Donora (band)

This article is about the band. For the location in Pennsylvania, see Donora, Pennsylvania.
Donora
OriginPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
GenresIndie pop, indie rock, shoegaze
LabelsRostrum Records
Members
  • Casey Hanner
  • Jake Hanner
  • Jake Churton
Websitewww.donoramusic.com

Donora is an American indie pop/rock/shoegaze band based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They first gained visibility in 2006 as semifinalists in the contest, "Calling All Bands", sponsored by MySpace and Verizon Wireless, for their song "She's Just a Girl".[1][2] The band had music included on the MTV series Engaged and Underage, Cribs, and Teen Wolf, as well as the direct-to-video comedy Lower Learning, starring Eva Longoria and Jason Biggs.[3]

The trio is composed of vocalist/guitarist Casey Hanner, her brother drummer Jake Hanner, and bassist Jake Churton.[4] The band released their debut album, Donora, in December 2008 on the Pittsburgh-based independent record label Rostrum Records,[4] and received regular airplay on the adult album alternative radio station WYEP-FM. Jake and Casey Hanner are the children of country musician and record producer Dave Hanner, from the country-rock duo Corbin/Hanner;[1][4][5] they met Churton while he was recording at their dad's studio with another band.[4]

The band is named after Donora,[2] a town nearly 30 miles south of Pittsburgh, although the band is from Gibsonia, in Pittsburgh's North Hills, nearly 20 miles north of the city.[1] Bethany Hanner, the wife of drummer Jake, saw a road sign for the town and suggested it as the band's name.[6] The band had never been to the town until they performed there as part of a town celebration.[3]

The band released their second album, Boyfriends, Girlfriends, in 2011,[2] followed by their Play Nice EP in 2013,[7] 2014's Ha Ha Heart,[8] and 2017's Sun to Me.[9]

  1. ^ a b c Behe, Rege (March 15, 2006). "Briefs: Local band is semifinalist in contest". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Mervis, Scott (September 15, 2011). "Donora, a sibling-powered Pittsburgh band, is back with more infectious New Wave-style songs". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Hundt, Brad (February 27, 2009). "It's just a name". Observer-Reporter. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d Jentzen, Aaron (December 18, 2008). "Indie-rock trio Donora releases debut full-length on Rostrum Records". Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  5. ^ Mervis, Scott (January 6, 2009). "Young Pittsburghers to watch in 2009". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  6. ^ Hundt, Brad (February 27, 2009). "It's just a name". Observer-Reporter. Retrieved August 2, 2009. The band is called Donora, and it has nothing to do with the Mon Valley town or the smog that engulfed it 60 years ago. 'We were just looking for a band name that was just a single word,' according to drummer Jake Hanner. 'It's not that exciting a story.' It turns out that Hanner's wife, Bethany, saw a road sign for Donora, suggested it as a band name, 'And we liked the way it sounded.'
  7. ^ Webb, Rory D. (February 18, 2013). "Donora concludes "Play Nice" tour with sold-out show". Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved on May 17, 2013.
  8. ^ "Donora - Ha Ha Heart". Discogs. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  9. ^ Donora (October 28, 2017). "New album #SunToMe 💜🌞💜🌞 out now: http://smarturl.it/SunToMe". Facebook. Retrieved December 21, 2020.