Dear Nora

Dear Nora
A person with glasses and short hair sings into a microphone onstage while playing guitar. She is wearing a long coat (akin to a lab coat) with several images painted on it, including a record and a pink cartoon of Cher with the slogan "What Would Cher Do?"
Katy Davidson performing with Dear Nora in 2018.
Background information
OriginPortland, Oregon
GenresRock, indie pop
Years active1997–2008, 2017–
LabelsMagic Marker, States Rights Records, Valve Records, Orindal Records
MembersKaty Davidson
Past membersGretchen Hildebran
Jaime Knight
Jake Longstreth
Marianna Ritchey
Nora Roman
Antonio Roman-Alcalá
Ryan Wise
WebsiteKaty Davidson and Friends

Dear Nora is an indie pop band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1999 by songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist Katy Davidson, drummer and vocalist Marianna Ritchey, and bassist Ryan Wise.[1] Ritchey and Wise were previously members of Wolf Colonel.[1] They named their new band after Lewis & Clark College music professor Nora Beck.[2] Dear Nora's first album, We'll Have a Time, was produced by Amy Linton of The Aislers Set and released on the Portland label Magic Marker Records in 2001.[1]

After moving to San Francisco, Davidson continued to record under the name Dear Nora with a rotating cast of band members. The band released two more main albums, Mountain Rock (2004) and There Is No Home (2006), as well as several 7" singles and EPs.[1] From 2004 to 2007, they performed locally in San Francisco and toured with musicians such as The Blow, Mirah, and YACHT.[3][4]

After a tour of Florida with Casiotone for the Painfully Alone in 2008, Davidson retired the name Dear Nora, though they continue to record music.[2] In 2006, Davidson moved to Los Angeles, where they and Ritchey recorded Just as God Made Us under the name Lloyd & Michael on States Rights Records.[5] Davidson now resides in Portland and performs under the name "Key Losers."

In 2017, after a vinyl reissue of 'Mountain Rock', Katy Davidson reached out to several fellow musicians, Zach Burba, Gregory Campanile, and Stephen Steinbrink to play with them under the Dear Nora moniker, for the first time since 2008, on tour across the United States.[6]

In May, 2018, Dear Nora released their fourth album Skulls Example on Orindal Records.[7]

In October, 2022, Dear Nora released human futures on Orindal Records.[8]

  1. ^ a b c d Thomas, Bryan. "Dear Nora". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  2. ^ a b Gnade, Adam (2006-10-12). "Up & Coming (concert listings)". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2007-04-03.
  3. ^ Dear Nora at MySpace
  4. ^ Heller, Jason (2005-11-17). "Dear Nora". Denver Westword. Archived from the original on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  5. ^ Dear Nora, States Rights Records
  6. ^ Lomberg, Corey (22 February 2017). "12 Years Later, Dear Nora Looks Back on the Beauty and Terror of 'Mountain Rock'". noisey.vice.com. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
  7. ^ Rettig, James. "Katy Davidson On Skulls Example, The First Dear Nora Album In 12 Years". Stereogum, April 11 2018. Retrieved April 7 2019
  8. ^ "Dear Nora: human futures". HUMP DAY NEWS. Retrieved 2022-11-14.