Mike Coykendall
Secret, scratchy pop
Veteran
songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Mike Coykendall has been
amazingly prolific over the last three decades or so. Currently most well known
for his duties as a sideman, producer, and recordist via his work with M Ward,
Blitzen Trapper, She & Him, Annalisa Tornfelt, & Tin Hat Trio, to name
a few, Coykendall has been making his own unique outsider records since the mid
'80s.
Coykendall (pronounced "Kirk-in-doll) was raised near the dead
center of the contiguous 48 states of America in rural Norwich, Kansas. In
early high school he began playing drums and guitar and went on to perform in
mid-western regional cover bands during the early 80's. In the mid 80's he
started writing and recording his own songs on cassette 4-track and soon formed
Wichita, Kansas based prarie-psych popsters Klyde Konnor. Klyde was a prolific
and daring band that self-released approximately nine cassette albums between
'86 and '91.
In '91, he moved to San
Francisco where he and wife Jill formed The Old Joe Clarks. The Old Joes worked
hard and made three nuanced, highly acclaimed Americana-esque records. 1996's
Town of Ten, 1999's Metal Shed Blues, & 2003's November.
In '99 after relocating to
Portland, Oregon, Coykendall was able to expand his home studio and begin
working other artists. One of those artists was M Ward. Their first
collaboration was Ward's 2003 masterpiece Transfiguration of Vincent. Soon
after, Coykendall became a member of Ward's touring band (also with She &
Him).
In 2012 Coykendall
released his third solo record titled Chasing Away the Dots via Portland's
Fluff & Gravy Records. Dots is a widely varied, moody yet playful record
with a lived-in feel and is the perfect vehicle for Coykendall's unfurnished
vocals. This tidy little diamond in the rough also contained guest
appearances by some of Coykendall's musical friends including M Ward, Zooey
Deschanel, Eric Earley, & Ben Gibbard.
Translating Dots to a live
setting was an undertaking, as the record itself was filled with guest
performances and layers of studio psychedelia. Coykendall met that challenge by
essentially turning the record inside-out and stripping it down to it's basic
elements. He took to rocking these songs out with an oversized Kay electric
guitar while stomping a tin can kick drum and swishing away on a huge set of
high-hat cymbals. He began calling it the "rig", and it stuck. These
spontaneous performances are often a thick mix of Coykendall's own compositions
and reinterpretations of other writer's famous or not-so-famous gems. Not
working from a set list and seemingly testing each situation to see what
boundaries can be pushed.
In late 2015 Coykendall
released Half Past, Present Pending, partnering again with Fluff & Gravy
Records. On this record, Coykendall takes the listener closer to the live "rig"
performances by mixing excellent new compositions (check out "Hard Landing")
with compositions from his back catalogue (check out "East of Cheney" or
"Spacebaker Blues") in with fresh interpretations of other writers songs (he
covers Roger Miller, Syd Barrett, etc) to great effect.
He continues to write, perform, produce, engineer, and wander SE
Portland.
- website:
- http://www.mikecoykendall.com/
- myspace:
- http://www.myspace.com/mikecoykendall