{{short description|American musician (born 1977)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox musical artist | background = person | name = Mike Kinsella | image = Mike Kinsella, American Football - First Avenue - Minnesota - Band - Reunion 5 17 CROPPED.jpg | alt = close-up of Mike Kinsella playing an electric guitar and singing into a microphone onstage | caption = Kinsella performing in 2017 | landscape = yes | birth_name = | origin = Chicago, Illinois | alias = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1977|3|4}} | genre = {{flatlist| * Emo<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/how-mike-kinsellas-work-defined-and-continues-to-redefine-emo-6621744 | title=How Mike Kinsella's Work Defined (and Continues To Redefine) Emo | work=Phoenix New Times | date=December 10, 2013 | accessdate=February 23, 2016 | author=Libman, K.C.}}</ref> * indie rock * punk rock<ref>{{cite web | url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/tim_mike_kinsella-you_cant_miss_what_you_forget | title=Tim & Mike Kinsella – You Can't Miss What You Forget | work=Exclaim! | date=May 6, 2014 | accessdate=February 23, 2016 | author=Gormely, Ian}}</ref> * Midwest emo * post-rock }} | occupation = {{flatlist| * Musician * singer-songwriter }} | instrument = {{flatlist| * Vocals * guitar * keyboards * bass guitar * drums }} | years_active = 1989–present | label = {{flatlist| * Polyvinyl * Jade Tree * Green Linnet * Perishable * Man With Gun }} | current_member_of = {{flatlist| * The One Up Downstairs * Owls * Joan of Arc * Owen * Cap'n Jazz * American Football * Their / They're / There * Lies }} | past_member_of = | website = {{URL|owenmusic.com}} }}
'''Mike Kinsella''' (born March 4, 1977) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He has been involved in many Illinois-based bands and is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the emo band American Football.
==Career== Kinsella's first musical project was serving as drummer for the band Cap'n Jazz, which he co-founded with his brother Tim.<ref name="chicagocore">{{cite web |date=September 21, 2007 |title=Press |url=http://jadetree.com/press/article/1/764 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209112806/http://jadetree.com/press/article/1/764 |archivedate=February 9, 2012 |accessdate=May 17, 2013 |publisher=Jade Tree}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cohen |first1=Ian |title=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 |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/capn-jazz-shmapn-shmazz/ |access-date=August 26, 2018 |website=Pitchfork}}</ref>
With either Tim and/or cousin Nate Kinsella, he has also participated in the projects Owls and Joan of Arc.
In 1997, Kinsella, along with Steve Lamos and Steve Holmes, formed the band American Football, which would go on to release an EP in 1998 and a full-length album in 1999, before disbanding. After a 15-year hiatus, the band returned in 2014. They issued a second album in 2016, a third in 2019, and a fourth one in 2026.
In 2001, Kinsella began his current solo project, Owen, in which he performs vocals, guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, loops, etc.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 5, 2008 |title=Owen |url=https://www.polyvinylrecords.com/bands/band_info.asp?bandID=10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080205060137/https://www.polyvinylrecords.com/bands/band_info.asp?bandID=10 |archive-date=February 5, 2008 |access-date= |website=Polyvinyl Record Co.}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.polyvinylrecords.com/artists/index.php?id=1057 |title=Polyvinyl Record Co. – Their/They're/There |publisher=Polyvinylrecords.com |date= |accessdate=May 17, 2013}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.polyvinylrecords.com/artists/index.php?id=284 |title=Polyvinyl Record Co. – Owen |publisher=Polyvinylrecords.com |date= |accessdate=May 17, 2013}}</ref>
==Legacy== John Hill of ''Loudwire'' wrote, "It's not often a guitarist is credited for being the progenitor of an entire style of music; however, you'd be hard-pressed not to give Mike Kinsella his dues for what he's given to the worlds of mid-west emo and math rock", adding that "emotion bleeds into every note he plays".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hill |first=John|date=May 29, 2024 |title=The 10 Greatest Guitar Gods of Emo |url=https://loudwire.com/best-emo-guitarists/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral |access-date=March 11, 2025 |website=Loudwire}}</ref>
==Personal life== Kinsella married his wife Ryan in 2006; they have two children together.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 13, 2016 |title="This is where we are at now. We're grown men."—Mike Kinsella on the evolution of American Football |url=https://www.altpress.com/this_is_where_we_are_at_now-_were_grown_men-mike_kinsella_on_the_evolution/ |website=Alternative Press}}</ref> In 2019, Ryan discovered that Kinsella had been in a two-year relationship with another woman, leading to their divorce.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Currin|first=Grayson Haver|date=March 2, 2026|title=American Football's True Confessions|url=https://www.gq.com/story/american-footballs-true-confessions|access-date=May 4, 2026|website=GQ}}</ref>
==Discography== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- !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 |- |2026 |''American Football'' |American Football |Polyvinyl Records |CD, vinyl, cassette |Guitar/vocals |} <!-- * 1990–96 Analphabetapolothology – Cap'n Jazz – drums, vocals * 1997 Portable Model of – Joan of Arc – drums * 1998 American Football ep – American Football – guitar, vocals * 1999 American Football - American Football – bass, guitar, vocals * 1999 Live in Chicago 1999 – Joan of Arc – drums * 2000 Gap – Joan of Arc – drums * 2000 Dantom Sucks Theory – The Jordan Marx EP – sexy * 2001 Owls – Owls – drums * 2001 Owen – Owen – guitar, vocals * 2002 Heart's Desire – Niamh Parsons – harmonica * 2002 No Good For No One Now – Owen – guitar, vocals * 2002 Open Ground – Kyle Fischer – drums * 2003 Best of Altan: The Songs Altan – harmonica * 2003 In Rape Fantasy and Terror Sex We Trust – Joan of Arc – bass, percussion, drums * 2003 So Much Staying Alive and Lovelessness – Joan of Arc – bass, drums * 2004 Anyone in Love With You (Already Knows) – Rainer Maria – tambourine * 2004 The Rutabega/Owen Split EP – guitar, vocals * 2004 Total Eclipse of the Heart – The Love of Everything – drums * 2004 (the ep) – Owen – guitar, vocals * 2004 Joan of Arc, Dick Cheney, Mark Twain – Joan of Arc – drums * 2005 I Do Perceive – Owen – guitar, vocals * 2005 The Association of Utopian Hologram Swallowers – guitar, vocals * 2005 Presents Guitar Duets – Joan of Arc – guitar * 2006 At Home With Owen – Owen – guitar, piano, vocals * 2007 [1 Song Demo] (Ugly on the Inside) – Owen – guitar, piano, vocals * 2007 [Owen/City On Film Split 7-inch] – Owen – vocals, guitar * 2008 [Boo Human] – [Joan of Arc (band)|Joan of Arc]]- drums * 2009 [New Leaves] – [Owen (band)|Owen]]- guitar, piano, vocals -->
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Wikiquote}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070307072733/http://www.joanfrc.com/mike.html Biography on a Joan of Arc fan site, archived] * [http://www.owenmusic.com/ Owen official website] * [http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/04/05/owen/ Owen live on The Current] * [http://www.myspace.com/mybandowen Owen Myspace page] * [http://www.myspace.com/theshirtsandskins The Shirts and Skins Myspace page]
{{Owen}} {{Joan of Arc (band)}} {{American Football (band)}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinsella, Mike}} Category:Living people Category:American rock drummers Category:People from Buffalo Grove, Illinois Category:Drummers from Chicago Category:1977 births Category:American male drummers Category:20th-century American drummers Category:21st-century American singers Category:21st-century American drummers Category:20th-century American male musicians Category:21st-century American male singers Category:American Football (band) members