Veteran songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Mike Coykendall has been amazingly prolific over the last four decades or so. Currently most well known for his duties as a sideman, producer, and recordist via his work with M Ward, Jolie Holland, Blitzen Trapper, Shook Twins, She & Him, Sallie Ford, Annalisa Tornfelt, & Tin Hat Trio, to name a few.

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.

In ’91, he moved to San Francisco where he formed The Old Joe Clarks. A highly acclaimed Americana-esque outfit showcasing Coykendall’s voice and songwriting. The band made five records between 1994 & 2003.

In ’99 after relocating to Portland, Oregon, Coykendall was able to expand his home studio and begin working with other artists. M Ward’s Transfiguration of Vincent was among the first of the records recorded at his Blue Rooms home studio.

Coykendall has toured as a solo artist on the rig and has served as a support musician for M Ward, She & Him, Jolie Holland, Sallie Ford, Richmond Fontaine, Tommy Alexander, and Joe Kaplow. Usually playing rhythm guitar, or bass, or drums, and singing.

In 2012 Coykendall released  Chasing Away the Dots via Portland’s Fluff & Gravy Records. 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.

In 2010 he began performing solo 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 this setup the “rig” and this continues to be his main form of solo presentation. 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.

In 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.

In 2021 he self released The Dirt and the Dust. This record saw him return to a less experimental, more songwriting forward, presentation.

He continues to write, perform, tour, produce, engineer, and wander SE Portland.