Bob Nanna


Bob Nanna is an American musician best known as the singer and guitarist for the bands Braid and Hey Mercedes.
Nanna also currently performs as part of the band Lifted Bells, as well as solo releases under the handle The City on Film as well as his own name.

Biography

Robert Thomas Nanna was born in Chicago, Illinois. In 1993, Nanna moved to Urbana, Illinois to attend the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Inspired by post-hardcore bands such as Jawbox and Hoover, Nanna founded the band Braid soon after. During their initial run, Braid played a total of 537 shows, and toured with such bands as Jimmy Eat World and The Get Up Kids. Braid released three full-lengths, 1995's Frankie Welfare Boy Age Five, 1996's The Age of Octeen and 1998's Frame & Canvas, before breaking up in 1999.
Nanna subsequently began his solo project The City on Film and formed Hey Mercedes with his Braid bandmates Todd Bell and Damon Atkinson and guitarist Mark Dawursk. From 2000 to 2005, Hey Mercedes released two full-lengths, 2001's Everynight Fire Works and 2003's Loses Control, and shared stages with such bands as the Early November, Armor for Sleep, Piebald, and Hopesfall.
Braid reformed for a reunion tour in 2004. After Hey Mercedes broke up, Nanna played in Certain People I Know, before joining Lifted Bells. In 2013 he co-founded Downwrite, a website for commissioning custom songs, with Mark Rose of the band Spitalfield.
Braid reunited in 2011, releasing the EP Closer to Close soon after, followed by their first full-length since 1998, No Coast in 2014. Hey Mercedes has also played occasional shows, including a 2016 reunion tour.
In 2020, Nanna released his first album under his own name, Celebration States, a largely acoustic album recorded in one day.

Discography

with Orwell

  • 1995 - LP 2020

with Friction

  • Blurred In Six - LP 1993
  • Hours of Operation - 2xCD 2002

with Braid

with Hey Mercedes

with The City On Film

  • In Formal Introduction
  • ''La Vella''

with The Sky Corvair

  • The Sky Corvair - Unsafe At Any Speed CD

with Certain People I Know

  • Certain People I Know - ''Certain People I Know''

with Lifted Bells

  • Lifted Bells - ''Minor Tantrums''

Singles and EPs

  • Friction / Cap'n Jazz - 'Nothing Dies with Blue Skies - single
  • Friction - Makeshift - 3 song 7"
  • Braid - Rainsnowmatch - EP
  • Braid - I'm Afraid of Everything / Radish White Icicle / Now I'm Exhausted - single
  • Braid - Niagara / That Car Came Out Of Nowhere - single
  • Braid - First Day Back / Hugs From Boys - single
  • The City On Film / Kind Of Like Spitting / Sterling Silver - Slowdance Tour - EP
  • Braid - Please Drive Faster Polyvinyl - EP
  • The City On Film - Two Hour Anniversary - 7"
  • The City On Film / Kind Of Like Spitting - Split - 7"
  • Braid / Eversor / The Lovemen / 3minutemovie - Japan Tour CD - 3" CD
  • Hey Mercedes - Hey Mercedes Polyvinyl, - EP
  • Bob Nanna / Elizabeth Elmore - Bob Nanna/Elizabeth Elmore EP - EP
  • Hey Mercedes - The Weekend - single, EP
  • Hey Mercedes / Favez - Split - 7"
  • The City On Film - I'd Rather Be Wine Drunk - EP
  • The City On Film / The Novi Split - The Sea Was Angry That Day My Friends - EP
  • Hey Mercedes - Unorchestrated - EP, compilation
  • The City On Film - Little Informal - EP
  • The City On Film - American Diary - EP
  • The City on Film / Minus the Bear - Split - 7"
  • The City on Film / Owen - Split - 7"
  • Bob Nanna & Lauren Lo / Into It Over It - "Split" - 7"
  • Braid / Balance and Composure - "Split" - 7"
  • Lifted Bells - s/t EP - 12" EP
  • Lifted Bells - "Lights Out" - 7"
  • Braid "Kids Get Grids" - Record Store Day Exclusive 7"
  • Lifted Bells - "Overreactor" - 12" EP

Compilations

  • Various - Direction - Braid - "I'm Glowing and You're The Reason"
  • Various - Direction - Orwell - "Angular Momentum"
  • Various - My Pal God Holiday Record - The City On Film - "Fairytale Of New York"
  • Various - World Domination in Thirteen Easy Steps - Braid - "Collect From Clark Kent"
  • Various - Where Is My Mind? A Tribute To The Pixies - Braid - "Trompe Le Monde"
  • Various - Another Year On The Streets Vol. 2 - Hey Mercedes - " Our Weekend Starts On Wednesday"
  • Friction - Hours of Operation: Discography, 1991-1993 Polyvinyl - compilation
  • Various - THICK: Oil - The City On Film - "Lost My Lights "
  • Various - In The Film They Made Us A Little More Articulate - The City On Film - "Bad Liver And A Broken Heart"
  • Various - My Favorite Songwriters - The City On Film - "I'd Rather Be Wine Drunk "
  • Various - Polyvinyl Does Polyvinyl - Braid- "Next of Kin"
  • Various - Planet Home Series Vol 2. - Bob Nanna - "Valparaiso / Smallpox Champion"

Miscellaneous

  • Various - Exquisite Corpse - "So Much To See"
  • Various - The Actuality Of Thought -- live footage of Braid's "What A Wonderful Puddle" - VHS
  • Hubcap - Those Kids Are Weirder LP/CD
  • Bob Nanna - Threadless Songs LP