Almost every wizard rock show I have been to has been hosted at a library and organized by a librarian. I always love telling folks this because it shatters the myth of the stern librarian who wants nothing more than to shush patrons. Over the weekend, I got the opportunity to chat with one of these wizardly book defenders, Ariel Factor Birdoff. In addition to her job slaying book-demons and growing booklets from enchanted seeds—that is what librarians do, right?—Ariel is also a musician who founded the band Madam Pince and the Librarians!

I also happen to work in a library, so I cannot but applaud the idea of a wrock band based on the one and only librarian of Hogwarts! (Gosh, I love the inventiveness of this genre!)

Paul: So, my first question is my go-to: Just as all stories have a beginning, all band’s have an origin story. What is yours?

Ariel: It was my first Wrockstock in 2008. I was staying in The Cabin of Love and I was playing Apples to Apples. I had always wanted there to be a band called Madam Pince and the Librarians. I voiced my thoughts to my friends, saying “If I ever started a band, it would be Madam Pince and the Librarians!” My friend asked: “Why don’t you?” And I really had no good answer. So when I got home, I started a band.

Paul: I’m always struck by the variety of styles within wizard rock. When you write tunes, are there artists that you hope to partially emulate, at least in terms of sound or lyrical style?

Ariel: I’ve always loved musicals, rhyming poetry, and humorous music. Showtunes, Shel Silverstein, Allan Sherman, and Weird Al are some of my favorites. So above all else, I wanted Madam Pince’s music to be clever and funny. But my biggest inspiration was my mother. Her talent as a singer inspired my confidence to actually perform in the first place.

Paul: It seems that every musician approaches writing and recording differently. What about you?

Ariel: I write poetry. All of my songs, unless they are parodies, start as poetry. I get ideas for poetry all the time and I write them down whenever I think of them. Sometimes some of them seem to lend themselves to music. Since I am not so experienced in composition, it is usually at this point that I tell my bandmates my ideas and we try to write the music together. Recently I wrote my own music to Rogue Librarian, and it was basically me on garageband pressing random buttons and playing with loops until it sounded right! I hope to try more of that soon!

Paul: It seems that you are a regular Imogen Heap now! Shifting topics just a bit, libraries have long been bastions of wizard rock. As both a librarian and a wizard rocker—a highly magic combo, might I note—do you feel like you have a unique perspective on the genre as a whole? Why or why not?

Ariel: I don’t feel like I have a totally unique perspective, or at least my perspective is the same as most library advocates. Wrock and libraries go together. Libraries are no longer just quiet spaces for solitary research. They are gathering places for the community. They are a place to work together, learn new things, and enjoy art, music, and culture. It’s essential for libraries to be seen as such, and wizard Rock is perfect for that. Being a part of both worlds (whether you’re a librarian, wizard rocker, patron, or all three), allows one to see the perfect relationship between the two.

Paul: Did you ever think when you first started your band during Wrockstock 2008 that years and years later wizard rock would still be a thing?

Ariel: Nope! I always thought Wizard Rock would be this thing that would begin and end with Harry and the Potters. Then there was Draco and the Malfoys, The Whomping Willows, and more. Then there was Madam Pince. When we formed Madam Pince, each show was a gift. Each recorded song was incredible. We made an album. Insane! We played in other states! People paid for us to perform! And today, I can’t believe wizard rock is not only still a thing, it’s having a revival. There are new bands! New music! Wizard Rock is alive and well, and it’s amazing.

Paul: Speaking of that, what do you think the future has in store for wizard rock? It’s been going on for such a long time now, and it could literally go in any new direction!

Ariel: I think we’ve seen a lot of what the future has in store with the 2020 Wizard Rock Sampler and the Yes All Witches Grant. Wizard Rock has a promising future of of queer (LGBTQIA+) music and queer performers.

Paul: And finally, you are in the Hogwarts library for the first time. What is the first book that you are going to check out?

Ariel: Probably a rune or spell Dictionary. I am a sucker for dictionaries.

If you want to listen to and/or buy Madam Pince and the Librarians’s music, check out their Bandcamp page! You can also give Ariel a “follow” on Twitter, here.