Chelsea Theodosia Vail (born 22 October 2004), also known as Chicago, is an American musician, student and footballer living in metropolitan Vancouver, Canada. She co-founded the Vancouver alternative rock and shoegaze band Paper Observatory and serves as its lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, also playing keyboards. Vail plays central midfield for the Lansdowne Lancers, the football team of Lansdowne Secondary.
Vail was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Michael Vail and Rebecca Vail (née Downward). She has an older brother, Max. Following the 2008 attacks associated with the LESD insurgency, the family moved to the Vancouver area in 2009.
Vail attends Lansdowne Secondary, a public secondary school in Vancouver. During the 2019–20 academic year, she was in Grade 10 in the regular programme. She performs well academically and particularly enjoys geography, physical education and music.
Vail plays box-to-box central midfield for the school’s mixed-sex football team. She contributes to attacks and regularly returns to help defend. She has good stamina and passing ability, but sometimes attempts overly ambitious passes or leaves space behind her when moving forward.
She has considered continuing football after secondary school but had not decided on a career by the end of 2019.
Vail began learning electric guitar around 2015–2016. In 2018, she started writing songs with Katherin Konstanz. Audrey Seraphim joined them later that year, followed by drummer Emma Mayfield in early 2019. The four formally established Paper Observatory on 14 January 2019.
As the band’s principal singer, she also contributes guitar and keyboards. Vail and Konstanz were credited as producers on its 2019 debut album, One Pigeon Theory.
Vail lives with her parents and older brother. Her friends include Konstanz, Mayfield, Cara Romea and Hanae Wakami, along with other pupils at Lansdowne. Outside music and football, she enjoys video games and gardening.
Personal background
Vail is a transgender girl. The nickname Chicago, taken from her birthplace, predates her adoption of the name Chelsea and remains in use among friends. She had transitioned before joining her present Vancouver friendship circle. As of 31 December 2019, she was single.
She speaks fluent English and has some school-taught Spanish. Her naturally violet eyes are not the result of an extranormal expression; Vail is not an ENA.
Family
Vail’s parents encourage her music and football activities. Her father, Michael, helps with transport and equipment and sometimes worries when she stays out late. Her mother, Rebecca, expects her to keep up with schoolwork and household chores. Vail and Max frequently tease one another and occasionally wrestle.
School life and friends
During the 2019–20 school year, Vail was in Grade 10, Class 2, alongside Hanae Wakami. She sometimes puts off revision and coursework. She practises guitar and attends football training regularly.
Vail is particularly close to Nadia Serrano, her midfield partner on the Lansdowne Lancers. Serrano generally holds a deeper position and covers for Vail when she joins attacks. She is also friends with captain Julian Corbeil and winger Grace Adu.
Other school friends include Phoebe Martin, Marieke van der Merwe and Diego Morales. She is also on friendly terms with Charlotte Reid. Among her wider circle, she occasionally plays video games with Wakami.
Personality
Vail is outgoing and often suggests group outings, sometimes urging quieter friends to join in. She often greets close friends with hugs or shoulder bumps and enjoys teasing them.
She is especially competitive in football. Defeats or mistakes in a match can leave her frustrated, and she sometimes reacts defensively to criticism. She also objects when she believes friends or teammates have been blamed unfairly.
When experiencing dysphoria, Vail sometimes feels out of place even among close friends and withdraws from company. She does not always discuss the reason.
Interests and everyday life
Vail’s musical interests include punk, post-punk, alternative rock and shoegaze. Among the artists she enjoys are the Clash, Paramore, IDLES, Slowdive and Alvvays. She plays Rocket League and Mario Kart 8 and grows chillies and flowering plants at home.
Her usual clothing includes graphic shirts, denim jackets, loose knitwear, cargo trousers, occasional skirts and colourful trainers. She takes care of her guitar and football kit but is less organised with school materials. She also enjoys thunderstorms, novelty keyrings, sour sweets and pickled vegetables. She dislikes coconut, artificial cherry flavouring and heavily fragranced candles.
Online activity
In late 2019, Vail maintained public personal accounts on Instagram and Twitter, distinct from Paper Observatory’s official channels.
Instagram
@chelsea.vail
Not recorded
Football and concert photographs, rehearsals, outings, clothing, and occasional gardening posts
Twitter
@chicagovail
Not recorded
Football commentary, music recommendations, jokes with friends, and occasional band news
