Bacon Fat

W. Johnson

W. starts playing his dad's guitar at the age of 9. Three years later he gets a copy of the 'Eliminator"-LP by ZZ Top. From then on he starts digging in the archives of guitar music (especially blues), meanwhile improving himself on the instrument.

Between 1991 and 1994 he forms a couple of local bands where he would occasionally sing besides playin' the guitars. By the end of 1995 he joined The Bluesfactory, a band who used to cover al kinds of blues from John Lee Hooker and BB King to Gary Moore, Van Morrison and The Blues Brothers.

W. left the Bluesfactory by December 1997 and decided to take a short break. In April 1998 he started working on his own project.
For two years he wrote songs and practised the combination singing/guitar-playing. During that period he also wrote "Hangin' around" which is still an absolute favourite these days. W. became influenced with a wide range of musical genres which he would mix into his music.

The roots are to be found in the likes of Robert Johnson, Bo Diddley, Jimi Hendrix, Alvin Lee and Billy F. Gibbons. Even rock 'n roll icons like Lemmy and Dimebag Darrell leave an unmistakably mark in his guitar-playing. On the other hand artists like Chris Goss, Miles Davis and Mike Patton convinced W. that music should be explored as far as possible. With such an extensive background one can imagine that the music of Bacon Fat exceeds the borders of traditional blues-rock and gui des the listener throughout an unusual and often unexpected blues-universe.However, that's not important as Johnson explains: "…blues is not a definition of sound and structure, it is the feeling you play it with!"

Benjamin Cestillo

This good looking man joined Bacon Fat in spring 2006. He used to jam once in a while with some friends (including W.) and eventually became a solid bass-player. Though he never really played in a band before he was recruited to fit in with BF. And he did well!
Always in for a laugh and focused on the music Benjamin carries the band like never before. While making his trademark moves on and off-stage he always assures a great atmosphere for all.Another skill of him is his ability to compose awesome bass-lines, mixing blues, jazz and rock. That way he prepares a base from where the music can evolve into any direction at any moment.

Enrique Gee

'Rico' was probably born with a pair of drumsticks in his hands. It would be very hard for anyone to not catch him drumming on something. He even beats the skins while sleeping! It was not a coincidence that W. picked up Enrique to complete the new line-up. This man is skilled in any genre when it comes to drums and percussion. He has a unbelievable focus on the music and can make you swing, bang your head or relax in a wink. Absolute trademark are his drum-solo's where he starts dancing behind his kit thus making the crowd go wild. Just like Benjamin he also guarantees a great atmosphere for everyone involved. Besides Bacon Fat he plays with several other acts doing funk, rock, jazz, latin,Â… you name it, he'll play it.

Biography

At the end of the nineties W. Johnson lost his interest in playing covers and left the Bluesfactory. He decided to go his own way and started writing his own songs. Two years and a first failed line-up later he teamed up with drummer Luke Lammenzo and bass-player Mr. Nasty.

On July 18th, 2000 Bacon Fat was born.

Six months later, after an intensive period of songwriting and rehearsing a first demo-CD was recorded. Bacon Fat was ready to go on stage now with mainly new and original songs.

On March 9th, 2001 W. Johnson made his debut-appearance as the leadsinger and frontman of Bacon Fat. From that moment on the band succeeds in playing show after show and Bacon Fat becomes a well known name in the blues- and rockscene in the lowlands.

Meanwhile W. gets in touch with "Le duc de Berloz" and "Le Grand Rititificateur". They would take care of all the design and web-building for the band from here on. The first result of this cooperation was the notorious cover of the second demo "Plain Sustain" in Januari 2002.

With the accompanying tour Bacon Fat played their first shows in Holland.

In November 2002 they hit the studio again to record their third demo called "Show Some Steel". This was still Bacon Fat, but clearly on a higher level and even more dynamic than before.

These recordings pointed out Bacon Fat is a true rock 'n roll-sensation. Gig after gig they knew to confirm that reputation.

75 shows later -in less than three years- they found themselves ready to release their first official CD. To keep everything under control from a business point of view, Grease It Up Music cvoa was founded. The CD "Boogielicious Baby" (released December 2004) happened to be the ultimate compilation of the first years of Bacon Fat, completed with 5 new tracks.

2005 naturally became the year of the Boogielicious Tour and Bacon Fat played concerts and festivals all over the Benelux.
But between W. Johnson on one hand and Luke and Nasty on the other, a different point of view on the future of the band was rapidly growing. So with spring 2006 in the air, Luke and Nasty left the band and started their own project.

Meanwhile, W. didn't just sit down waiting for a solution falling down from heaven or outer space. He found some new strength in the likes of Benjamin Cestillo (bass and backings) and Enrique "Rico" Gee (drums).

With this new line-up the real Bacon Fat-spirit is back and the future of the band is assured.

June 2007 marks the release of the second full-CD "Reinventing the Mojo". Received with great reviews worldwide this album holds the spotlight on the band during a period of musical exploration. By the end of the year they finally got the right recipe to present their live-set in a way that covers The Whole history of the band while keeping an open mind for further musical directions in the future...

2008 marks the year of the MOJO Tour. These performances show the band has grown a lot since the recording-sessions for "Reinventing the Mojo" and also brought us the very first new original material.

Bacon Fat also did it’s first shows in Germany.

After six years the band replaces "Pretty little thang" by "Liberty bell" as ultimate finale of the set. This song opened new directions for the band and it’s music. It became that important it became the name of the 2009 tour: the Liberty Tour.

Bacon Fat celebrates it’s first decade with the Greasy Decade Tour 2010. Most of the new material is performed here already.

After summer the boys dive into the studio to record their third album: "The Art of Freedom".

The try-out for the 2011 tour shows a band that is absolutely ready for it’s second decade. The new material is going musically further than the band has ever been and all the aspects of Bacon Fat ARE there. The songs fit together very clear while they are so different at the same time.

In February 2011 Bacon Fat plays the first show of the Play with Feel Tour and in March "One on one" is launched as a free MP3-single, announcing the upcoming release of "The Art of Freedom" later in April.