He is regarded as the ‘Godfather of the Houston Americana Music Scene.’[1] His theology and belief system began as a young man in the American south, taking him north to Canada before returning to a monastic life near Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
Eventually graduating magna cum laude from the University of Saint Thomas with a joint major in psychology and philosophy, his focus has come to rest on a career in music released by multiple Texas-based record labels.
Noteworthy performances have seen him tour with Hayes Carll, open for acts such as Ian McLagan of Faces and Roky Erickson, share the stage with musicians John Evans and Robert Ellis, and play just before Snoop Dogg at Houston's Free Press Summer Fest 2012.
More hitchhiking and train hopping eventually lead him back to Texas and to an increased interest in deepening his spirituality and connection to early American music.
[2] Kinsey would remain with the monastery for nearly five years, during which he learned much of American southern music, including the beginnings of country rock as practiced by John Michael Talbot and his time with Mason Proffit.
After nearly five years in residence at the monastery, he was granted proper dispensation from the bishop and left for Houston to study at the University of Saint Thomas and start a band.
Their first appearance inspired a nagging bartender to secure a weekly residency for the group; the growing interest attracted drummer Shane Lauder to start showing up and getting onstage with them.
They began to refer to their weekly nights of bluegrass and classic blues and country cover songs as The Medicine Show, later settling on a separate moniker for the band itself, Sideshow Tramps.
Fellow University of Saint Thomas alumni Mike Whitebread funded a recording session that took place in an apartment in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston, led by now-Emmy award-winning engineer Steve Christensen.
[4] The strength of the release and growing fascination with the band's live show attracted the attention of W Ross Wells of Zenfilm and Dan Workman of SugarHill Recording Studios.
This question forced the realization that musicianship was a ‘doorway to following the path to a higher calling.’ Kinsey would spend the next three years writing and recording his next solo album, American Roots and Machines.
Friedrich Nietzsche, Woody Guthrie, Bill Monroe, Tom Waits, Blind Lemon Jefferson Kinsey has frequently exercised his collaborative nature by being involved in the projects of friends and acquaintances.