Owen is Mike Kinsella. Mike Kinsella is Owen. Either way you put it does not change the fact that this prolific songwriter’s music can pull you in within seconds upon listening to it. He has reputable experience in the punk/indie scene playing in bands such as Cap’n Jazz, Joan Of Arc, American Football and Owls. Kinsella is now concentrating full- time on Owen and recently released his second solo full-length, No Good For No One Now.

Owen unquestionably creates an exclusive sound and 30 was gratified to be able to chat with the man behind the magic.

30: Throughout your musical career your bands such as Cap’n Jazz, Joan Of Arc, American Football, Owls and now Owen have all been successful by indie rock standards. Which of the projects has been your favorite to work with?

Mike Kinsella: Favorite? I think kinda whatever I’m doing at that time has been my favorite, maybe. Um… you know, I guess actually Cap’n Jazz was the most enjoyable because musically it was most unaffected by anything else, other than playing music for your friends. It was just really fun to do that. I really like the Owen stuff too because I can do whatever I want.

30: Which project do you think has been the most successful?

Kinsella: Um… It’s really sad. I think that Cap’n Jazz has made us more money and more people have heard that than anything I’ve done in the past ten years, which is kind of super sad. I guess artistically, I’m hoping Owen is more successful. It satisfies me the most because I can do whatever I want. It’s all about me.

30: Many of your previous bands have been released on Jade Tree. Why did you decide to release American Football and Owen on Polyvinyl?

Kinsella: Polyvinyl is out of Danville, IL, which is like 40 minutes south of Champaign, where the University of Illinois is. That’s where all the American Football kids went to school. We knew Dan and knew he was putting out records in the scene or whatever, so it just kind of made sense to work with Polyvinyl.

30: Did Jade Tree offer to put out American Football?

Kinsella: Not really. With the other bands that are on Jade Tree like Joan Of Arc and Owls I never really took care of any of the social aspects of it, like tours or anything. I didn’t have that relationship where I could be like “Hey Jade Tree, you wanna put out my record?” It just came naturally with Polyvinyl cause they were right there.

30: Speaking of Joan Of Arc, why didn’t you play on Live In Chicago?

Kinsella: For Live In Chicago I was at school. I think I was doing Amercian Football stuff. I was part of the process of writing some of those songs, but when it came time to record, I wasn’t around. Joan Of Arc is pretty insane. It’s just Tim’s thing kinda and then whoever is willing to or is excited about helping him out and is around will help him at that point. I kind of came in and out when I was available. If he was recording during the summer, I would have been there more.

30: Being such a diverse musician, what is the most comfortable instrument for you to play?

Kinsella: The guitar.

30: Any instruments you aspire to get better at?

Kinsella: There is a handful that I would love to. I feel like all my synapses are already formed. I’d love to play the cello or violin… or play piano well. Piano baffles me, so I think it’d be a really hard instrument. There’s something about stringed instruments that… like the way you can bend notes… it’s really something else.

30: Why did you decide on the name Owen for your solo project?

Kinsella: I just didn’t want to call it my own name. So, it just leaves it more open to do whatever I want. If I used my own name, then people might have this expectation of a singer/songwriter. So, if you just heard Owen, you wouldn’t necessarily assume it was one guy. Specifically the name Owen, I just like the way it looked and sounded. Good aesthetic.

30: Do you feel liberated that you do everything your self?

Kinsella: Yeah. It’s really cool. It’s super. It’s really fun to just pick up a guitar whenever I want to and not think that I have to go to practice. I can record at my own pace.

30: How did you become involved with the Rutabega for the Near and Far Vol.1 split?

Kinsella: Well, Kurt from Action Attack Helicopter just called me. He just said it’d be a few songs and said I could cover an American Football song. I thought it’d be fun to retool something. Um… I hadn’t even heard Rutabega, but he said it was a friend of his. And he explained the point of the near and far concept. It sounded cool. I heard Rutabega and it totally fit. So, it’s all good.

30: The new album seems a bit more angry and straightforward than your self-titled debut. Do you care to comment on the changes in the sound?

Kinsella: It is more straightforward, definitely. Um… (turns to roadie) Do I seem angrier? He says the new album seems angrier?

Roadie: Yeah, he’s not getting laid anymore?

Kinsella: (laughs) Sexual frustration, it’s not anger. Changes and stuff… life changes… you start looking at things differently. And the whole process of writing songs changed a lot, straightforward wise. The last album, I just bought the computer and thought “Oh, I’ll try and record something.” So, part of the song writing process was learning how to record and this time I actually came up with the songs ahead of time. When I recorded, I knew what I wanted to do. They were better structured instead of just parts. And I’m not getting laid anymore. (laughs)

30: Did you really record the new record at your mom’s place?

Kinsella: Yeah. That’s how I did the first one too. It’s the only way I’ve done these records. It’s fun. It’s cool. I just sorta take over the upstairs. I’ll put my guitar amp in one room, drums in another, and my computer goes in the room where I sleep. So, it’s really comfortable. I wake up and can just fool around and stuff.

30: Is your mom from the Chicago area?

Kinsella: Yeah, the suburbs. She’s great with everything. A lot of mom’s wouldn’t want loud drums being played all the time in their house, but she’s amazing.

30: What is the most challenging aspect of recording everything yourself?

Kinsella: Considering I don’t really know how to record things, just getting a good sound. If you sit behind the drums, you gotta set up everything, hit record, go sit behind the drums, play what you want, and then you gotta get up and go listen to it. If one of the mics are off, you gotta adjust it. If you were in the studio, you would have somebody tweaking stuff while you’re playing. It’s really inefficient and takes me way longer that it should. So, that’s the frustrating part.

30: I really like the new album cover. Why did you decide to go with it?

Kinsella: Actually it’s a print that’s been hanging in a room in the upstairs of my house. I guess it’s been there my whole life. I never noticed it. Since I moved home, my room has been the one with all the computer and drum stuff. Since all that was in there, I just started sleeping in this other room and this poster’s been hanging above the bed. I didn’t notice it for like three months and one day when I was recording I looked up and saw it. I was like “Man that’s fucking cool.” So, I just liked it.

30: What were you listening to at age 17?

Kinsella: I was a junior in high school... The Sundays, same shit probably. Um… Jawbox, Lemonheads, maybe. Um… The Smiths, My Bloody Valentine. Like the same things I listen to now. Exactly the same.

interview on 2002/12/08 by Kyle Undem