Bacon Brothers bring it home for a change

The way Kevin Bacon sees it, being in a rock band pretty much fits into the same category as, say, playing a gay hustler, or a playboy astronaut, or - in the case of best-picture-nominated

Frost/Nixon

- a very loyal and uptight aide to a disgraced ex-president.

"It's all about taking risks as an artist," the 51-year old actor and Philly native said recently by phone. "I find that whole process challenging, but also energizing."

In the more than 14 years since the Bacon Brothers were officially launched at what was supposed to be a one-time gig at the TLA, these two siblings have toured extensively and have put out six albums together (their latest, New Year's Day, features a family photo of preteen Kevin hanging out with his mandolin-strumming big brother, Michael, on the cover).

Although nearly 10 years apart in age, the Bacon brothers - male bookends in a family of six kids - have always been close. And they've always been musical, though it was Michael who made music his life's work, having scored literally hundreds of TV shows and films (including two Kevin Bacon-directed movies, Losing Chase and Loverboy).

"We've always played music together - even when Kevin was a little kid and I was in college. We probably wrote our first song together when he was about 8," said Michael Bacon, 59. "Kevin always had a natural talent, especially for songwriting." In fact, Michael Bacon says, it's Kevin who is the more prolific writer of the two.

"I compose a lot of instrumental music for movies, but writing a pop song is a very different thing," Michael Bacon said.

Both longtime New York City residents, Michael and Kevin Bacon share a fondness for Philadelphia that still comes through in their songs. The new album's title track is loosely based on Kevin's early Los Angeles days, when the then-struggling actor longed to get back to Philadelphia in time for the Mummers Parade: "That was a fun one to write. I managed to rhyme bummer, summer and Mummer."

Backed by four musicians, the pop-rock-soul-infused Bacon Brothers usually play about 50 gigs a year, but the two "don't play Philadelphia enough," Michael says.

"I'm not sure why that is; we certainly get the fans out when we come back there," he said. (Two of the Bacon Brothers three forthcoming area shows are sold-out).

"There's always going to be a curiosity factor, but when we come back to Philly, I think people are actually coming to see us for the music," Kevin Bacon said, adding that being famous has made it "way harder" for him to be taken seriously as a musician. Undaunted by the struggle to be heard on mainstream radio, the Bacons are not above poking fun at themselves to stir up interest in their songs.

They recently launched a video contest – having fans upload videos of themselves dancing to "Go My Way" (the lead single from New Year's Day) - via a Youtube.com video that has Michael mocking Kevin's Flashdance footwork. The winner will star in a video and join the brothers to dance onstage at a gig. (Contest entries are due by Sunday; go to http://musicallies.com/baconbrothers/danceoff/ for details.)

"You gotta have fun with it," Kevin Bacon said. "At times, it's a heck of a lot of work, but it's never stopped being fun."