Haunting melodies, acoustic-based deep country soul, and songwriting that fosters "all intimacy that only unlimited space can afford" (SF Weekly) are the hallmarks of THE OLD JOE CLARKS.A beautifully understated mix of acoustic guitar, banjo, Dobro, and fiddle provides an ideal backing to songs of casual intimacy, occasional melancholy, and relentless unselfconscious honesty. Husband-and-wife core band members Mike Coykendall and Jill McClelland-Coykendall lived in rural Kansas until their mid-twenties, when they migrated west, a move that echoes the lives -- as their music echoes the sounds, and of which their name reflects their appreciation -- of the American underclass in the early 20th century. San Francisco has been their home since 1991.

Mike began playing guitar in his teens, fronting the "psychedelic folk rock" outfit Klyde Konner after he dropped out of junior college in Dodge City. Jill performed with an avant garde classical group, the Wichita New Music Ensemble. Now her atmospheric melodica and clarinet provide a stylish backdrop for his unpretentious, open-eyed narratives.

Originally a three-piece band for the recording of their debut release, TOWN OF TEN, which also features lead guitar, lap steel, and backing vocals from designated string-bender Kurt Stevenson and during which time Mike supplied percussion accompaniment with a foot pedal thudding off an old suitcase, the band has since added members and continues to gently round out its overall sound and fullness of presentation.

Onstage, the band has been likened to a country-soaked classical ensemble. Their intense focus and minimal projection is less about shyness than it is concentration. Mike: "None of us are very good at being showpeople. Trying to get the sound across is the main thing."