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Tuesday
April 22, 1997

18

1,

'Wa
By Brian A. Gnatt
Daily Arts Editor
SaLollapalooza performance at Pine Knob in
Clarkston, Mich.. almost three years ago,
Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan
made what could have been a fatal mistake.
During one of his nightly on-stage tirades, the singer/guitarist
threw insults at one of Michigan's most beloved personalities
-Ted Nugent. What Corgan didn't realize was that bashing
Nugent, or "The Nuge," is not a laughing matter for many
Michiganders. It may be difficult for outsiders to understand,
but Nugent, the man who brought the world the guitar rock
classics "Cat Scratch Fever" and "Wang Dang Sweet
Poontang" is highly regarded and admired throughout the
region; it is a rather strange phenomenon, actually.
Accounts, of the show vary, from those who found the head
Pumpkin's proclamation of "Fuck Ted Nugent" to be mildly
amusing, to those who became irate and vowed to never lis-
ten to The Smashing Pumpkins again. Regardless, Corgan
was allowed to leave the state alive, but the incident epito-
mized the love and devotion Michigan has for one of its local
heroes, albeit a bow-hunting, long-hair free-spirit rock 'n'
roller.
'I heard about that. That was cute." Nugent laughed, recall-
ing the Corgan incident in a recent interview with The
Michigan Daily. "I don't know what he said. I know he was
trying to bash me, but I don't think that's possible in Detroit,
is it? I wonder if Billy ever heard of the concept of backfir-
ing? ... Foot-in-mouth is an epidemic in this country"
Backfire or not, it takes a bit more than having some mud
slung his direction to get the 48-year-old wildman Nugent all
riled up.
"Is he still alive or is he one of the dead ones?" Nugent
asked in all sincerity regarding Corgan, mistakenly referring
to Pumpkin keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin's death last year
from a heroin overdose. "People said, 'Weren't you angry'
No, not at all. What do you think - that is going to anger
me? A snarling rabid dog on my ankle wouldn't even anger
me. I'd just shoot the son of a bitch and move forward."
A brazen attitude and a non-stop mouth are only a couple
of reasons why Michigan's love for Nugent goes far beyord
the gritty guitar riffs and raunchy lyrics of his notorious clas-
sic rock anthem "Cat Scratch Fever." It's hard for non-
Michiganders to understand, but the Nuge is seen as a hero of
sorts --- a powerful spokesman who speaks his less-than-lib-
eral mind in a way that infuriates, yet still manages to amuse
those who disagree. On his daily radio show on Detroit's
WWBR-FM, as a frequent guest on TV\ "Politically
Incorrect" or just last week, testifying before the U.S. Senate,
Nugent is always ready to fight for the rights of hunting
enthusiasts everywhere. A bowhunter extraordinaire and
proud owner of Ted Nugent's Bowhunters' World, a hunting
and gaming superstore in Jackson, Mich., Nugent's name has

Just a good ol' boy
ig Dang' Nuge looked upon as local hero

I

become almost more synonymous with the outdoors than
with recording studios.
Residing on a piece of land in Jackson County, which he
refers to as "The Swamps O' Nuge," the guitarist decided to
remain in his native Michigan and raise his four children with
his wife Shemane., away from the honky-tonk atmosphere of
the city. He transmits his radio show from his barn and is only
seconds away from his daily hunt.
"Beyond the pavement is where the spirit begins to soar"
Nugent said.
Despite his country setting. The Motor City Madman (a
self-proclaimed title the rocker originally used as a CB-radio
handle while toting equipment across country with his first
band, the Amboy Dukes, in the late '60s). leads anything but a
quaint rural life. Musically, he's been playing around with for-
mer Van Halen singer Sammy Hagar, and his
own band, Damn Yankees, and expects to
release a new solo record later this year.
Aside from the music, Nugent recently
returned from testifying on public and
private property rights in Washington,
D.C. Hle's also writing his second
book, editing and publishing Ted
Nugent Adventure Outdoors
Magazine, and is gearing up for
the summer and the Ted Nugent
Kamp For Kids, an outdoors
camp run by the rock n'.t
roll star who ha. been>
hunting since age five.
Then therets the
radio show,
"If you have any
spirit for adven-
ture and creativi.

ty, you'll genuinely be moved." Nugent said. "The soul will
be stirred by all things Nugent stimuli of sonic bombast
radio. I'm so much fun, it's stupid. I'm the ultimate alarm
clock. Consider me social commentary in suppository
form."
On the "Ted Nugent Morning Show" or elsewhere on the
airwaves, The Nuge is one of the country's most outspoken
hunting advocates. With a long list of accolades and honorary
recognitions from everyone from Gov. John Engler to Ronald
Reagan, Nugent has made a career of standing for a lightly
represented segment of the country's population.
"I enjoy representing beliefs that are continually pum-
meled by a leftist media that has a conspiratorial agenda to
crush the free spirit and the soul of individuality," Nugent
said. "For me to represent law-abiding gun owners as a mem-
ber of the board of directors of
the NRA and for me to repre-
sent a hunting culture that is
pure in its organic relationship
wkith Mother Earth, the media that
typically lies and manipulates and
gouges the perception of those cle
mients that I represent, I couldn't be
more proud to crush the opposition
with my wit and intellect."
Attributing much of his

The Nuge proudly displays his bounty after an eventful day of
Michigan hunting.
immense popularity and fan base to his representation of con-
servative and common-man ideals, Nugent is still hunbe
about his popularity.
"I don't think it's for me as much as it's for the things
believe in together, and that I not only have the audacity to
speak up on politically incorrect points, but that I will fight
vaciferously and voluminously and tenaciously and gargan-
tuoa-attitudily for those things that a lot of people feel mdre t
given their just dues today" he said. "I know ther-s a
respect, and I also know I piss a lot of people off. But I
got news for you - if you don't piss off the assholes,
guess what - you are one.
Nugent has always been vocal concerning, his
anti-drugs and anti-alcohol stance, stating he do*
n't need anything but nature to get him high. A a
national law enforcement spokesman for, the
Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.L)
program, he spoke to kids about the dangers of
drug and alcohol use.
"The Native Americans wouldn't be rely-
ing on Bingo if they wouldn't have smoked
all that peyote. They would have won for
god's sake:'he said. "Words of wisdoiii
from the Nuge to the hippies.
"Jimi got high. Jimi's dead
went huntin', I'm still T,
Nugent rhymed in his loose-
lipped style. "Shout it from
the 'mountaintop, catch me if
you can. I'm too busy having
fun. And my dick still gets
hard. Thank you very much,
have a nice safe drive.'

Motor City Madman Ted Nugent plucks away at his guitar on the hood of a classic pick-up truck.

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