While Space Bacon has been filling the air with salty, savory, sounds for a decade, the Brooklyn NY-based jam quartet is poised to break into a new atmosphere with its upcoming fall tour of the Northeast, the band’s biggest headlining outing to date and first major tour with its recently appointed new guitarist. Tickets for all dates are on sale here.
Earlier this year, after ten years with its original lineup, Space Bacon officially parted ways with founding guitarist Jack Willard as he continues to pursue his burgeoning solo house music project. During the band’s three-set hometown tenth anniversary show at Brooklyn Made, Space Bacon’s Sam Crespo (drums), Chris Gironda (keyboards), and Kevin LeGall (bass) performed with both Willard and his replacement, Fred Rylands, a baton-passing moment that served to wrap up one chapter and introduce the next.
While Rylands may be new to the band’s onstage lineup, he’s been well within the Space Bacon orbit since he signed on as the band’s front of house engineer in 2015. Since then, he has served as the de facto “fifth member” of the four-piece, traveling with them on tour, mixing them live, and mastering the majority of their recordings on Bandcamp. Rylands, formerly the guitarist for MUN, also sat in with Space Bacon on guitar various times during his tenure behind the soundboard, adding touches of his own technique to a sonic style that spans deep house, heavy metal, rock anthems, funk and trip-hop beats, and everything in between.
Although he recognizes the significance of filling the slot, Rylands feels particularly prepared for the responsibility. “Working 150+ Bacon shows sure helped with that,” he explained to Live For Live Music, adding that “the biggest benefit is that fact that I’ve played music with Chris, Kevin, and Sam for years now, outside and related to Space Bacon. We clicked real early on and that gave me more confidence to find my place in the band as the new guitarist.”
Now, it’s up to him to balance the tasks of honoring the sound honed by the band over a decade’s time and finding new ways to make the material his own. “Where the mindset differs for me personally is that while I’m trying to do my thing, I’m also trying to preserve the sound that Jack made the band known for,” Rylands explained. “I’ve never been in a position where I’ve replaced a band member, let alone an OG member of 10 years, so I’ve been doing my best to incorporate some of the familiar stylings that Space Bacon fans look for at shows. From raw, ripping solos, to melodic, patient builds, to soundscapes on samplers, all are a nod to my predecessor.”
Still, Rylands added, “Those who know me know that I don’t shy away from the heavy, heavy, monster sounds, so that’s been growing as of late. But on top of trying to cross that over, fans and listeners can expect me to put much more ‘Space’ in Space Bacon. I’ll leave that up to interpretation.”
“With a lineup change in the form of any collaboration (music, work, or elsewhere), there is always a sense of doubt, whether you can really go forward as a group and be the best you can be,” explained bassist Kevin LeGall. “Jack has been with us since the start 10 years ago in the Bronx. He’s the man that everyone looks at shredding at the climax of a jam, he assisted with writing a lot of material, he helped us become not only a better band, but better individuals—always challenging us to think outside the box. This new chapter of Space Bacon is exciting.”
“We couldn’t think of anyone better than Fred to fill in the shoes,” LeGall said. Pointing to his COVID-era collaborative project with Rylands, The Plug, as a precursor to the new lineup, he added, “I never thought the experience of us writing music together would eventually translate to Space Bacon. Whether piecing together some demos for a new song or coordinating the climax of a live improvisational progression, Fred has been top notch every step of the way. As a band, we’re excited to go out on the road and prove to people we got something special. We will let the music speak for itself.”
Since making the switch, Space Bacon has accelerated its ascent. The band has been writing new music and debuting it during notable performances all year, from Lotus‘ annual Summerdance and the Hudson Valley’s Drift Jam to supporting slots at Syracuse, NY’s The Westcott Theatre (opening for Papadosio), Port Chester, NY’s The Captiol Theatre (opening for Lotus at Chuck Morris‘ memorial), and more.
Space Bacon – “Triangulation” > “Sarcophagus” [Pro-Shot] – Drift Jam Music Festival – 7/1/23
[Video: Space Bacon]
The timely 2023 fall tour arrives in the midst of this creatively invigorated period for Space Bacon. After kicking off the late-2023 voyage with a pair of Virginia shows at Vienna’s Jammin Java (September 29th) and Richmond’s Richmond Music Hall (September 30th), the band will head to The Disco Biscuits‘ inaugural Biscoland festival in Lafayette, NY (10/6) then continue north for a show at the famed Nectar’s in Burlington, VT (10/7). Over the ensuing weeks, Space Bacon will make its way to Bridgeport, CT’s Park City Music Hall (10/13), Saratoga Springs, NY’s Putnam Place (10/20), and Worcester, MA’s Electric Haze (10/21) before mounting a two-night run at Philadelphia, PA’s Milkboy on October 27th and 28th. After a quiet November, Space Bacon will take the stage again in early December for gigs at The Stone Church in Newmarket, NH (12/8) and Arch Street Tavern in Hartford, CT (12/9).
See below for a complete list of upcoming Space Bacon tour dates. For ticketing details and more information, head here.
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