Ted Nugent: Interview [Side B]

[Interview Transcript from the book "Psychedelic Psounds". First part of interview is available at http://av.cah.utexas.edu/index.php/Vorda:Da_00117]

AV: Discuss "Stranglehold" which ranks up there as one of the great guitar solo classics.TN: Yeah! That's an interesting recording because it was a bit of a battle to get the band to record it since it was basically a jam. It was just a great lick that continues to pound. The guitar solo was a "take one" situation where I didn't have anything planned. I just started playing. I switched from rhythm guitar to lead guitar during the recording just to show everybody some ideas I had. It turned out to be such a nice pattern that we electronically enhanced the guitar tone to make it sound like a lead tone. It was just one of those spontaneous moves. It's one of my favorites.

AV: What about "Wango Tango" and such lyrics as the auto-erotic metaphor "Pretend your face is a Maserati"?TN: That was also spontaneous. I had no plans for a big rap in the middle of the song. The lyrics say: "I'm gonna show you a brand new dance/You put a right ankle out/And put the left ankle out/You get her belly propped down/And her butt propped up." Then I say: "You pretend your face is a Maserati/Oh, my God, it looks like there's a garage up ahead. The damn thing is open/Get it in there."

AV: Does "Wango Tango" have anything to do with the World Penetration Tour?TN: It has a lot to do with the World Penetration mentality.

AV: How deep did the World Penetration Tour go? TN: It's an eternal abyss! Sex is the single most powerful motivation in all my music and all good music. I'm riveted.

AV: "Cat Scratch Fever" was the single that propelled Ted Nugent back into the limelight.TN: It was just an infectious lick. My wife at the time had opened an old antique medical journal which talked about "Cat Scratch Fever" and somehow I put the lick and that phrase together. The song, once again, is about girls.

AV: What about your appearance on Miami Vice and the song "Little Miss Dangerous"?TN: That came about when I was recording the Little Miss Dangerous album. I thought there was a street sassiness to the music. My kids and I had watched Miami Vice a few times and I thought they utilized a music track with the spirit of the program in a fashion that was more reverent to rock and roll than anything I had ever seen. So I called Miami Vice myself and told them I thought some of my songs were perfect for their TV show. I sent them a tape of "Pain Killer," "Little Miss Dangerous," and "Angry Young Man." They decided to use the last two songs, but they also thought the title of "Little Miss Dangerous" would be perfect for an episode. The director found out they were going to use my music and thought I would be great in the lead male role. I read the part, got the job, and it was fun.

AV: You are famous for some off-the-wall comments. For example, in the Chicago Tribune (5/18/86) you stated: "I think the stuff I do could cure AIDS." Where do you come up with these comments?TN: I get overwhelmed by my own shit. Not literally, mind you, but the stuff I do is because I'm driven to do it. Once I start I'm really digging it. When I'm making a record in a studio, since it is all new and sounding great, then I am absolutely mesmerized by the whole process. I tend to put things into cocky little superlatives. It just comes out.

AV: Discuss the If You Can't Lick `Em. . .Lick `Em album which includes the beautiful atypical Nugent ballad "Spread Your Wings.TN: "Spread Your Wings" is the type of playing I do a lot in my jamming situations but very seldom on record. That lick for "Spread Your Wings" I've been playing since 1968.

AV: You are a noted hunter. For example, you took down two Cape Buffaloes in the Sudan in 1978 with a bow and arrow. On the back side of the Lick `Em LP is a hunting cap which states: I Hunt White Tails Year Round. Aren't white tails only in season around November to January? I would say you're going beyond the limits of the law.TN: If a girl keeps her tan, then there's no bag limit! As far as obeying laws, I will obey laws until it is just stupid. I will not drive 55 or 65. I've got too many places to go. Fuck you! You can print that! Actually, I thought the bag limit was the speed limit.

AV: In the Chicago Tribune article you stated: "I get pissed off when I see these talentless little bastards being revered like some kind of gods of the external world. It makes me nauseous." You then make references to Michael Jackson and Boy George. Please discuss the current state of rock. TN: Somebody misquoted me on that. As much as I hate Michael Jackson, he is an incredible talent. I just think as a human being he is a waste! You just don't change your cheeks, your chin, your nose, your eyes, your hair, and wear enough make-up so that even the black people don't even claim you! You don't pretend. This is what you're born with. This is you. If you change it then what are you? He is a great talent and makes incredible music, but I didn't mean to refer to him as talentless.Boy George, on the other hand, I would like to pistol-whip for about an hour. He's just a bad human being. Even though he came out originally against drugs, how many dicks did he suck? I just don't like those kind of people. They're sick!The state of rock, as always, is diverse. Some of the best rock and roll is out right now. Bon Jovi deserves what he is getting because he makes incredible rhythm and blues based rock and roll. When I jam with them it's like jamming with veterans from a blues band. They've got an incredible touch.Motley Crue's Girls Girls Girls LP showed them at their finest. Whitesnake's album is a fantastic soulful album. ZZ Top's stuff is fantastic as is Cinderella's debut album. Aerosmith's latest album is the best they've ever made. I'll tell you what I hate about music right now. There are so many bands who look like they all trade clothes for the photo sessions and they all wear the same wigs. They're just clones of each other. There is no creativity. It's all the same guitar break and tone. All the same screechy-type vocals. I'm opening for Kiss, but I've never liked Kiss. There is no soul there at all. What they do is cartoon pop music. What they do is the best in that field. Some of their songs, like "Crazy Crazy Nights," are great. They have their moments. I can stick my head out of the dressing room and stomach them for a few moments.

AV: Who are some of the great unrecognized bands? TN: Fever Tree! The feedback of their guitar player (Michael Knust) is incredible. Randy California, Michael Knust, and I were the only ones who had that feedback style.MC5 is another group, if they weren't such fucking hippies and managed by such fucking hippies, who could have been a monster Rolling Stones-type force.

AV: What does the future hold for Ted Nugent? TN: The future basically holds from what I get off on: rock and roll, hunting, off-road racing, and all the things I love to do.

AV: What is the status of Red Meat?TN: Red Meat is an idea for a restaurant. When I was out in Los Angeles I couldn't find a decent steak. I had to go out in the desert on the weekend and kill my own. It's something I'm thinking about.

AV: Any final comments? TN: I don't know why people are so quick to criticize what I do and applaud other people's jokes. I see all this coverage for people who finally get over their heroin addiction, or finally quit drinking, or get a light sentence for murder, or the Born Again Christian ploy. Those dirty, lying bastards---I'd like to shoot them! And those evangelists are unbelievable---and people are buying that shit! Did I miss something?There's not a dishonest fiber in my body. Anybody who has been to one of my shows knows that I believe in what I do and I dedicate myself to that.

AV: Finally, is there some unknown detail you have never revealed before in an interview?TN: Believe me, everything that has transpired in my life has been related to an interview. I've been interviewed to death! I still get a kick out of it. If people have questions, I've got answers.

AV: Hopefully, I haven't asked the same banal or inane questions. TN: You have but it is no problem because the questions are always asked in different ways. A lot of these questions are unique and have never been asked. Questions about "Good Natured Emma" and the high schools mentioned in "Loaded for Bear" are unprecedented! It's been fun.