With another tour about to commence and a Splendour In The Grass appearance on the horizon, you'd think The Jungle Giants drummer, Keelan Bijker, would have enough on his plate.
Not so, with the Brisbane resident recently opening his own cafe. Located in Spring Hill, Two Donkeys is the work of Keelan who will be keeping close tabs on Morning Harvey's Spencer White, who is the head barista. Another musician attached to the project is The Belligerents Sam Sargent, who built the tabletops and shelving.
Keelan started a bar and it's officially opening tonight and it's called Two Donkeys and it's a good bar tell your mum — The Jungle Giants (@thejunglegiants) May 27, 2016
We tracked down the burgeoning proprietor to ask him about life serving coffee. Surely it can't be as glamorous as being in a rock band.
Running a cafe compared to drumming… is rhythm the #1 aspect to success for both activities?
Well drumming definitely. Working in a café is very different. Every day I’m learning or trying something different. However, I think there are things about team work I’ve learnt from Jungles after touring and living so close to other people. That’s probably more important in terms of running a café.
Your childhood featured two miniature donkeys, hence the cafe name; what was it like living with mini donkeys?
They were awesome. Donkeys have huge personalities, closer to a dog than a horse. They were affectionate and playful. If they weren’t so big they would have sat on your lap.
Image © Facebook
Is this the start of your global plan to usurp Starbucks?
Definitely not. It's great and I love it but one coffee shop is enough for the time being.
You have Morning Harvey's Spencer White as head barista… have you already built-in extra holiday leave for his touring commitments?
Yes. Spencer and I have a pretty sweet deal. It just means we can’t ever tour together. Which is fine because, I see him nearly every day.
And Sam Sargent (The Belligerents, Moses Gunn Collective) built the bar, tabletops and shelving… do all musicians have such cool, working lives away from the stage?
Yeah, Sam did an awesome job! I had seen some of his stuff before and I was impressed, so when it came to the fit out I pretty much gave him complete freedom. We sat down over a coffee and drew up some ideas on a napkin and that was that. He nailed it. As for other musicians having secret day jobs, few are as impressive as Sam Sargent’s. He is a super-talented guy.
Will Two Donkeys become a home for pop-up acoustic performances from some of the industry's indie darlings?
I was thinking about it, maybe have a pop-up laneway party or something. Would be cool, see how far I can stretch my friends for free-bees.
Keelan Bijker: small-business owner… do you like the ring of that?
I do, so much more rewarding doing something for yourself. As much as I love playing drums and touring, it’s not yet a full-time job, so it’s always good to stay busy with other stuff. Prior to this I would stay busy at uni or cooking etc. My long-term girlfriend and I are also starting a skin care brand. We called it Ellier, which will launch in August so stay tuned for that too.
And how do you take your coffee?
I’ve definitely upped my coffee intake since we opened. Usually about three long blacks… and an almond croissant.
Anything from The Jungle Giants camp you can report?
We are going on tour in June, Splendour in July and hopefully move towards recording album number three after that. There are a few songs in a pipeline at the moment, which I’m super digging so I can’t wait to jump into a studio.
Situated at 97 Astor Terrace, Spring Hill, Two Donkeys is open Monday to Friday, 6am-6pm.
The Jungle Giants Tour Dates
Fri 17 Jun - The Triffid (Brisbane)Sat 18 Jun - The Gov (Adelaide)
Fri 24 Jun - 170 Russell (Melbourne)
Sat 25 Jun - The Metro (Sydney)
Fri 8 Jul - Players Bar (Mandurah)
Sat 9 Jul - Jack Rabbit Slim’s (Perth)
Sun 24 Jul - Splendour In The Grass (Byron)
