Jessica Dobson (born 1984) is an

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

n singer and multi-instrumentalist. She has performed with several musicians and bands, including

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

,Jessica Dobson's Solo Career With Deep Sea Diver Is Benefitting From the Beck Bump – Page 1 – Music – Orange County – OC Weekly
. Retrieved November 3, 2012.

Conor Oberst Conor Mullen Oberst (born February 15, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his work in Bright Eyes (band), Bright Eyes. He has also played in several other bands, including Desaparecidos (band), Desaparecidos, the Faint (previou ...

,keep it alive, keep it moving on , Cause A Scene Music
Retrieved November 3, 2012.

Spoon A spoon (, ) is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a table setting, place setting, it ...

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O (born Karen Lee Orzolek), guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are compleme ...

,Deep Sea Diver, 'NWO' Video Premiere: Jessica Dobson Gets Dystopian – Spinner
Retrieved November 3, 2012. and American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band

The Shins The Shins are an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's c ...

, as well as being a solo artist. She is currently fronting and playing guitar for her own band, Deep Sea Diver.

Career

Born in Los Angeles, California, Dobson was signed to

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

when she was 19 years old.Another Rainy Saturday » ARS interview: Deep Sea Diver’s Jessica Dobson on working with The Shins, Divine Fits and finding time for her own band
Retrieved November 3, 2012. She recorded two solo albums under her own name while on the label, but she was not satisfied with either of the finished products and Atlantic ultimately shelved both albums.

Deep Sea Diver

After leaving Atlantic, Dobson recorded an EP called ''New Caves'' under the name Deep Sea Diver. She later formed a band under the Deep Sea Diver name consisting of herself on guitar, John Raines on bass and Peter Mansen on drums.
. Retrieved November 3, 2012. The band's full-length debut album, ''History Speaks'', was

self-released Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...

in February 2012.Deep Sea Diver – History Speaks (Vinyl, LP) at Discogs
Retrieved November 3, 2012. In September 2019, she began touring with

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

in support of Deep Sea Diver's forthcoming third full-length record.Songkick
Retrieved September 13, 2019.

The Shins

In August 2011, it was announced that Dobson would be performing with American indie rock band

.Jessica Dobson , WHAT IS HAPPENING , I PLAY IN THE SHINS, NOW.
. Retrieved November 4, 2012. She toured with the band throughout October, and she became an official member of the band in February 2012.Girls Rock! Seattle's Jessica Dobson joins the Shins...but plays live for us first – - MyNorthwest.com
Retrieved November 4, 2012. Due to her desire to spend more time on writing and performing her own music, she departed from The Shins in 2013.

Beck

It was announced that Dobson would perform with indie/alternative musician Beck on his '' Modern Guilt'' tour from 2008 to 2009.

Personal life

Dobson is married to Peter Mansen, who is the drummer of Deep Sea Diver. They met when he was working as a

barista A barista ( , ; ) is a person, usually a coffeehouse employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks and other beverages. Etymology and inflection The word comes from Italian, where it means a "bartender" who typically works be ...

at the Lighthouse Roasters coffee house in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. Dobson is a Christian and includes spiritual themes in her music.

Discography

With ''Deep Sea Diver''

*''New Caves EP'' (2009)Amazon.com: New Caves EP: Deep Sea Diver: MP3 Downloads
Retrieved November 4, 2012. *''History Speaks'' (2012) *''Always Waiting EP'' (2014) *''Secrets'' (2016) *''Impossible Weight'' (2020) *'' Billboard Heart'' (2025)
SubPop.com: "Deep Sea Diver's New Album 'Billboard Heart' Will Be Available February 28th, 2025
Retrieved: January 17th, 2025.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dobson, Jessica 1984 births American women drummers American women guitarists American rock bass guitarists American rock drummers American rock pianists American women bass guitarists Living people American performers of Christian music Atlantic Records artists 21st-century American bass guitarists Guitarists from Los Angeles 21st-century American drummers The Shins members 21st-century American women pianists 21st-century American pianists Drummers from Los Angeles