tin cup prophette

Tin cup prophette gets her name from the tin tip cup she hangs from her fiddle case. It was a gift from her father when she moved to New York City in 1998, along with a note that read: "go make some money..."

Working from the bottom up, Amanda Kapousouz busked for subway commuters daily at the 42nd street stop on the 1/9 line. She braved the freezing cold and scorching heat down in the dredges, but playing those traditional Irish tunes paid off. Amanda met and teamed up with many musicians as a result, and thus began her above ground performances in New York. Playing with many bands in many genres ranging from punk bluegrass to jazz & western swing to rock gave tin cup prophette the experience and inspiration necessary to pursue her own sound.

Amanda became exhausted from her late night performances and her day job as an academic tutor for children in the entertainment industry, so she picked up and moved to Athens, Georgia in 2002. It was then that she began to write her own music. By August of 2003, she was the runner up in the Smith's Olde Bar Open Mic Madness Tournament in Atlanta, Georgia.

Tin cup prophette's sound is twofold; she still holds onto the traditional Irish music that saved her from putting down her fiddle for good, and her original music forges into a genre all its own. She remains an active performer in both realms, playing alongside Irish greats such as Eileen Ivers, John Doyle, and Liz Carroll while continuing to build her popularity in the indie rock scene, separating herself from the norm by intertwining old world instrumentation and modern technology.

Tin cup prophette's live performances are always memorable, whether you're watching her red-haired bow blur in a whirlwind of uptempo fiddle tunes or whether you're watching her loop her violin into pedals, creating a chamber of strings to back up her voice. She has opened for Aimee Mann, and has performed on the acclaimed NPR program, Mountain Stage, with host Larry Groce (aired November 2006).

Currently, tin cup prophette's debut album of original songs, "liar and the thief", is receiving much praise and was nominated for Album of the Year in this year's Flagpole Music Awards. She has also earned a four star review in PASTE magazine and is featured on their October 2006 sampler. Tin cup prophette has also just recorded a second traditional Irish album entitled "Calling the Oceans By Name" while touring for "liar and the thief", and has recently returned to Kansas City to perform at their Irish Festival where she remains a favorite among the locals. Tin cup prophette has also garnered attention by being included on REM's fanclub single this year. The single features her rendition of REM’s "tongue." She will focus on writing more songs for the remainder of this year.