Kyle Hughes & Marco Mendoza

“Are you ready, Kyle?” Newcastle drummer, Kyle Hughes, set to tour with Marco Mendoza

Do they say that everyone has a musician in them, or is it just a book, personally, then I’d stick to the latter part of that statement, whilst local drum king god, Kyle Hughes, firmly places his entire lot into the former.

Myself and Kyle, we go back many a good year, seven years this month in fact, when he was but a young whipper-snapper of a drummer in a local, north-east band.

We’d first meet at what was once called ‘The Bishop Langley’ Public House, performing at the Durham Oxjam, and thus begun a rollercoaster journey, well for all involved really.

There’s been a few dates with Bumblefoot, there’s been a few with Marco Mendoza as well (Kyle’s with him again this month), and there’s been many a coffee date between the two of us as well, and that’s where this current ensemble of a tet-a-tet emanates, another coffee shop date in Toon.

It’s those dates with Mendoza, he of Dead Daisies – Thin Lizzy – Whitesnake, and currently having rocked out with Journey, fame (replacing Randy Jackson), that was to be at the forefront of our conversation; you seen, Kyle will (when this hits the internet) be heading out across Europe, rocking some six countries throughout the month of October.

Alongside Mendoza, and Tommy Gentry (GUN fame), the trio will be taking in the sights and delights of Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, and France, before heading back to British soil in November. It has certainly taken some getting going with the tour though,

global happenings affecting many; with Kyle though, always ready to get out there, he said:” This tour, it’s been cancelled and rescheduled, so this’ll be third time lucky.

“It’s different though, and we have to take precautions, a lot of them really, whilst also learning how to do all of this, the travelling, all over again. “It’s great to have the buzz for it all and I’m definitely, really excited as it’s been a very long time without.

“We’ll be playing some familiar venues, familiar places, but it’s mental to be doing it all again. “No matter the size of the venues, we’re all motivated and it’s been a gradual build-up towards the upcoming, two months; not just with the tour either, but with many other, cool projects, one’s that I’m really, really proud of.” Those projects, for now at least, are for another day, but they’ll excite the heart and soul of any rock lover, that much is a guaranteed certainty. his catalogue of material.

“It’s great to be back, and to be connecting with people again,” explained Kyle.

For now though, Kyle, as with everybody else, is just excited to get back out there, and back on stage again, and has done a couple of ‘warm-up’ gigs in recent months, easing himself back into the mix; behind the scenes however, he’s used the time away from the spotlight wisely, utilising his everincreasing contact list, to further “I’m very grateful for all that I’ve done, and who I’ve worked with, and now, it’s just a case of readjusting to the times. “Therefore, playing music, in any capacity, whilst not getting lost in it all, it’s feelings that I can’t actually describe, and a lot of people will feel that way. “The timing of the pandemic though, it’s allowed me to be a part of, and collaborate with, other musicians, people that I wouldn’t normally get a chance to work with.

“There’s been opportunities that wouldn’t normally have presented themselves, but I’m not one to be seen to push things, I like to share things, especially on social media, that I’m proud of.

“I’ve just been trying to find the positives from what’s been a really big negative, and my parents (Ryan and Wendy Hughes), they’ve been great in helping me to come through this.”

Now though, it’s tour time, at long last, and Marco, Tommy, and of course Kyle, can look forward to more than a dozen outings across Europe, before similar when back on British soil next month.

“Marco, in fact we all have really, remained very optimistic about it all,” concluded Kyle.

“We’ve just kept on trying, and not given up as we really want to get back out – Marco though, he’s insane, and is doing something pretty much every day.

“As for me, it’s been weird getting back out there, but, when I’m sweating away, you begin to realise what you’ve been missing, and how much you have done so.”

What it all boils down to though, is those tour dates, and for rock fans here in the UK, and especially those in the north-east, there’s certainly plenty of options to get stuck into, as Marco et al, they look to ‘Take It To The Limit.’

UK TOUR DATES AS FOLLOWS - London Underworld (November 3); Cannock The Station (November 4); Southampton 1865 (November 6); Chesterfield Real Time (November 7); Scarborough Vibe Bar (November 8); Newcastle Trillians (November 9); Trecco Bay Rockstock (November 12); Inverness Monsterfest (November 13 & 14); Cambridge Cairn Hotel (November 17); Bathgate Dreadnought (November 18) purpose back in my life again!” Keep up-to-date with all things Kyle Hughes via his Facebook https://www.facebook. com/kylehughesdrums and Twitter https://twitter.com/ KyleHughesDrums