Ted Nugent is a musical hero that has no equal.
Put any other guitar warrior in a life or death scenario -- the end result would be death. If Eddie Van Halen was fighting crocodiles in the Everglades, his only defense would be finger-tapping up and down the croc's bumpy spine. If Slash was stuck in the Amazon battling an anaconda, he may be able to befriend him, but everyone knows snakes are sneaky. One minute they'll be slithering together, the next thing you know, that reptile's belly'll be shaped like a top hat. In either of these situations -- or one as perilous -- the Nuge has a plan for action.
As a guitarist and a showman, very few compare to Uncle Ted -- he's extreme and unfiltered. As a human being and an American, Nugent is just as extreme and unfiltered. He doesn't care if you agree with him. He couldn't give a shit if you dislike him. The man is firm in his convictions, and you'd be hard pressed to find anyone with a meatier lust for living.
We were fortunate enough to be given an access key to the Tedquarters Top Secret Email Portal -- so, before you catch him live at Revolution on Tuesday, check out what he had to say to us about life, end times, and the state of rock and roll.
New Times: When you rocked with the Amboy Dukes, were you into psychedelic exploration -- or were you more about guitar exploration? Obviously, the guitar work was decades ahead of its time, but we wonder if you dabbled in trippy hippie stuff back then.
Ted Nugent: It has always been about the music. I have been clean and sober for 64 glorious years, and there has never been a Plan B. I am allergic to dabbling. I am wired for all things gung-ho, extreme, over the top radical. It's the only way to live.
What is the state of rock 'n' roll now?
Due the indefatigable celebration of killer music by me and my band, Sammy Hagar, Chicken Foot, Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, ZZ Top, Van Halen, Styx, REO, Journey, Kid Rock, AC-DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dave Grohl and his bands, and so many honest to God soulful musicians carrying on, the best music in the world is alive and well. As far as new bands go, I'm afraid I cannot name any that thrill me, but confidence roils eternal.
If Romney were a rock band, what band would that be? Obama?
Out and out politicians are anathema to rock-n-roll, so I hesitate to attempt to connect the two. But on important issues, I am saddened to admit that Obama represents everything bad about humanity and Romney pretty much all that is good. It is really that stark.
Everyone asks you about your position on gun control because of your open position on gun rights. How did you get involved in knife rights and how are your knife skills?
The right to self-defense is secondary to the pure righteous instinct to self-defense. Historically, monster freedom crushing tyrants, kings, emperors, despots, and evil slavedrivers denied mankind of such basic God-given rights, and this sacred experiment in self-government is based on refusing to give any of them up ever again.
I saw the curse of apathy metastasize across this great country and the horrific attempt of evil politicians to infringe on these sacred rights through this increasingly opening door. I decided early on that we the people have a moral bound duty to remain engaged and halt those daring to infringe.
Freedom is not free and due diligence and vigilance is the only way to safeguard it. If a man is forced to be unarmed and helpless, you are at the mercy of evil, and that simply does not compute to conscientious, thinking people, so we stand and fight.
We've heard you advocate for the "natural highs" to be found in an outdoor lifestyle, but what should city boys do to get naturally high?
America is blessed with the most beautiful natural wonders and wild ground to be found on planet earth. There are such places in every state. Go there, slow down, breathe deep, wallow in the soul cleansing sensual stimuli of all that is nature, and ultimate nurture and cultivate your natural role as a conscientious, reasoning predator and discover the incredible challenge of hunting, fishing, and trapping your own personal sustenance.
Take your time, find your place, aim small, miss small and return to the perfection of tooth, fang, and claw nature.
Should we kill them all and let God sort them out? Or should we sort them out ourselves?
When it comes to killing our own food, the clarity of sustain yield science will dictate proper and balanced consumption, but alternatively, when it comes to taking out evil doers, killing them all would be the best way to go.
In a post-apocalyptic scenario what would you want in your backpack?
It is all already there. Adequate first aid supplies, water and water purification tablets, firestarter, portable shelter, basic utensils and tools, quality flashlight and spare batteries, salt, coffee, handgun, carbine, as much ammo as can be managed, spare durable clothing, lots of HD duct tape, rope, fishing supplies, HD gloves and probably a bunch of dark chocolate Milky Way bars.
In this post-apocalyptic future, would you be more comfortable in a salt-based, water-based, or oil-based economy?
I would let the market dictate and improvise, adapt, and overcome, as always. I would however, assure you it to be an ammo, water, and food based economy.
Ted Nugent at 7 p.m. on August 7 at Revolution Live, 100 SW Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale.
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