in striving for a musical vision, which is something none of them could do on their own. They feed off of each other’s energies and talents, wanting the music to come to life as something greater than the sum of its parts. Their music is varied, some extremely sad and angsty songs contrasted with cheerful jams. However, all of the songs share a deeply personal tone and wells of emotion. For Bird of Paradise it’s about how the music can tell the same story the lyrics are telling. Xander equates the process of arranging the music to construction: “What can I put together with this? What other words? What other instruments can we add to really build something that makes a coherent whole.”
Indeed, Bird of Paradise feels like a coherent whole, both in their sound and their synergy as a band. Even in conversation, they feed and play off of one another casually and cohesively. I can tell they spend a lot of time together. When I ask about this, Amelia jokes about rehearsal time, telling me that she locks all of them in her basement for two hours each week, which seems to really help. They are not just bandmates – they are classmates and friends who spend more time joking with one another than practicing most days. Their unconscious synchronicity made all four of them coincidentally show up to their most recent gig wearing the exact same colors. Xander stresses that he wants the group to portray themselves to the audience as practiced and unified, both musically and visually. “It’s about being in the band and doing it all together, not just as individuals,” says Elle. But most importantly, it’s about having fun.
Lucy compares Xander to a conductor: “He’s a very dynamic frontman.” The band watches Xander for cues as they inhabit the space on stage together. They’re a well-oiled machine that strives for moments of complete coexistence within their songs. This connectedness has been both their goal and biggest learning curve. “When you’re playing alone, you don’t get to have those moments where it all comes together and that’s the best part,” says Elle. All four of them come from wildly different musical and academic backgrounds, yet they manage to collectively realize Xander’s thoughtful alternative rock songs on stage as Bird of Paradise. “It’s definitely made me a better communicator,” says Xander, “It’s an act of trust.”
Bird of Paradise is a shining example of a passion project and musical vision coming alive on our very campus. If you’re looking to support a UChicago-based rock band, make sure to catch Bird of Paradise’s next gig this quarter.
edited by Maria Kravtsova and Caroline Waldmann.
cover photo via Bird of Paradise.