In any event, here, in Kyle's own words, is an assessment of his career to date ... along with a couple of tracks you may not recognize ... but will likely fall in love with!
Hi!
Thanks for the kind words. I thoroughly enjoyed the Arcada show. The audience was a blast to play for and with.
I'm not really the mystery man you make me out to be, but then again, I kinda like being thought of like that. And sometimes I do feel a bit invisible in this industry, having been in it for so long, yet still being discovered.
No, I wasn't an original member of the Bay City Rollers, but neither was Les, the guy who sang most of the hits. I believe I was the 17th member. Whatever was left of the Rollers called me in about 2006 and asked if I'd be interested in being their new singer. Being a huge fan of all those great songs, of course I said yes. I stayed with them for just a couple years.
Honestly I was a bit hesitant to say I was a member of the Bay City Rollers because at that point there was only one member left, and he was also not an "original" member. I didn't want to mislead anyone. But my friend and former boss, Kim Fowley explained it this way: "Kyle, it's like the New York Yankees. Babe Ruth used to be a member, and now Derek Jeter is a member. You're Derek Jeter. The franchise goes on". I never have tried to imply or sell myself as an original member ... I'm just up there having fun singing some of my favorite songs. My job is to entertain and to bring people back to a time in their youth when life was simple and fun. It's 100% about the audience.
As for Bo Donaldson &The Heywoods, Bo was never a singer in the band. He was the keyboardist. He, too, called me and asked if I would take over the vocals. Again, because I'm a sucker for melody and sweet pop songs, I said heck yeah. I don't always perform with them, only when I'm available. The majority of the time I'm playing shows as a solo singer-songwriter. I've released about 13 albums ... and you STILL don't know who I am! Isn't this business great?! Aggggg!
My solo career has been a roller coaster ride. I've been signed to six major record deals over three decades. I've got to assume I hold some sort of record for the most deals with the least success! I had a Top 20 single on some charts (Billboard Hot AC, Radio & Records Adult, Cashbox Adult) ... in fact the song began in Chicago and did quite well there, but on the pop charts that single died a painful death "bubbling under" at #101. I've kind of become the defacto go-to guy for 70s acts that need a front man. And I'm totally cool with that. I've been a Roller and I've been a Heywood. I'm waiting for the Sylistics to call. Maybe they can change their name to the Kylistics! haha. As long as I love the songs, I'm there. And to me there was never a better time for melodic three-minute classics than the late 60s / early 70s.
Thanks for the write-up.
Best,
Derek,
oops, I mean, Kyle
Well, he certainly put on an entertaining show when we saw him! GREAT vocals ... great energy ... and really drew the audience into his show ... whether he was singing "Bo" songs ... or "Rollers" songs ... or "Rock Me Gently" by Andy Kim.
Well, he certainly put on an entertaining show when we saw him! GREAT vocals ... great energy ... and really drew the audience into his show ... whether he was singing "Bo" songs ... or "Rollers" songs ... or "Rock Me Gently" by Andy Kim.
Here's Kyle's "bubbling under" hit from 1997, "Wake Me Up (When The World's Worth Waking Up For)" as well as his version of one of my all-time favorites!
Thanks for writing in, Kyle ... and please feel free to drop by ANY time and share some of your musical insight with our readers! (kk)
