As the band’s name suggests, The Baked Potatoes appreciate the lighter side of life. “The basis of our band is three friends having fun together,” explained band member Ryan Fogarty. Shane Bryson, 21, says their moniker “seemed pretty witty at the time,” and it resonates with the group’s lighthearted approach.
He coined the band’s name a couple of years ago. “It’s pretty memorable,” he said, admitting he does gets some negative feedback about it. “But that just makes me like it more.”
Fogarty, 21, plays acoustic guitar, bass and piano for the group. Michelle Dawney, 19, takes on vocals and Bryson plays guitar and uses his creative bent to provide percussion. “We are hurting for percussion,” smiles Bryson. “So we’ve had to be pretty innovative.” The band members affectionately speak of “Eggy the egg shaker,” which Bryson holds between his fi ngers, shaking out a rhythm while playing guitar. Alternatively, Bryson has tossed a tambourine on the fl oor and used his foot to stomp out a beat. The trio are Almaguin Highlands Secondary School (AHSS) alumni and hail from the Sundridge-South River area. Their lengthy repertoire of cover tunes and growing lineup of originals includes everything from jazz to folk to blues. “We play any songs that have good harmonies, ones with good guitar lines – songs that are instrumentally rich,” explained Bryson.
Last year, the group had about 50 cover songs in their collection. They performed at Renee’s Café in South River, at coffee houses at the high school and at the Front Porch Bistro in Sundridge. In the spring of 2007, after each member returned home from university, they got together for some “very dedicated practicing.”
They’ve since narrowed down their repertoire, polishing up about half of the songs they used to have. “Now we are a lot tighter,” said Fogarty, “and a little more upbeat.” They’ve also recorded a handful of originals. One of their first songs, Peese, is about a peace symbol falling off Bryson’s wall. “It’s pretty abstract,” said Bryson. “It’s not as deep as it sounds.”
Fogarty, Bryson and Dawney credit AHSS for much of the inspiration and motivation to pull together a band. “We pretty much were given free rein,” said Fogarty of the opportunities and support they were given to initiate various coffee houses, performances and musical pursuits at AHSS. They also credit AHSS’s Ralph Moxley.
“He is a really great teacher,” they say in unison.
“He was really encouraging and a big infl uence on all of us,” said Fogarty.
All three get musical inspiration and support from their home fronts. Dawney, whose mother also sang, participated in the Highland Player’s festival, playing Maria in The Sound of Music. Dawney’s also been actively involved in the summer TOROS productions in North Bay each year.
Bryson’s father used to play with Tom Bryson and the Germs — witty band names seem to run in the family. Fogarty learned to play the piano at age fi ve, “and it all just unfolded from there,” he says. In recent years, he and Bryson have spearheaded a few bands, including The Annex and Scapegoat Institution, to name a few.
The future of the band is a bit up in the air, but fans are hopeful they’ll be back playing the Highlands and Huntsville next spring. None of the members are pursuing music at university, and being stretched cross country at various universities makes it hard to practice, but they enjoy each other’s company and have fun with the music, so it’d be hard to leave it behind completely. “We have a lot of laughs,” said Bryson. “We really enjoy playing together.”