This Friday and Saturday, local six-piece cover band Paradox will take the stage at Rico’s Public House in downtown Pullman. 

Paradox is known for its rock, pop and occasional country and folk covers, said lead singer and WSU political science professor Tom Preston.

“We play everything from the 1950s up to the present,” Preston said. “I think the thing our fans like when they come out to see us is that we don’t sound the same all the time.”

Jill Freuden, lead singer and assistant registrar at WSU, said their audiences enjoy the wide variety of songs they choose to play and the harmonies they use in their music. 

Preston said that of the six band members, three trade off being lead singer, so their music will sound very different between songs and gigs. 

“We have three completely different points of view … three completely different singing styles” Freuden said. 

Freuden is a classically trained singer, so when she first became part of Paradox, she had to learn how to sing in a rock band, she said.

Another thing that differentiates Paradox from other bands is the instruments they use, Freuden said. 

“I play banjo and ukulele and acoustic guitar, and so we have lots of different kinds of instruments,” she said. “Ray [Wallace] plays trumpet in two songs, which is seriously fun.” 

Preston said the name Paradox comes from the different genres and unexpected combinations of songs they play that may seem paradoxical to listeners. 

“Some people joke and say, ‘Well, you have a pair of doctors in your band. Was that why?’” Preston said. “That’s more clever than we are, actually.”

Of the local gigs the band has played since its formation in 2014, Freuden said her favorite was Wilson Banner Ranch’s annual Harvest Fair, where she said they played outside for five hours. Their first time playing there was also their first paid gig, she said. 

“[It’s] fun because we get to play all our music,” Freuden said. “Most of the time when we do a gig, we’re cutting music out, we’re deciding which songs we’re not going to sing … when you play for five hours you get to play all your music.”

Preston said Paradox has played at Rico’s a number of times in the past and the band always enjoys playing there. 

Paradox has shows at 7 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Saturday in the downstairs area at Rico’s. The shows are free, and Freuden said Rico’s has good food and drinks for people to enjoy while they listen.

“The downstairs area is going to be full, probably … there will be a lot of energy,” Freuden said. “We don’t have any fancy light shows or anything like that. We’re just a band.”