The Kinison

The Kinison got their start in Oblong, Illinois in 1999, when lifelong friends Aaron, Chris, and Bub, fed up with the local music scene, decided to do something about it. In late January 2002, still restless, the trio headed west to California in search of a bass player and drummer, soon recruiting Mike V and Mikey to complete the lineup. After nine months of grinding through small shows across the Inland Empire and Los Angeles, they landed a spot on This Ain't No Picnic, a prominent indie rock festival. That same year, the band recorded the EP Mortgage is Bank for Fearless Records. In the spring of 2003, The Kinison performed at Coachella in Indio, California.

Travis Barker saw the band play a club in Riverside and called them the best live band he'd seen in five years, and signed them. The Kinison were among the inaugural acts on LaSalle Records, Barker's independent imprint distributed through Atlantic Records, and their 2004 debut LP What Are You Listening To? was the label's first release. In late 2024, the band supported Blink-182 on the DollaBill Tour.

After a 21-year hiatus, The Kinison reunited in 2026.