For the next three months the wildlife community of Michigan will breathe a collective sigh of relief as Ted Nugent embarks on a summer tour promoting his most current studio album Craveman. If you've missed out on this stridently carnivorous, fleet-fingered guitar god over the course of his nearly 40-year-career, this is your chance to rock.
The Nuge could certainly make a run at overthrowing Howard Stern for the "King of All Media" crown. He has appeared on more than 30 albums (going back to his Motor City roots with the Amboy Dukes), hosted a talk-radio show, and appeared on his own TV reality show, Surviving Nugent. He has also written a few books and made several appearances on the big screen.
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Despite his long music career, Nugent may be as well known for his liberal-hating antics and bow-hunting zealotry as radio-friendly hits such as "Cat Scratch Fever" and "Wango Tango." Not surprisingly, controversy has managed to follow this unabashed loudmouth throughout his career. Nugent most recently won a court battle against concert organizers who canceled a Detroit festival date based on alleged racist remarks that he made on a Denver radio station.
Ted Nugent a racist? Probably not, although his bold-print insensitivity ("foreigners are scum") could lead to some misunderstanding on that subject. Here's what the composer of "Yank Me, Crank Me" has to say about his contributions to the struggle for human justice: "I am Classic Rock Revisited. I revisit it every waking moment of my life because it has the spirit and the attitude and the fire and the middle finger. I am Rosa Parks with a Gibson guitar."
Nugent will appear at Sunset Station on Thursday, July 7. Showtime is 8 p.m.
- Brandon Ysteboe
