MUNICH

So let's talk about Germany. Has anyone been there? First of all, nine hours on a plane isn't as bad as you think it is...coming back. Getting there, I have Jim catching flies next to me, after taking half a dose of sleeping pill, and this crazy Texan sitting next to me who swears he's in "investing". He paid for internet for the entire Lufthansa flight just to read his email. Seriously, I'm wondering if anything was that pressing that he couldn't leave his email alone for 9 whole hours. Wow. And, he got up every five minutes (I am not exaggerating here) and went....I have no idea where? Where do you go, on an airplane, thousands of feet in the air? Anyway. Mildly annoying. But not enough to squelch my total excitement over the fact that we were going to GERMANY to play a SHOW, for a real audience...in GERMANY! Was I nervous? Competely.

When we got there, our contact Ulrich met us at the airport and took us back to Munich on their underground transportation system, the S-Bahn. Let me just say how civil their system is. MTA- if you're reading this, you should check out the really cool little automated doors Munich trains have. Like, if you get to the train two seconds too late, you can hit this button on the outside of the door, and the doors open and you get on the train. Far superior to shoving a briefcase or foot in the door and hollering down the train to the conductor, hoping he actually sees you and realizes that you're trying to get on. Meanwhile, you have hundreds of people pissed off at you and shooting you dirty looks if you DO actually get on the train. Ah, New York City :-)

Plus, in Munich, their subways are so CLEAN. Well, everything was clean. I almost took a picture of the one piece of litter I saw the entire trip. Seriously. Now, I know i probably am seeing through slightly rose colored glasses due to the nature of my trip, but I give major props to the Muncheners for keeping thier city so gorgeous. The CITY- there's something to talk about. There's just something about Europe, whether it's how much older it is than the U.S., or how much more relaxed, or just the exoticness of it all...that I fall in love with every time I see it in pictures, or on TV...and especially when I'm there. Munich is a very Bavarian city of cobblestone streets, beer gardens, the requisite gazillions of churches and museums, with of course really cool statues and the random massive palace here and there. All totally normal sights for the city's million or so inhabitants. Highlights of sights: Frauenkirche, or Church of the Virgin (or something like that), huge yellow church with two onion towers, Theatinerkirche, another yellow church (what's with the yellow??), and the Residenz, a huge huge palace that I did not get to go into for lack of time, but looked amazing. I love the layout of Munich. We were in the city center, which is very densely packed with tiny side streets, cafes, bars, shops, and fortunate little pieces of architecture and charm. I think Munich is a lot bigger than what I saw, but my experience was pretty limited to all the stuff within a 20-30 minute walk of the hotel we stayed at (which was in itself charming and full of lovely staff. They had the BEST waffles and what I am pretty sure were pitted forest cherries for breakfast. Yum). I'm not much one for taking pictures, since I forget, and when you take pictures, I kinda think the point is so that you can go back to that place in your mind when you look at the pix. And lately, I have been so busy LIVING life, drinking in more of it, that I rarely want to put myself in the emotional frame of miind to sit with pictures and go back to the place I was in that picture...it's very sad, even when it's a happy memory. I sometimes can't handle it.

My sister Jackie was there with her friend Ryan, and she scared the crap out of me plenty of times by not meeting us when she said they would, since we had no cell phones that worked in Europe. Besides that, tho, i was thrilled to have her there, since I was making my international debut. I missed having my other sister Ali there, though. i went to Spain with her last year, and she was so much fun to hang with. I put it out there to the Universe- I want to go on a trip with both my sisters somewhere in this world. We'd rip it up. Obviously.

I shall now talk about one of my favorite topics in the whole world- food. Yes, i did eat a lot in Germany. Not everything I had wanted to, but that's ok, i'm going back (more on that later). They are really into their meat there, and the pork was some of the best I have ever had. I also got really into this horseradish sauce they put on some meat I ate, and the potatoes EVERYWHERE we went were great- from fried to boiled to their big dumplings. Also loved me some weiner schnitzel and spaetzle, which is little egg noodles. They do a mean apple strudel there, and all the wine I drank, whether Austrian or German, was very impressive. Coffee rocks, too...totally strong. I hit up a few different restaurants while i was there, with Jim, Jackie, Ryan, and Ulrich (and his friends, at times), and they all delivered that Bavarian experience- warm, friendly, cozy, and relaxed. MMMMM.

There is so much else I could talk about, from the little cafes to the student district, which I would have liked to explore more, to the museums that I didn't get to go to, but let's get to the point...i was there to play a show. And play we did. The show was Monday, March 6, 8:30 pm, at this great joint called Lustspielhaus (www.lustspielhaus.de) that usually caters to the comedy crowd. But because of that, the layout was awesome. A capacity 260 room with tables all over, seating 4/table. Cute little lamps on each table. the place had a full menu of food and drinks, and an elevated stage, where I played my beautiful Yamaha grand and Jim played the Takamine that a music store so generously lent him for our show. I loved the place. It was nice to be able to be downstairs below the stage, in an actual dressing room, actually getting ready to play physically and mentally before showtime. Even though that consisted of Jim playing a one foot pink sparkly plastic guitar with fishing line for strings, and me doing situps, and jackie taping the whole ridiculous thing on her camera. Sounds like a good warmup to me.

Then- the show. Man, was I nervous! I was hot, shaky, so unsure of whether people would like us, whether they'd be into the songs, or my voice, or just US up there on the stage...fortunately, my fears were unfounded. Despite a rocky start, when Jim's guitar somehow got unplugged so that when he turned on his amp at the beginning of the show..nothing happened...kinda awkward...we had a great show. It was actually pretty cool that the little guitar scenario happenned, because the audience immediately saw how human we were, and we all got to have a good laugh about it! Plus, Jim and Borys, our amazing sound guy, somehow managed to fix the whole thing so that, as I played "Save you Tonight" to open, Jim came in right exactly where he's supposed to anyway. Bravo.

If anyone REALLY wants the rundown of all the songs we did and what order, please let me know, but I'd like to do a recap generally...our set included all the biggies, like "I Am A Racecar", "Twisted", "Hardly is a Love Song", 'you Make Me", and the tracks from "Hiding Underneath" (www.ckubinski.com/buycd/index.html) The first set, 11 songs, was a lot of fun, although i was still really nervous and it probably showed a bit. That set included some classics..."Realistic" being one. Thank you Munchen for the hand claps. You guys rocked. Then, intermission was perfect for wolfing down some mean Lustspielhaus grub, celebrating a first act of blazing glory, haha, and getting changed for a second set. The second set opened with a sexy version of "Ride Alone" with Jim's awesome riffing. And we closed with "Like Only Lovers Can" and "Hiding Underneath". it was a lot better in terms of energy because we knew the audience was on our side at that point, I was totally warmed up, and just having FUN. Jackie sang backup on "Wherever You Wait" and that went over really well with the crowd, since she is a great singer and sounded awesome. We were huge dorks and said a few words in German, basically things like "ein bier" (a beer). Yes, classy Americans. Then, much to my surprise, we got not one but TWO encores! The first one, i was like, i have never done this before...how long do I wait? So I pretty much think that I walked offstage, waited about 5 seconds, then came back on. It was too quick :-) But the second one was truly amazing... after playing a new song "She's Gonna Make You Want Her" with Jim, we left the stage again, and the audience just kept clapping. And clapping. And finally, Jim turns to me and says "Looks like you're going back out there..." which I eventually did, playing "River to an Ocean" and ending on "Is This A Bad Time."

After the show, I was fortunate enough to meet the awesome people of Munich and talk for a while, sign CDs and posters, and thank them all for such a great time. I hope we made a good impression, and I hope they all bring their friends and families back when we play in Germany again. I am so so grateful for the chance to bring my music to a larger audience, and I'm so astonished and grateful and floored that the people who worked on the project put in as much heart, time, energy, and WORK as they did. I hope our show was worth it- it was worth it to me, a thousand times over.

Munich has some great bars (yes, I drank every night pretty much- Mom, get over it :-) My faves included this great Cuban bar, and also Neva, which was really low key on the Tuesday night we went around 1 am. Yah, not a lot happening in the clubs then.

Final thoughts? It rocked. It felt right. Like what I'm supposed to be doing. Only next time, I hope there's less snow. Yeah, Munich.

Jenna Jameson

Well at least the first part of this is about Jenna Jameson. I was just getting ready to blog, and I saw this feature on the Myspace blog page, and did you know you can see the most popular Myspace blogs of the day? Already today, Jenna Jameson's blog was up there on the charts (but not above John Mayer's, to my joy and satisfaction...we shall extol his virtues perhaps later). So anyway, I'm reading her blog, which was all about her good time in NYC. Places that I never go now and possibly never will, mostly because they revolve around shopping. I just want to say that I really hate traditional shopping. Now maybe that is because I feel like I don't have massive amounts of disposable bank account to throw on my feet in the form of spangled and fashionable (translation: unbearably hideous) shoes, but I think more than that, I don't like waiting in line and the fact that I'm so damn indecisive about what I actually want to buy. And it kinda makes me wonder what will happen when I DO have massive amounts of disposable bank...will I suddenly have the urge to raid Prada, Dolce, and downtown Soho shops that i would have otherwise never set foot in? I wonder about this. I wonder if my whole fashion mentality will change, or if I'll still be loyal to my trusty black, red, and turquoise thing...with the occasional really hot accessory :-) Thank you Jenna Jameson for interrupting my normal daily thoughts of "What am I going to have for lunch?" at this time each day...and bringing me these new, interesting pondering moments.
How was everyone's Thanksgiving? Mine ruled. It was too much food, as usual, and of course I ate it. I was with my family and some family friends, and we shared all the bad puns, jokes, and thundering laughter that I had hoped for. I love the holidays. I hope, I really truly do, that everyone reading this has someone they love to share the season with.
I got to play at the T-Ville Tavern in E-town while I was home, and thanks to everyone who came out! It was fun, even though I had a cold. My guitarist Jim got a rousing ovation for his great songs (check him out on myspace/jmtband ) and he rocked it out for me. I particularly enjoyed the guitar-only renditions of "Red Hot Romance" (yay for Meghan and Cassie dancing in front of the stage! i love my cowgirls) and "When You're Looking At Me" (CT debut). I'm really looking forward to moving away from the piano more so I can just SING IT. After the show, I partied in true rockstar style: with a nice quiet dinner at TGIFriday's with my best CT friends. Hey, I was sick.
I've decided that I would like to open for John Mayer. If anyone knows how to make this happen, let me know.
Off to pay my credit card bill. What an exciting Tuesday.

Winners, Songwriters, and how they connect

Hi all! So sorry to have been away so long... who reads this thing, anyway? i want to know!! It's a gorgeous Monday morning, November 7. What's crazy is that I could be outside in just a long sleeved shirt, no coat...and forget about this past weekend. It was amazing out. Like Springtime. However, this has caused trauma since the heat in my building is RAGING and it's been warm outside, so I've been roasting my butt off in my tiny apartment. ANYWAY....
I have some amazing news. My song Cradle the Moon from my EP HIDING UNDERNEATH has won the 2005 Positive Pop Song Contest! I'm realy excited about the contest win. The song was one of only 15 digital distribution winners, which means it will be distributed on the internet and also on a CD compilation that the contest will make. Cool beans. In case you haven't heard the song, and if you don't have it, check out I-Tunes and download it off there. Or if you're still into CDs (I understand, I am too!), please do go to www.ckubinski.com and buy the CD. I'll even autograph it for you at your request :-)
In other news, I've been seeing some incredible up and coming songwriters play...if you get a chance, go see Julia Brown and Celia Chavez play...and Pamela Means if you like jazzier stuff. I caught them all at the Rockwood Music Hall, one of my favorite downtown spots in NYC.
Random tidbits...I had an article published by Songwriters Tip Jar (www.stj.com- thanks Dan!) about the mistakes songwriters make when seeking a publishing deal. Being published is very cool. I also had a quote in the venerable IndieSoundsNY magazine published by Pete Harris of Harris Radio (thanks Pete!). Someday I'll get profiled in that lil' mag...wouldn't that be loverly.
I can't WAIT to get home to CT for Thanksgiving. Everything has been going well in NYC, and I love it here...been doing some co-writing, meeting good biz people, booking shows, selling CDs...and yet sometimes it still feels like the world, or my world, rather, is moving too slow. Patience has never been an outstanding virtue of mine, but I am learning it. So I think i'm excited to get home to remember on an experiential level what REALLY matters...and it's not the music business, or fame, or lots of money. It's my sisters and my parents and being able to talk and laugh with them, and knowing there are family and friends in my life whom I can turn to when I need help, encouragement, or someone to cry to. If I don't write again here until Thanksgiving, I hope that anyone who celebrates it out there has a wonderful, relaxing, re-energizing day with people you love.
And if anyone's uncle just happens to be Clive Davis or Greg Latterman, slip 'em my CD :-)

Chocolate

I was walking around 6th ave/23rd street area yesterday and those Godiva ads are STILL up on the telephone booths. Last year, a friend of mine told me that some girl in those ads looked like me. I didn't see it, but then again, I've also gotten Christina Ricci, Julianne Moore, and Lindsay Lohan (altho i do admit i actually GET those comparisons). so anyway, now i've been jonesing for some good chocolate, which is NOT good considering that winter is upon us, which means not only holidays, but also the impossible urge to eat way too much comfort food. I swear we should all go into hibernation. That is what we are biologically programmed to do. Now, i know that would cramp the marketing style of such industries as diet pills and gyms in the Spring, but honestly, wouldn't you like to sleep for a few months? think of the renewal you would feel come March!! Email me your comments on this one.
And now for some actual news: Yes, my entire EP HIDING UNDERNEATH is now up for download at www.itunes.com And you should go there immediately and buy it because you love indie music and you like cute girls who play the piano. Plus, I'll be eternally grateful to you for supporting me in the early stages of my career. Of course, people who love hardcopy artwork can always buy it at www.ckubinski.com
I'm putting together a band! Yay. After talking about it for so long, i decided there was no reason not to go ahead and do it. I had auditions last Friday in the Gibson showroom's studio 6, and found some great people...still have a few more to meet, but watch out for a full band probably starting sometime in November. Then we can accelerate this whole process of getting signed and moving on towards world domination. anyone want to join in?
My new manager Erica is doing an incredible job of organizing things like press reviews, possible radio stations i could get played on, and out-of-NYC venues I should play. If you go to college, let me know which one because i want to come play there! And if you have any suggestions for venues in your town that you'd like to see me play, email me your suggestions and tell me who you have seen there. If you are reading this because you're totally bored and happened to come across it, you can hear me SING it at www.ckubinski.com
I'm developing my new logo now, which will most likely feature a sun. I could make some saccharine comment about that in relation to my personality, but you all already know that :-)
What else...shows coming up at Rockwood, Bitter End, and also at the preeminent Thompsonville Tavern in rowdy Enfield CT on the day after Thanksgiving. You know you will want some alcohol after that massive Thanksgiving dinner. It's a digestive aid, right? so come out, drink, and hear me kick off the holiday season.
Send this link to five friends today and I'll think you're sweeter than chocolate: www.ckubinski.com
that's enough rambling, promoting, and spouting off for today. how are you?

NJIT- mostly

so I played the New Jersey Institute of Technology last night with Jim. Yes, folks, in gorgeous Newark NJ. Home of...well, i'm not really sure, but last night they hosted us in style in the Architecture Loft of the Architecture building on campus. All the free Dunkin donuts coffee and donuts and that devil of devils, chocolate chip muffins. Grrr. Yup, i ate half of one. ah well. anyway, it was a great show and a chance to meet some really cool and mathematical students. I caught snippets of conversations about monkeys, scaffolding, and weed. A typical college atmosphere, I'd say. Anyone out there an architect? Oh, being that i'm not always my own best promoter, i have to throw this in here...all my HIDING UNDERNEATH ep songs are now available on I-Tunes! go there. buy them. make an indie singer/songwriter totally pumped. www.itunes.com Or something like that. So how's everyone?

This Is My Blog

This is my blog. yes, that's right...that loveable creature you've come to identify as Cassandra Kubinski. And here is where I weild my fiery sword also known as a keyboard and entertain, incite, piss off, and bring excitement to millions of people worldwide. oh this will be fun.
I'm new to blogging so send your suggestions and comments.
I'm a singer/songwriter in NYC, I play indie pop/rock music, I'm a piano rocker, and my tunes are a cross between Billy Joel and Fiona Apple. In the Force of piano rock music, Fiona is the Sith and I am the Jedi. Or, if you prefer adjectives, I am sassy, sexy, and just a little mysterious behind the freckles and blue eyes. Come see me play at places like the Bitter End www.bitterend.com , Living Room www.livingroomny.com , Webster Underground www.webstertheatre.com and others.
And check out www.ckubinski.com where you will find lots of pictures (no not that kind, you pervert) and more than you ever wanted to know about me!