Tim Kinsella is a busy man. Right now he’s touring with his latest recording group Make Believe, which is primarily a live-rock touring version of his main group/art project Joan of Arc.

Tim’s first important musical involvement in the Chicago underground scene (of which he has been a prolific contributor) was Cap’n Jazz. The band’s only album Scmap’n Scmazz almost single-handedly christened emo and helped propel Kinsella into the nascent Chicago post-rock scene (of which Tortoise’s TNT was supposedly the biggest crossover hit). After Cap’n Jazz broke up in ’95, leaving only a legacy (and, in 1998, an incredible re-issue called Analphabetapolothology, a must-have for any post-punker, indie-slop fan) behind, Kinsella played in a multitude of groups and solo projects, including owls, Friend/Enemy, Joan of Arc and most recently Make Believe.

The Badger Herald recently caught up with Kinsella during a sound check in Massachusetts, where he discussed the origin of Make Believe.

“Joan of Arc has never really had a very consistent lineup, but the same people come and go a lot due to availability,” Kinsella said. “Then last year we put the live band together and were on tour for three months, and as we toured, the songs changed a lot and became way louder and more aggressive. So by the time we got home we were like, ‘Oh, this is great, we’ve got to write songs like this.’ So the group is 80 percent of the current Joan of Arc version, but how the songs come together is totally different.”

The recording process for Make Believe’s debut E.P. was also very different than a Joan of Arc album.

“With Joan of Arc, we never practiced. We just recorded stuff and layered it and sat around recording. For Make Believe, it’s much more collaborative, a joint partnership. Me, Sam (Zurich, guitar) and Nate (Kinsella, drums and wurlitzer) all live together in this warehouse where we practice and we have recording set ups. And I guess Joan of Arc is more like I sit around and record with whoever is around, where with Make Believe, we’re playing live in a practice space, writing songs,” Kinsella said.

The acoustic guitar pile-ups and electro-glitch beats and noises of Joan of Arc are gone, replaced with urgent three-minute post-punk romps with more emphasis on the ‘punk’ and less concentration on being ‘post’ just for the sake of experimentation. And overall, Make Believe comes off as a more accessible formula than its predecessor. This could be a result of the refreshing restrictions the band placed upon its music: no effects pedals, far more than 40 hours of practice per week and everything had to be recorded live without the luxury of overdubs.

“It came from our experience in past bands. It seemed like an interesting challenge, the idea that technology replaces punk’s natural ability. It seemed like a good challenge at this point where we are as musicians,” said Kinsella.

Make Believe’s self-titled E.P. is full of raw punk energy filtered through Kinsella’s aesthetic vision. “Temping As A Shamen” sounds like a reconstructed melody coming loose at the seams until the chorus comes in and the wurlitzer swirls cover the bumb and stop rhythm in melody. On “We’re All Going To Die,” Kinsella’s coarse vocals describe a dream in a post-9/11 slumber. He sings: “But last night I dreamt that I was on a plane flying over the steeples of the 18th century / Then flying over the government buildings of the 19th century / And then today’s financial institutions.” His paranoia and uncertainty peaks when his voice breaks and the song concludes with a series of desperate questions: “Will the light bulbs survive? / Will the candy bars survive? / Will the white noise of words survive a war declared on signs?”

“It’s just sort of inevitable being an American human, or being a human anywhere these days. I don’t know,” Kinsella said when discussing his political inspiration.

The semi-cryptic lyrics, roundabout rhythms and pummeling sunbursts of distortion fit well into the somersault of ideas Kinsella and the band were looking to invoke with Make Believe.

“We really liked this idea of the band being Make Believe and sort of denouncing the most radical fundamental gesture. Denounce the entire world of objects and physical reality as all make believe. And then we liked the play on words with the brainwashing idea of “make believe!” It wasn’t particularly deliberate. It seemed natural to us.”

During a 10-day break in the tour, Kinsella will record a new Joan of Arc album. Then after the tour ends, Make Believe will record its first full-length release and begin another tour with Hella, hopefully seeing a fall release date for the album. But until then, Kinsella and his groups will continue tearing up the American underground with explosive live performances and intelligent post-punk originality.

“The shows have been amazing. We’re getting a really great response, much better than I ever expected. It’s been great,” said Kinsella.