Here Comes Spring by Mick Kubiak

She currently models for renowned painter Philip Pearlstein as a way to make ends meet while she pursues her true calling, music.

In the past year, Kubiak has also staged an effective debut as a performer in the New York area, building a loyal following at Pete's Candy Store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn's creative hotbed.

The road to Brooklyn was circuitous for Mick. Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the only child of an Air Force pilot, Mick had lived in five different states by the time she was fifteen years old. For college, Kubiak attended Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, where she developed her abilities as a poet, studying contemporary American poetry and creative writing. She spent her junior year studying English Literature in London, where she joined her first band.

After her year abroad, Mick felt stifled in Ithaca and headed west to Albuquerque, a strange sort of homecoming, as she had moved from there shortly after her birth. She played in several bands there, most notably Rudy, which attracted a strong local following. After Rudy's break-up, Kubiak returned to Ithaca to build her first solo project, a band called Tender Buttons. Local hero and international indie rocker Johnny Dowd took a shine to the band and encouraged Mick to make a record. Says Kubiak, "I was very inspired by Johnny as a writer and a performer. I felt lucky to be having a creative dialogue with him and to be able to perform with him on occasion. I got into a song a day writing practice, which was very fruitful. I wrote about half of Here Comes Spring that way. Forcing songs to completion was a way to confound my overly critical ego."

Kubiak released a lo-fi recording of her songs titled "I Wear Black on the Outside, Not Only Because Black Is How I Feel on the Inside, But Also Because It Is Slimming And Conceals Dirt". The tape attracted the attention of then major label recording artists Billy Cote and Mary Lorson of Madder Rose, St. Low, and Jazz Cannon. Cote and Lorson were living near Ithaca at the time and offered to help Kubiak with a more ambitious recording project, which would become Here Comes Spring. Lorson and Cote became the core of her band for the duration of the recording. Kubiak produced the record in addition to writing and arranging all the songs. "I'm incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such accomplished musicians," she says. "I got great performances that perfectly conveyed the emotional vibe of the songs."

When Here Comes Spring was finished, Kubiak decided to move to New York, where she currently lives and works. She performs regularly in Manhattan (CB's, Brownies, Arlene's) and is writing her second album.

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