When Good Times last checked in with Tess Dunn in 2012, the local teenage pop-punk rocker already had an impressive resume.
At just 17, she had played the Warped Tour for three consecutive summers and had just released her second EP, Honesty Box, produced by Noah Shain (Skrillex, Atreyu). Since then, Dunn has played two more Warped festivals, and this summer, during her sixth stint on the tour, she plans to release her third EP, Daydreamers, which she aims to finance largely through the crowd-sourcing website Indiegogo. This time around, the now 19-year-old Dunn is again working with Shain, but is taking a co-producing role. “I think my writing on this album has really matured,” she says, explaining that she learned a lot from her production partner during the Honesty Box sessions.
She recalls Shain giving her suggestions for melody choices, different ways of wording her lyrics, and writing a pop arrangement. That advice stuck. “My writing has definitely grown through that,” she says. Her Warped Tour schedule has also grown. In the past, she has played only the San Francisco Bay Area stop, but this year, Dunn will play in Portland and Seattle, “which is really exciting,” she says.
As many of her fans are aware, Dunn suffers from cystic fibrosis, epilepsy and diabetes. A portion of the proceeds from her Indiegogo campaign will support Cystic Fibrosis Research, Inc., and the Epilepsy Foundation. The rest will support her life goals of signing to a label and touring the world. She plans to shop Daydreamers around in the hopes of landing a record contract. And, in a way, the money will also help with her health issues. Songwriting helps her deal with emotional stress and singing helps combat lung damage caused by cystic fibrosis. “It’s an amazing outlet for me,” she says.
For more information about Tess Dunn and to help fund her new EP, ‘Daydreamers,’ visit indiegogo.com/projects/help-fund-tess-dunn-s-3rd-ep. Deadline to contribute is April 20.
