About the Artist
Christia Mantzke was born and raised in Los Angeles County, California, right across the street from the Tonight Show Studios. A week after graduating from Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, Christia left her family roots in southern Claifornia and moved to New York City to pursue her dreams in the world of music. Shortly after her arrival there, she met well-known dance club producer Ivan Salinas and their collaboration produced an instant club hit with a remake of the 70's song "There Go I," featuring Christia's powerhouse vocals. Although pleased with its' success, she knew that club music was not her passion, and the material she was writing didn't fit into that scene. After a few months of unrest, Christia soon found her home- the New York rock circuit.
After playing a few gigs at clubs around NYC (Le Bar Bat, CBGB's, The Bitter End) things came to a halt when Christia's sublet apartment fell through and she found herself with no place to stay. After sleeping in various hotel lobbies for a few weeks, she decided it would be best to move in with her sister 3000 miles away back in Los Angeles. this was just a temporary roadblock. Christia knew this would give her some quality time to concentrate on her writing. She got right to work on a new demo that got into the hands of a European record executive. Seeing great potential in this young artist, he offered her a recording contract with EMI. Her first single "I'm not a Boy" was released in the fall of 2001 and was an enormous success- charting in the top 20 in three countries. Due to its popularity, it was placed on two "best of" compilation CD's alongside such artists as Garbage, Alanis Morissette , and Kylie Minogue.
Even with it's success, EMI was slow with the process of releasing her full length CD and was not allowing Christia to be true to her artistic vision. She began to tire of waiting and after nearly a year, asked to be released form her contract with EMI. In the fall of 2002, Christia got out of that contract and began recording with the independent label, Immutable Records. The result of this collaboration is The First, a remarkable debut CD by a gifted new artist.
Described by industry professionals as "A cross between Evanescence and the new Jewel," Christia combines her piano and guitar playing with creative new grooves and driving rock beats to create a style all her own. From the innovative rock sound of "Fingers Tap" and the heartbreaking fusion on "Alone Forever", to the simple piano of "When I Cry" you will feel, as well as hear her music. As Music Connection Magazine described it, she is "Not only affective but infectious."
