NYCS Swag Spotlight: Spinn
The ladies of Spinn, twins Stephanie and Cheryl Lynn Spinner have been interested in music since they were in the second grade, learning to play piano and both participating in the church choir. Growing up in New Jersey, they recall in a recent interview with New York Country Swag that there was always music playing in the house, but it was a rare occasion when their parents would agree on the genre. Their father although he grew up in New York City, loved country music while their mother loved rock n roll. “In the house, we would have Bruce Springsteen and Heart then Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton and they always battled, music was always playing, but they couldn’t stand each other’s music it was kind of funny,” they explained. They took their first family trip to Nashville when the girls were twelve years old, attending a show at The Ryman, which only solidified their love for the genre.
The duo went to college originally in pursuit of a music business degree, to learn the ins and outs of the industry, then one of their professors told them they were crazy for not pursuing their career as singers instead. “Having taken those classes in the music business, it helped us understand and guide our career and the failures were more rational, we understand that it is a business and things don’t always go the way you think they are going to,” they tell us. “It’s not a no forever, it’s just a no for right now.” They started to play shows when they were in college, eventually leading them to stages in New York like Rockwood Music Hall. They can recall when Nash FM 94.7 hit the New York City airwaves and how that was a game changer for them. “Nash FM changed our lives, now with the resurgence of country music and finally having a station, it changed everything,” they explain. The duo went on to compete in Nash’s regional Nash Next competition, beating out 750 other bands or artists and coming in first place. This then allowed them the opportunity to head to Nashville, compete in their competition then hit the road with all of the finalists. “It was so much fun, the entire thing start to finish,” they explained. “We signed up to push fan engagement since we were about to release a music video. We had people voting, we got to do the live show, we won and it was the craziest thing in the entire world to be able to represent New York City and have that be your stamp “country duo from New York City”.”
Since then the duo has opened for LANco, Kalie Shorr, Drew Baldridge and Trent Harmon and in each instance they take everything in like sponges, absorbing every aspect of the artists’ live show. “We watch everyone and we try to take away what the best things they do at their meet and greets, how they interact on stage. For us, it is a blessing to be able to play in front of their fans and we enjoy bringing our fans to see incredible artists,” they tell us.
Spinn’s latest single, “Crazy For You” was written on a whim at 5:30 in the morning, Stephanie explains. “I had an epiphany and the first three lines of the chorus just popped in my head, I was feeling so lazy, I did not want to get out of my bed but I laid in my bed and sang it into my phone.” After some rearranging and writing the rest of the song together, Cheryl and Stephanie had their next song. “It’s about balance, it’s about the people in your life who balance us out, we are chaotic and all over the place but those people are so important to us and we think finding the balance between the chaos and enjoying the simple things is a really big part of life and keeping us moving forward and on track and something we are focusing on right now,” they tell us.
We discussed their decision to pursue their career in New York instead of moving to Nashville and they explained that their families are here and that they are able to express a different narrative growing up here. “We love country music, but our experience and our journey in life is different than someone who grew up in the south, or anywhere else in the country,” they say. “Our families and friends are here and they are the ones that shape us and support, our roots are something we hold very dear to us.” They talk about the family of country music artists that are all making their dreams come true from the North East including Lauren Davidson, Carolyn Miller, and Tommy Cole. “We love Nashville, but this is home for us and for us to be able to experience what we can here, its something we have fought so hard to be able to do what we do here,” they explain.
Looking forward, Spinn is excited to release another EP this fall and plan a tour that will hit the northeast. Be sure to be following the ladies of Spinn on their social media channels, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, for all announcements and upcoming releases.
—————————-
Thank You for supporting Country Music in NYC!
Subscribe to our Weekly Round-Up here
for ticket giveaways, meet & greet contests, upcoming events,
and all things country music in the New York metro area and beyond!
+ Follow our country music adventures on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook:
