Looking For Buildings: Wendi Dunlap's debut album

Fully funded! Thank you all so much!
over 2 years ago – Sat, Aug 21, 2021 at 02:28:45 PM

Tonight we crossed the goal line — Looking For Buildings is now 105% funded! I am humbled and so, so grateful. 

There will be stretch goals posted soon, so please stay tuned. And as I promised in the last update, we'll have an update soon to introduce you to everyone who played on the album.

For tonight, I just wanted to say thank you for making this crazy dream of mine possible. 

Have a great weekend!

-- Wendi

Spotlight on piano, from simple demo to fleshed-out song -- and 5 days left!
over 2 years ago – Sat, Aug 21, 2021 at 12:13:12 PM

5 days left in the Kickstarter campaign for Looking For Buildings! Gulp! Please do share it with your friends — time is getting so short! We are currently 65% funded, so 100% is well-within reach!

In the meantime, I wanted to spotlight Bill Shaouy's lovely piano work on the album. Bill plays on "Love Is Real" and "Chance," with gorgeous, lush piano tracks. I'll be posting an update in a couple of days with bios of all the record's guest stars, including Bill, so stay tuned for that.  

First, I want you to hear one of the earliest versions of "Chance," which segues at about 1:35 into the final version, with replaced vocals and added instruments -- but the piano is still the same amazing track Bill created back at the beginning. 

This is actually the first thing recorded for the album -- back in 2018, when I first started talking to people about making the record. Bill immediately recorded this perfect backing track, and I added some (very) rough scratch vocals, but then the project kind of fell to the wayside a bit, until I contacted Ken Stringfellow about producing, almost exactly a year ago.

There was really no question about whether to use this piano track or not. It's so good!

The musicians on Looking For Buildings are really what made this album what it is. I wrote songs and sang, but without the work of these folks I'd still just have some wobbly demos. 

Our next update will introduce you to all of the guests on the album.

Thanks everyone for your support, and keep sharing the URL!

-- Wendi

Another earlier version: "Field of View"
over 2 years ago – Wed, Aug 18, 2021 at 03:02:05 PM

Here's another earlier version of one of the songs on Looking For Buildings! "Field of View" was co-written with Kyle Richards, who sings backup, plays the instruments, and made this video. The version on Looking For Buildings is rather different, and I thought you might enjoy hearing a bit of where it came from. 

However, there's an even earlier version -- the demo I made after I wrote the melody and lyrics. This one doesn't have a video, but here it is!

I hope you enjoy these early demos! Soon you'll be able to hear the album version! There's only a week left in the Kickstarter, so please do let your friends know!

"Buildings": an earlier version
over 2 years ago – Tue, Aug 17, 2021 at 02:41:04 AM

Wow, only 10 days to go! Please do share this campaign with your friends so we can hit the goal soon and get you your rewards. :) And don't forget tomorrow's live chat with me, Ken, Pete, and Sara!

In the meantime, this is the original version of the song "Buildings," which inspired the album's title, Looking For Buildings. It started on my first day on the website HitRECord, Joseph Gordon-Levitt's website for communal creativity. 

Blake Earnhart, another HitRECord member, wrote the chords and uploaded a beat called "Buildings." For some reason, it caught my attention, and I wrote a melody and lyrics on the spot, and recorded a vocal that night.  Kyle Richards added a bass track. (Incidentally, Kyle co-wrote "Field Of View" with me, also on Looking For Buildings.) Another HitRECord user named btbowen added a mournful horn part, which I love, though we didn't use anything like it on the album version.

And that's it -- the version in the video you see here is that version, recorded in early 2016, though many HitRECord users did their own remixes of the song later with more added instruments and voices. 

For Looking For Buildings, it was re-recorded entirely from scratch with a new arrangement, with permission from Blake to use the song since we share writing credit. 

Behind-the-scenes live chat, Tuesday August 17
over 2 years ago – Sat, Aug 14, 2021 at 03:23:16 AM

Hi, friends! 12 days left—can you believe it? :D Thanks for your support so far!

Please make a note on your calendar -- this coming Tuesday, August 17, 3pm EDT, there will be a streamed live chat on Facebook Live with me, Ken Stringfellow (album producer), Pete McDade (drums), and Sara Depp (vocals).  We'll be talking about the process of making Looking For Buildings remotely during a pandemic, among other things. Have any questions for us? Reply to this update with a comment on Kickstarter!

I know the time is not ideal for those who work standard work hours, but after the broadcast you'll be able to watch the recording whenever you like, so please do bookmark the event! You'll find the broadcast here.

Thank you and have a good weekend! I'll have more news for you soon.