Best local band: In Bloom

 ‘It’s a full time job’: The jazzy 8-person group discusses their classroom origins and newfound fame

By MIRIAM RAMAKRISHNAN — arts@theaggie.org 

The sight of people twirling each other around and laughing at a show, more often than not, means that In Bloom is playing. The local house show mainstays have quickly become a draw for any show in this college town, with people flocking to whatever house will host them and now winning Best of Davis’ Best Local Band title. 

In Bloom is made up of Zoey Mortazavi, lead vocalist and a third-year international relations major, Vedi Iyer, vocalist, violinist and a third-year civil engineering major, Grace Eastlick, trumpet player and a UC Davis alumna with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in neurobiology, physiology and behavior, Gibson Meeker, guitarist and a third-year applied physics major, Derek Hernandez, drummer and a third-year history and music double major, Ryan Dennis, pianist and a third-year mechanical and aerospace engineering major and Paul Zhu, bassist and a fifth-year psychology major. The band is also often joined by Jacob Johnson, saxophonist and a teaching assistant and PhD student in animal behavior.

The group was born through the UC Davis Jazz Combo program, where students audition to play in four- to five-person groups every week. Violinist and vocalist Vedi Iyer, a third-year civil engineering major, explained how short-lived the six-week program felt, and how that motivated her to pursue that feeling beyond its conclusion. 

“Two years ago, The California Aggie Couch Concert was coming up and I asked the other members if we could just play [the show] as combos, and they said yes,” Iyer said. “We formed a group, and we only had two rehearsals to learn five or six songs. It was just really fun and something that [Mortazavi] and I have always wanted to do.”

Mortazavi described the impact of the band’s recent success, having been booked almost every weekend this past month.

“I got recognized at Trader Joe’s yesterday,” Mortazavi said. “It just doesn’t feel real because it’s been a relatively short time, but I’m so grateful because I think we have a lot of fun when we play together.”

After their first performance, Mortazavi realized that there may be a demand for a band with a sound like In Bloom’s in Davis — one bright with jazz, R&B influences and catchy covers. 

“When we played at the Couch Concert, I realized it’s been so long since there’s been music we can actually dance to,” Mortazavi said. “We haven’t heard this kind of music in Davis in forever.”

Zhu, who grew up in China and didn’t speak English until the age of 13, noted that playing bass with In Bloom has made him think about music differently.

“I don’t really listen to music for the lyrics,” Zhu said. “I listened to a lot of American music and didn’t understand English, so it was always just someone making sound with their mouths. Playing in a band with two vocalists has really helped me step back and remember that I’m playing for them too.”

The band recently performed for their largest audience yet at Eclectic Collective’s annual Picnic Day house show on April 18. In the middle of In Bloom’s set, police officers showed up to shut the event down due to overcrowding. 

“My initial reaction was ‘Okay, this might take 20 minutes to clear everyone out,’” Iyer said. “‘Let’s just keep going.’”

The band continued to play while the Eclectic Collective’s founder Grace Lawlor spoke to the police officers. After about 15 minutes, the officers left, and the show was allowed to continue. There was a renewed vigor in the crowd after the incident; the amount of dancing and singing turned up a few notches.

“People were pissed,” Mortazavi said. “It was a big deal, but I feel like it added a lot of energy when we were able to keep going. We’d been hyping up the Picnic Day show for months, so it was a little scary for a second.”

One of the unique things about In Bloom is their setlist — composed of artists like Stevie Wonder, Amy Winehouse, Steely Dan and many more. The group debuted their cover of “Nakamarra” by Hiatus Kaiyote at The Aggie’s Spring Quarter Couch Concert house show on April 24. 

“It’s not just jazz,” Zhu said. “There’s a lot of funk and R&B. Even though we all met in the jazz ensemble, that isn’t quite reflected in what we play.”

Eastlick, who works as a physical therapy aide, often tells her patients about In Bloom’s performances.

“I can’t talk about this band without smiling at this point,” Eastlick said. “One of my patients on Monday told me that I was living my rockstar life, and I kind of agree.”

In Bloom is one of the most innovative and fresh bands in the Davis scene, combining a myriad of genres with classically trained talent to create an unbelievably lively atmosphere. Watch them blossom on Instagram at @inbloom_theband and stay tuned for future performances.

Written by: Miriam Ramakrishnan — arts@theaggie.org