Bacon Brothers to bring their unique ‘forosoco’ music to Long Island

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Bacon Brothers to bring their unique ‘forosoco’ music to Long Island
The Bacon Brothers will be performing at The Space at the Westbury Theater Nov. 18. (Photo by Jeff Fasano, courtesy of Devious Planet)

Famous brother duo Kevin and Michael Bacon are bringing their forosoco sound of The Bacon Brothers to Long Island in a widely anticipated concert.

The Bacon Brothers were scheduled to perform at The Space at Westbury Theater on June 23, but due to health reasons were forced to reschedule on Nov. 18. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show is slated to start at 8 p.m. Tickets are still on sale and can be purchased on Ticketmaster.on

The Bacon Brothers feature Hollywood actor Kevin Bacon and Emmy award-winning composer Michael Bacon, two brothers who say they are bound by blood and a love of music.

The brothers describe their sound as “forosoco,” a combination of folk, rock, soul and country.

Kevin Bacon said when they first started playing as a band, they always faced the same question: So what kind of music do you play?

Kevin Bacon said he thought about it and found it to be the four music genres of folk, rock, soul and country that their music encompassed. So, jokingly, he responded to everyone’s question that the kind of music they play is forosoco.

This new music genre label came to be the title of the band’s debut album in 1997.

While forosoco is the origin of the band’s music, Kevin Bacon said the sound still holds true in their current music.

Michael Bacon said that in making their music, they don’t have any need or desire to follow a protocol. He said this allows their music to explore different facets.

“Our philosophy is to let the songs dictate the arrangement using whatever resources we have between the two of us and our band,” Michael Bacon said.

With a diverse sound encompassing an array of music genres, Michael Bacon said they find inspiration from artists like Phil Ochs, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and The Band.

While these artists inspire their music in some ways, Kevin Bacon said that their inspiration for songwriting is not so cut and dry.

“We often say if we really knew what it was we would just go there every day,” Kevin Bacon.

He said it is rather a fleeting mystery of inspiration that he could not tangibly describe.

“Song-writing is like creating something out of air and an instrument,” Kevin Bacon said.

Michael Bacon said one of his greatest influences, though, was their parents.

Their father, Edmund Bacon, an urban planner and architect dubbed the “The Father of Modern Philadelphia,” transformed the first floor of their childhood home into a sort of giant speaker.

As he would drift to sleep, Michael Bacon said the music would float up the stairs into his childhood bedroom. He said it became embedded in him and provided him with a creative source in his career as a film score composer.

The music that would drift up the stairs ranged from Elvis Presley to folk music to world music and classical.

Michael Bacon said they grew up in a household in which creativity was on a pedestal. This was at the expense of academics and sports but allowed for them to excel in music, dancing, acting and art.

Growing up in Philadelphia, Michael Bacon said they were pummelled by the city’s rich music culture.

He said while their parents are their No. 1 influencer for their music, their hometown of Philadelphia is a close second.

He said he had been fascinated with music since he was young, playing in bands with his sister at first until his brother Kevin  was old enough to begin jamming with them.

As Kevin Bacon got older, he too started writing songs. The problem, though, was that he didn’t know how to play the guitar quite yet, so Michael would step in to help write the songs and the guitar chords.

Michael Bacon said that as his brother started acting in movies, the duo would write songs to be featured in the movies as well. None were accepted.

In about 1994, Michael Bacon visited one of Kevin Bacon’s friends in Philadelphia who worked in a club. The friend suggested the two brothers come together as a band and play a one-off set.

So they did it.

“It just sort of rolled out from there,” Michael Bacon said. “Not particularly because we planned it to be that. It started really grassroots and someone offered us a record label and here we are 26 years later.”

Kevin Bacon said that while his brother says their music has been the same since their first album, he disagrees.

He said that their first band was just two acoustic guitars, a percussionist and a bass player with simple music arrangements. Today, Kevin Bacon said they produce music with diverse instrumentation with some songs featuring horns and loops and stacked vocals.

“The music has grown,” Kevin Bacon said.

Michael Bacon said technology that has developed since the band’s first album has assisted in their growth.

Kevin Bacon said what makes The Bacon Brothers exciting to him is continuing to make new songs.

“For us, it’s the excitement of writing something, learning how to play it, teaching it to everybody and then putting it out there for people,” Kevin Bacon said.

The Bacon Brothers said they will be releasing a six-song EP “Ballad of the Brothers” in September. Kevin Bacon said it’s some of the best work they have done so far.

The Bacon Brothers have already been playing some of their unreleased songs at their shows, which is anticipated at their next show in Westbury as well.

Kevin Bacon said they enjoy playing in the New York area where they have a larger fan base. He said while they have not played in Long Island as much as they thought they would, he is excited to come on out.

“We love Long Island,” Kevin Bacon said.

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