Enfield Singer Teams Up with a Doll and a Maniac

The performing career of Enfield native Cassandra Kubinski has had its share of peaks and valleys, but the petite singer/songwriter is definitely enjoying a surge in popularity, with a new single and collaborations with some star friends.

Kubinski, valedictorian of the Enfield High School Class of 2001 who now resides in New York City, released a single in late 2013 called “Not So Different,” an anthem for autism which inspires awareness and acceptance. All proceeds from the song, which is available for download at sites like cdbaby.com, itunes.apple.com and amazon.com, are donated to Autism Speaks.

Words don’t come easy…but I hear everything you say.

It takes every color in the spectrum to make the world so bright,
Love speaks in a million ways, and in the end we’re not so different.

“This was the opportunity I needed to really ‘say’ something,” Kubinski said. “I really want to spread a message of acceptance and non-judgement. I wanted to write something that would tell the world we all want to be loved, and accepted for what we were without having to be ‘fixed’ or ‘changed’ in any way.”

Recently, Kubinski went back into the studio to re-record the song, but this time she had a couple of famous partners to sing with - John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls and Mary Ramsey of 10,000 Maniacs.

“Hopefully we’ll earn thousands of dollars for autism,“ she said.

The new recording comes on the heels of Kubinski’s latest single and video, “Barcode,” a fun tune she co-wrote with Lori Martini which “tells the tale of a regular working girl who stops into the grocery store to pick up some essentials, and is drawn into a fun and sensual fantasy land by a handsome stranger.”

“I wanna scan you like a barcode,” she sings, in what she calls “an answer to Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’.” In the recently-released video for the song, she performs alongside a quartet of male models.

Since her middle school years in Enfield, Kubinski has performed as a singer and actress in a wide variety of venues, including concert halls, television and even the big screen.

After starring in the lead role in Annie at the Goodspeed Opera House at age 13 in 1996, the talented dynamo had small roles on television’s Spin City (1999) and the Sean Connery film Finding Forrester (2000). After earning a B.A. in theatre at Florida State University, she had a bit part on TV’s Third Watch in 2004 before moving to New York City and releasing her debut EP, hiding underneath. The track “Wherever You Wait” placed third in the Billboard World Song Contest.

Her first full-length CD, Hold the Sun, was released in 2007, and featured a re-recorded version of “Cradle the Moon” from her initial EP. A link to that song reached Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Billy Joel, and the Piano Man quickly arranged a meeting with Kubinski.

The friendship that developed led to Joel sending her lyrics for a song idea. Kubinski came up with a concept for a duet, entitled “No Hard Feelings,” which received mention in the recently-released book “Billy Joel: The Definitive Biography.”

You got the house, you got the cash
The furniture and all that trash
The dog’s even going with you…

“He is my biggest musical influence, and someone I look to model my writing after, as it is so smart, melodic, theatrical, and real – so it was a total trip to see that I’m a small part of his story, too!” she said.

Joel has praised his friend by writing, “Cassandra Kubinski is a rarity. She’s a talented singer/songwriter working in a tradition very similar to the legendary solo artists of the early to mid-1970s. She proves that the art form is not only alive and well, but that it is still capable of being transcendent.”

Kubinski wrote several songs and acted in the 2009 independent musical film Clear Blue Tuesday, which enjoyed a run at New York’s Quad Cinemas. That same year, she contributed songs to indie films Red Hook and Dare; the latter was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

In recent years, Kubinski has become an activist for various social causes. She regularly performs in AIDS hospitals for LifeBEAT, in addition to her work for autism.

The title track from her album, Just Being Myself, has been heard on Real Housewives of Miami, Kendra On Top and Big Women, Big Lives. Other Kubinski songs have been featured on Lifetime’s Dance Moms.

“Superstar dancer Maddie Ziegler (featured in Sia’s “Chandelier” video) danced to my song “There is Only Love” off my last album,” she said.

She provided the voice of Marcia Brady in an Emmy-nominated Snickers commercial from the 2015 Super Bowl. Other voiceover credits include commercials for Hershey’s, Barnes and Noble, Maybelline, Dunkin Donuts, HomeGoods, Kohl’s and Capital One.

Kubinski has performed on both U.S. coasts, and overseas from Germany to Jamaica.

Her next goal? “I’ve got my sights set on working with David Guetta and Timbaland.”

Photo credit: Bettina Bogar