| Band name | Krista D. aka Molly Grue |
| Location | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Sounds like | I’m kind of a blend of 50s, 60s and 90s music. Sometimes I get a ‘No Doubt’ comparison because of my EP, due to the upstroke guitar and occasional horns – but for my newest single, I genuinely have no idea what it’ll be compared to! |
| Debut release | My debut release would have been in ’97 or ’98 |
| Official Site | https://www.facebook.com/theoriginalkristad |
| The Music Addict’s Verdict | Quirky and fun garage rock |
Describe yourself
I’m a singer songwriter that usually hires studio session players. On this new track, I’ve played all the instruments, so right now I’m pretty much my own band. There was no easy way to communicate the unpredictability of the song to a group of musicians, so I just had to play everything like I heard it in my head – which was a challenge, because I’m not actually a musician. But I winged it and had a really fun time. (Trumpets were played on a midi keyboard)
What’s your songwriting process like?
The inspiration for the lyrics usually stems from either my own experiences or stories people have shared with me. Melody and instrumental orchestration just pop into my head randomly. Songwriting isn’t really something I set out to do; I’d say it’s mainly a subconscious process – it’s very similar to how I get ideas for paintings or sculptures.
What are your influences?
Pretty much anything and everything. It’s less about having any particular artists or bands as influences and more about having fun sonically collaging. On this track there’s an iPhone ting in the intro, there’s a ticking time bomb after the first chorus… the bridge has a random guy from the internet yelling “hey”. I’m mainly influenced by moods, interesting noises and the way certain instruments change the feel of a song depending on how you play them or what effects you use .
How would you describe your music?
The music on the EP I released in 2017 ( “Look at me.. I’m Krista D”) was very polished and had excellent musicians featured on it. It was kind of a hybrid of punky ska elements and 50’s style backing vocals.
I mention the last release because that’s not really what you can expect from this newest release as I’m right at the beginning of awkwardly evolving.
The newest track I’ve just been calling ‘collage rock’. I tried to mix some war bugle sounding trumpets and kind of a bullfighting ambience… there’s also kind of a spaghetti western showdown vibe. Aside from that, the actual song structure is a bit wonky – the song goes from slow to fast and then stops dead every now and then for a mocking “hahaha” vocal. There is absolutely no set tempo for the song; it’s 100% doing what it wants. I wanted the song to sound like an unstable relationship feels.
What’s the one thing that makes you/your band stand out from the rest?
My “live band” is a bunch of store mannequins. I set them up on stage and perform karaoke style. I dress them up in my band shirts, hang instruments on them…and they’re all named Miranda. I’ve started advertising shows as ‘Krista D and the Pantsless Mirandas’.
What’s your latest release?
‘Crazy Bitch’ is my newest single. (http://www.kristadmusic.com/CrazyBitch.htm)
What are your touring plans for the next few months?
Right now it’s more a matter of finding bands who might include me on their bill as an opener because I don’t think I’m at the level where I could tour as a headliner. I think I view myself more as a bizarre supporting act right now.
He's also a regular contributor at the excellent news site Montreal Rampage
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