Hello friends, we have some big news we can’t contain any longer!

Many of you have been eagerly following our music and sharing in our journey – and we are so thankful for you all.  We would like to announce that we have begun the next chapter on our path to global domination, we signed our first major label record deal with Warner Music Nashville/Atlantic Records!  We are very proud to call ourselves Atlantic recording artists – check out their artist roster, we have some big shoes to fill.  This is a big change, but very welcome – it’s wonderful to have a team of people that believe in us.

Also, some of you have already discovered this (super sleuths), but we would like to officially announce that from now on we will be called “The Railers.”  We have loved being Tin Cup Gypsy the past few years, however we have found it to be a very difficult name for new fans to remember.  We hope that you will all embrace it and come to love it as we have!

Come say hi at our new Facebook page, and keep watching therailers.com for upcoming tour dates!

This past year has been a whirlwind adventure, and as I look back on the experiences, lessons learned, hardships never imagined, and the stretches my heart had to go through, I am thankful that more promise than ever lies ahead.

From broken down trailers on the side of the freeway in New York and my mother being diagnosed with breast cancer, to hearing ourselves on the radio for the first time and playing on big stages in hockey arenas and historical theatres, it’s been a crazy ride to say the least. We also did a big Breast Cancer Awareness campaign we titled “Charity Chop” where Jonathan let the three of us cut his hair (that was down to the bottom of his back!) off right in front of the whole audience before our show!!!!! The video should still be up on our youtube channel and let me tell you, as a wife of someone with GORGEOUS hair -who had never in 10 years seen Jonathan’s hair short, i was SO nervous….but as you can see from pictures he just got more handsome.. tears…lol THEN Tyler…you know, the ridiculously handsome drummer with hair that you want to cut off in his sleep and glue it to yours? maybe that’s just me, lol…stepped up to the plate and turned into an overnight SUPERmodel! if cutting your hair off makes you look like a rockstar, sign me UP!!!!!! All three of these boys were so amazing on tour through my struggle of not being there for my mom’s surgeries and gave up their beautiful locks to promote education which meant more to my family then they’ll ever understand…and it brought a whole new level of connection with our fans, hearing theire stories and banding together in this fight, turning such a devastating chapter into one of hope and light…holy amazing…

SO we (Tin Cup Gypsy) clocked up over 200 shows and 60,000 miles within a one year’s time and in January we began building our team of managers, publishing, photographers, directors, booking, and all the other priceless people that comprise a solid team to make bigger things happen for us…it’s been such a huge weight lifted to have these gems walk into our lives because there is a TON of behind the scenes work that is necessary to make all the lights and sound and smoke and glitter and production to create a great live show/image/recordings/etc…without these people I’m pretty sure we’d all have gray hair by the time we turn 30. Fo sho.

So this year I’m sure you’ve noticed a HUGE change in our touring schedule and many people started wondering, “where’d they go???”…well I’m here to say, “hhaayyyyy!!!”  and reveal in a very CIA coded way some of the things that are cooking up in the Tin Cup Gypsy lab…

So we built the team and have most of the puzzle pieces in place…we’ve been writing a TON as well as listening to “outside” songs for the past few months to gear up for having a new baby. that’s right, a music baby. hahahah! it’s been awhile since we released our first album “Calico” and we wanted to really take our time and dig into the musicality of making an even better record…we really respect those legendary musicians who poured their hearts into giving the listener a full album “experience” (James Taylor, The Dixie Chicks, Eagles, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, etc…) and hope to give you something you can listen start to finish without pushing the fast forward button like we’re all guilty of, lol.

The four of us holed up in the woods of middle-of-nowhere North Carolina for a few days not too long ago and had our very first writer’s retreat, log cabin and all…we were super far out and drove through a pass properly named “dragon’s tail”…we got about half way through until they had to let me out to puke. hahahah!But it was such a great time for us to pair up for two hour intervals and just create art, no matter what hook it was…songs like “My Old Suitacase”, “Burn This Mountain Down”, “Paper Airplane”, and “Wingman” spun through our minds and into journals as we collected several treasures from these sessions while learning one anothers’ writing “personalities” and just becoming better friends. yes, i can say all these “lifetime television’ things cuz i’m the girl of the band. i’m not ashamed. hahaha!

We then came home ready to rumble and start booking co-writes with other songwriters and get into the studio to start making demos of several songs. I’m so impatient with the process and i’m not gunna lie, until now i didn’t realize you usually have to record a “worktape” (just vocals and guitar/instrument of choice)…it’s like a super rough version…next it’s on to the rough demo which includes a broad idea of all the instruments and vocals…then comes EDITING..like anywhere from 1 to a billion times. So you’d think if you edited it enough it would be good enough for an album, right? NOPE. then the team listens to these songs, seeing which ones really pop out to them, and THEN if it’s a potential album cut, you REDO the whole flippin’ song. And that comes with tuning vocals, mixing and mastering, blah blah blahhhhh….so you see now why this process takes way longer than you’d think it would? lol ME too.

We also filmed our very first music video to be released here in the next month or two!!!! I can’t reveal too much, but the shoot was INCREDIBLE and our director Mark Cowart (who also photographed our last headshot)  is PHENOMENAL!!!! This thing looks more like a movie trailer than your basic music video and we are SO proud of how it all turned out…he made us look SO much cooler than we are, hahah…just another example of how important these team members are to us…

Let’s see….We’re gearing up for new photos as well, so look for that…and there’s OH-so-much-more coming soon…I wish i could just spill the beans right here and now and jump up and down and scream like an idiot, but i promise you when the time comes, it will be THAT much more exciting…

Until then, I’ll keep posting the “SECRETS FROM THE ROAD” archive videos to our bandpage from last year that reveal our true colors, lol…

love, adventures, and happiness to you all…

cheers,

cassandra

Putting our best foot forward...

Then we were on the road. Everything was going fine, until traffic came to a dead stop. The next thing we see is multiple ambulances and fire trucks zipping past us. This is when we knew we were going to be stuck for a while. We were only an hour from the gig and needed to be there in an hour. That’s when Jonathan’s mad driving skills came to the rescue. He figured that if we backed down the grassy median of the interstate we could make it to the last exit. Luckily, it was one of those funky left exits. As most people were starting to get out of their cars we were backing down the median. I’m sure we gave some of them a pretty good laugh, but we weren’t about to miss our show.

A couple days later we rolled into Chattanooga. It’s a city that we always love to play, but don’t get there too often (even though its only 2 hours from home). We were on the bill as the opener for Davey Smith. It was our first time to share the bill with Davey and the first time that we got to play at Rhythm & Brews. It turned out to be a great show and one that we will always remember. The crowd demanded an encore and we were blown away. Thanks to all the great fans who showed up and made it a great night. We can’t wait to be back in Chattanooga.

Finally, we just returned back home from Atlanta. It is another great city that we don’t get to very often. Now, we’re back in Nashville and continuing to write and record for our next project. We have some great stuff to share soon, and I can’t wait to get back on the road and share all the new songs with you.

-Tyler

So what’s new? Our world has been cuhraaaazy and is showing no signs of slowing. After our 200-show 2011, we needed a little break. Well that didn’t last long, and in January we began writing material for our next project! That process has been wonderful so far because, unlike Calico, we are ALL writing together and exploring the ways we want to evolve our sound.

So, we ventured into the studio last week to begin the “demo” process, where we record rough versions of the new tunes to decide which ones have a signature sound for us. It has been great to reconnect with a few of our friends from the Calico process!

We also can’t wait to reveal our very first music video. We shot it a few weeks ago and even though we can’t let the cat out of the bag yet, it’s going to be a beautiful visual of the song. Stay tuned to find out when and where you can see it!

We are still doing some select tour dates, although our priority right now is in the creative space. We are coming to the northeast somewhat frequently so keep checking that tour page for more info – and if you aren’t receiving our update emails, make sure you sign up on the list.

We hope that gives you a few little nuggets to enjoy. We will be better about checking in more often, I promise! Until next time…

- TCG

We are finally home after notching over 200 concerts this year – and it’s been an incredible ride!

It’s also been slightly exhausting, so now we’re winding down to spend the holiday season with friends and family. This year has taken us to the four corners of the United States, put 35,000 miles on the ole van, and brought drastic haircuts to Jonathan and Tyler (to support breast cancer awareness – check out the videos).

Although we will cherish this season with our families, we can’t wait to see what amazing things are waiting down the road in the new year. Until then, get your Kris Kringle on by visiting our store for some great holiday specials. Use the coupon below to get 40% off all official Tin Cup Gypsy Merchandise.

Thanks again for a wonderful year – we’ll see you in 2012!

Click here to claim your coupon to get 40% off.

See, I’ve had this little battle in my mind for the past several years. It seems like in today’s music industry there’s a line in the sand. Are you an emotional artist or will you craft your music the way a fine violin maker labors over his creations? It doesn’t seem like there is much crossover between categories – you create well-crafted music and people will think its shallow, you create emotional music and people will forgive poor musicianship as being “deep”.

In recent memory, one of the few (but exciting) exceptions is Adele, with her recent release “21,” a musically pure record that outsold Lady Gaga by almost a million copies. Musicianship, song writing, and vocal performances are top notch, and I think one would be hard pressed to find anyone who doubts the emotion packed into the material.

Confession time. I have a degree in classical violin performance. I know what you’re thinking, “you? NO!” But alas, it’s true. So, as a classically trained musician, I spend a good deal of time listening to the likes of Beethoven, Brahms, Debussey, Stravinsky (mostly romantic), and it has struck me that a good deal of my favorite classical music was both intensely emotional AND that generation’s version of Pop Music. At what point in our musical heritage did we begin deconstructing the craft of music in favor of emotional abstraction?

When did we stop caring enough about our music to be satisfied with poor execution? Would Beethoven have dumbed down his creative vision because a vocalist or instrumentalist could not get the part? No. In fact, when rehearsing for the opening night of the 9th Symphony, one of the female vocalists asked Mr. Beethoven to re-write a section that was slightly outside of her range. He replied with, “Practice. The note will come.”

Maybe I’m naive, but I want to believe that an artist can spin an emotion or experience into a masterpiece of execution – knowing that every little detail the listener hears is intentional and designed to elevate the mood.

– Jonathan

by Jonathan Lawson

Who needs a map when love’s the guide?
Who needs a bed when the road is wide?
Who needs a fire when the moon is high?
We’ll find our way by the headlight in the sky

It’s bright enough, the moon’s waxed up like a new paint job
Stars awake, like the metal flakes in a deep black Cadillac
So put those high beams out, moonshine in, hang on for the ride

They say that love is blind, but I guess I wanna find out for myself
So honey put that halo on, cause I can’t see a single wrong
With the chance to break your spell