John Coinman: Making Beautiful Music

By Todd Fuqua

Where would you start when telling the story of John Coinman (MA 70, BA 67)?

You could talk about the time he spent in California, attending acting workshops and recording music. Then there’s the friendship he had with fellow ENMU student Michael Blake (attended) and the future success they would have together when they worked to create the Oscar-winning film “Dances With Wolves.”

You could also just look at what John is doing these days, creating music videos online to compliment the 2019 release of his latest album, “Under the Sun.”

Wherever you start his story, or wherever you end up, there’s no denying John has had a remarkable life and career.

“I’m a New Mexico guy, born and raised in Clayton,” John said of his earliest days. He moved to Roswell, and then eventually attended ENMU in the mid-60s.

After graduation, John moved to California to teach but didn’t find it to be his cup of tea. He was scheduled to be drafted to serve in Vietnam, but then received word his brother had been killed in a jet crash during training, so he was given a deferment. John felt that deferment was a sign to quit teaching and do what he really wanted to do.

“I decided I was going to write songs and play music for the rest of my life,” John said. “It was risky for a 25-year-old, and my dad wasn’t happy with it, but I knew if I didn’t do it then, I wasn’t going to do it at all.”

John eventually found himself in Los Angeles, California, playing clubs and writing songs for United Artists Records. While there, he started attending acting workshops, which is where he met a young actor named Kevin Costner.

“He was unknown at the time, but he had a lot of charisma, and a lot of people were working to find him jobs that would showcase his talent,” John said.

Costner wasn’t just interested in acting; he was also interested in the music scene. He and John soon formed a band called Roving Boy. The band had a 1987 hit single in Japan, “The Simple Truth.”

Among the people working to get Costner more exposure was writer and fellow ENMU student Michael Blake, who wrote the screenplay for the 1983 film “Stacy’s Knights,” which starred Costner and contained a bit part for John.

That same trio would collaborate seven years later on the Western, “Dances With Wolves.” Blake wrote the screenplay based on his novel, Costner made his directorial debut and had the lead role, and John served as the music supervisor. Seven Academy Awards later, it was clear the three friends had an undisputed hit.

But the music scene remained a large part of John and Kevin's careers. “Kevin always asked for songs for movies he was making, so we kept in touch that way,” John said. “I moved to Tucson (Arizona) and had contracts with record labels in Japan and Europe. Then, in 2005, I got a call from Kevin. He said he wanted to put another band together.”

“We caught on; the band (Kevin Costner and Modern West) toured the world and recorded extensively for about 15 years,” John said. “Our last show was in Las Vegas (Nevada) in September of 2019. We intended to book more shows to support the new album, ‘Tales from Yellowstone,’ but COVID changed all of that.”

Costner has since returned to Montana to film the fourth season of his Paramount network show, “Yellowstone,” while John is in Tucson, writing songs and producing music videos for release online to promote his album “Under the Sun.”

Through it all, John sees ENMU as his touchstone, an experience he treasures.

“I made lifetime friends, most of whom are gone now,” John acknowledged. “I have a lot of fond memories of my time there.”