GLENN HUGHES On BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION: 'I'd Love To Tell You It Was More Than A Side Project, But That's All It Is'

Brazil's KISS FM "Gasômetro" radio show recently conducted an interview with former DEEP PURPLE bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes where he was in the country performing his "Classic Deep Purple Live" live set. You can watch the entire chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On whether his busy tour schedule is "tiring":

Glenn: "It can be if I think it will be. I never allow it to be because I like to keep fresh. I like to meditate. I like to walk. I like to read and I like to look at the world through different eyes."

On whether he still feels comfortable performing DEEP PURPLE songs from his time with the band:

Glenn: "Yeah, because I'm the architect and writer of those songs and they were written in the '70s and that period was a very definitive time for rock music with [BLACK] SABBATH and PURPLE and [LED] ZEPPELIN, THE WHO, THE [ROLLING] STONES and PINK FLOYD. It's endless, the music that came from the '70s and I being one of the last guys who can travel the world and do this because I love to do this."

On whether he could imagine his life without music:

Glenn: "No. Music is the reason why I'm here. I believe in reincarnation, I believe in past lives, I believe in future life, but I think in this life, my job is to carry the message of 'love, hope and faith' with my music and my lyrics and my voice. I'm very, very grateful. It's more than music."

On why he has lived in Los Angeles for 45 years:

Glenn: "I went there in 1970 and when I got off the plane, I could feel my spirit there. I was only a young man, a very young man and I felt that this is where I belong, that my heart belonged on the Pacific Ocean."

On guesting on Joe Satriani's new album, "What Happens Next":

Glenn: "He loves the way I sing, but the album is melodically dark. It was great just to play bass. I never normally just play bass; I sing. It was a little different, but I really enjoyed simply playing bass."

On his latest solo album, "Resonate":

Glenn: "I've been very, very busy the last ten years. I wrote the album in three months in early 2016 and I had these songs that I wrote alone in my own studio and I went to Copenhagen to record them. My band, Chad Smith [drums], plays with me from [RED HOT] CHILI PEPPERS and no one had heard the songs. Normally, I send the songs to my guys before, but this time I wanted to surprise them with these new songs. So, it was an interesting situation. What I wanted to do with 'Resonate' is I wanted to make a rock record with soul and groove, as you know that's what I do, but I try not to sound like anyone else at all. I don't listen to a lot of music, because I don't want to sound like anybody else. I don't listen to a lot of music because I write 365 days a year, even on Christmas Day. I write daily, I write on the road, I write during soundcheck. I'm always writing. I don't get a chance to listen to a lot of music."

On how DEEP PURPLE came to add a second singer (David Coverdale) to pair with Hughes during the '70s:

Glenn: "Because [Ritchie] Blackmore wanted to have two singers. I didn't discuss with him why. I thought it was going to be Paul Rodgers and Paul was making BAD COMPANY. Paul's a friend of mine, so when we got David in the band, it was a very good fit."

On whether it was easy for him to write his 2011 autobiography, "Glenn Hughes: The Autobiography - From Deep Purple To Black Country Communion":

Glenn: "I think it wrote itself. The life I've had has been very crazy. I've had a very interesting childhood, very sports-oriented. I had a dream as a child to carry the message of love. I've always been the one to be loving; I'm very affectionate. Being the only child and being a little bit lonely and I wanted to be around people."

On whether BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION is more than just a side project:

Glenn: "I'd love to tell you it was more than a side project, but that's all it is. It would be a fantastic world band, if the band was a continuation of a complete touring cycle. The band would be a very, very, very big band. But, the band doesn't tour because the schedules are [difficult]. What I can't do is I can't say 'Why?' I can't point fingers. All I know is that I'm on the path now with my own career, my own legacy of DEEP PURPLE and my own things that I need to do because I'm older than those guys and I need to create the magic of Glenn Hughes, globally. All four corners of the earth will be visited by Glenn Hughes the next two years. Every continent will be visited."

The U.S. leg of Hughes's "Classic Deep Purple Live" trek kicks off August 25 in Westbury, New York and concludes September 22 in Tarrytown, New York.

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION's fourth studio album, "BCCIV", was released last September via Mascot Records.