Known for his eccentric singing voice,[1] he first rose to prominence as lead singer and lyricist of the emo band Cap'n Jazz which he co-founded with his brother Mike in 1989.

Following its dissolution in 1995, he formed Joan of Arc the same year and served as its lead singer, primary songwriter, and only continuous member until their breakup in 2020.

From 2003 to 2008, Kinsella also founded and toured with Make Believe which included his cousin Nate and former Cap'n Jazz member Sam Zurick alongside bassist Bobby Burg.

[9] Following the release of Cap'n Jazz's first and only album, 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 (also known as Shmap'n Shmazz), and their last show on July 14, 1995, they disbanded, and member Davey von Bohlen left Chicago to focus on his side project The Promise Ring.

Victor Villarreal went home, and after a year of playing music independently, Tim, Mike, and Sam recruited Erik Bocek and Jeremy Boyle for what would eventually be called Joan of Arc.

Simultaneously, Sam Zurick was learning the drums, and playing in a band with Erik Bocek (a high school friend and former Cap'n Jazz roadie).

The band's core members include Kinsella, Todd Mattei (also of Joan of Arc), and Jim Becker (Califone).

Kinsella's trademark postmodern beat poet routine takes a sharper, more adult turn and Becker adds a host of incidental noises including banjo, pedal steel, and percussion.

These included vocals by Caryn Culp (Plastic Crime Wave), keyboards by Andy Lansagan (the 90 Day Men), bass by Nick Macri (Euphone, Sunny Day Real Estate), piano by Azita Youssefi (Bride of No No), drums by Zach Hill (Hella), and bass by Sam Zurick (Joan of Arc, Owls).

[13] Kinsella has participated in Everyoned, a supergroup which also includes members from Pigface, TV Pow, Joan of Arc, Town & Country, Revolting Cocks, and Central Falls.

After 3 months of touring solidified their playing together, they returned home and decided to follow this impulse and write new songs with a more aggressive approach.

One example of these collaborations would include 2014's "Tim Kinsella sings the songs of Marvin Tate by LeRoy Bach featuring Angel Olsen."

[8] Tim contributed his guitar work to the A Set CD "The Science of Living Things" released on the now defunct label Tree Records.

In 2013, Joan of Arc worked with the Chicago experimental theater-ensemble Every House Has a Door, to produce a dramatization of Charles Reznikoff's Testimony.

[16] After the release of the Gap, Tim started to do some solo work for Troubleman Unlimited, and decided that this new era should coincide with a name change.