Platform Soul

Vancouver’s Baked Potato put on a great set Saturday at the annual Bonfire Music Festival at the Lions Park Fairgrounds in Pender Harbour. See page B29 for more photos from the event.

(Graphic of Coast Reporter cover page in "Photo's" section.) - Coast Reporter (Voice of the Sunshine Coast)

Who: Baked Potato

Where: Boot Pub

When: Monday, April 10

Phish fans will most likely enjoy the improvisational, jazz-funk fusion of Vancouver’s Baked Potato coming Monday, April 10 to the Boot Pub.

"We never play anything the same way twice," said Spud, alias Chris Douglas. "We are mainly instrumental. If you were to compare our band, we are a cross between the Grateful Dead and Phish and the Greyboy Allstars. It’s basically dance music. When we play a show everyone gets up and boogies hard."

Named in part after the infamous L.A. jazz club, the high-octane jams of guitarist Spud, saxophonist and flutist Zehya Chelan, guitarist Eric Schwalb, keyboardist Scott Russell, drummer Chris Banting and bassist Joe Hoskins have traveled the Vancouver live music circuit with shows at the Fairview Pub, Sonar and Backstage Lounge.

While the Whistler show will be a first for Baked Potato, Spud and Russell made regular appearances here in the late ’90s performing with Puff, which included Darkstar guitarist Doug Kerr. Spud has also seen more than 75 shows at the locals’ living room.

"It’s a great place to check out live music," he said. "We are deeply humbled to be able to play here one last time before the Boot closes its doors. The venue is legendary and has seen immensely high-end talent grace its stage."

Baked Potato is no exception to that lineage.

"We are all live music fanatics with a variety of interests: jazz, trance, disco, funk and lots and lots of heavy improvisational jamming in the vein of the Grateful Dead," Spud said. "We will likely burst out a number of Phish tunes on Monday night."

- Pique Newspaper - Nicole Fitzgerald