Ted Nugent Talks His Loaded New Single, Political Passion At Concerts, Inspiring Love of Family
It's not every day that you're walking to the bathroom at work, and your boss stops you and asks, "Hey, do you want to interview one of the most iconic rock musicians of all time?" The answer is without question "yes!", right? It's not until after the fact that you realize you're having a conversation with the one and only Ted Nugent. One of the most outspoken, defiant, controversial men in the industry, but also an amazing guitar player, songwriter, and showman of his generation. So how does an interviewer like myself try to navigate this "firestorm" of ideals and open up a real dialogue about the music industry today?
We started the interview light by talking about the upcoming holidays and about Uncle Ted's newest single Come and Take It and also his new album Detroit Muscle to be released in the spring of 2022. He is so stoked to put new material out and is pumped to get out on the road.
One of the things I was dying to ask, and I have had this question for many different musicians right now, is how does he balance displaying his political beliefs during his shows with just allowing his fans to come and enjoy the music, leaving all the political baggage at the door? His answer was fairly simple. He does agree that rock concerts should be the ultimate escape for the fans to come in and let it all out, but he believes that his shows are so energetic and over the top that even with his political antics included fans will still have a good time.
I do it in such an outrageous, fun, way; I'd like to think its not only educational, but it's entertaining as hell!"
We also spoke about how much Ted appreciates his fans in the heartland and their loyalty to all of the bands he has been a part of over the years. He is very involved with his Facebook fans and loves interacting with them regularly. The last question that I wanted to ask of him was out of all the things that he has accomplished in his lifetime, musician, TV personality, political activist, what was the one thing that he wanted people to look back at in a hundred years and remember him for? His answer was very surprising and heartfelt, and an amazing way to wrap up our conversation. He simply said that he wanted to be remembered for the family that he has been surrounded by. He named off all of his children and grandchildren, and spoke to how many others have told him over the years how respectful and intelligent his children are. That is the thing that he is most proud of and that he wants to remembered for, the legacy of his family.
You meet my kids and grandkids....who are wonderful giving people. That's my legacy, because we are raised to be the best that we can be.
To end the interview like that, with all the political rants and wild tangents that might have sullied my conversation with Ted Nugent, the real takeaway I had after our dialogue was this. He's just a guy who loves his music, his country, and his family, and he's going to do everything in his power to make sure that we can all love our music, country, and family, whether we agree with his methods or not. You can listen to my entire conversation with Ted below. It's definitely worth a spin!