In 1997 the Bacon Brothers released a CD on the Bluxo Records label called "Forosoco." If you’re wondering what kind of music they play, the hint is in the title of the disc. The Bacons pride themselves on being a bar band that plays a mix of folk, rock, soul, and country, hence the title Fo-Ro-So-Co. Clever isn’t it? Both brothers are singer songwriters and both play acoustic guitar. The rest of their band features an electric guitarist, a bass player, a drummer, and a percussionist.

Even though the brothers have been playing music together their entire lives, the idea to form a band came about in 1994 after they played at a benefit event in Philadelphia and got an overwhelmingly positive response. But it’s been the release of this excellent CD on an unsuspecting public that has really caught everyone’s attention.

Older brother Michael is an accomplished musician who comes from a strong musical background. In the 70’s he formed the Philadelphia based folk-rock band Good News. This was a band successful enough to record for Columbia Records, then later he recorded two solo albums for the Monument/CBS label. He’s gone on to compose music for films and TV. In 1993 he even won an Emmy Award for his score of the documentary "The Kennedy’s." Later this year he’ll begin work on a score for a TV series about the 20th century which will begin airing next year.

While Michael was jamming with Good News, his younger brother Kevin pursued a career as an actor. In fact, back in 1978 he burst upon the American scene screaming "thank you may I have another" while having his ass paddled in National Lampoon’s Animal House. He’s gone on to make a few more movies since then. Maybe you’ve heard of him.

Back on August 1st I had the opportunity to catch the Bacons at the Tri-Arts theatre in Pine Plains, New York. What struck me was the diversity of the crowd. There were men and women, boys and girls. The age difference looked to be between six and eighty. Also I was amazed by the number of people who knew the songs and were singing along. It’s really nice to have the audience familiar with your stuff before you even start to play," said Michael when asked about the show. "When somebody comes to a concert and they already know the songs, you’re starting from a much higher jumping off point. As far as the age difference, you know when we look at our E-mail, it’s all different kinds of people that come to hear us and I don’t think there’s any one particular demographic that we focus on.

"The thing that’s nice too is that we play a lot of different kinds of gigs," added Kevin. "When you play one it makes you kinda appreciate the other. We were talking afterwards about how we have a lot of fun being a bar band and playing to crowds that hopefully listen, but are a little more rowdier just because they’re drinking and having a good time. And there’s just a different kind of vibe in a bar than there is in that kind of concert setting, but it was great to play there because we haven’t done that kind of show in a while." Most assuredly Kevin can expect the kind of rowdy crowd he likes when the Bacon Brothers come to the Mohegan Sun for a free show at the Wolf Den on September 26th!

As we continued to talk about the music I asked Michael what the differences were between Good News and what he’s doing today with his brother. "Remarkably little in a funny way," he said. "That’s one thing that always surprises me, Good News was a band where I played guitar and sang and my partner played cello. We sang songs that we wrote and it was basically an acoustic sound and we recorded with drums, a few side musicians and we went out and played in small clubs. Now cut 30 years later or however many years it is, I hate to think about how many, and it’s not really very different. My brother and I present the songs in terms of giving people background to make sure they sort of know where we’re coming from when we wrote it. We try to be ourselves on stage with a lot of harmonies and a lot of rocking songs, quieter things, acoustic things, it’s pretty much the same." Indeed, during the Bacon Brothers concert Michael himself played the cello for a couple of songs. Also there was plenty of give and take between the band and the crowd.

Changing the subject, I had to ask Kevin about a recent VH-l special he hosted about the 100 greatest rock & roll performances. This was a list that had the Beatles first and the Stones second. "You know I get a lot of requests and that was one that I thought might be kind of interesting and fun," Kevin said. "It was voted on by a lot of acts that appear on VH-1. They went to the bands and said here try to pick. Obviously any kind of list like that, rock music is so subjective. It’s amazing, I had nothing to do with the choosing of it but people will stop me on the street and say ‘hey man what are you talking about.’" I had to tell Kevin that my biggest problem with the list was how a one hit wonder like Devo could be ranked ahead of Santana. I didn’t blame him though, especially after he agreed with me.

On the "Forosoco" disc Michael sings a song called "Memorize" in which his vocals reminded me of James Taylor. This was reinforced by the fact that the only cover song is Taylor’s "Rainy Day Man" also sung by Michael. When I told Michael I thought he sounded a little like J.T. I told him I meant it as a compliment. At the same time I might have struck a nerve. "Well I do take it as a compliment," he said. "It’s something that sorta followed me around my whole career. I can remember a long time ago when I was having a meeting with my record company and we were talking about a single they released that didn’t do well they thought it was because people said it sounded like James Taylor. So there were some negative aspects about that. But the Good News record predates the Apple record (J.T.’s first solo album). Someone came up to me and said that I sounded a lot like James Taylor and I had never heard of him before. I’d say he’s influenced me more in terms of guitar playing than in singing but still I’m not denying the comparisons because people say that to me all the time."

You can’t help but be struck by how personal Kevin’s songs are. There are autobiographical numbers such as "Old Guitars" and "Boys In Bars." There’s a song about his wife called "Only A Good Woman" and a song about his children called "Brown Eyes." Heck, there’s even a song about his dog. "You know the songs that I’ve tried to write with my eye on the prize as it were, trying to write a commercial song, I never really feel they turn out that well," he said responding to my comments. "The songs that I’m happiest with are directly related to some kind of personal experience I’ve had. I don’t tend to write from hooks you know. I don’t really start with a hook. Maybe a couple of times I have, but the hook has to come out of something that’s happened that I can relate to. So it makes being a singer songwriter in some ways a much more vulnerable place to be than even being an actor. Because with an actor, you know, I have somebody else’s words and somebody else’s character that they’ve written and developed. And I’ve got a costume and sometimes an accent or a voice and direction. And when you’re singing you’re own songs you’re much more exposed."

When Kevin plays at the Wolf Den this month he won’t really have too far to drive. He’s been a resident of Connecticut, living in the Kent area for over 15 years. "In 1982 a friend of mine was renting a place in the northwest corner as a summer getaway," he said when asked why he chose Connecticut as his home. "I went up there to visit him and I just sorta fell in love with that part of the world. I mean I just thought it was remarkably beautiful. I had lived in New York for a while and whenever I went out of town I had gone out towards Long Island and never actually been to the outskirts of the city in that way. And as goof I went out with a real estate broker having absolutely no intention of ever buying a house, for one thing I couldn’t really afford to get another house at that point. And I saw this house one weekend and just bought it.

Obviously there’s so much more that could be written about Michael and Kevin Bacon. I like to think of them as just another bar band from the area! That’s not quite true though is it. For all of you who like to surf the net, you may want to visit the Bacon Brother’s interactive web site at www.baconbros.com. You can hear their music, order the CD, send them an e-mail, or just simply learn a little more about them.