Krista D

Jane's World
Artist: Krista D.
Label: Independent Artist
Distribution: CMC
Duration: 11 Tracks
Release Date: October, TBA

"Jane’s World", the debut album from Krista D is going to sonically burn its way into your heart and memory as she has created a fresh new sound that combines the best riffs and beats reminiscent of Dashboard Confessional, early memories of Jewel and blends them with a new wave / punk / missive.

Drawing upon her experience counseling teens at risk " Krista D" fuses lyrics that confront you where you hurt most. Thematically her lyrics follow similar issues as ZOEgirl and Superchic[k] but she is not a copycat because this independent artist from New Brunswick hadn’t heard the music of either group when I interviewed her. She draws from a teenage life (from which she is only a few years removed) where she had brief tastes of the glitter of modeling and film and also experienced the seedier side of life far removed from the cameras and lights.

"Black Eyed Susan" begins with a cry for help in the midst of domestic abuse but offers hope for every woman that you can find a better life through saying "NO, my life counts for something" and walking away.

"Krista D" has been featured on compilation albums in the past but this is her season, this is her moment. Make sure you copy down her name because when the CD hits the stores you will want to be spinning this CD first.

Chris Colepaugh is strong on bass and guitar, while drummer Danny Bourgeois does a capable job on drums, but the real strength of this project lies in the vocals of Krista D. She easily makes the transition between the edgy in your face lyrics of "Hi My Name Is": "… Hi, my name is Trendy-ness / Cloaked in my designer clothes / Bask in my benevolence / Plastic, perfumed with no more soul / Yeah I’m the one you want, I’m the one you need / I demand attention / You may see me / I’m the echo of MTV / Pop societies “cultured” child, bereft of personality/." She then switches moods to the softer "Miracle," a petition to God to help put her life in order again. The song "You and Me" is a tune fans will sing along with at concerts.

Every once in awhile an artist comes along that changes the course of music, puts their own stamp on the industry, and is a leader not a follower. "Krista D" is that person for this decade.

The album will be in the stores in October.

By Joe Montague, exclusive rights reserved
Joe Montague is an internationally published journalist / photographer. His ministry is dedicated to the memory of his late son Kent David Montague who went to heaven at the age of 18. All copyright and distribution rights remain the property of Joe Montague.


Copyright © 1996 - 2005 The Phantom Tollbooth
- Phantomtollbooth

Moncton's Krista D surpasses expectations and has released a wonderful collection of rock songs that are catchy as hell. Being commercial is not a bad thing if there's the talent and songs to back it up. Showing both a maturity and passion in the lyrics and singing, there's shades of Jewel ("Miracle"), Missing Persons ("Hi My name is..") and Heart when they rock out ("Black Eyed Susan") Krista Acheson is from Riverview has been writing and recording since her mid teens, and it shows. Her vocals are powerful and delicate at the same time. The band is tight and melodic and the indie-sounding guitar is pleasant without being overproduced. Other highlights are The Cars influenced "Run Jane Run" and reggae-tinged "Penny for your Thoughts". The website is great although it's heavy on flash graphics. It's also important to note that Krista has been helped out by local legend Chris Colepaugh. This is independent music that deserves to be heard. Request it on local radio and see what happens.

Ray Violette - BOOM Magazine

You’ll have to excuse Krista Acheson for feeling overwhelmed these days. You won’t find too many Riverview musicians in the position she has suddenly found herself. At 16 her father convinced her to record her first CD at a Bathurst recording studio. They had no intentions of releasing or marketing the album but a few years later it began getting serious airplay on Moncton’s 100.9 FM. Surprised by the support Krista left Ontario where she was pursuing acting and modeling, and moved to Riverview to record the follow-up. She wisely enlisted the help of local guitar hero Chris Colepaugh who agreed to play bass and guitar as well as help with the production.
She now goes by the name “Krista D”, partly because her maiden name was Doucet but also as homage to the late actress Sandra Dee.
Once the album was recorded, she began networking and answered an add posted on www.SonicBids.com by a record label out of Cleveland, Ohio. The move paid off and she’s thrilled to announce that she’s just signed a multi year deal with FireStorm Records. She says the support has been immediate and laughed as she explained the amount of CD’s in production, “ I was going to get 500 for Canada, if I could have sold 500 I’d be excited but they were like’ O.k. let’s start with 10 000 and then were going to see how we move up from there!” ’
It seems the label is right to be enthusiastic. A song off the new album is already in regular rotation at an Ohio radio station. “ The president of the label had just gone to get one of the local radio station’s opinion of the song to see if it had any potential and on the way home, he heard it! As of Sunday, it has been played 30 times. It’s kind of exciting.” Even more exciting would be of the song gets played 100 times, at which point it will go into rotation over the entire Air1 network, which spans the entire US.
Not bad for a girl from Nash Creek, a small town in northern NB. It’s there that she began writing songs, first to the tune of her father’s guitar, and later to the melodies she strums out on her own. Although her songs are very personal and up front, they stem more from a desire to emphasize those who have been excluded than they do from her own life. “People that kind of live in a bubble type existence, they can’t really relate to the kids that re shunned, the outsiders. I just feel more akin to them than the popular kids. As an outsider, I write from an outsiders’ point of view. I write for them, I write to them.” Krista said she feels no desire to conform to the Hollywood version of what a young music star should be, saying, “I find that a lot of people that I meet in the pop culture scene, it’s kind of like they watch these artists on TV and then they emulate them in the way they dress, and act, and talk, and it’s not even them, they just sort of blow away their own personality and just adopt these stereotypical images.” It’s clear when speaking to Krista that she possesses the kind of innocence that only a young, new musician on the brink of her dream vocation can possess. But perhaps it’s this type of naïve enthusiasm that lands 23 year olds record deals. “Jane’s World”, the label debut of the new FireStorm Records recording artist Krista D will be available march 21st, and she assures us she’ll be playing a release party in Moncton around that time.

Article by Andrew Sharpe


- BOOM Magazine

After seeing her name floating around in contests and in local music circles, Krista D. is finally stepping out into the spotlight with her second album, but one she says is really the first album she’s been totally in control of. This is a collection of snappy, punchy pop rock tunes, some are simple love songs and others are more dark and disturbing, touching on things like spousal and child abuse and loneliness. Krista has a unique voice and singing style that sets her apart from her peers and her lyrics are generally more thought provoking than your average pop singer.

Kicking into high gear right from the get-go is “Hi! My Name Is…” a driving punky pop rocker that showcases Krista’s attitude-filled vocals. “Black Eyed Susan” is another power chord-driven rocker with a sing along chorus, but it’s about spousal abuse. It’s an interesting juxtaposition - bright, upbeat rocker about a pretty sombre topic. “Hush (Like A Child)” is a more straight ahead rocker, and “Clearly” is a mid-tempo ballad. “Extraordinary” might be too catchy for your own good. It’s a wonderful slice of power pop.

A few songs here - like “Hi! My Name Is…” for example - could have benefited from more than simple one guitar power chord approach. Some songs are a little hollow sounding and they could use some keyboards or another guitar to fill things out a bit. “Run Jane Run,” for example, sounds much better simply because there are a few guitars in the mix, and some keyboards at points.

But the bottom line is the songs on Jane’s World are well written, interesting, catchy and they rock. If you want pop with a bit of a twist, check this out.
- Times and Transcript

Krista Acheson, aka Krista D., is the first person to admit she wasn’t actively seeking a career in music when she released her first album a few years ago. But now, Krista is back, with her second release, a small tour planned and a much better idea of what she is doing.

“At 15 or 16, I had no idea what I was doing,” Krista, now 26, says. “It was basically, ‘Yay, I’ve got an album, whatever.’”

Her father discovered her singing and writing talent when she was in he mid-teens and arranged for her to record an album. She didn’t think much of it at the time, but now she’s looking back on the experience as a learning tool.

Her second album, Jane’s World, which is in some Moncton Stores now, Krista guided from beginning to end, and she’s eager to take it as far as she can, starting with a CD release show at the Empress theatre in Moncton tomorrow (Thursday). After that, she has several gigs lined up around New Brunswick.

Jane’s World was recorded in Moncton’s Pumpk’n Patch Studios under the watchful eyes of Danny Bourgeois, Chris Colepaugh and John Maher, all of whom also played on the disc, along with Krista’s husband Phil Acheson, Moe Fougere and others.

“They were an awesome bunch of guys to work with,” she says. “They (Danny, Chris and John) made suggestions and helped a lot, but I don’t feel they overstepped me at all. They knew what I wanted out of this.”

Krista wrote the songs on the album, a collection of catchy pop-rock tunes; some are lyrically disturbing and cover topics like spousal abuse and loneliness.

“All the songs are pretty much real stories. As disturbing as they are, they’re real. I’ve met so many people and heard so many sad stories. People have stopped me in grocery store lineups and told me these sad stories. It’s not that I’m depressed,” she says with a laugh.

Not all of the songs are dark though. Extraordinary is a really catchy, upbeat love song. So is You and Me.

The songs “just kind of randomly” pop into Krista’s head. “They span years,” she says of the songs, some of which were written when she was 16.

And while they’re poppy tunes, don’t expect to see Krista flashing her body around in an effort to make it big. “I’m in the pop category, but I’m not just your typical pop singer,” she explains.

Even the liner notes of her album, underneath her “thank you” section is a “no thanks” section that reads: “Parents who abuse their children, apathy, women that use their bodies to sell music, hypocrites, the porn industry and people who don’t break for butterflies.”

OK, so Krista admits some of it is just her being funny, but she’s serious about women using their bodies to sell music. Even her name reflects that.

Initially, the name Krista D. came from her maiden name Doucet. Not wanting anyone to assume she was a French singer, she just used her last initial.

After marrying, she kept the name so as not to confuse fans who wouldn’t know who Krista Acheson was, and as a tribute to late actress Sandra Dee who Krista says has always been an interest of hers.

“In the ‘50s and ‘60s, with people like Marilyn Monroe, it became a sex icon type of thing. But Sandra Dee was always viewed as the ‘girl next door’ type.”

Krista, originally from Nash Creek, N.B., moved to Toronto after her first album was released to go to school and model part-time. But she found that Christian radio stations in Moncton were playing songs from her debut, and she decided to move back home to pursue a career in music. She now lives in Riverview with her husband and daughter.

Getting married and having a child kept her from releasing an album sooner, as did working with a small independent label in a deal that didn’t work out.

So it’s been a long time coming, but Jane’s World is in stores locally now, and will soon be distributed by CMC Distribution in Canada.

“It’s daunting,” Krista says, “because if it’s being distributed nationally, I’ve got to promote it nationally.”

Having a child, as well as band members who all work for a living, will make planning a national trip tough.

Her immediate plans see Krista touring the Maritimes. She has a booking agent looking at dates across Canada in the future.

Krista’s CD release show for Jane’s World takes place tomorrow (Thursday) at the Empress Theatre at 5 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are being taken for the Turning Points Youth Parent Centre. Alex Mitchell and Jess Clemons will open the show.
- Times and Transcript

Krista D, the name alone tells you something about the music- it is something full of personality, feisty, and for lack of better words, bohemian...ish.

Jane's World showcases Krista's witty song writing style, powerful, solid vocals, and the talented band playing behind her.

Opener "Hi My Name Is..." pokes fun at the trend followers, anarchists, hypocrites, (...are they not one and the same?) and ultimately the people who can not resist the temptation to label every dust particle. "Run Jane Run" could be seen as the focal point of the album, Jane's World. the track tells the story of Jane's life and brings the girl's fears and rages alive. The autobiography of Jane is also arguably the best track on the record, the catchiness makes listeners want to dance while the lyrics tell a story that, if not hooks the listeners in, is interesting enough as far as songs go. The crunchy heavy basslines make "Until Then" the most dynamic track on the record. Switching from the power pop chorus to the ballad like verses. "Until Then" takes the listeners on a rollercoaster ride.

Overall, Jane's World is an album of the hook laden sound of pop with rebellious (and meaningful) lyrics. Krista D is not a trend follower, nor an anarchist, let alone a hypocrite. Krista D is Krista D, one of the most genuine and creative female artist to come out of Canada.

- Saint Rock and Roll.com

In Jane's World, Moncton, N.B.-based Krista D takes on the role of producer on her long-awaited sophomore release. But before even hearing a note from Jane's, I was damn excited about the release because she recorded with local guitar/bass virtuoso Chris Colepaugh. So I was disappointed to hear that Krista D failed to fully use Colepaugh's talents, but in retrospect, there really is no need for huge dramatic solos on simpler, alternative pop with moments of ska and rock.
However, on harder-edged rock tracks like "Hi My Name is...," "Run Jane Run," and the single "Extraordinary" it sounds like Krista D is just a bit out of her element — especially with her over-dramatic lyrics. But on the soft rocker "Hush (Like a Child)" she manages to channel Alanis Morissette in her Jagged Little Pill-era.

While most of the rock tracks are just so-so, it would be interesting to see Krista move toward a more pop-acoustic rock forum — as two of her strongest tracks "Clearly" and "Nursery Crimes" don't limit her powerful lyrical content (from domestic and child abuse to the wonder of love) and showcase her gorgeous, uplifting vocals.

For someone with Krista D's strong ideals (as she writes in the liner notes: "A big no thanks to... women that use their bodies to sell music") it's hard not to back her up. But Krista D is in fact one of Canada's most promising young singers, who has a passion writing deep, meaningful lyrics and catchy rock melodies to boot. - popjournalism.ca

It’s usually pretty easy to spot the independent musician who has an artistic flare. Whether it’s seeing how the act on stage or even the image they take on, there’s just something different about them.

For New Brunswick based Krista D it was no different. Upon receiving her latest album to review in the mail, it only took one glance at the package to know she has some strong artistic tendencies. Not only does the cover of the album appear to be hand painted, this style of imaging continues throughout the accompanying lyrical insert. Needless to say that I knew I was in for something different, but how does the album actually stack up?

Titled Jane’s World, Krista D’s national full length debut is an eclectic rock disc that boasts a variety of influences. Her lower natured vocals and acoustic guitar bring to mind artists such as Janis Joplin or Sarah Mclaughlin, while songs tampering with punk/pop-rock feel reminiscent of Avril Lavigne or Columbia Records’ newcomers Superchic[k]. You can also find ska/reggae influenced tracks such as Penny For Your Thoughts and Miracle that even seem to channel the now defunct band No Doubt.

Lyrically speaking, Krista D crafts songs of both fun and serious nature, the latter of which include domestic violence (Black Eyed Susan) and drug overdose (Nursery Crimes). But while some of the issues and songs may lean on the darker side, the album tries to wrap things up with a positive spin to encourage listeners. All of these lyrics are mostly well written too with a very poetic/singer-songwriter vibe to them. There are a couple of simplistic and/or predictable moments though, usually in the execution of a rhyme.

Sadly enough, Jane’s World’s main downfall lies within its production. Though it has a strong raw nature and no doubt strives for this sound, it still feels a little too raw and very independent. Krista D’s musical abilities shine through, but even just a little more polished production job would have gone a long way. There are also a couple of moments vocally that could have used a do over, usually when a note is held for an extended period of time.

With eleven songs and thirty-six minutes of material, Krista D’s Jane’s World is an electric pop/rock experience that bleeds multiple genres and influences into one package. Passion and energy drips from the disc and Krista’s artistic tendencies are communicated clearly through its catchy songs. It’s just unfortunate that this New Brunswick native is held back by the average production, as there is certainly a ton of potential here.

Nonetheless, Jane’s World is genuine, brutally honest, and refuses to follow trends. Consider checking it out if you’re looking for something different. - Renown Magazine

Krista D is one of those woodwork bands you don't know exist until a contest like this comes around. With one of the most professional packages around (insanely produced recordings, EPK, and awesome flash website), this Moncton based 4-piece really
makes you question what you know about regional music.

Ultra polished songs like "Extraordinary" and "Hush" have shreds of early Juliana Hatfield and Veruca Salt. But female vocals aside, there's enough content here to play on your pop-rock sensibility while not making you feel like you're listening to Ashlee.

Throughout the entire Krista D online presence, you're constantly reminded that while this is a female-fronted act, she's not the band, and it is a band indeed- not a one member show. Their official site is well worth checking out at:www.kristad.com or take a listen to Extraordinary on the contest site. - HERE

What can I say about this CD, it is the GO-GO’s gone punk, Mazzy Star revved up, completely unique and creative. In other words, go out and buy it RIGHT NOW.

Eclectic pop rock artist Krista D is clearly a spirited and inventive singer / songwriter with her anticipated release of her new CD Jane’s World. She learned early that she had a talent for singing and songwriting and her first album received airplay, quite a task for a newcomer and young artist. Jane’s world was produced at Pumpk’n Patch Studios in Riverview NB.

While the songs have a light hearted feel to them some of them touch the subject of child abuse as well as domestic abuse, in such tracks as “Black Eyed Susan” and “Nursery Crimes”, which shows the depth of this musician. Other tracks such as “You and Me” are light hearted love songs. “Run Jane Run” is a tale in itself and I found I had to listen to it twice to capture it all.

Set to tour the east coast soon to promote Jane’s World, I am sure she will be happy with the response; this CD stands out and screams freshness.

- Lipstick indie