Newest Songs  

I've been taking a new direction in my songwriting lately, combining aspects of Contemporary Folk, Americana and Jazz…Some of these are like traditional jazz balads, some lean more in one of the other directions but with some jazz compositional elements .

And, I've been learing how to play piano, and it has somehow influenced my songwriting an a major way.  For some reason, I often find myself writing songs on piano that are way different, stylistically, than what I write on guitar.  I've played some of them in performance and gotten wonderful reactions.  I'll post some home demo recording of some of them soon.  Until then, you can year short clips of some of them on my instagram and tiktok pages  

At some point these, and others, will be recorded as single releases and EPS, some as studio recordings and some from live performances.  Here are a few of them, some recorded at live performances with a handheld digital recorder and others are “home demos”.   

And I've also written a lot of new songs in Americana and Contemporary Folk, without the jazz influence, which I'll post some “home demos” of here soon, some of which are here and some on Instagram or Facebook.

Virginia Anymore

Carl Rubino

This song was Honorable Mention in American Songwriter's 2025 Annual Lyric Contest. Home demo recording. Sometimes songs come as a title or idea, and I develop them over a period of time..Sometimes they just come to me Read more

This song was Honorable Mention in American Songwriter's 2025 Annual Lyric Contest. Home demo recording. Sometimes songs come as a title or idea, and I develop them over a period of time..Sometimes they just come to me out of nowhere...That's where this one came from. I'm doing this demo with an electric guitar - sort of a new thing for me. I also often play it on an acoustic guitar. I like it both ways. Frankly, I think it's one of my best songs...Hope you like it.

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Standing In The Rain

Carl Rubino

Home demo recording of one of my original Jazz inspired ballads. Piano is a Yamaha CK88 using a custom acoustic piano track I created...I started playing piano and writing songs on it about a year ago...I really like this one a lot. A better recorded version will be on an EP at some point.

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Moonlight Over Manhattan - home demo recording.

Carl Rubino

New Song - Jazz Ballad. Home demo recording. I was born in Manhattan, and lived there later in life as well before moving to the Adirondacks. This song consists of little vignettes of my old "home town", with what I think is sort of a 50's jazz club sort of feel.

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Home In A Minute

Carl Rubino

A rough demo of another of the songs I wrote on piano after my journey that began in early 2025 learning how to play piano. Here's how this one came to life. A co-writer and I were working on another song when she said Read more

A rough demo of another of the songs I wrote on piano after my journey that began in early 2025 learning how to play piano. Here's how this one came to life. A co-writer and I were working on another song when she said she had to leave because she had to be "home in a few minutes". A light went off. I asked her if I could use "Home In A Minute" as a title or if she wanted to co-write to it. She said: "Go head, it's all yours." I immediately visualized a story song with verses that would be scenes from a single person from her early school years, to life's end, centered around the phrase "I'll be home in a minute"...This is what came out of it. I love the song...At some point I'll re-record the demo, without the mistakes in playing and singing that this one has on one or two spots, but I wanted to get it out there for people to hear.

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The Illusions We Become

Carl Rubino

Recorded live at Whitcomb's Garage, 2023, with a handheld digital recorder. I used to do some acting with a regional theatre with some real actors, one of whom seemed to live his character, even off stage. That inspired this song.

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Under The Light Of An August Moon

Carl Rubino

New Song - Jazz Ballad. Live recording on handheld digital stereo recorder at performance. I don't write many "love" songs, but this sort of came to me as I was playing some jazz type progressions on a big hollow body electric...Many edits and re-writes later, this is what came to be.

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Coming Soon! 

“Carl Rubino, Live at The Strand”, a six song EP.   Some new, some older but never recorded.  Includes these,  a live version of Jimmy & Stella (Love Doesn't Always Play In Tune) and more…

Two Days Out

Carl Rubino

Home demo recording. This is the earlier version of this song which was recorded by Nashville recording artist Billy Barr and, on his CD, received rotational airplay on a country station in Australia...I've since created an updated re-write of that earlier version, but haven't recorded it yet.

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How Does That Sound

Carl Rubino

Home demo recording. This song is co-written with Dan Navarro...Carl Rubino and Dan Navarro, Songwriters...Dan is a multi-honored songwriter and performer, including having co-written the Pat Benatar hit "We Belong"

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More New Songs - Songwriter Demos, Rough "Tapes", Songs In The Works and more...

"First Bite" cd - Listen on Spotify

"First Bite" - CD and Single Downloads, Physical CD, and Cassette Tape