The Bacon Brothers

For the Canadian alleged gangsters, seeBacon Brothers (gangsters).

The Bacon Brothers
The Bacon Brothers performing live in NYC in 2006
Background information
Origin	United States
Genres	Country rock Folk rock
Years active	1995–present
Members	Kevin Bacon Michael Bacon Paul Guzzone Tim Quick Joe Mennonna Frank Vilard
Past members	Ira Siegel

The Bacon Brothersis an American music duo consisting of brothersMichael BaconandKevin Bacon.

Formation and first album

Although they have played music together since they were boys, the brothers have only been a working band since 1994. Having heard the brothers' music, a childhood friend approached them about doing a one night only gig in their hometown of Philadelphia at theTheatre of Living Artsunder the moniker The Bacon Brothers. Since then, the band has gone on to release seven studio albums, appear on numerous radio, television, and web programs, and on many tours throughout North America and Europe. The brother's first studio release in 1997 was entitledForosoco,derived from what the brothers describe their genre to be as a mix of folk, rock, soul, and country.

Appearances on soundtracks

The Bacon Brothers also appear onSandra Boynton's children's CDsDog Train,andPhiladelphia Chickens,on which they sing the title track. Their song "Chop Wood (Carry Water)" is on the soundtrack of the 2004 filmThe Woodsman,which Kevin produced and starred in. Their song "When You Decide You've Stayed Too Long" is on the soundtrack of the 2003 filmRed Betsy.Kevin starred in and producedLoverboywith his wifeKyra Sedgwick,which Michael also scored.

Television

In January 2006, the Bacon Brothers appeared on an episode ofQueer Eye for the Straight Guy.The episode featuredMichael Baconas the episode's "straight guy" and makeover recipient, and ended with both Bacon Brothers performing. In 2008, Michael composed many soundtracks for television, including the soundtrack for the PBS mini seriesThe Jewish AmericansandThe Kennedysfor which he won an Emmy.

In February 2009, the Bacon Brothers were the special guests for Episode 16 ofLive from Daryl's House,Daryl Hall's (of Hall & Oates fame) monthly free internet concert. They performed four tracks off their most recent album, as well as some cover songs and the Hall & Oates track "When the Morning Comes".

In April 2009 they recorded "Private Sessions" which aired on the A&E channel. A new single, "Guilty of the Crime", a duet withThe Bellamy Brothers,was released in June 2009.

2009 tours

On June 27, 2009 The Bacon Brothers gave a brief concert, for the fundraisers who climbed to the top ofPikes Peak,Colorado, in support of the Love Hope Strength Foundation. The event was videoed byMatt Carpenter,high altitude marathoner and posted on their Myspace page.Later that night, The Bacon Brothers played a concert at the Denver Hard Rock Cafe. Also playing wereCy CurninofThe Fixx,andThe White Buffalo.

The Bacon Brothers toured throughout the US East Coast during the summer of 2009 promoting their fifth studio albumNew Years Dayreleased November 2008. During that tour, the band was a headliner for theWXPNXpotential Music Festival in Camden, New Jersey. The festival performance featured an appearance from musicians from the Mummers to perform the title track of the record.

2014 album

The next studio album entitled36¢was released on September 16, 2014 after an extensive summer of touring throughout North America. The title song of the album was penned by Michael. "Get a Little", the fourth song of the album written by Kevin was originally written with the intention of being sung by a young country singer but was ultimately left to be performed by the band. The album also features an unplugged version of theAlanis Morissettesong "You Learn" and the version of "Above the Clouds" recorded from the band'sLive from Daryl's Housesegment from 2009, featuringTom Wolkon guitar.

2018

On June 1, 2018, the band released its self-titled album, marking the band's seventh studio release and was produced by formerSaturday Night Livemusical director,G.E. Smith.The first track on the album, "Tom Petty T-Shirt", hit #8 oniTunesandSpotify,in addition to receiving airplay on Tom Petty Radio onSiriusXM.The song was originally nationally debuted on April 26, 2018 onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.The tracks "I Feel You" and "Broken Glass" feature background vocals from Kevin's wife,Kyra Sedgwickand their daughter, actressSosie Bacon.Sosie was also featured in the band's music video for "Broken Glass". "Beneath Perfection", the eighth track of the record was written by Kevin while filming the cult classicTremors,which was originally namedBeneath Perfection.The final track, "Boys in Bars" originally featured on the band's first studio recordForosoco,was re-recorded at Lehman College Studios in 2016, whereMichael Baconcurrently teaches as an Associate Professor in the Music program.

Band members

The Bacon Brothers, Michael (left, vocals) and Kevin (right), performing at George Washington University in 2014

Current members

• Kevin Bacon- lead vocal, guitar, harmonica, percussion (1995–present)
• Michael Bacon- lead vocal, guitar, cello (1995–present)
• Paul Guzzone - bass, electric guitars, programming, background vocals (1995–present)
• Tim Quick - lead guitar, mandolin, background vocals (2018–present)
• Joe Mennonna - acoustic piano, electric piano, hammond organ, keyboards, accordion, trumpet (1995–present)
• Frank Vilardi - drums, percussion (1995–present)

Former members

• Ira Siegel - (electric guitars, acoustic guitars, mandolin, background vocals) (1999-2018)
• Marshal Rosenberg - (percussion) (1994-2004)

Discography

Albums

• Forosoco(1997, November 4 - Special edition 2003)
• Getting There(1999, August 31 - Special edition 2003)
• Can't Complain(2001, June 26)
• White Knuckles(2005, October 25)
• New Year's Day(2009, March 24 - Promo version 2008, November 11)
• 36¢(2014, September 16)
• The Bacon Brothers(2018, April 25)
• The Way We Love(2020, July 17)
• Erato(2022, July 8)

Singles

• New Year's Day
• New Year's DayfeaturingThe Mummers All-Star BandandBunny Sigler
• Two singles from36¢:36 CentsandWonderful Day
• Five singles fromThe Bacon Brothers:Boys In Bars 2016,Driver,Broken Glass,Two RiversandTom Petty T-Shirt
• Four singles fromThe Way We Love:Play!,She-Zee-Zee (Easy on My Eyes),The Way We LoveandCorona Tune

Compilation

• Philadelphia Road-Best of(2011, July 31), with new songGuilty of CrimefeaturingThe Bellamy Brothers

Dvd

• Live: The No Food Jokes Tour(2003, November 11)

Appearances

• "Philadelphia Chickens" and "Snoozers" onPhiladelphia ChickensbySandra Boyntonand Michael Ford (2002)
• "Footloose" onWill & Grace-Let The Music Out(2004)
• "You Know My Brother (He's So Heavy)" onMarlo Thomas and Friends: Thanks & Giving All Year LongbyMarlo Thomas(2004)
• "Pots and Pans" onDog TrainbySandra Boynton(2005)
• "36 Cents", featuringKristin Ash,onBellamy Brothers & Friends: Across the SeabyThe Bellamy Brothers(2013)
• Television advertisementWake Up to Eggs with the Bacon Brothers(2016)
• YouTube videoStaying Home,parody ofGoing HomebyThe Rolling Stones(2020)
• "Legacy of Pain" onDown YonderbyVaneese Thomas(onlyKevin,2019)

External links

• Official website