Owen plays the Constellation Room August 2
Photo By: Shervin Lainez
The influential Chicago indie artist, Owen (Mike Kinsella) will be performing at Santa Ana’s Constellation Room on August 2.
Born into a family of musicians, Mike Kinsella began his music career with his brother Tim at the age of twelve. Together the Kinsella brothers formed the band Cap’n Jazz and played roles in widely recognized Chicago bands Joan of Arc and Owls. When performing together Mike took the role of drums while Tim played the guitar.
Given the opportunity to further pursue his music career, Mike formed the band American Football in 1997.
Rather than playing drums, Mike further advanced his guitar playing abilities as the lead vocalist and guitarist/bassist.
For the short time the band was together, the opportunity given to Mike as the lead guitarist influenced him to start something new. Mike left the group bands to carry out his own solo project, Owen.
Since the formation of Owen in 2001, Mike has personally recorded multiple albums in the self-created studio located in his parent’s home.
Owen has allowed Mike to truly shine as an artist as he incorporates all his musical abilities (guitar, drums, and vocals) into a one-man band.
Earlier this month Owen released the album “L’Ami du Peuple” (The Friend of The People) that is composed of deep and intellectual lyrics relating to his transition from being a son to a father.
OC Concert Guide spoke with the indie scene sensation Owen to gain more insight about his recent album L’Ami du Peuple.
OCCG: How would you personally describe your music? What makes you and your music different from other artists in your genre?
Mike: Ummm…boring? Beautiful? Well organized. Poorly sung. Restrained. Honest. I suppose it’s different from other artists because it sounds exactly like me.
OCCG: How has working on your own been different from working with other bands?
Mike: No band practice! Ever! Which is awesome. And I get to play what I want as often or infrequent as I want, which is also awesome. I do sometimes find myself missing the creative banter that comes along with being in a band with other dudes but overall I’m content working on my own stuff at my own pace.
OCCG: Why the name Owen?
Mike: I just liked it more than “Mike.”
OCCG: What is your favorite instrument to play? Are there other instruments you are interested in learning?
Mike: Whenever I’m playing the guitar I wish I was playing the drums and vice-versa. Always wished I learned how to play the piano better. Or the cello. Or violin.
OCCG: Congratulations with the release of L’Ami du Peuple… What makes this album different from the others?
Mike: Instead of getting into the studio and trying to make all the songs sound like “Owen” songs, I let them go off into different directions. So there’s a couple rock songs, a couple stripped down folk-y ones, etc. Much more varied than previous albums.
OCCG: Do you have a favorite song from L’Ami du Peuple?
Mike: I think “Love is Not Enough” sounds the most like how I heard it in my head entering the studio, so that’s currently the most satisfying for me.
OCCG: How has being a father influenced your career?
Mike: Ha. Well, I’m a lot less productive (and more tired) than I was before having kids. But every aspect of life seems to carry so much more weight after having kids that it’s inspired me to think and write about a number of things I would’ve maybe never gotten hung up on before, such as mortality and morality and faith (and the lack thereof.)
OCCG: What can audiences expect at a live show?
Mike: I have a theory that people would rather see the personality of the artist at a live show than just seeing the songs performed perfectly, so I kind of just play the songs as I’m feeling each night (i.e. perfectly, sloppily, drunkenly, happily, crabbily, Metallically…)
OCCG: What are you looking forward to when playing at the Constellation Room? If you have played in Orange County before, how is it different than other places you have toured?
Mike: I haven’t played the Constellation Room before, but I love playing in/around LA – looking forward to it!