Artist Interview: Krista D

Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life are very pleased to being you an interview with punk rock/Ska music artist, Krista D.

1. How did you get started in music?

I started singing and songwriting fairly young; at about 13. I had overheard my dad strumming some chords and then words and melody quickly formed in my mind; I sang it to him and he seemed really impressed. He encouraged me to keep writing which led to recording my first album around 15-16. It received some press coverage, one of the tracks was a runner up in the John Lennon songwriting contest in New York, a few made it onto radio for airplay.. I think the ease of it, and the positive response, might have made a career in music seem easier than it is in reality.

2. How would you describe your sound?

It’s a mix between punk rock, ska and doo-wop. It’s very perky sounding but intentionally so, in order to detract from the really depressing topics.

3. What bands/artists would you say have influenced your style of music?

The style of this project was greatly influenced by a radio program I listened to when I was young, called Finklemans’ 45s. It was dedicated to playing hits from the 50’s, 60’s and early 70’s

4. Has the rise of YouTube & music streaming helped or hindered you as an artist?

A little of both. Where the music market is so competitive, and dominated by label-made artists, if I had to depend solely on playing shows or gaining radio support in order to have people hear my music, then I’d likely have zero chance for success if not for streaming.

With YouTube and streaming services, you can at least end up on a random playlist, or you can run your own publicity campaigns to gain exposure- which can make all the difference in the world. It also gets your music to people in locations that you’re unlikely to ever tour to. On the downside, it takes forever to recoup the cost of recording. Like, 400+ streams to equal just one dollar. Recently, I received over 700,000 streams on my song Land Mine, which was amazing, but I can’t help but wish that everyone had just bought the track for a dollar, or even 10 cents.

It was still very encouraging though, you couldn’t imagine… but it did magnify the reality of just how difficult it’s going to be to survive financially if peoples preference is to stream music vs purchasing it; unless streaming companies greatly increase artist royalties. As an added pressure, I’ve had a large company trying to claim 100% streaming rights on one of my tracks, ‘You & Me’. So, even when you start to make a little bit of money, huge companies come out of the woodwork to try and steal songs and fight you over your pennies.

5. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not making music?

I’m a visual artist so I switch back and forth between music production and art production. Having to get art ready for my solo show in June is one of the main reasons I’m not actively touring for the EP right now. Part of the installation is a 15 foot sculpture of a whale. It’s the largest thing I’ve created to date; it’s been quite a process.

6. What are your future plans musically? Tours?

Touring, yes, probably a short one, after June. Aside from making some touring plans I also have new material in the works as follow-up to this EP.

We’d like to thank Krista D for taking the time to speak with us. You can find out more/keep up to date with news by liking her Facebook Page. Pick up the latest release over on her website, on CD Baby, Bandcamp and stream via Spotify.