From Epic Power Outage to Epic Song Writing Session with StoneBridge
From the moment my dear friend, music collaborator, and producer StoneBridge set foot on California soil it was epic! I’ll start at the very beginning of this adventure. And I do mean, adventure…
My brother Nathan and I left the house around 3:30pm one Thursday afternoon to pick Stoney up from the airport. Once we got off the freeway we noticed the traffic lights were out. I turned to Nathan and said something like, “Great, what a perfect time for these lights to go out, rush hour”. We had no idea that the traffic light was only the tip of the ice-burg! It took us another 20 minutes or more just to get to the airport, which would have only taken five minutes under normal circumstances. Upon arriving at the terminal, we heard through texts and radio that this outage hit all of San Diego County, Baja California, part of Arizona and other areas, affecting around 5 million people! We had to circle around a bit before Stoney came out laughing. They had him and the other passengers leave the plane from the emergency exits!
He climbed in the car in typical StoneBridge style. Ready for anything, going with the flow, and getting a kick out of the world around him. I have to say that his mood was exactly what we needed to keep us lively for the next several hours as we slowly made our way home.
Did I say S…L…O…W…L…Y……..????
We immediately realized that the car was low on gas, very low. The fuel range stated zero miles left. Zero?? I tried not to panic. Everything is going to be fine. We turned off the AC to conserve gas. It happened to be a very hot day, but we were willing to sweat a little in order to avoid running out of gas. All the gas stations rely on electricity at the pumps, so running out of gas was the last thing we wanted to happen. We were listening to the radio for any solution to this or any gas station that may be running with a back up generator and it didn’t sound hopeful.
So, I kept driving, inching along really, while I prayed under my breath for the gas in our tank to multiply and get us home. Let’s just say that the usual 25 minute drive home from the airport took nearly two and a half hours! When we finally rolled into my driveway, we were erupting with excitement since we were fully prepared to call for help if the gas ran out and we were stranded on the side of the road somewhere.
We had planned to go out to dinner with our friends Angela Anderson, and Josh Coccellato (aka DJ Adrenal) after the airport pick up. However, with the power out all over town, there were no restaurants serving. So, like any good hostess, I prepared dinner by candlelight! Angela and Josh arrived around the same time we did and brought a supply of chips, avocados, veggie burgers, and wine. We ended up having the most fabulous night, eating, drinking, sharing, and laughing. When the power came back on around midnight, we were all a bit bummed actually. Something about the dim light, and the closeness that naturally unfolds in a situation like we were in, made getting the power back seem like a thief sent to rob us of something valuable. I love how often times we learn wonderful lessons in the midst of crisis.
After the peeps went home and we cleaned up a bit, I was off to get a good night’s sleep since the next day we were getting into the studio to make some music!
Nathan and I have been working with StoneBridge ever since his stellar remix of our track “Tonight” with AstroShift. Since then, he’s sent us some tracks to write to, we lay the melody and lyrics down, cut a vocal and send it back. This was the first time the three of us sat in a room together and built a track from the ground up.
Photo By: Aaron Dressin at www.AaronDressin.com
All I have to say is “WOW”! Our creative energies were flowing and we were totally in sync! We had an amazing song written, structured, with lyrics/melody, and ready to record scratch vocals in about 2 hours! Plus, in my personal opinion, it’s one of the best songs we’ve ever written! I’m so excited to see where we take it. I know there will be many more magical collaborations in the future! I feel like we’re totally in the zone and I’m excited to share our musical creations with the world!
I always knew I was blessed to have the support and musical partnership with my extremely talented brother and songwriting partner Nathan Richards. Now with StoneBridge in my corner things just got even better! I have so much gratitude for these two wonderful men!
Thank you ALL for being on this amazing journey with me!
Stay tuned and keep your vibrations high!!
Love, Light, and an abundance of Gratitude…
Krista <3
Burning Man Bliss
I’ve been back to whatever semblance of normalcy my life ever has for the last couple of weeks. I’m still dreaming of riding art cars, hula hoops, and all sorts of shenanigans with my dearest loves out on what we burners lovingly refer to as “The Playa”. Everyone has been saying this year was the best “Burn” ever! I say that every year. Each year is another opportunity to express ones-self, another chance to meet amazing individuals with a shared purpose (LOVE), another week full of music (mostly Electronic Dance Music), dancing, fire spinning, connectedness, and another opportunity to raise our vibrations, uniting as One. One voice, one, heart, one soul, working for the highest and greatest good of ALL. Am I saying that every single person that attends Burning Man is enlightened and perfect? Of course not! We are all on this journey together, at different points along the way. Though, I will say, that in Black Rock City, you’re more likely to hear the words “I love you” from a stranger than in any other city I’ve ever been in. The city is diverse, full of people from various backgrounds, lifestyles, and interests. You might be surprised to find out your dentist attends Burning Man! About half way through the week I took note and mentioned to one of my friends that amidst all the diversity the thing we all seem to have in common out here is LOVE. Love… the strongest vibration we can share is so abundant at Burning Man, its no wonder so many of us travel back “home” year after year.
You may already know that Black Rock City engages in a gifting economy. Many people confuse it with a barter system, and that’s not the case. At Burning Man, everyone comes with something to give and expects nothing in return, from the largest art installation, to the guy with the T-Shirt that says “I give FREE hugs” and everything in between. We give for the joy of giving! Often giving to complete strangers and never seeing or hearing from them after. Tears fall as I reflect on the many gifts I’ve received and all those I have given.
This year I went with the intention of singing to individuals or groups out on The Playa. I sang acknowledgments and affirmations to friends and strangers alike. I saw the light in their eyes as I shared with them through song who they are to me, and what I see in them. One night out on the playa I gave two young burners their “Playa Names”. Many of us go by a different name out on the playa, and it being their first burn they did not have their names yet. So I named them Juli-Nature and Reflection. Afterwards, I sang their names into a song… we embraced, shared loving words and parted ways out on the deep playa.
I had the honor of singing with Mark Zabala (Nija Skillz DJ) at Transmorphagon with Sarah Cranberry of Danyavaad on violin one morning during sunrise, right off the Esplanade. What a magical morning! Thank you all for opening the stage for me to sing and share from my heart and soul!
Saturday morning, at my favorite sexy chill spot: Kundalini Lounge, I sang with much loved DJ Scott Scotty Boy. In a room full of our dearest friends, eyes shining, hearts glowing with an abundance of love and gratitude, Scotty dropped the perfect beats and I flowed with song that seemed to be channeled straight from the divine! Thank you Scotty for giving me such a powerful gift and allowing me to share that enchanting morning with you!
Later that day we rolled out to deep playa to the Robot Heart art car with the vast majority of our soul family and danced and hooped to Lee Burridge till they turned off the sound system! This was my favorite day by far. Blissed out with some of my dearest loves, a family photo shoot with our Kiwi Tails, great music, the open air in the sunshine on The Playa…. What’s not the love?
I’m posting a few pictures that my wonderful friend Aaron Dressin took with his amazing heart light. This was his gift to everyone in the city. One night, he set up the light, and anyone that stopped by got his or her portrait taken. His talent is unparalleled! Somehow he is able to capture the essence of the soul inside his subject’s eyes. He took most of the images on my site as well. Thank you Aaron for being such a bad ass and sharing your creative heart and soul with us all!
Burning Man may be over; still the lessons and the energy of that event are taken with us out into the world. Our hope? Simply… to change the world.
Shown in the image of the four goddesses, my sweet soul siStars (from left to right): Jennifer Quest of Charmed Life Entertainment, myself, Kristen Lalumiere, and Aaron’s beautiful wife Susanne Dressin of Fanciful Feathers
- Krista Richards and Jennifer Quest (Stardust)
Home from an amazing song writing session!
Hello Fabulous People!
I’m settling back into my normal routine at home after an amazing song writing session in Florida with my songwriting partner (and brother) Nathan Richards of AstroShift. We’ve been writing songs together professionally for twelve years! In the early years we were known as äion and had a ton of fun playing live shows for our incredible fans! I still get emails from äion fans and it warms my heart!
After so much time writing together, Nathan and I are to a point where we really work well together. We can get into a really nice flow and when one of us is vibing a melody or lyrical line – we let it unfold. When one of us is stuck on a line or note – the other one quickly jumps in with the missing piece. I am so grateful for my brother for so many things, and I especially love making music with him.
Twelve years ago we were in our mother’s garage with notebook paper and a Roland keyboard, writing about music and dancing, or our struggles with young love, and heartache. Now we write in his home studio or mine, with our Macs open to a big screen showing us the music in Logic – with each section highlighted for ease of writing, each of us with our iPhones out – pulling from lyrical ideas we may have in our “notes”, and Nathan’s iPad where we build the lyrics of the song.
We still write about music, dancing, and LOVE – some things never change… These are still the passions that inspire us and drive our creativity. I look forward to sharing our latest creations with all of you over the next several months. Stay tuned and keep your vibrations high!!
Love, Light, and an abundance of Gratitude…
Krista
“Tonight” by Astroshift ft. Krista Richards Appearing on the Compilation Album “NO XCUSES (ENOX)” by EDX
I am very excited to announce that the track “Tonight” by Astroshift ft. Krista Richards has been selected to be on the upcoming mix CD NO XCUSES (ENOX) by House and Progressive House DJ, Producer and artist, EDX. The album is set to be released this Friday, July 29th! Please go to iTunes to pre-order the album and also hear a preview by clicking HERE. Once the album is released, the same iTunes link will lead you to purchase the album without any delay.
Check out EDX’s YouTube Channel to get a taste of his style.
Thank you for all your support!
Love, light, and an abundance of gratitude,
Krista Richards ~Sending you LOVE through the soundwaves~
Chris Kaeser’s Mix of “Tonight” is Climbing the Charts!
Hey everybody!
Last we checked we’re at #55 on the Beatport Progressive Chart with AstroShift “Tonight” recently out on Stoney Boy Music! All the mixes are doing really well, especially Chris Kaeser’s killer dance floor mix!
Check out this new teaser video highlighting this mix!!
Thank you for your support! We’ve seen amazing success with this track in a short amount of time, thanks to YOU!
If you haven’t downloaded the track yet, please do so by clicking HERE to go directly to Beatport! In addition to Chris Kaeser’s mix, there are two incredible mixes by Matt Joko, and one by AD Tag Team that really make my heart smile. We’re so honored to have such talented producers making magic with our track.
Sending you love through the sound-waves…
Love, Light and an Abundance of Gratitude ~ Krista
Krista Richards’ Video Blog June 24th, 2011 – Release of four new mixes of “Tonight”!
Announcing the release of four new mixes of the track “Tonight”! Also a special thanks to my family, friends, and all of my supporters. I love you all!
Please go to BeatPort and download them all!
Love, Light, and an abundance of Gratitude ~ Krista
6/17/11 Krista Richards performing LIVE with Stonebridge-Houston, TX
This Friday I’m singing LIVE in Houston, Texas at the Ritz Carbaret during Stonebridge’s set!
June 17th 9:00 pm – June 18th 3:00 am
-Couples $30
-Single Females are free
Night of the Event:
-Couples $40
-Single Females are free
-Select Single Males are $30
Here is the website for more information and to purchase presale tickets:
http://desirousparty.com/event.aspx?key=634400202934218750
Love, Light and an Abundance of Gratitude ~ Krista
Krista Richards – Available on iTunes and BeatPort
