Photos: Zak Radick

Fresh off a successful Winter tour and the release of their third studio album Pork Etiquette, ambitious Long Island improv rockers Baked Shrimp are already itching to get back on the road, recently announcing a fresh batch of spring dates and a “save the date” announcement for their second annual LonCon music festival. Comprised of Jared Cowen (guitar,vocals), Scott Reill (bass, vocals) and Jager Soss (drums, vocals), the band has been on a relentless tear as of late, building a buzz and melting faces wherever they play, no matter the venue or the weather.

Amidst a treacherous winter storm in Albany, Baked Shrimp recently made a stop at The Hollow Bar + Kitchen, conquering the icy conditions in large part with their energetic, fiery live show. Mirth Films’ own Zak Radick was there and caught up with guys after the show, getting a little inside scoop on the band dynamics and their plans for an exciting year ahead.

Mirth Films: You guys just wrapped up Winter tour and also celebrated a few milestones along the way. What have been some of the highlights?

Jared Cowen: Oh man this was such a fun tour! We had the chance to go back and return to some old favorite venues of ours and see a lot of friendly faces that we hadn’t seen in a while. We also were lucky enough to perform at many new venues and meet new fans. The highlight for me was getting to perform the songs off our new album Pork Etiquette more often and giving them all a chance to step into the spotlight a bit more. We also debuted many new songs on this tour and I love watching the growth of these tunes. Another highlight was the many amazing sit-in’s we had all tour. Every single one was incredible and so unique. Perhaps the most memorable evening wasn’t even in front of an audience, but our Relix performance in-between legs was insanely special with the Horn Section (Greg Sanderson & Chris Brouwers, formerly of Turkuaz). Relix has so much meaning to all of us in the band, so getting the chance to do a special live stream at their studio was a dream come true.

Mirth Films: For those just finding Baked Shrimp, what’s the deal? How long have you guys been playing together and how did you meet?

Jared: This year we’re celebrating our five-year anniversary as Baked Shrimp! A milestone we’re super proud of and crazy to think about. Scott actually met me after seeing me perform on Long Island right before I went away to college. He would constantly ask if I wanted to jam, and sure enough his persistence worked and we formed Baked Shrimp with our original drummer. A year down the line myself and Jager started to chat via the interwebz, and it was pretty clear early on there was a connection with similar music tastes and just musically in general.

Mirth Films: Ahh musical tastes. Let’s talk about them! Who are some of the bands earliest influences and have you been able to gig with any of em??

Jared: We all come from very similar but also different backgrounds. Jager grew up big into the Allman’s, The Band, and the Dead. Scott is a major Beatles fan. I come from a Phish and Dead heavy family. Those are all of our big influences individually, but we all enjoy each other’s influences as well if that makes sense. While I’m not the biggest Beatles and The Band fan of all time, I certainly enjoy a huge portion of their music. And Scott didn’t really get into “jam” music until he joined Baked Shrimp. To answer the second part of that question, one band that all of us undeniably have huge respect for and love dearly is Dopapod. We were fortunate enough to have Rob Compa join us on stage during one of our LonCon sets this past summer. He’s such a great player and someone who we all learned a lot from just getting the chance to hang out and chat with.

Mirth Films: The last time we caught up with Baked Shrimp, ironically, was also at the The Hollow, way back in November of 2021. Some obvious changes since then: you’ve grown out your hair and Jager took some off. What are some less obvious changes since then?

Jared: Changes since November ’21… definitely the merch table is a big one with the release of Pork Etiquette and new shirts! We’re always looking to have the most updated “swag” and we’re proud of it! Other than that it’s the same ol’ shrimp with bigger and better goals, working hard day and night.

With 2022 already shaping up to be the bands most ambitious year to date, you can bet the best is still yet to come for this young, hungry and hard working band from Long Island. For now, you can re-listen to their set from Albany via their bandcamp page (https://bakedshrimp.bandcamp.com/album/02-04-22-the-hollow-bar-kitchen-albany-ny), check out Baked Shrimp’s Spring Tour dates below and stay tuned to Mirth Films for the bands highly anticipated LonCon 2022 lineup announcement!

Baked Shrimp Spring Tour Leg 1:

March 10th – Pickle Barrel Nightclub – Killington, VT
March 11th – Broad Brook Opera House – Broad Brook, CT w/ Px3
March 12th – Park City Music Hall – Bridgeport, CT w/ Residual Groove
March 17th – Monopole Bar- Plattsburgh, NY
March 18th – Woods Valley Ski Area – Rome, NY
March 19th – Nietzsche’s – Buffalo, NY
March 25th – The Stone Church – Brattleboro, VT
March 26th – Aeronaut Brewing Company – Boston, MA w/ Lee Ross
March 30th – Brooklyn Bowl – Brooklyn, NY w/ Freekbass & Of Clocks And Clouds
March 31st – Jewel Music Venue Manchester NH – Manchester, NH w/ Leon Trout
April 8th – Putnam Place – Saratoga Springs, NY w/ Aqueous
April 9th – The Westcott Theater – Syracuse, NY w/ Aqueous