Originally posted Thursday, June 21, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Kevin Bacon is an unquestionable A-list movie and TV star. His brother Michael is an award-winning composer. And for the past quarter century, they have had a potent folk rock band named the Bacon Brothers.
For those unfamiliar with their music, this might seem like an indulgent side project a la Bruce Willis or Eddie Murphy. But if you listen, the brothers take their songwriting and performing seriously. They have come out with multiple albums since the 1990s including a self-titled release earlier this year.
Their current tour stops at the City Winery Atlanta this Saturday, June 23 for two shows at 6 and 9 p.m. (Buy tickets here for $40 to $55. A special meet and greet is already sold out.)
Kevin, in an interview today, said the fan base includes plenty of people who know their music well but often bring along spouses and friends who just know him as the man in “Footloose,” “Apollo 13” and “A Few Good Men,” to name a few.
“Unless you have a really successful album or hit single, most people are not going to get into the seat knowing the music. We have plenty of curiosity seekers,” Kevin said. “So every time we walk out there on stage, we feel like it’s our job that night to try to turn them into music fans.”
His older brother Michael chimed in about becoming a well-known rocker: “I’ve had aspirations since I was 12 years old. It’s never happened but I’ve never given up. I think as long as I’m becoming a better musician and the band is growing and the songs keep coming, I’m happy.”
Kevin sees it as a challenge every time they hit the stage, that they can never be complacent. “It puts a lot of weight on us to communicate our songs the best way we can,” he said.
They've received recent buzz for a song called "Tom Petty's T-Shirt," which they performed on Jimmy Fallon's "Tonight Show" and discussed on Sirius/XM's Tom Petty radio.
“I wrote it after he passed” last fall, Kevin said. “He’s been a big influence on me right from the first record after I moved to New York. His music was simultaneously fresh and familiar. This was during the disco era. Here was a real kind of old school angry rock band with a singular kind of voice.”
The wistful song isn’t about Petty himself. Rather, it’s when someone is struggling to empathize with another person’s pain. “You can offer someone your rock T-shirt instead of some kind of brilliant words of wisdom,” Kevin said.
T-shirts from concerts can hold particular meaning for people, he said. “It becomes as piece of your life. A lot of people will tell you about their live music experiences. A T-shirt is a way to hold on to that.”
The Bacon family has a raft of musicians, including Kevin's son Travis is lead singer of a metal band Black Anvil. A few years back, the extended family even held an extended reunion concert, which Michael organized.
The brothers first performed at City Winery in 2016 and have hit every City Winery in the country. They receive wine bottles with their faces on them every time. “I now have a huge stash,” Michael said. “I can’t seem to get myself to open any of them partly because it has our name on it.”
Kevin's acting career remains in full gear as he approaches his 60th birthday in July and his 30th anniversary with fellow actor Kyra Sedgwick later this year.
To raise money for his non-profit sixdegrees.org,he and Kyra will have a double date with you in New York City if you donate at least $10 here. The date will feature dinner and dancing. And Kevin, despite his "Footloose" cred, said Kyra is the better dancer. "I have the same three moves she's been seeing for 30 years," he said. "She's more experimental."
Kevin tried to bring back his 1990 cult classic “Tremors” in TV form earlier this year on Syfy but the network didn’t pick it up. “I felt terrible,” he said. “I was shocked. I spent many years on that. The pilot was bangin’. It’s just so good. I didn’t get it.”
On the bright side, a song called “Beneath Perfection” is on their latest record, which was the original title for the movie “Tremors.” “It was almost an afterthought,” he said, while recording, “but it’s a lot of fun.”
Also, Kevin (who shot the pilot of Fox's FBI drama "The Following" in Atlanta in 2012 and popped into Dad's Garage fundraiser Baconfest) will be a lead actor in a gritty Ben Affleck/Matt Damon TV series airing next year on Showtime called "City on a Hill" about law enforcement in Boston set in the 1990s.
"It has a 1970s, Sidney Lumet, Martin Scorsese feel to it," Kevin said. "I love it. I think it's really really cool."
CONCERT PREVIEW
The Bacon Brothers
6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday, June 23, 2018
$40-$55
City Winery Atlanta
650 North Avenue, Ponce City Market, Atlanta
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