The Bacon Brothers are a musical duo composed of siblings Kevin Bacon, an A-list actor and Michael Bacon, an Emmy winning composer. Over three decades, the brothers have created their own unique mix of folk, rock, soul, and country music they call “forosoco.” The duo was raised together in Philadelphia where they listened to 1970’s singers and songwriters and fell in love with music.
In April of this year The Bacon Brothers released their 12th album, Ballad Of The Brothers. The album was co-written with Nashville writers like Casey Beathard, Brett Tyler, and Kimberly Kelly. While Kevin and Michael have very different ways of writing and creating music, they embrace their musical differences, coming together to create some great songs. In their music, the brothers write about their own personal hardships and happy moments, as well as fun fictional stories.
We had the chance to meet up with The Bacon Brothers at Bourbon & Beyond where we chatted about the best cheesesteak, their writing process, and their must pack travel items.
You guys are from one of my favorite places, Philadelphia. Tell me your perfect day in Philly.
Kevin: My perfect day in Philly would be to get out and walk. It’s a great walking city. It’s funny, when you come back to Philadelphia from having lived in New York for as long as we have, the scale is so small. It’s really, really doable. There’s always something interesting to see. Just kind of take a walk and end up getting a steak sandwich.
Michael: We were brought up in the Rittenhouse Square area, so that’s always fun to go back down there. I love eating at the restaurant Rouge on Rittenhouse Square and just kind of walking around. Just like Kevin said, it’s a great walking city.
What’s your favorite cheesesteak?
Michael: Well, do you want me to go into my cheesesteak disclaimer? You don’t have to go anywhere to any specific one. It’s all the same.
Kevin: As long as you got the right bun and amoroso rolls and the steaks are actual minute steaks. That’s the trick.
Michael: You don’t want anything fancy. You don’t want them slicing a sirloin or anything like that. It’s like Cheez Whiz; it’s kind of the same everywhere in the world, right?
You guys put out Ballad Of The Brothers this year. Do you have anymore new music coming?
Kevin: We always have new music coming. There’s always something bubbling.
Michael: We kind of live and die on the songwriting, so that’s kind of important. It kind of comes in waves. Once we finish a record, I think we sort of take a deep breath and get away from it a little bit. But I feel like I got a couple of things I’m working on and I’m sure Kevin does too.
Kevin: We’re also thinking about putting out some live music because we haven’t done that in a really long time. We did a live concert and video in the past but we haven’t done that for a long time.
What is your writing process? Do you write together or separate?
Micahel: Well, when we first started, Kevin didn’t play an instrument, but I could tell right away he had a real talent for songwriting. So, he would sing me the song and I would figure out the chords and help arrange it. Before the band, we were just kind of writing songs for other people to record; sometimes songs for Kevin’s movies later on.
We kind of changed because once you play in front of audiences, at least the type of music we do doesn’t really go over if it’s commercial stuff. Our music is personal and confessional style songwriting, not all of it, but most of it is. Now Kevin has his own studio and he can do his own arranging. Occasionally we write together and we’ve written with well-known Nashville songwriters as well.
I live in New Orleans, and, Kevin, you’ve spent a lot of time there preparing for roles and movies in Louisiana in general. Do either of you have any favorite spots in New Orleans?
Kevin: I was down in New Orleans not too long ago. That is just such an incredible city. I mean, I can’t really think of anything specific. The food, taking a walk. I think that I sometimes get a little overwhelmed with the quarter, so I sort of like to get out and get in the arts district or in the Garden District.
There was a place I stayed last time I was there that was beautiful. It was kind of off the beaten path. It was just one of those places that was quiet and small and had great architecture and a great historical feel. I love it. There’s a lot of stuff that gets shot down there for film because of the Louisiana tax credit and of course I’m looking forward to going back.
I always ask families, do you have any tips for traveling with family?
Michael: We’re family, but it’s not exactly the usual kind of travel experience since we’re staying in hotels. We don’t do the bus too much anymore. We’re more weekend warriors. I guess try to eat well and try to get some exercise.
Kevin: When I go out with my family, not with the band, I tend to plan everything within an inch of its life. I’m the person that says, ‘Okay, we’re doing this, and then we’re doing this, and then we’re going here, and then there’s going to be a hike,’ you know what I mean? Sometimes I have to remember that my family gets a little bit irritated at that.
But what’s interesting about it is that if I make a conscious decision to not be what we call ‘Pete the planning guy’, which is based on another family member who plans way more than me, inevitably somebody will step in and say, ‘What’s up? What are we doing today?’ and I’m like, like ‘See, you wanted the plan after all.’
You guys have traveled all over the world between working, music, and acting. Have you found any hidden gems you would tell people to visit?
Michael: I’ve done a lot of recording in Prague and that’s just a very, very special city. We were just in Serbia for a wedding. The Balkans are a really interesting place too.
Kevin: Well, if they’re hidden gems, I’m not going to talk about it. I went for the very first time in my life with my wife to Greece, a place that we’d never been before. We went to a great island called Patmos, which is close to Turkey. We went to a lot of islands over the chain of islands that’s really close to Turkey, sort of in the southern part of the Aegean. I loved that.
In your songs, you talk about a lot of places. Can you tell us a story about a place that’s maybe influenced a song?
Michael: I wrote a song called “Arkansas Seesaw” that was covered by Jerry Lee Lewis. I’m very proud of that.
Kevin: We have a family place up in the Adirondack Mountains. Not only have we written songs about the Adirondacks, Michael has written a couple, I’ve written one. I think it’s also just a place where sometimes music comes from being there.
Michael: There’s no electricity so that has something to do with it.
Which songs?
Kevin: I wrote one called “Adirondack Blue.”
Michael: “July Away.” It’s one of those places where there is everything that you actually can do. You can do it. You can fix some little thing as opposed to life where everything seems kind of undoable. Up there you’re just with yourself and your family. It’s really conducive to songwriting.
What are your must pack items when you travel?
Kevin: I almost always have – and this is going to make people crazy. I almost always have a bag of nuts. I tend to eat all day and I really don’t like the feeling of traveling and having nothing to munch on. I just throw mixed nuts in a bag and I always have that with me.
Michael: I always bring my Texas Longhorns sneakers that Kevin gave me for my birthday. They’re out in the car. You have to take my word for it.