Turning Points: American Football’s Mike Kinsella

Mike Kinsella is the most hardworking musician you’ve probably never heard of. At the age of 12 he formed Cap’n Jazz with his brother Tim and landed feet first at the forefront of a burgeoning underground punk scene in the American midwest. During the late 80s that scene could birth a variation of styles often gathered, often all too hastily, under the catchall genre ‘emo’. In time the term would become synonymous with a completely different style of radio friendly pop punk, but before it did Kinsella won legions of adoring fans with one of the genre’s most enduring and definitive albums: 1999’s eponymous American Football. He’s since played countless shows under his solo moniker Owen, released two albums 13 years apart with his post-American Football project Owls, and continued to drum occasionally for Joan of Arc and Their/They’re/There. Mike is now a full-time father and part-time musician, preparing to play his first shows with American Football in 15 years alongside the re-release of their seminal – and only – album.

I think Tim started a band called Toejam when he was 12 or 13. When I joined I was 12 and Tim was 14, then when I was 14 and Tim was 16 we switched the name to Cap’n Jazz, one guy quit, we switched instruments and like … called it something else. We had an old Fostex four-track that we used. Cap’n Jazz would be the first time we went to a studio and, like, paid a guy and thought we’d really ‘made it’. Looking back we coulda done just as good a job on the four-track but y’know, we were young and that’s how you learn.

Cap’n Jazz just broke up and I moved away to school, so Tim formed Joan of Arc. I was in the band but not for practices and it was kinda like ‘Oh, we have these songs we could record, we can do it over spring break or whatever.’ We were definitely, consciously trying to do something different to Cap’n Jazz. I’m not sure if that early stuff accomplished anything except being different to Cap’n Jazz though.

American Football was with dudes I was down at school with so it was more routine practices, whereas Joan of Arc was more a revolving door of people. We broke up before the album was released and we never played any shows after it was released, so I think the label just wanted to sort of commemorate this album that was released 15 years ago and still keeps selling. But from a personal perspective, I just wanna cash in … nah, I’m just kidding.

I’m OK at working with other people in bands like Owls and I enjoy it to a point, but to be honest when I’m doing bands I’m making compromises all the time. So I get excited to do my own thing, but then I also get in a rut doing Owen stuff and working by myself – there’s no push and pull, it’s just you. I think I’m in a good place doing different things with different people. If you asked my brother he’d probably say I’m hard to work with, but I think maybe I’m just blunt or something.

My wife teaches high school so I’m like the primary care giver. At the end of each month I usually have a weekend of shows or something I can look forward to, I can get away for a little bit and then after a long weekend of drinking and talking to strangers I’m ready to come back home and be with the family. It works out really good.