The Bacon Brothers are on tour this summer with a stop at the Franklin Theatre with two shows – Monday, July 16 and Wednesday, July 18. Purchase tickets online here.
Michael and Kevin Bacon, yes that Kevin Bacon, who both have successful individual careers have been out on the road for more than 20 years playing music and recently released their 8th self-titled album “The Bacon Brothers.”
Ever wondered how many films Kevin Bacon has appeared? The answer is 80 films and dozens of television and stage credits to his name, resulting in numerous Emmy and Screen Actor’s Guild nominations cited in his resume. While Kevin found his calling with acting, older brother Michael found his calling with songwriting. He began making music in their hometown in Philadelphia, eventually moving to Nashville where his songwriting career blossomed by leaps and bounds. Michael has most recently scored the documentary “That Way Madness Lies” currently on the festival circuit. Other recent works include the audiobook: “You Don’t Look Your Age…And Other Fairytales” and the HBO documentary “RX: Early Detection with Sandra Lee” which premiered at Sundance this year.
We sat down with The Bacon Brothers and asked about traveling on the road, the latest album, and of course, we had to ask about Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon but with a twist.
1.It’s been 23 years and you just released your 8th album, can you tell us about that moment where you decided let’s give the band a go?
KB: We had made some demos with an eye on getting cut by another artist. My buddy Harry from Philly heard the demo and said, “Hey how about you come back down to Philly and I will promote a show with you as The Bacon Brothers?” We sort of shrugged and said why not?
MB: Yes, it wasn’t a great leap.
2.Michael, you once called Nashville home, what’s it like for you to return and perform here?
MB: I love coming back to Nashville and seeing what it’s become and remembering how different it was when we arrived in the 70’s. One thing that hasn’t changed is the songwriter is #1.
3.In looking at your summer tour dates, there are multiple dates for several cities, and the venues are smaller, is there a reason for that?
KB: We tend to play certain venues that we like, our crowd likes and we have had success in before. So of course if you play a sell out the venue says, hey next time how about two nights?
MB: I didn’t realize the venues were smaller but we seem to be putting lots of people in the seats this summer.
4.On your self-titled album, I’ve been listening to “Tom Petty T-shirt,” and it sounds like the song is about something more than just a t-shirt. Can you tell us the inspiration behind the song?
KB: When someone who I love is struggling my instinct is to try and fix it. But sometimes a small gesture can be way more helpful than words. Such as “I don’t know what to say but here’s my old T-shirt. “
5.As you tour this summer, can you tell us how you pass the time on the bus?
KB: Well smart phones and rolling WiFi kind of changed things. Haha! We don’t tend to watch my movies if that’s what you’re getting at!
Sit around and BS. Check in at home. Climb into the bunk and catch up on something on the iPad. Get sucked into old music performances on YouTube.
MB: Most of the bus time is in our little bunks, asleep.
6.Would you say fans are different here than other places?
KB: Lots of really great musicians. So lots of pressure to put on a good show. Our first few Nashville shows were pretty weak. But now we LOVE playing there.
MB: I don’t think we get a lot of music industry people coming out for our shows, so it doesn’t feel any different to me.
5.We know there is Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon and in Nashville, we have Six Degrees of Vince Gill but can you tell us if there are Six Degrees between Kevin and Vince?
KB: Wow, I’m pretty sure it’s not a lot of separation. But I can’t think of anything off hand.
I made a Spotify playlist the other day of Six degrees of the Bacon Brothers (people we’ve played with or opened for etc. ) it’s a really long list.
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