PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald
DATE: 2000.07.19
EDITION: FINAL
SECTION: Entertainment
PAGE: C11 / FRONT
BYLINE: Blair S. Watson, Calgary Herald
ILLUSTRATION: Photo: Joe Bryska, Winnipeg Free Press / Ted Nugent cranks out the classic rock in Winnipeg Sunday.
Get ready to tango with the Motor City Madman
Interview
Ted Nugent opens for Kiss on their farewell tour tonight at the Saddledome. The event is sold out, however, some tickets may be released before show. Although he called for a boycott of Canada last year over the cancellation of Ontario's bear hunt, Ted Nugent is looking forward to performing in Canada again.
``I love Canada,'' said Nugent in a recent interview in which he described ``some Canadians'' as being sheep.
It's been decades since the Motor City Madman performed in Calgary. His last show -- at the Stampede Corral -- saw him swing across the stage in a loin cloth a la Tarzan. Controversy reigned after fans caused major damage to several transit buses following Nugent's fiery performance.
The 52-year-old rocker's show tonight is expected to last an hour and offer a few surprises, but Nugent's keeping quite on that issue.
However, one of his Web sites features shots of the wildman riding a live buffalo across a stage -- so expect anything and don't forget to watch out for arrows!
Despite his having a new solo album on the way and a Damn Yankees record in the works, Nugent would rather rant about what he considers unfair treatment towards Canadian hunters and gun collectors. It's something he just can't get out of his system.
``Looks like I'll be getting up there just in time to straighten things out,'' Nugent said.
He's an over-the-top outspoken rocker whose ability to string together verbs in a rapid-fire manner would make any rapper wince. That, coupled with his socio-political views, has got him in trouble a few times recently. His tirades concerning ``the spineless politicians, lying bureaucrats, manipulative media and confused animal rights activists,'' seem endless. As part of the Kiss farewell tour, Nugent has pushed his pro-gun, pro-hunting, anti-bureaucratic extreme right-wing agenda to whomever will listen -- mostly at organized rallies and meetings set up by various hunting organizations.
But when is he going to start talking about the music?
``That is about the music,'' Nugent stresses. ``That's where my fire, my passion, my demand to live my life the fullest comes from. How can you be free to seek your wildest individual dreams if bureacrats keep chipping away at your scrotum?''
Nugent, who hunts with both firearms and bow, claims he hasn't had to buy meat since 1970. He's also distinguished as the record holder for the largest buffalo brought down by a bow and is often referred to as the Whackmaster for his hunting skills.