Music has always been an intrinsic part of what has linked Kevin and Michael Bacon, dating back to their childhood growing up in Philadelphia.
It became an even more tangible connection when they formed The Bacon Brothers in 1994, followed up by their 1997 debut “Forosoco.” A dozen albums later, the siblings are still writing, recording and touring in between Kevin’s acting schedule and Michael’s career as an associate professor of music at CUNY’s Lehman College.
Out promoting the latest song collection, last year’s “Ballad of the Brothers,” the Bacon Brothers will be bringing their blend of Americana-flavored influences to Huntington on Sunday, Sept. 14. And while the siblings have been recording for nearly two-and-a-half decades, the 11 songs on the duo’s latest outing are organic creations far from falling into any kind of formula.
“I don’t think we think of a record as having its own theme, but rather a case of our waiting until we have enough songs,” Michael explained. “It’s pretty hard for us to go—‘This is going to be a rock record, folky record or jazzy record.’ One of the things I feel about the band is that in both of our respective careers, we’re working as a part of a team to create a work of art that hopefully is successful in the atmosphere. I think there’s a kind of freedom where we don’t have to plan and make decisions according to a big record company. Instead, we get to try and put out the best stuff we can.”
Raised on a healthy mix of rock, Philly soul and folk, the Bacons grew up in a household where singing and playing instruments were a daily occurrence. The youngest of six, Kevin recalls people singing vocal rounds while doing dishes.
It’s that kind of stylistic influence that permeates this most recent record. Highlights range from the horn-driven Stax-flavored soul of “Put Your Hand Up” and gorgeous and plaintive ballad “Dreams of the San Joaquin” to the Django Reinhardt-meets-Bob-Wills vibe of “Ballad of the Brothers (The Willie Door).”
For Kevin, the inspiration was fueled by combining a more traditional approach to recording, along with including several self-described “pass-around songs”—files sent to various band members who are encouraged to contribute ideas.
“Normally, there’s the writing, demoing and playing it live part of it and that can take years,” Kevin said. “What we did was we went into the studio and for about five of the songs, we had various band members make suggestions about parts they might play. We send them a demo and get all the tracks remotely and then start mixing it down. But about four or five of the songs this time we felt we really wanted to get into the studio in a more old-school kind of way and sit there as a band and look at each other, have our instruments and play the songs.”
That musical joie de vivre carries over to the stage where the six-piece Bacon Brothers are constantly juggling instruments depending on the song.
“We’ve got a great band at this point and we have a lot of fun on stage,” Kevin said. “There are guitars, bass, drums, keys, vocals, cello, autoharp, ukuleles, mandolins, percussion and harmonica being played. There are a lot of instruments being passed around.”
Michael added, “It’s funny, but we were just talking about how a long, long time ago we opened up for The Band at Carnegie Hall. They are, pound for pound, my favorite group. They played mandolins, saxophone and organ. All their stuff was kind of that bridge between bluegrass, folk music, country music and rock and roll. If I go to see a group, I want to see everything they can do and I think that’s kind of our performing philosophy. With the six of us, how can we go through the spectrum of everything we can do with those instruments and vocals?”
When you think of the history of siblings in a band, there are always legendary stories about creative conflicts disrupting the dynamics of bands ranging from The Kinks and Creedence Clearwater Revival to Oasis and The Black Crowes. For the Bacons, it’s all about embracing their creative differences in a way that’s allowed them to enter the duo’s third decade of making music together.
“Having two songwriters in the band lends a lot of variety,” Kevin said. “We’ve got a lot of similarities in terms of our musical sensibility, but we also have a ton of differences in the way songs come out and in how we approach them.”
The Bacon Brothers will be appearing on Sunday, Sept. 14, at The Paramount, 370 New York Ave., Huntington. For more information, visit www.theparamountny.com or call 631-673-7300.
