Tess Dunn Talks About Her New Album, “Honesty Box”
Monterey Bay’s gurrl rocker, Tess Dunn has just released a new six song album titled Honesty Box. Her second. This feisty 17 yr old Santa Cruz high school senior can do it all: writes her own songs, sings, plays keyboards, makes a video and performs with her high energy band while juggling school and prepping for college at the same time. On top of all this, Tess has cystic fibrosis and epilepsy and is continually dealing with health problems, but that didn’t stop her from recording the new album in LA in just three days back in November.
Honesty Box has a great caffinated garage sound not too dissimilar to the punk bands of 30 years ago. For someone of her age, Tess’s lyrics are brutally mature honest observations about friendship, love, sadness and romantic breakups. Honesty Box ends on a high note with Tess singing that 2012 is going to be her year.It certainly looks that way. (To hear the interview, with Tess' commentary on her new album, click on the Erik Berg/KUSP link).
Tess Dunn: Articles/Reviews
Tess Everlasting: The Only Thing Singer/Songwriter Tess Dunn is Sure About When It Comes to 2012 Is That She Won't Be Bored
Her life is a whirlwind of recordings, meet-and-greets, correspondence, conferences and radio appearances, on top of all the other stuff -- dance, friends, family, getting enough school credits to graduate a full year ahead of her class.
So when precocious Santa Cruz singer/songwriter Tess Dunn says, "I'm having a mid-life crisis," it sounds like something any 17-year-old girl would say, particularly one living the breakneck life she's living.
But there's an undercurrent to that line.
"All my friends hate me when I say that," she said. "But it's so funny when you get it."
The stark fact is that Tess -- who will not yet be old enough to vote in this year's presidential election -- may already be at mid-life. Since birth, she has lived with a burdensome and devastating chronic disease called cystic fibrosis, as well as diabetes and epilepsy that are, in her case, secondary conditions of CF. The median life span of those with the disease is around 37.
None of this is news to those who love and admire Tess and her improbable drive to become a serious performer dating back to when she was 13. But what continues to astound is her relentless pursuit of life's bigger challenges, her insistence on filling her life with motion, creativity and accomplishment as if she were taunting the disease that makes painful demands on her literally every day of her life -- 60 pills, more than two hours of respiratory therapy daily -- as if she were standing before the CF monster inside her and cracking, "Is that all you've got?"
Whether or not her condition cooperates, Tess is embarking on what may be the biggest year of her life. It all begins Friday with her CD release party, to celebrate the release of her second recording "Honesty Box" at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center, with her full band. (read more)
Finding Grace: Santa Cruz singer/songwriter Tess Dunn captivates audiences with her music, but the 17-year-old inspires the masses in other ways. How her life-threatening adversity gives her the courage to take big risks and live life to the fullest.
At 17, Tess Dunn has knocked more off of her bucket list than most people will in their lifetime.
A three-year veteran of the Vans Warped Tour with two EPs under her belt—the most recent of which, Honesty Box, will be released on Friday, Feb. 24 at Kuumbwa Jazz—the Santa Cruz singer/songwriter is the definition of a rising star in the local music scene. Named one of the Top 11 Bay Area artists of 2011 by 99.7 FM and winner of the radio station’s Triple Ho Show 2.0 Local Video Battle, it’s easy to forget that she’s still in high school.
But when we sat down with Dunn in her living room on a Thursday afternoon at the end of January, school was the first thing on her mind, (read more)
Tess Dunn is an upcoming artist with an inspiring story. A young woman Tess is a gifted songwriter with a huge sound and incredible voice. You can find more out about Tess on www.tessdunn.com . Tess recently took the time to do an interview with us, and we are very grateful. Here it is.
Rescue Music Entertainment (RME)- First things first, what inspired you to get into music?
Tess Dunn- I started playing piano at 5 because I loved hearing my mom play. When I was in sixth grade, I wrote my first song, but swore I would never sing because people made fun of my voice. When I was 13, though, I realized that only I knew how I wanted my songs to be played/sung, so I started singing. I love writing music because it’s an amazing outlet for me. I can write and just clear my head, work things out, etc. I also think meeting Nina Storey was a huge component of my getting into music. I saw her play at the Santa Cruz Blues Festival and wanted to meet her. Bill Welch, who runs the festival, is like an uncle to me, and he introduced Nina to me. She’s been a mentor ever since.
RME- For your fans, many people see you as inspiration because of you battling through your illnesses. How have your illnesses affected the music you write?
Tess Dunn- I don’t write about my illnesses, but I think that having all of them adds depth and dark undertones to my music. I have a rasp in my voice, though, caused by the cystic fibrosis. (read more)
At just 16 years old, Tess Dunn has a lot of experience from living the life of a highly toured musician to coping with epilepsy, diabetes and cystic vibrosis. A three-year veteran of the Vans Warped Tour, Dunn takes the stage with a little bit of keyboard and whole lot of talent belting out vocals in a distinctive voice that ranges in tone from sultry-smokey to sugary-sweet. With lyrics dark yet hopeful, Dunn counterpoints the Rebecca Blacks of the world playing a range of songs that hit with the energy of Blink 182 and the emotional intensity of a Fiona Apple ballad.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a young woman with more tenacity than Tess Dunn. The 16-year-old Santa Cruz singer-songwriter has cystic fibrosis, diabetes and epilepsy - but you'd never know it, considering her glistening personality, and the fact that she's scored a spot in the Vans Warped Tour lineup for the last three years. A force to be reckoned with, the alt-pop rocker has been lighting up the stage since age 12, and her debut album, 2009's Darling Just Walk, proves we ain't seen nothin' yet from the promising young star. You won't regret attending this Backstage Lounge showcase - Dunn's zest for life is infectious.
Living with cystic fibrosis hasn't stopped 16-year-old Tess Dunn from living out her musical dreams. Hailing from Santa Cruz, Dunn has been playing music since the age of 12 and is already a seasoned veteran of the stage, performing on Vans Warped Tour three years in a row. She released her debut album, "Darling, Just Walk" two years ago. It was a powerful debut for the then 14-year-old. Her songs inspire, pulling from experience and delivered with tender yet vulnerable lyrics over heroic keyboards in such songs as "Silent Conversations," "One Heart's Battle," and "Goodbye Hero." But Dunn's new single, "Shame to See" is a far cry from songs off her debut album. Evoking the punk attitude of Avril Lavigne, "Shame to See" is a girl-powered pop song with rough-chick melodies, reminding us that, even through her tough experiences, Tess is still just a teen and proving that nothing can slow her down.
As crowds hustled in every direction, Tess Dunn sits cross-legged in the grass eating French fries, excited to see some of her favorite rock groups perform.
The 15-year-old Santa Cruz girl is not, however, merely another fan. She's actually waiting to perform at the Warped Tour at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View.
Tess started playing the piano at age 5, writing songs at 11 and first took to the stage at 12. And now, she is glowing with excitement because in less than an hour she will be playing on stage at one of the most prominent alternative music festivals in the country for the second time. The Warped Tour, now in its 16th year, has launched the careers of No Doubt, Katy Perry, My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy. Read more...
There's lots of intelligence, spirit and tensile strength, the Lesley Goreness in Tess Dunn's young voice: a plain-spokenness that fits the songs of break-ups accompanied by percussiony piano. The 15-year-old Santa Cruzan's talent is showcased in Darling Just Walk. Dunn's backstory (a struggle over a terribly debilitating disease) is less important than what's up front: the kind of toughness that got her a berth on the Van's Warped Tour, and a repertoire of songs about "skulls and hearts and crossbones."
I have to admit, when I first discovered Tess Dunn on the MySpace Music charts, I didn't pay much attention to the details. I heard a few songs and liked what I was listening to. So, I contacted Tess and asked to feature her music. As I did my homework, I learned that Tess is 15 years old, and living with Cystic Fibrosis. Or, as she puts it, "I have cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and epilepsy. I'm different." Read More...
The night before she was to go into an L.A. studio to record her first album, Tess Dunn was up much of the night coughing.
For the 14-year-old Santa Cruz girl and her family -- who shared that mostly sleepless night with her in a hotel room -- the trip was the culmination of a dream. But the coughing, that was certainly not unusual. Tess has been battling cystic fibrosis since birth. CF is an incurable respiratory disease that causes thick mucus buildup in the lungs and one of its primary manifestation is a chronic cough. The next day, said her mother Siri Vaeth, the coughing persisted through that first morning at the recording studio. But on the takes in which Tess was called on to sing, the cough, however temporarily, vanished. Read More...
At the Cayuga Vault last weekend a graceful, raspy voice rang out over the sultry drumming of a piano played in a minor key. The voice and music belong to Tess Dunn, a 14-year-old eighth-grader and Santa Cruz local with a terminal illness and an inarguable musical gift.
Dunn, who has played the piano for nine years, first started writing songs two years ago.
“I actually originally didn’t intend to sing them because I didn’t like my voice,” Dunn said.
Last week, upon receiving a donation from the Make-a-Wish Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fulfilling the “wishes” of children with life-threatening medical conditions, Dunn recorded an album under the direction of prominent musical producer and UC Santa Cruz alumnus Ari Shine.
“I love Tess’s voice. It’s really passionate. It’s very real,” Shine said. “And she also really has a range. She can sing really low and kind of intense, and then she has this really lovely high part of her voice that she opens up at the end of a couple of her songs, and it gives me shivers. It’s just really excellent.”
The concert at the Cayuga Vault on Saturday was entitled “Tess Dunn and Friends,” and sold out days in advance. It featured Dunn alongside other musicians, including Cayuga Vault manager Amanda West, saxophonist Alex Bignell and acclaimed vocalist Nina Storey.
The Young and the Fearless (an excerpt)
Tess Dunn is living the dream. The local 14-year-old songstress was recently flown to Los Angeles through Make A Wish Foundation to record her first album with indie artists Ari Shine and Adrienne Pierce, as well as Dan Burns, a music engineer who has worked with the likes of Michael jackson and Rob Zombie. "It was the greatest. I was recording in a studio with fur-lined walls!" Dunn exclaims.
Dunn's music has been described as Taylor-Swift-meets-acoustic-Avril-Lavigne, but her lyrics delve into deeper and darker spaces than the pop stars of her time. Her voice sounds beautifully pained - a direct result of living with cystic fibrosis. Though it may seem odd, the scars left by her illness add an undeniable dimension to her expressive style.