Who The Hell Is Nancy? This Band is Here to Tell You
The Nancys. Photo by Eden Hetzroni.
For emerging indie rock trio The Nancys, what started as a college band of three strangers transformed into a passion project among best friends ready to show the world what they’ve got.
A Gainesville favorite, The Nancys consists of recent University of Florida graduates Ella Noris (lead vocals, songwriting) and Shane Barrera (drums) and current UF student Theo Lorenzen (guitar, production). Norris spearheaded the band’s formation in 2023, and after jamming to The Nancys set at a house show six months later, Barrera and Lorenzen answered the call to take graduating members’ places.
With the May release of their debut, self-titled EP, the three-piece has infiltrated the scene with flair and proven they’re here to stay. The band joined me via Zoom to discuss all things songwriting, identity and growth, and left me with a sense that we’re all Nancy in our own way.
How long has the EP been in the making?
Ella: Some of the songs on the EP have been written for like, over a year and a half, some of them were two years old, and I think we started working on the EP back in November, and it kind of was a long, hard process where we got setbacks and dates got moved around, but we finally managed to get it out after. Basically, I would say it was a culmination of a year of just working not directly on the EP, but the things that go into the EP, and then six months of working really hard on the EP and making sure everything is put together and formatted. And, yeah, it was a long thing. It seems very easy until you sit down to do it, and it's quite hard.
Theo: Yeah. “Sweet” we made with Jordan Burchel for the MusicGNV grant maybe, like, eight months ago. And then “Tell Me To Be” was released as a single in January, late January, and then “Know Me Too,” “Sucker” and “Light, Again,” we recorded the drums for those all in the same day, and then basically those were all made and produced within like a month and a half. So, I'd say it's kind of like most of the EP was done in the final month before release.
Is there a specific song from the EP that you think is most representative of the essence of The Nancys?
Ella: I think people really like “Sweet,” and I think that's just like a fun, Nancy song, and I think “Know Me Too” because it has just big drums and I feel like it's a mix between those two, maybe, because one's more alternative and one’s more poppy, but we like to write songs that are fast and people like to dance around to and scream the words to. So I would say between those two.
Theo: Also, to even counter the question, I feel like there's not one song that's representative of our sound. I feel like it's kind of the whole, there's slow with “Light, Again” and then high fidelity pop with “Sucker,”and then more, like, rock ballad with “Know Me Too.” I kind of like to see the spectrum of the whole thing.
Do you each have a favorite song from the EP?
Theo: I like “Sucker” just because I got it the closest to where we wanted it to be at. I think I had the least things I would change about that one, if that makes sense.
Shane: My favorite song is probably “Light, Again.” I just feel like it's quite different from any songs we played and also it forced us to kind of work with less, you know, and also, I really like how Theo produced that song, like he did some less conventional methods of painting instruments a certain way and making it more like a left and right sort of pan mix, like an old school style.
Theo: Yeah, we had a cellist and a violinist come in too, Dan and Sam, and they were great.
Ella: I would say I really like “Know Me Too,” but I also love the new. I would say “Sucker” and “Light, Again” are the two newer ones for us and I really like those,
Watch the music video for “Know Me Too” on YouTube.
As a college student myself, I personally resonate with a lot of the nostalgic and growing up themes of the EP. Can you talk about how songwriting and the band fits into your college experiences?
Ella: I think when I'm trying to write something, I try to write about my life a lot, and I think it's stuff that a lot of people can relate to. And I think trying to put a spin on that while also keeping it relatable is important, especially being in college band, half a college band now, I think it's very important. Stuff like “Light, Again,” everyone knows what it's like to feel very tired and very burnt out, or everyone knows what it's like to have a crush or stuff like that. But I think finding a unique way to tell that is super important and also it's just like, these are all things that anyone has experienced, like they're not very specific and niche and it's for everyone, so I think that's pretty cool and ties into that theme of growing up and adolescence and just being in college and figuring out who the hell you are.
What have you learned about yourselves during the process of making the EP?
Ella: We spent a lot of time together and we learned how we work well together and how it’s difficult to have something so high stress on a group of people. But, I think we learned how to manage that really well. I definitely learned a lot about how I want to write songs in the future. I know you've probably learned a lot about mixing as well.
Theo: Yeah, definitely. I think the main thing is, like, now we know how to make an EP, because we didn’t even know how to do that before. We thought you could, like, upload demos and then change stuff out and have more flexibility, and then we had to move the deadline back and it was this whole thing. And then even just like, I didn't know how to do half the mixing stuff I did before the EP until after. I didn't know how to process vocals or use compression very well, so. And Shane, like, I figured put he can comp drums very accurately now, like, we didn't know how to do that. So just generally, we didn't know what we were doing, and now we could probably do it again, and it would probably be not as stressful as it was.
Please do! So, as it’s pride month, I want to talk about “Sucker” as a more explicitly queer song. Why was it important to you to have it on your debut?
Ella: I think the whole band is kind of centered around, like, obviously, we're not all lesbians here.
Theo: I like girls.
Ella: We all like girls.
Theo: We all like girls!
Ella: So that's a big part of our brand. No, but I think The Nancys, like, even the first songs that came out, they have queer undertones in a way, because I am writing them as someone who's queer and you can still join and sing it, but I feel like it's important to know from the start, this is who we are, this is what we're going to be writing and singing about and it's not like, you know, three albums come out and then it's like, “Oh wait, this one's going to be about a girl,” like, it just doesn't make sense. So I feel like it's very unapologetic, and I feel like it's been a lot more normalized, you know, with Chappell Roan and Muna and stuff like that, where there's a lot more girls out there singing about this kind of stuff and making these pop songs that can fit into the pop and may not fit the traditional mold, but people can still sing along and enjoy them the same way you would any other kind of love song.
Kind of going off of that, what role does identity play in your songwriting?
Ella: I think it plays pretty large role. The whole thing about the EP was when I was writing it, each song is a different stage and a different moment, and each something that people experience when growing up, and also every song I write I like more than the last. So, I think it all has been curated to a specific identity. This is my first band. It's my first time really writing and it's a lot, it's very taxing and it's very emotionally vulnerable to write these kinds of songs and try and figure them out, so I think it takes a lot of soul searching. And maybe you don't really have to know exactly who you are, but you're just kind of trying to figure it out, and I realized along the way, like, this is what I want to do, I just want to make music. And that was a big hurdle to overcome and I think that's something that shows in this EP as well, you know. We're just kind of giving our all and putting it all out there and saying, “This is what we want to do, hope you like it,” you know?
How do you feel each of you has grown in the process of starting the band and making the EP?
Ella: It's definitely been huge. I mean, like I said, I started it my junior year and looking back on who I was then and then who I am now, I mean, I met these guys a year ago. I didn't know them and they've turned out to be some of my best friends. I mean, we’ve grown a lot. I've watched them grow themselves.
Theo: Before I joined this band I was just a complete goober. The first gig we played, I wore running shoes and dress pants and I'd say I didn't even own a pair of jeans. So yeah, this band's definitely forced me into some form of maturity, I guess.
Do you have jeans now?
Theo: I am wearing jeans!
Ella: We made him wear jeans.
The Nancys. Photo by Eden Hetzroni.
Shane: For me, this band’s been a really great opportunity to gain more confidence. Not just in drumming, but more so like Ella said, not being afraid to put yourself out there in the world and not having to perfect it so much because it's easy to get stuck. And I feel like, before this band, I had always wanted to play in a band and play music live, but I’ve just been too afraid to. So it's been a really great stepping stone to just get out of my comfort zone and just keep on growing.
Ella: And one thing I'll add is I think there's a certain, like, taboo, maybe, around performing and doing art and a lot of people may see it as something, when you're starting out, to be embarrassed about. And I know that that's the way I felt for a while. Like, I didn't want to be known as a music person. It's kind of a thing where it's like, “I'm not known as this, I would have to change my whole identity,” and it's almost embarrassing to post videos of yourself singing on the internet. But I am so glad I did and found this community and found these people, and I think a lot of people are scared to take that first step, but you kind of just have to do it and you grow so much from that, you know? I couldn't have even imagined how far this would get.
What’s next for the Nancys?
Ella: Right now we're working on just kind of doing some shows around Florida and the southeast region this summer. We are all just kind of working, saving up money. We’re going to tour in Orlando and, like, some of the coasts, and I think we're just going to work on new music. We're always just working on new stuff, new releases, hopefully get something out by the end of the summer.
Do you have a dream city or venue that each of you wants to play?
Ella: I would love to play a show in New York. I don’t know the venues that well. Maybe like Radio City Music Hall? I mean, that’s putting it out there. Or Madison Square Garden. But yeah, just anywhere in New York I would love to play.
Theo: Yeah, that would be sick.
Shane: I’m down to play anywhere.
If you find yourself in Florida this summer, catch The Nancys at a show below:
June 6 - Gainesville
July 11 - Orlando
July 12 - Melbourne
July 18 - Gainesville