Mike Kinsella | |
|---|---|
 Kinsella in 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | March 4, 1977 |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels |
|
| Member of | |
| Website | owenmusic |
Mike Kinsella (born March 4, 1977) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. Having been involved in many Illinois-based bands, he is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the emo band American Football.
Kinsella's first musical project was serving as drummer for the band Cap'n Jazz, which he co-founded with his brother Tim. [3] Cap'n Jazz originally featured their local high school star running back on drums. When he quit to focus on football, a 12-year-old Mike Kinsella learned how to play a 16-piece drum set. [4]
With either Tim and/or cousin Nate Kinsella, he has also participated in the projects Owls and Joan of Arc.
In 2001, Kinsella began his current solo project, Owen, in which he performs vocals, guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, loops, etc. [5] Kinsella was also in a band called The Shirts and Skins, with his wife. In 2013, he released two EPs with Their / They're / There, a project featuring Evan Weiss of Into It. Over It. and Matthew Frank of Loose Lips Sink Ships. [6] He has also been part of the band The One Up Downstairs, alongside American Football drummer Steve Lamos.
Many of his albums, including Owen and No Good for No One Now , were recorded at his mother's home. [7]
| Year | Title | Band | Label | Format | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Burritos...(AKA: Shmap’n Shmazz) | Cap'n Jazz | Man With Gun Records | LP/CD | Drums/vocals |
| 1997 | A Portable Model Of... | Joan of Arc | Jade Tree Records | LP/CD | Drums |
| 1998 | Analphabetapolothology | Cap'n Jazz | Jade Tree Records | 2×CD | Drums/vocals |
| 1998 | American Football | American Football | Polyvinyl Records | EP/CD | Guitar/vocals |
| 1999 | American Football | American Football | Polyvinyl Records | LP/CD | Guitar/bass/vocals |
| 1999 | Live in Chicago, 1999 | Joan of Arc | Jade Tree Records | LP/CD | Drums |
| 2000 | The Gap | Joan of Arc | Jade Tree Records | LP/CD | Drums |
| 2001 | Owls | Owls | Jade Tree Records | LP/CD | Drums |
| 2001 | Owen | Owen | Polyvinyl Records | CD | Guitar/vocals/drums/bass |
| 2002 | No Good for No One Now | Owen | Polyvinyl Records | CD | Guitar/vocals/drums/bass |
| 2002 | Open Ground | Kyle Fischer | Polyvinyl Records | CD | Drums |
| 2003 | Best of Altan | The Songs Altan | Green Linnet Records | CD | Harmonica |
| 2003 | In Rape Fantasy and Terror Sex We Trust | Joan of Arc | Perishable Records | CD | Bass/drums/percussion |
| 2003 | So Much Staying Alive and Lovelessness | Joan of Arc | Jade Tree Records | CD | Bass/drums |
| 2004 | Anyone in Love With You (Already Knows) | Rainer Maria | Polyvinyl Records | CD | Tambourine |
| 2004 | The Rutabega/Owen Split EP | Owen | Polyvinyl Records | CD | Guitar/vocals/drums/bass |
| 2004 | Total Eclipse of the Heart | The Love of Everything | Record Label Records | CD | Drums |
| 2004 | (The EP) | Owen | Polyvinyl Records | CD | Guitar/vocals/drums/bass |
| 2004 | Joan of Arc, Dick Cheney, Mark Twain | Joan of Arc | Polyvinyl Records | CD | Drums |
| 2005 | I Do Perceive | Owen | Polyvinyl Records | CD | Guitar/vocals/drums/bass/programming |
| 2005 | Association of Utopian Hologram Swallowers | Owen | Polyvinyl Records | CD | Guitar/vocals |
| 2005 | Presents Guitar Duets | Joan of Arc | Record Label Records | CD | Guitar |
| 2006 | At Home with Owen | Owen | Polyvinyl Records | CD | Guitar/piano/vocals |
| 2007 | Many Times I've Mistaken | Joan of Arc | Polyvinyl Records | EP/CD | Guitar |
| 2007 | Owen/The City on Film | Owen | Red Cars Go Faster | 7-inch vinyl | Guitar/piano/organ/vocals |
| 2008 | Boo! Human | Joan of Arc | Polyvinyl Records | LP/CD | Drums |
| 2009 | The Seaside EP | Owen | Polyvinyl Records | CD | Guitar/vocals |
| 2009 | New Leaves | Owen | Polyvinyl Records | CD | Guitar/vocals |
| 2010 | Abandoned Bridges | Owen | Polyvinyl Records | 7-inch EP | Guitar/vocals |
| 2010 | Darling, Darling | Crissi Cochrane | Independent | CD | Drums/guitar |
| 2011 | Oh, Evelyn | Owen | Polyvinyl Records | 7-inch EP | Guitar/vocals/drums/bass |
| 2011 | Ghost Town | Owen | Polyvinyl Records | CD, vinyl | Guitar/vocals |
| 2013 | Their / They're / There | Their / They're / There | Polyvinyl Records | CD, vinyl | Drums |
| 2013 | L'Ami du Peuple | Owen | Polyvinyl Records | CD, vinyl, cassette | Guitar/vocals/drums/piano/bass |
| 2013 | Analog Weekend | Their / They're / There | Polyvinyl Records | CD, vinyl | Drums |
| 2014 | TWO | Owls | Polyvinyl Records | CD, vinyl, cassette | Drums |
| 2014 | American Football (Deluxe Edition) | American Football | Polyvinyl Records | CD, vinyl, cassette | Guitar/bass/vocals Deluxe edition of first LP |
| 2014 | Other People's Songs | Owen | Polyvinyl Records | CD, vinyl, cassette | Guitar/vocals/drums/piano/bass |
| 2015 | Owen/Into It. Over It. Split EP | Owen | Polyvinyl Records | Vinyl | Guitar/vocals/drums/piano/bass |
| 2016 | The Sleep Whose Dreams Are Life | Aleph Eris | HOMHOMHOM Records of the Eternal Now | Vinyl | Drums |
| 2016 | The King of Whys | Owen | Polyvinyl Records | CD, vinyl, cassette | Guitar/vocals/drums/piano/bass |
| 2016 | American Football | American Football | Polyvinyl Records | CD, vinyl, cassette | Guitar/vocals |
| 2019 | American Football | American Football | Polyvinyl Records | CD, vinyl, cassette | Guitar/vocals |
| 2020 | The Avalanche | Owen | Polyvinyl Records | CD, vinyl, cassette | Guitar/vocals |
| 2023 | Lies | Lies | Polyvinyl Records | Vinyl | Guitar/vocals |
| 2024 | The Falls of Sioux | Owen | Polyvinyl Records | CD, vinyl | Guitar/vocals |
Joan of Arc was an American indie rock band from Chicago, Illinois named after the French saint Joan of Arc. They formed in 1995, following the breakup of Cap'n Jazz.
Cap'n Jazz is an American emo band from Buffalo Grove, Illinois.
Paris, Texas was an American punk rock and emo band signed to New Line Records.
Owen is the primary solo project of American indie rock and emo musician Mike Kinsella. The project features soft melodies and complex acoustics, combining acoustic guitar with keyboard, other guitars, vocals, and drums.
Owls is an indie rock band from Chicago, Illinois. They were initially active from 2001 to 2002 and reunited in 2012. The band is composed of the original lineup of the emo band Cap'n Jazz excluding guitarist Davey von Bohlen, who had left to form The Promise Ring. The lineup has included brothers Tim Kinsella and Mike Kinsella, guitarist Victor Villareal and bassist Sam Zurick. Tim Kinsella and Zurick have also played together in Joan of Arc and Make Believe. Villarreal and Zurick played together in the instrumental rock group Ghosts and Vodka. The band signed to Jade Tree on May 3, 2001, and released their debut on July 31.
American Football is an American indie rock band from Urbana, Illinois, originally active from 1997 to 2000. They reformed in 2014.
Make Believe was an indie rock band, initially formed in Chicago, Illinois in 2003 as a touring version of Joan of Arc. The band was composed of lead vocalist Tim Kinsella, guitarist Sam Zurick, bassist Bobby Burg, and drummer/keyboardist Nate Kinsella. After 3 months of touring as Joan of Arc, the quartet returned home and decided to begin writing new songs with a more aggressive approach. Following a self-titled 5 track EP, their first full-length Shock of Being was released on October 4, 2005, followed by Of Course in 2006.
Tim Kinsella is an American musician, author, and film director from Chicago, Illinois.
Burritos, Inspiration Point, Fork Balloon Sports, Cards in the Spokes, Automatic Biographies, Kites, Kung Fu, Trophies, Banana Peels We've Slipped On, and Egg Shells We've Tippy Toed Over, more commonly known as Shmap'n Shmazz, is the only full-length studio album by the American emo band Cap'n Jazz. It was released in 1995 on the record label Man With Gun. Cap'n Jazz's lineup at the time of recording comprised Tim Kinsella on lead vocals, Davey von Bohlen and Victor Villarreal on guitar, Sam Zurick on bass guitar, and Mike Kinsella on drums.
A Portable Model of is the first full-length studio album by Joan of Arc, released in June 1997 on Jade Tree Records.
Ghosts and Vodka was an American instrumental math rock band from Chicago, Illinois. The band was made up of two guitarists, Victor Villareal, and Sam Zurick, bassist Erik Bocek, and drummer Scott Shellhamer.
Owls is the debut studio album by American rock band Owls, which was released on July 31, 2001, through Jade Tree. After the disbandment of Joan of Arc, frontman Tim Kinsella reunited with the former members of Cap'n Jazz to form Owls. They recorded with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago, Illinois, in April 2001. The album is an emo and indie rock record that has been compared with the works of Ghosts and Vodka, Pavement, and Captain Beefheart.
Nate Kinsella is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, sound engineer, and producer. He performs solo as Birthmark and in a number of other projects, many with one or both of his cousins, Mike and Tim Kinsella. These include former bands Joan of Arc and Make Believe as well as ongoing projects American Football and Lies.
American Football, also known retrospectively as LP1, is the debut studio album by the American emo band of the same name, released on September 14, 1999 on the record label Polyvinyl. It was recorded shortly after the band released their debut self-titled EP through Polyvinyl in October 1998. The group, consisting of vocalist/guitarist Mike Kinsella, guitarist Steve Holmes, and drummer Steve Lamos, recorded their debut album at Private Studios in Urbana, Illinois, with production from Brendan Gamble.
Life Like is the fourteenth full-length studio album by Joan of Arc released in 2011 on Polyvinyl Records. It is also the first Joan of Arc album to feature former Cap'n Jazz guitarist, Victor Villarreal. It was produced by Steve Albini.
Ghost Town is the sixth full-length album by Chicago musician Mike Kinsella under the moniker Owen. It was released on November 8, 2011 to mostly positive reviews.
Their / They're / There is an indie rock band from Chicago, Illinois. All three members are prominent figures in the Chicago indie scene, having each been a part of numerous noteworthy projects based in the area. The group released their first two EPs, Their / They're / There and Analog Weekend in 2013, before taking a lengthy hiatus.
Into It. Over It. is an indie rock band founded in 2007 as the solo project of Chicago, Illinois-based musician Evan Thomas Weiss. It is considered a leading act of the early-2010s emo revival scene.
"Never Meant" is a song by American emo band American Football. The opening track on the band's eponymous 1999 debut LP, it is considered to be one of the greatest emo songs of all time.
Victor Villarreal is an American musician and songwriter, best known for his role as guitarist in Cap'n Jazz, Owls and Joan of Arc. His music incorporates elements of classical, indie and emo, and contains surreal guitar solos and instrumentals.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
