Transverso met up with Kishi Bashi after the show to discuss his new coffee and his roots in Athens, Georgia.
TRANSVERSO: What inspired you to start your own line of coffee?
KISHI BASHI: I really like Jittery Joe’s a lot and I usually don’t jump at things that are outside my comfort zone, like doing music things. They came to me and I was like oh yeah, it’s a no brainer because I like the coffee. Then we did a tasting and I found a coffee that I really liked and then expanded on it.
So basically, it wasn’t something that I was really inspired to do it’s just something that’s really fortuitous, because their coffee is really progressive and they’re kind of cool and local you know? So it was just a really easy thing to do.
Oh! You know why they approached me? It’s because they’re expanding. They’re going to start having Jittery Joe’s coffee in Japan. They were like this guy plays in Japan too and so I’m going to launch it with them and make it official. I think that’s the real reason they came to me.
Other artists such as St. Vincent, James Murphy, and most recently Win Butler have their own coffee products now too -
Wait they have coffees too? No way!
Yeah! Do you think that it’s something more artists are going to be doing in the future?
I think if you feel good about it…
Is there a reason you chose Hendershots as the venue for the event?
I know Seth Hendershot, I think he used to work at Jittery Joe’s. That’s the whole backstory behind Seth. And then it’s a cool place because they’re serious about their coffee here. And also I just texted him because there’s no show here in the morning so it’s really easy to book.
What’s the inspiration behind the name of your coffee?
Oh Royal Daark Roast? Well the Royal thing is because I really like the graphic that JLP designed. I came up with the idea of having the suicide king, that’s a card. He’s got a knife behind his head. It’s a pose that people know. And I was like oh yeah, it should be royal you know? So that was easy. I did 'Daark’ because I have an album, Lighght, so it’s just really a play on words.
When you buy the can it has a free song to download. How did you choose the track?
I wrote it, I mean I literally was like I need a song to put on this coffee can or it’s going to be a hard sell, especially for my fans. So I was thinking about coffee and everything that came out was pretty shitty so I was like I’m just going to write a song and that’s what happened. It has nothing really to do with coffee.
Are you targeting your coffee directly to fans of your music or more to coffee lovers?
I have a feeling that a lot of people just bought it, not even coffee drinkers, just because it’s an interesting gift, and a cool can.
How has being based in Athens affected your career?
I got my start here when I was touring with of Montreal. My first solo show was here and everyone in of Montreal was there heckling me. [of Montreal frontman, Kevin Barnes] was there at that show and was heckling me and people were getting mad like at him because they didn’t know who he was. They were were like ‘why are you such an asshole?! He’s trying so hard!’ It just made him look like an asshole, it was hilarious.
Which Athens coffee spot is your favorite?
I go to Jittery Joe's a lot. The Alps one is a little sterile. The one at Five Points is hard to park but I like it. But I don’t really have a favorite spot, I usually just drink at home.
When you’re on the road, do you have a favorite coffee spot that you visit?
Every town has really cool coffee shops. I can’t think of anything that’s really stuck out. They usually have one, there’s always a cool coffee shop with good music going on.
And lastly, how do you take your coffee?
A little milk, no sugar.
