The Dils, featuring singer/guitarist Chip Kinman and bassist brother Tony Kinman, were one of San Diego’s first working punk bands, playing many of the city’s first punk shows, alongside the Zeros, the Hitmakers, the Penetrators, and others. Locals still talk about the near riots at venues like the Adams Avenue Theater whenever bands like the Zeros and the Dils were paired.
After recording their Made in Canada seven-inch with short-term drummer Zippy Pinhead, the Dils finished a summer 1979 U.S. tour and were talking to John Cale (Velvet Underground) about a musical collaboration. Before it could come to pass, however, the Dils split, with Tony briefly playing with SF punk icons the Avengers.
The brothers' 1980-era cowpunk band Rank and File (formerly the Negative Dillingers) landed music in the film To Live and Die In L.A. The duo went on to other projects like Cowboy Nation and Blackbird.
In 2015, Chip Kinman (then living in L.A.) co-founded punk-blues rockers Ford Madox Ford with his guitarist son Dewey Peek (the Peeks, Katellas). They signed to Porterhouse Records, which released a two-song seven-inch called "Expect It."
Chip and Tony Kinman collaborated together again for the debut Ford Madox Ford album, This American Blues (again on Porterhouse), released in February 2018 and produced and engineered by Tony, who also co-wrote and sang backup vocals. The album was promoted with a video for “Dark American Night” that was directed by Jackie Sharp using footage shot in 1988.