Twinmusix had a chat to Krista D to find out all the latest information. Keep reading here:
How did your fans respond to your new song?
Really well, I feel. Land Mine had over 719,000 streams, in a month, on Pandora internet radio.
How did you come up with your band name and logo?
When I was young I chose Krista D, simply because it was my name; Krista Doucet. Back then I was recording music for the christian music market. I eventually left that lifestyle and instead of changing the name I decided to do a visual re-brand. I now use the name as a nod to the character Sandra Dee from the movie Grease. Sandy underwent a bit of a transition in the film so I wanted to reference her in regards to my own life change.
The band logo, the EP title and the sad accordion part I played at the end of the track, You & Me, is all meant to allude to the movie.
What type of music have you listened to growing up?
I was only allowed to listen to christian music when I was young; all books and music in my house were bible based. Christian music and hymns were mainly what I listened to apart from one radio program called Finklemans 45s which focused on 50's, 60's, and 70's music. I can remember holding my clock radio out my bedroom window just to get reception so I could hear it.
Who writes the music in your band or do you all write it together?
I'm not really a band; just a singer-songwriter. My process is usually that a song will form in my mind- lyrics, melody and sometimes full orchestration, and then I set about hiring session musicians to record it. That's my favorite way of writing but it's rare that I can get it exactly how it sounds in my head. It gets altered a little when it goes through the hands and minds of different people, but I'm still able to direct things and I do really appreciate what the musicians contribute; they are so talented and creative. For my new material I'm going to try and maintain almost entire creative control over the songs, simply out of curiosity.
Did you start off writing your own music or did you start off doing covers?
I've always written my own music. At around 13, I overheard my dad strumming a few chords in the living room; words formed in my head so I quickly wrote them down- almost like I was trying to keep up with my own mind. Then I offered him a song to go with the chords. It surprised him and although I thought little of it at the time, he made a point to encourage me into writing more songs and I began recording in the studio at about 15.
Are you signed with any record labels? If yes who?
I've made my own label called 'Loose Lamb Records'. Its simply a vanity label to house all 3 of my music projects. The furthest I had ever gotten, with regards to a record label, was years ago when I was talking to an A&R rep from EMI. The gist was they would have liked a singer to fill a marketing gap and suggested that maybe if I flew down and tried writing with some songwriters we could see if anything could come out of that. I wasn't really interested in that because I found it weird to have other people try to write about my personal feelings and experiences. Creative self expression, and the therapeutic release that offers, is really the only reason I bother doing music at all. I can't even think of any other reason I'd bother gambling with this much money and investing this much time into something. So, having to relinquish a large portion of creative control and trying to make a career out of singing other peoples words would just inevitably result in music not holding any personal interest for me.
Could you briefly describe your music making process?
It's a tad convoluted, as I am not really capable of playing any instrument very well, yet I compose for several. So I work out music using a keyboard; then I'm left with the task of hunting down a skilled engineer and collecting various session musicians.
I had attempted to attend music school when I was a teenager in order to better equip myself by learning music theory, sheet writing and how to play an instrument, but I suffered a bit of a psychotic break and ended up having to leave school. I've never quite worked up the courage to face the pressure of being in a school environment again because I will always fear becoming that mentally unwell again.
What do you love about music?
That it's a very emotional medium. I like playing with moods in a composition and, with my Krista D project specifically, I try to use genre elements that contradict the lyrical content so that it feels less heavy for the listener.
9. Do you have any plans for any new albums/songs in the near future?
I am currently working on a follow-up single called 'Crazy Bitch' for this EP but I am also working on a couple of side projects. I create side projects when I have a collection of songs that don't fit the genre of my Krista D project. I'll be releasing a debut EP of soft rock music under the project name Molly Grue and I will likewise be releasing a debut hard rock/experimental EP under the project name Hooha and the Peter Guns.
10. What subjects do you sing about in your music?
It worked out that this album deals largely with womens' issues; a couple of the tracks deal with domestic abuse and trauma. My lyrics are based on stories that women have shared with me and I've filtered them through my own experiences and feelings.
Do you have any CDs/merchandise for sale and where can your fans buy it?
The EP is available to stream or download on all digital platforms: Pandora, Apple music, YouTube, Spotify etc. It's also available to download on Bandcamp ( https://theoriginalkristad.bandcamp.com/) If anyone prefers a physical copy they can contact me at ll@trimorfik.com, they just arrived yesterday.
As we are promoting your band, is there anything coming up like album launches or tour dates you would like us to promote on our site for you?
Thank you, that's really nice of you! What I'm currently trying to afford is a physical launch of my EP and a small tour to promote it. So I'd love if maybe you could promote downloading music vs streaming. People largely favor streaming now, which is still great and makes indie artists' music really accessible, but it does make all the difference in the world when a listener opts to buy a song for 99 cents. It takes something like 400 streams for an artist to make a dolla
