Know Them Too: Gainesville-based The Nancys hit their stride with debut EP
Gainesville-based indie rock band The Nancys is making their mark in the Florida music scene and beyond with the release of their debut self-titled EP. Sky sat down with Theo (guitar, production) and Shane (drums) to chat about their EP, indie inspirations, and stellar local music community.
Ella Norris (lead vocals, songwriter), Theo Lorenzen (guitar) and Shane Barrera (drums) of The Nancys. Photo by Eden Hetzroni.
SKY: Hey guys! Thanks for taking the time to speak with Skylines about The Nancys’ debut EP. How did you originally come together as a band?
THEO: I saw them at a house show when there was a different band organization. Shane and I both joined when the old bassist and drummer left, and since then, we’ve just kind of been rolling.
SKY: How long ago was that?
SHANE: Almost a year.
SKY: Coming up on a one-year anniversary! Your recent releases have cited musical inspirations like Big Thief and The 1975. What other indie artists have shaped your sound, both individually and as a band?
SHANE: I’m a big Mac DeMarco fan. I like a lot of 90s grunge and indie rock, like Slow Pulp and Snail Mail, and a lot of indie-pop-oriented artists like Lucy Dacus and boygenius. All our inspirations are kind of across the board. I think what we’re listening to impacts what we’re working on as a band at the moment.
THEO: The songs call for their own styles. For one of our slow songs called “Light Again,” Shane and I were hanging out and listening to the rough tracks. We were like, “What if we panned the drums to the left and the bass to the right like old Beatles recordings, but then made it a little more high fidelity?” Each song kind of wants its own thing. Know Me Too was always a pop/rock ballad, so it’s gotta have big drums. We come up with little comps and put everything together. For Sucker, “Chocolate” by The 1975 was the comp. “Light Again” was “Something” by The Beatles. And then Know Me Too was kind of a hodgepodge of different songs put together.
SHANE: It’s not like we make a song intending to make an X song or a Y song. It’s more so we make the song and then we’re like, “This kind of reminds me of something.”
SKY: I’m an indie kid at heart, and those artists you named are some of my favorites. Your live show presence in the Gainesville area is strong, playing alongside fellow local acts and opening for bands like Hotel Fiction (who my mom loves, by the way). What do you enjoy most about performing live?
THEO: I think a lot of music nowadays is very digital and it’s easy to get caught up in that world. It’s quite grounding and tangible to go to a show and see the people that listen to your music, have people buy your merch. I love producing and mixing, but that’s just in my room alone and you don’t know who’s listening or what’s even happening if you just do that all the time.
SHANE: Even though our setlist is pretty cohesive, we make little tweaks based on our audience or the general ambience, so it’s nice to learn how to adapt to those scenarios live. It’s really fun to gauge the crowd, and I enjoy seeing my bandmates onstage. It feels very satisfying when you’re just hanging out with friends playing music and you’re sounding tight together.
THEO: Yeah, when the solo hits and Ella starts bouncing around the stage!
SHANE: At that point it doesn’t matter if there’s five people there, or 50 or 500. It’s just really fun.
SKY: Such a good time. That’s what keeps me and everyone else going to shows, I think, is having that community you can physically be a part of. Are there any local Gainesville artists that more people should know about?
SHANE: I love Rug. Rug’s a local band here in Gainesville. How do I even describe them? They’re very grunge-y, they’re really good. And Buboy. Buboy’s awesome.
THEO: Someone that people should know about in Gainesville is definitely Buboy. And Jordan Burchel. He produced our first single Sweet, which was definitely our kickoff point, so he deserves some love. And Ahmik! He’s produced a lot of songs for Buboy and plays guitar for him, but he has a great acoustic project similar to Sufjan Stevens. Ahmik definitely deserves a shoutout.
SHANE: Another one, keep this streak going! James, who plays bass with us at many of our shows, has a brother named Will Hasell. He’s in a band called Suddenly that makes really gorgeous acoustic indie folk songs, and has his own records as a solo artist. Check those guys out.
SKY: Putting me on! Sounds like you guys have a really collaborative local scene.
SHANE: It’s kind of crazy because as well-known as Gainesville is for its university, the music community is so tight. You literally see the same people every show. It feels a lot smaller and more collaborative than you would think.
SKY: We need more communities like that. So I’ve been loving your new song, “Know Me Too.” How does it differ from past releases? What are you excited for people to hear with this song?
THEO: “Know Me Too” shows a little bit more of a creative direction and experience on our part. We already have a music video made by our friend Ben Robinson. We recorded the drums at Little Wings Studio where I intern, which has a really great drum kit. From a personal perspective, I produced and mixed the song, and I got better through it. I’m happy with that song because it shows a level of development from “Tell Me To Be.” It’s also Ella’s favorite song she’s written, a fan favorite when we play it at shows, and has a cool structure. It feels more cohesive than other things we’ve released. A little more nuanced.
SHANE: Theo devoted countless hours into producing these songs.
THEO: You flatter me.
SHANE: Seeing him work tirelessly until like 4 a.m. multiple nights in a row … the song feels like, as Theo said, a huge evolution on our part. Not only as friends, but as a creative entity trying to figure out how we can improve our sound. It feels very grand, like The Nancys presenting themselves for the first time. It’s very exciting.
SKY: I think there’s something really really special to be said about having a band member produce and keeping that creative process within the band.
THEO: One thing I said once that Shane enjoyed was, “The Nancys are all in-house.” We record most of our promo content. I do a lot of the editing. Shane films the whole EP-making process on his camera, which has been the foundation for all of our promo. Ella does most of the marketing and PR. We have a great team through Swamp Records.
SKY: A great team is so important. Theo, are you producing for any other projects, or just this as of now?
THEO: I’m building up my experience for that potential but feel like I’m quite satisfied with what i’m doing now.
SHANE: I have to put Theo on the spot. Theo actually has some heat. He has his own Spotify too. These are songs before the Nancys.
THEO: Yeah, if you want to see me learn how to make music you can listen to those songs. That’s the joy of releasing what you make! Everyone gets to observe your learning curve.
SKY: Ha, yes. And you get to observe it too, which is pretty cool sometimes. I have one final question, what’s next for you guys?
THEO: The general plan is keep doing gigs until the EP’s released, promote the hell out of it, hope it’s well-received, and use that as ammunition for some little weekend tours this summer and go from there.
SKY: Good stuff! As soon as you make it up to New York, let me know!
THEO: Hell yeah, that’s the goal!
Spotify: The Nancys
