Dear Nora

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. Ritchey and Wise were previously members of Wolf Colonel. They named their new band after Lewis & Clark College music professor Aaron Beck. 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. 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. From 2004 to 2007, they performed locally in San Francisco and toured with musicians such as The Blow, Mirah, and YACHT. 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. 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. 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. In May, 2018, Dear Nora released their fourth album Skulls Example on Orindal Records. In October, 2022, Dear Nora released human futures on Orindal Records. 2000 - Make You Smile (7"), Magic Marker Records 2000 - Dreaming Out Loud (7"), Magic Marker Records 2001 - We'll Have a Time, Magic Marker Records 2002 - The New Year, Magic Marker Records 2003 - split w/ Mates of State (7"), Polyvinyl Records 2004 - Mountain Rock, Magic Marker Records 2005 - split w/ What the Kids Want (7"), Shake Got the Beets Records 2006 - There is No Home, Magic Marker Records 2008 - Three States: Rarities 1997-2007, Magic Marker Records 2018 - Skulls Example, Orindal Records 2022 - human futures, Orindal Records Thomas, Bryan. "Dear Nora". Allmusic. Retrieved April 3, 2008. Gnade, Adam (October 12, 2006). "Up & Coming (concert listings)". Willamette Week. Retrieved April 3, 2007. Dear Nora at MySpace Heller, Jason (November 17, 2005). "Dear Nora". Denver Westword. Archived from the original on June 8, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2008. Dear Nora, States Rights Records Lomberg, Corey (February 22, 2017). "12 Years Later, Dear Nora Looks Back on the Beauty and Terror of 'Mountain Rock'". noisey.vice.com. Retrieved September 21, 2017. Rettig, James. "Katy Davidson On Skulls Example, The First Dear Nora Album In 12 Years". Stereogum, April 11, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2019 "Dear Nora: human futures". HUMP DAY NEWS. Retrieved November 14, 2022. Cramer, Stephen. "The New Year [EP] - Dear Nora". Allmusic. Retrieved November 26, 2011. Heaton, Dave (December 1, 2004). "Dear Nora: Mountain Rock". PopMatters. Retrieved November 26, 2011. Dear Nora at Allmusic Magic Marker Records Katy Davidson's official website Review at SF Weekly Review at PopMatters Dear Nora: Sunset on Humanity