Posted on 02/04/2021 8:25:52 PM PST by nickcarraway
Ted Nugent reinforced his antidrug views by saying he refused to accept substances from Jimi Hendrix, Keith Moon and Bon Scott over the years.
The guitarist – whose disapproval of intoxication issues is well-known – reflected that he’d managed to avoid going down the same road through “luck” and added that he’s watched many of his musical heroes succumb to the negative effects of dabbling.
“My mom and dad were smoking, drinking alcoholics,” Nugent said in a Facebook Live interview with his son Rocco. “And I was surrounded, in the rock ’n’ roll world, by smoking, drinking, drugged idiots. So what's the difference between a person that falls for that versus a person who defies that? I haven't the faintest idea. … Some people look for an easy way out, and some people don't. I didn't. I think it was just shit luck. 'Cause my brothers and sisters smoked and drank, and they didn't even surround themselves with goofball rock ’n’ roll dirtbags. I did.”
Asked if he modeled himself on only clean-living musicians, Nugent cited his appreciation of Keith Richards to prove that wasn’t the case. “He’s a walking chemical dump, always stoned," he said. "But he is so deep … so grinding in emotion and authoritative in his musicality. ... Most of my influences got high right in front of me. … The MC5, they were all stumbling, puking, stupid drunk and stoned, and I admired them beyond description. But then it caught up with them. … I watched the drugs and alcohol destroy the energy that I admired, destroy the groove that I admired.”
Nugent described MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer as a close friend, but “I think to this day, he thinks that dope is essential. … I had a conversation with him not that long ago where we disagreed on the use of marijuana and other intoxicants. ... The point is that, lucky me, I could differentiate between the delivery of the things I admired versus the … conduct of those that I admired.”
He noted that “Jimi Hendrix offered me his drugs, and I said no. John Belushi offered me his drugs; I said no. Keith Moon offered me his drugs and alcohol, and I said no. Bon Scott offered me his drugs and alcohol, and I said no. I said no to everybody.”
Well, Ted is still here.
Bravo, Uncle Ted. But he appeared to have his demons as well.
So is Keith Richards. Just sayin’.
Obviously many aren’t, and were cut short due to drugs.
I caught Sweaty Teddy live a few years ago. He played better than he did 40 years ago.
We need to be concerned about what kind of world we will leave for Keith Richards and Betty White.
Be like Ted, just say no.
In my day we called him “Uncle Ted” and “Theodocious Atrocious” as nick-names of affinity. Liked a lot of his music. He’s always seemed to a pretty good fella to me.
That’s why I admired early Metallica. They didnt do much drugs, they drank themselves senseless hence Alcoholica. Jason Newsted said they were the only band on the Monsters of Rock tour who didnt do drugs, and they were offered every hour by Def Leppard.
LOL!
For the most part it goes with the territory. Play loud music, party, all the easily amused morons their you’re a God, chase you around, ride in limos, party in big fat houses, sacks of cash. It’s like lotto winners. Some hit it big or “win big”, and it soon ends in total disaster.
One of the things I liked about RUSH - they weren’t choir boys but they weren’t heavy into drugs and not at all into the big parties, limos, etc. They were all married at a young age which I’m sure helped.
Not all went bonkers when they got big and were paid big. But a lot them couldn’t deal with it. Similar to what happens to many lotto players. They partied till it killed them.
I don’t know where I read it but somebody said they should have used Keith Richards’ blood to create a Covid-19 vaccine.
In fact that might be more of a Whatever-Could-Possibly-Kill-Ya vaccine.
Let our grandchildren worry about that!
Keith Richards was arrested in Canada once and they took a urine sample and it had a head on it.
LOL
I am dumbfounded that all the members of Van Halen made it into the 2000’s... They did party a bit!
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