Local gynecologist and singer/songwriter Kristina Dervaitis will release her debut full-length album, Overdue, online everywhere and with a live concert at NewRoads Performing Arts Centre in Newmarket, on October 15, 2021, her 46th birthday.
Proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Southlake’s most urgent clinical needs. Buy your tickets here.
Overdue is a musical exploration of midlife transitions and personal growth. Both the music and message are “adult contemporary with an edge” and are reflective of the artist’s personal pursuit of creative interests in addition to her medical career.
Dervaitis has delivered thousands of babies, has performed hundreds of surgeries, and is currently an IUD specialist with a thriving part-time private practice. She now splits her time equally between gynecology and music. “We are all still writing our life’s story,” she said. “We each have the power to push boundaries and explore new chapters in life. I’m a big believer in pursuing dreams and not the ‘perfect’ image of perceived expectations.”
Dervaitis rediscovered her musicality only recently while working with mentor and vocal coach Emm Gryner (Canadian artist and former David Bowie back up vocalist). With a vocal and lyrical style often compared to Alanis Morissette, Dervaitis is inspired by other lyric-driven artists such as Sarah McLachlan, Jewel, Sheryl Crow, Adele, Kathleen Edwards, and Neko Case.
Dervaitis and her husband Barry Atack, a retired pelvic floor surgeon and life-long drummer, worked with their neighbour, a former L.A. music manager, to set up home recording equipment. The Overdue album incubated in the couple’s home studio throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This was the saviour of our mental health through the dark months,” Dervaitis explained. “Every week we worked on another demo, which became the foundation for the album.
During the Oct. 15 concert, Atack will play a new custom cocktail kit that is a replica of the one used by The Tragically Hip in their final concert, crafted by the same drum-maker, Seppo Salminen. Salminen not only designed The Hip’s drum kit, but was a sound technician for them, and will be acting in the same capacity at Dervaitis’ album release concert.
ABOUT KRISTINA DERVAITIS
Dervaitis’ songs share the raw emotions of a midlife in transition, and the terrifying, exhilarating energy that comes with exploring new possibilities. With a vocal and lyrical style often compared to Alanis Morissette, Kristina has experienced first hand the the therapeutic power of music. After working with Canadian songstress Emm Gryner, Kristina began to understand that she had something real and relatable and powerful to share. Classically trained in piano at an early age, a recent student of guitar, she discovered her songwriting abilities much later in life.
When she made the shift to part time practice in order to spend more time with her husband, Barry Atack (retired pelvic floor surgeon and life-long drummer), neither of them had any idea that their shared passion for music would result in the birth of a studio recording. Adding his intricate and diverse percussion arrangements (including djembe and cajon) the songs are as varied as the life experiences that inspired them. In “Still Don’t Know the Words”, she describes the challenge of summarizing a life still in evolution. “What’s Coming” explores the perils of self doubt and the difficult task of accepting happiness at face value. “Turbulence” navigates us through a relationship as uncomfortable as a bad flight. Kristina also dares to expose her bare vocals with two acoustic ballads, rounding out an album that is both meticulous and vulnerable.
As a proud Italian Canadian, Kristina takes regular Italian lessons to keep her language skills fresh. She and her husband Barry love exploring Italy (when there’s not a pandemic) and have spent summer holidays in the little town of Castropignano in the southern province of Campobasso, where her mother was born. She also has ties to the Lithuanian community (on her father’s side) and has had a chance to visit his place of birth as well.
