Lorah Bodie

About

Lorah started singing in front of an audience at the age of 5, perched on the bumper of her dad’s International cattle truck, singing songs from the radio to her dad and his associates. She began lessons and started performing at events around town at the age of 6 under the direction of Beth Leigh. Beth convinced Dr. Blain Johnson, Corral Director at Southern Utah State College (now Southern Utah University (SUU)), to consider taking on Lorah, age 10 at the time, as a student. Although Dr. Johnson didn’t work with children, he made an exception for Lorah. By then, singing had become her calling card.

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She continued classical voice training into her teens when Rock n Roll became her passion. Heavily influenced by the Beatles, Pink Floyd, and The Who she made the switch to rock and never looked back. Dr. Johnson was not happy about her decision fearing that she would damage her voice. He advised her to, “sing like I’ve taught you; if you don’t damage your voice, singing can bring you joy for your entire life. Your tastes may change and you will able to sing anything your heart desires.” She heeded that advice and the future he spoke of came to pass. Singing, writing, and recording have been a source of joy for her entire life.

Lorah performed with several rock bands (Moonraker, Nasty Habits, Circus, Zzyzx, BG Hunter, and briefly Windfall) from the Southern California area from the late 70s into the early 90s before taking a rather long break to pursue an academic career and raise her two youngest children. Although not part of a band at this time, she sang at many events, sat in with friends, and continued to write.

 

She is now transitioning out of full-time academic work to further pursue musical interests. She states, “I was fortunate to be contacted a few years back by a colleague/fellow musician that I became acquainted with in the 1980s San Diego rock scene, Tristan des Pres, who asked me, "Hey, do you write lyrics?" A “yes” to that question opened a door to a writing partnership that resulted in the 11 songs that are included on the album, RAIN.

Additional Background for Lorah

Lorah has always been a person with varied interests who loves to learn. “As I was planning my future some 20 years ago, I asked myself what environment I'd been in during my life that I enjoyed the most?” A university environment was the answer to that question. Not surprising since as a child she lived two blocks from SUU and was on campus weekly for singing lessons at the Thorley building.

Lorah worked for 22years at San Diego State University (SDSU), where she most recently served as the Associate Director of the Center for Regulatory Science Programs. She still teaches the leadership course for that program. Prior to her time at SDSU, Lorah was the Manager of Research & Development for the San Diego Workforce Partnership, with oversight responsibility for strategic planning, labor market research, and grant management. Before that, she spent several years as a Market Research Analyst in the Strategic Development Department for Scripps Institutions of Medicine and Science (now known as Scripps Health).

Lorah has a doctoral degree in Education, a MS in Counseling, a BS in Computer Science, and a BA in Psychology. “Hey, I love to learn… Now, I’m learning how the business of music has changed and how to navigate new waters. I’m thrilled to be able to spend more time on musical endeavors.” ~Lorah