Hey Everyone,
We wanted to take a moment for us as Baked Shrimp to address the difficult circumstances surrounding COVID-19 and the dreadful impact it has had on our live music community. Every time we read a cancellation post, our heart sinks to our stomach as we all know this feeling all to well, and the three of us have decided to take action to support all of our fellow musical friends who are hurting during this tough time. To help, Baked Shrimp is introducing The Serendipity Project. We are setting up a GoFundMe to assist in getting live music back on its feet once this chaos is behind us. 100% of the profits will be used to support other musicians and venues who have had their live music schedules and therefore revenues affected by COVID-19, and need a helping hand.
A longtime back it was decided that we would specifically take the Spring of 2020 off from our extensive touring schedule to settle down and record music. We realize how coincidentally fortunate this turned out to be for us, as we have no scheduled shows that have been or in jeopardy of being cancelled. Our friends from nearby and afar have not been as lucky. Through touring, we have met so many amazing musicians, promoters, venue owners, and staff. These are kind-hearted music passionate folks’ who took a chance on Baked Shrimp, and welcomed us into their homes, musical communities, and introduced us to their fans and followers. Without the help of all our friends throughout the country, we would not be Baked Shrimp.
Touring is one of the most toughest, but rewarding things there is in the music industry. Months upon months are spent on booking, planning, connecting and routing. Expenses are mostly fronted in advance for sleeping accommodations, merchandise, and promotion. Once you’re on the road you can certainly tally in gas, food, and unexpected large expenses (ex: being towed out of a ditch in a snowstorm). But it all becomes worth it when we get to watch YOU move to the sounds we create, and an added bonus is we get to meet new faces from all different backgrounds, who we have stayed in touch with over a number of years. We want to take this opportunity to help our fellow friends in the Jam/Funk community and all of the above get back on their feet once this virus is past us. We want to see all of our favorite venues we know and love reopen their doors to the public, and get all of our touring friends back on the road ASAP.
We know the feeling of not wanting to ask for money when it is needed. We originally had worked up a blueprint for a different version of The Serendipity Project a few months back to fund the studio time for our forthcoming album and one day a heavy-duty touring vehicle. We ultimately decided to ditch this project and opted to use our limited funds to fund what we could ourselves. If you are a musician, venue, or promoter who has a loss of revenue from the absence of live music due to the virus, do not hesitate to reach out to us! This is set up for YOU! We will be doing extensive research over these next few days to get in contact with those who could use the help, and may be shy to ask for it.
To all of our fans, while these donations may not be going to us (Baked Shrimp), you are helping us in the best way that you can during this time of crisis. We want to bring live music to all of you for an indefinite period of time, to do this, we want all of our musical friends to continue their journey, keep contributing to this scene, and keep making the magic happen. By helping them you are helping everyone involved in our embracive music community achieve longevity.If you need more incentive to donate, the three of us plan to live stream at least one performance in the studio to thank you for your donations.
In the meantime, please stay healthy, wash those hands, don’t touch your face, and in just a little bit of time we’ll all be together again this Summer.
Much Love,- Jared, Jager, Scoot