Let me preface this interview with an apology to Casey, Brianda, and the rest of KKFC- I actually conducted this interview back in July, but have only just now been able to focus on it. Thanks to everyone for waiting!
This was the first-ever interview that Kitty Kat Fan Club had ever done, and I was lucky enough to conduct it- and in my dinky little college town (Reno, Nevada)! I met up with Casey Jones and Brianda Goyos before their show at the Holland Project.
Let’s start with the really basic stuff, since you [as members of Kitty Kat Fan Club] haven’t been interviewed before. Let’s pretend you’re introducing yourself in a class: your name, what you play, where you’re from, and what other projects you’re in.
Casey: Would you like to go first [Brianda]?
Brianda: I feel like being the lead, you [Casey] need to go first.
C: Alrighty, my name is Casey, I am from San Jose, California; Kitty Kat Fan Club is my only project right now. And…
B: Do you enjoy a specific kind of food a lot?
C: I enjoy everything. I like eating, I like making food, I love consuming food.
B: We’re lucky to be in the Bay Area. We’re so spoiled. We’re like “Do you want Thai?” “No” “Japanese?” “No” “Korean BBQ? Fusion Indonesian?” There’s a spot for everything. Casey loves food. She was eating this hot sauce from Del Taco… “The Inferno” or something.
C: The Del Scorcho!
B: I’d heard it before, but it was so much funnier hearing Casey say, “I’m gonna try the Del Scorcho.”
C: I get excited about hot sauce!
B: My name is Brianda. I’m 25, I’m full-grown. I think that’s humans’ full-grown age, like when your brain stops developing. When your brain stops the myelination process. I was a psych major- dropped out to do music. I’m from Mexico, I was born there, I grew up there, we moved to the Bay Area when I was 9. I’m in another band called Just Friends. I’m also still with my first band, Sweet Peaches, but we’re not doing too much right now [editor’s note: Sweet Peaches announced their final show after this interview was conducted]. I love food also, I don’t eat as much as I should. I eat no hot sauce, nothing spicy.
Whaaat?
B: Even pepper is too spicy. I don’t like spicy. My grandma makes so much fun of me, since we’re Mexican. It’s a curse, but I think it’s funny. I cannot stand it, like my mouth hurts.
How about sweet and sour sauce, from McDonald’s?
B: I don’t like that, because it’s too flavorful. I gotta be eating bland or Mexican.
This hurts me.
B: Yeah, so I’m a waste of the Bay Area’s variation. I look at my friend’s food and I’m like, “That must be great. But not for me. It’s Taco Bell for me. There’s too much seasoning in Del Taco… just kidding.
We gotta rank em, all these fake Mexican places… I’m gonna go back to you, Casey, for a second. How did you and Mike [Park] meet and form Kitty Kat Fan Club?
C: I’ve known Mike for several years, like 7ish years. But I only saw him around at shows, and I knew Mike as “That’s Mike Park! Oh my gosh! He’s the Asian Man Records guy! I’m never going to speak to him because I’m too shy!” and he likes to tell the story of how we met as: He would always see me at Laura Stevenson shows, just crying. You know, sobbing, I was the girl that was just sobbing at Laura Stevenson shows. Mike was like, “I gotta talk to her, cuz we feel the same way about Laura Stevenson.” And so that’s how we became friends: seeing each other at shows and crying. Then one day, he was like, “We should play some music together.” So we got together with Justin, our drummer, and we wrote a few songs about cats. That was about 3 years ago, and now we’ve added 4 more members, and now we’re singing about other things besides cats.
B: It all goes back to cats.
How did you [Brianda] end up in Kitty Kat?
B: I got cold-called. Mike Park was just like, “Hey, come do this thing.” I met him at Christmas in the Park a couple years back, and it was my first and only time going caroling with a group of friends from San Jose. I was so excited. I ended up doing “I Want You Back,” because that was something people said I was really good at. Like, “Can you do this really quick?” so I sang it, and people were like “Woo!” And I guess Mike Park liked me doing “I Want You Back,” because that’s why he called me.
That is so wild!
B: I didn’t even know that I was joining a band. He was just like, “Do you want to do this one thing?” And I thought it was a one-time deal.
C: And then it was like, “Surprise, you’re going on tour with us!”
B: Yeah, I think he sold it as, “Hey, do you want to come on tour?” and I said, “Yeah, I can do that,” and I ended up staying. There was no handshake or anything.
No contract in blood?
B: No, I was just super nervous and a little too high.
C: I had had an edible that day! I was trying to sing the songs, and I was thinking, “Brianda’s going to think I’m an idiot because I don’t know the words to any of these songs.”
B: I was there like, “I’m supposed to learn what??” And now we get closer every day.
How has the dynamic changed? Like, KKFC got another vocalist, and some of the roles have been switched around, and different people are going in and out of the band.
C: I think it’s really great. Ever since Brianda came on, it’s been really nice having someone else up front with me. I feel supported, having someone else there singing. So, having Brianda onboard is great. And we’ve rotated through members, but it’s never been like a “You’re out of the band!” situation. It’s more like “Do you wanna play? Let’s play some shows. Let’s have some fun.” We’re a band that’s always been about fun. It’s a top priority. And it’s always been that way.
B: It’s still fun! I wouldn’t be able to comment on a change of dynamic.
How about the dynamic of KKFC as opposed to other bands?
B: It’s hard to not get along with everybody… It’s literally heavenly. There’s nothing to complain about. I definitely feel like my opinions are important and my ideas are heard. I feel respected by everybody, and that I’m friends with everybody. It’s not just like, “Oh, I know you from my band.”
That’s really good. You’re all just having a good time! It’s not like everyone’s just doing it for money or anything.
B: Yeah, like you hear a lot about dynamics and people butting heads, but I don’t see that happening here.
C: Yeah, I don’t see that ever happening.
B: I can’t imagine ever having a fight.
C: I feel like just spending an hour with you guys, my face hurts from smiling.
B: Casey moved up to Portland, she’s moving back down. It’s super nice to see everyone together.
C: I’ve been gone for the past year. I’ve been back [to San Jose] a few times. I moved up to Portland thinking that’d be a good idea. Away from all my friends and family… But I’m coming back.
Sometimes being away is what makes you realize where home is, so I definitely understand that.
B: There’s no place like the Bay Area.
C: No, there’s not.
How do you create songs? Brianda, you mentioned you feel like your ideas are heard. So do you just come in like, “Hey, I have an idea!” or is there a main songwriter?
B: Mike writes most of the songs. Sim [Castro] came in with an idea, and his song is on the new record. For me, I haven’t devoted the time to sit down and write for this particular project. But when we’re working out songs, I think we come up with an idea, and then we start working out some parts. And that’s where the collaboration comes in.
You explained the beginnings of the band, writing songs about cats. And you’re obviously called “Kitty Kat Fan Club.” Why cats? As opposed to some other animal?
B: Why not dogs?
C: I think Mike and Justin [Amans] just wrote a couple of songs… tt was several years ago now, so I’m trying to think back to those first days of practicing. We wrote those first four songs together.
B: I was under the impression that you were just obsessed with cats.
Well, you [Casey] do have a cat pin on, so you can’t really deny that.
C: That’s true. I do like cats. But we were like, “Let’s just write some fun songs. And the lyrics don’t have to be serious. So why don’t we write about cats?”
B: Talking about some real issues.
C: And we called ourselves “Kitty Kat Fan Club” for fun, just as a working title.
B: Working title?!
C: A working band name…
B: It worked!
On a kind of related note, this is a very important question… maybe the most important question… do you have cats?
B: I’ve been trying to have pets my entire life. I wasn’t able to at first because my brother’s allergic to animals. And I still don’t live by myself- thanks economy- and my parents are like “No pets!” But I’ve tried to adopt a couple. I work at the San Francisco SPCA right now, and I get to visit those cats and the adoption center. I don’t visit the adoption center anymore because I ended up adopting one but had to give it back. I think I’m banned from adopting now… Sad but true. I just returned too much. I have empty nest syndrome. I would kill for some cats.
C: I have one cat. His name is Kevin.
B: I follow his Instagram.
Aw, he has an Instagram?
C: Yes, he goes on adventures. He’s very adorable but totally evil. You can see all these scratches on me *gestures to arms*. I just like to play with him with my hands. He’s just playing… with his teeth, and his claws.
So you guys are opening for Streetlight Manifesto on this tour- though not today, because Streetlight apparently hates Reno- how do you think KKFC will be received by fans of Streetlight?
C: That was something I’ve been nervous about. We’ve got Mike Park, so we have that going for us. But I don’t know how well we’re going to be received. But then I think, “We get this amazing opportunity to play for thousands of people, so I’m just going to go up there and have the time of my life, because why the heck not?”
B: I was just thinking, being up there together and singing on stage is great. I’m like, “Casey, nobody else is dancing, but let’s just dance together.” It’s a little surreal to be playing these big venues, because I hear the number, but I’ve never seen that. I can’t visualize it. So I don’t know, but I hope people don’t boo.
C: I hope I don’t forget the words!
B: It’s gonna be really crazy, because of the crowds that we’ll be playing to…. Though my first tour, that was with Jeff Rosenstock. So I was already just like, “Okay, that’s a lot of people.” And now we get to just like, be friends and do a really cool thing. This is an opportunity I couldn’t have even dreamed up in my journal. Like, “Let’s go do this wild thing.” I’m very blessed.
Yeah, it’s crazy how quickly this has all happened.
B: Thank you, Mike! We’re over here like, “There was a higher power.”
Mike’s the higher power! Last question, which is the generic ending: what are KKFC’s upcoming plans?
B: We’re just gonna keep on truckin’.
C: I think we play it by ear. Like as opportunities arise, we take them, and now that I’m coming back, we’ll actually be able to practice.
B: Yeah! And we have a record coming up, a full-length.
C: We don’t have a date yet.
B: We demo’d it out, the mixes are happening.
C: I’m really excited about that.
B: I hope we have a record release show. It would be nice to play more home shows.
Those are all of my questions, but if you have any questions for each other, then go for it.
B: So, kombucha… Does that taste like vinegar to you?
C: I think it does kind of, but I like that vinegar-y taste.
I’m too afraid to try it. I’m not brave.
B: The first time I tried it, I didn’t throw up, but it was gross.
Did you want to throw up?
C: It tastes like fermented food, like sauerkraut… Or if you like apple cider vinegar.<
I’m just imagining someone drinking straight apple cider vinegar now.
C: I do that, just watered down.
B: What? I guess all those probiotics are good though. Healthy gut, healthy mind.
Thank you again to Casey and Brianda for the interview, and to KKFC for coming out to Reno!
*This interview has been edited for clarity and length. The cover photo is from the band’s Facebook page.
Kity Kat Fan Club fans in Vegas can catch the band at Vinyl inside the Hard Rock on Paradise on December 10 supporting Koo Too Kanga Roo.
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