Ted Nugent 05/24/2016

By Thomas S. Orwat Jr.

This summer is going to be a lot louder, now that the Motorcity Madman, Ted Nugent, has announced he is returing to stage after taking last summer off.  Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Ted Nugent is one of a kind, and a true rock music icon.  At 67 years of age, he continues to dominate the stage, with his ferocious guitar playing, legendary songs and controversial stage banter.

The Ted Nugent summer tour kicks off on June 17th, when he headlines the ‘Laconia Fest: Music Motorcycle Fest 2016’ in New Hampshire and will continue all summer long.

What follows is an exclusive RockMusicStar.com interview with the one and only, Ted Nugent!

Rock Music Star:  Ted, you are returning to touring this summer after taking last summer off, which was the first summer in your career, which I believe that you ever took off. Why did you decide to take off last summer and what can we expect from Ted Nugent on stage this time around when you return with the, ‘SONIC BAPTIZM’ tour, which kicks off in high gear on June 17th, when you headline the ‘Laconia Fest: Music Motorcycle Fest 2016’ in New Hampshire.

NUGE:  I mostly took off from a full-on tour in 2015 to let my two new knees assimilate to my daily ultra-mobile activities.  Plus at the tender age of 67, I figured I damn well better teach my grandkids how to hunt, fish, trap, shoot, gut, butcher and BBQ like a Nugent.  What you can be certain of in 2016 is the most exhilarating, fun, most intense, highest energy ferocious R&B & R&R band on earth.  We are the tightest, most throttling band you will ever see.  We exude pure animal outrage with every killer song after every killer song, every gig, every city.

RMS:  Will you be performing as a trio with Greg Smith-bass, “Wild” Mick Brown-drums?

NUGE:  Yes we are the ultimate greasome threesome, but this year with mighty Greg Smith and a new young insane Detroit drummer Jason Hartless.  If I wasn’t in this band I would go see them everynight.

RMS:  I feel that you maybe one of the most misunderstood people in America, but people hear what they want to hear.  How frustrating is it for you, when the press and left-ringers twist your words and try to turn you into a villain?  Especially, when it comes to being racist.  You certainly have a great respect for many of the influential African-Americans that have help shape rock music.  

NUGE:  Clearly I stand and connect with smart, honest people and drive dishonest weirdos crazy.  So be it.  In this divisive culture war, I could not be more proud of that distinction.  I am unable to back off critical issues and play braindead politically correct games so that fools can continue their embarrassing denial of historical and current truth and evidence.  My original inspirations were the original masters like Bo, Chuck, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, James Brown, all the fiery black artists that raised maximum hell with their over the top intense live shows and amazing music.  Given the fact that I am a natural born predator, you combine the fury of those black heroes with my primal hunting lifestyle and you have the ultimate, defiant, rugged individualism spewing from every song, every guitar lick, every performance to this very day.  Wimps and lying haters are blind to this self-evident truth and simply hate for hate’s sake.  Poor, pathetic punks, all of them.

RMS:  How do you feel about the likely occurrence that Donald Trump will be our next president, and what else do you suggest he needs to do to “Make America Great Again?”

NUGE:  I believe Donald Trump to be the leader America desperately needs right now in this bizzarro culture war of good against evil, earners against bloodsuckers, legal against illegal.  If enough Americans fail to heed the call in 2016 to vote Trump, the self-inflicted engineered deathwish tailspin of the embarrassing Obama/Clinton/Sanders America will spiral ever downward, crashing the last best hope in a fiery ball of flames. I will fight with all my might to not let this happen to America.

RMS:  Were you ever asked to be a participant on “Celebrity Apprentice?”  How do you think your business skills would match up to Gene Simmons, Bret Michaels and Dee Snider?

NUGE:  Yes, I was contacted numerous times to do that show but was always too busy with extreme fun stuff to do it. I never saw the show so am not sure exactly what it was all about, but I have confidence I would do well in most situations.

RMS:  Although he has since apologized for coming off “insensitive,” how do you feel about Gene Simmons’ comments about the death of Prince, calling his death “pathetic,” due to the fact that it is speculated that his death was caused from an overdose of prescription pain killers?

NUGE:  I’m afraid I would have to agree with Gene’s original statement for it is indeed rather pathetic in this day and age that anyone could be so foolish to indulge in such widespread proven suicidal procedures.  The definition of insanity is the repeating of certain conduct and expecting different results.  We lost another very gifted artist due to insane choices.

RMS:  At this moment, do you have any plans to release a new studio album?

NUGE:  At this time no but hope like hell to do so in the future as I am constantly unleashing exciting, driving, fun music.

RMS:  When you listen to music at home, do you still use a physical format such as CD, Vinyl, cassette, 8-track, or do you just plug in the phone and play tracks from itunes?  Do you have a large collection of music?

NUGE:  I rarely listen to recorded music as I am always jamming and exploring roads less traveled.

RMS:  What is your opinion of the “Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame?

NUGE:  Unfortunately RnRHOF founder Jann Wenner is one of the most soulless clowns in history.  That they put a toxic no-talent wench like Patty Smith in the same Hall Of Fame as Bo Diddly and Chuck Berry is blasphemous and downright dishonest, and insulting to those true masters who so deserve to be revered.

RMS:  When all is said and done, how would you like to be remembered?

NUGE:  I will be remembered by all the wonderful people who actually know me as the loving, giving, caring, hard working, take no shit patriotic American who never gave up and created nonstop amazing shitkicker soulmusic.

For more on Ted Nugent, please visit www.tednugent.com.

For information on the ‘Laconia Fest: Music Motorcycle Fest 2016’ in New Hampshire,’ visit www.laconiafest.com

Thank you to Linda Peterson for setting up this interview.