Ted Nugent Announces New Full-Length Album Titled “The Music Made Me Do It”

Multi-platinum guitar legend Ted Nugent announces a new full-length album.
THE MUSIC MADE ME DO IT, due out Friday, November 9th via Round Hill Records.

The effort is Nugent’s first studio album in four years. The album features Greg Smith (Billy Joel, Alice Cooper, Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow) on bass, Jason Hartless (Joe Lynn Turner, Mitch Ryder) on drums, and the Motor City Madman himself on lead guitar and vocals. Accompanying the CD is a Bonus DVD, LIVE AT FREEDOM HILL, an electrifying full-length concert captured at Freedom Hill Amphitheatre in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

In advance of the album’s release, Nugent has just released the live music video for title track, “The Music Made Me Do It”. The video was shot at The Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, California during Nugent’s summer tour and showcases the raw energy of his legendary live performances, offering a taste of the new studio material he recorded over the last year for the upcoming album, THE MUSIC MADE ME DO IT. To access the full album, THE MUSIC MADE ME DO IT, please click here. Please consider the album for feature and review coverage. Ted Nugent is available for interviews, please let me know if you would like to set something up.

Ted Nugent has carved a permanent place in rock n’ roll history as the ultimate guitar-shredding showman, selling more than 40 million albums and performing in excess of 6,700 (and counting!) high-octane live shows. As a budding musician, Nugent was strongly influenced by Chuck Berry and Bo Diddly, and knew he wanted to pursue that type of sound and attitude. Early bands, The Royal Highboys, and The Lourds, paved the way for the Amboy Dukes – and their psychedelic JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE MIND kicked young Ted’s career into hyper drive. The axe maniac soon broke out as a solo artist, where the guitarist’s prodigious talent, earshattering volume and over-the-top stage antics quickly earned him the moniker of Motor City Madman.

Cranking out hits like CAT SCRATCH FEVER, JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED, FREE FOR ALL and the iconic STRANGLEHOLD, Ted Nugent garnered international acclaim and truly hit his stride, becoming one of the top-grossing tour acts in America. His no-holds-barred career now spans six decades of multi-platinum hits. The ultimate Road Warrior, touring and recording continue at Ted’s breakneck pace. Nugent and his inimitable sound have been featured on VH1’s Behind the Music, A & E’s Biography and more. He was recently named Detroit’s Greatest Guitar Player of All Time by readers of MLive. For more information, please visit www.tednugent.com.

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Ted Nugent talks about "Rock N Roll Express" tour with REO Speedwagon and Styx

The Motor City Mad Man Ted Nugent is prepping to hit the road again as part of “The Midwest Rock ‘N Roll Express”. His notable tracks include “Stranglehold”, “Cat Scratch Fever”, “Wango Tango”, and “Great White Buffalo”. After the tours successful summer run Nugent, Styx and Reo Speedwagon are back together again to bring their legendary sounds to the masses. Media Mikes had a chance to talk with “The Nuge” about the upcoming tour and the possibility of a new Damn Yankee’s album.

Adam Lawton: What was it that first interested you being a part of the “Rock N Roll Express” Tour?
Ted Nugent: When you are fortunate to be blessed with a band of such gifted, passionate, gungho musicians like Mick Brown, Greg Smith & Derek St Holmes, you just know that the musical joy & adventure that is guaranteed every night is what dreams are made of. Magnify this with the accumulated energy, spirit & attitude of the REO & Styx boys, and how could anyone possibly turn it down.

AL: What are you personally most looking forward to about the second run of shows?
TN: What my band delivers every song, every concert, every night is the highest of highs. The raw animal celebration of our audiences creates a powerful force to reckon with, so every concert has a life of its own. Such forces drive me into uncharted territory on the guitar each night that is absolutely compelling and inspiring.

AL: Do you have anything different planned for the set this time out?
TN: We are still performing as many classics as we can squeeze in every night, but we are also reaching back for some deeper and more recent songs like QUEEN OF THE FOREST, CRAVE, TOOTH FANG & CLAW and FRED BEAR that are a riot to perform. Plus we are trying very hard to figure how we can get Mick to drive a golfcart onto the stage each night. That is so much fun.

AL: With all the recent legislation directed towards firearms and such will you be bringing the bow and arrow on stage for this run?
TN: Yes. My assault bow is such an interesting and always controversial topic of discussion and we know it to be a fascinating and always funny stage maneuver.

AL: Are there any new “Uncle Ted” projects in the works? Maybe something with Damn Yankees or a new solo album?
TN: I am creating wonderful fun pieces of music all the time, but the damn calendar is so constricting! You never know.

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Bassist Ricky Phillips talks working with Styx, Reo Speedwagon and Ted Nugent

Ricky Phillips is no stranger to world of rock music. Over his 30+ year career Phillips has played bass for a number of successful groups. He is probably best known for holding down the low end for the legendary classic rock band Styx. Media Mikes had the chance to talk with Ricky recently about the bands current tour with Reo Speedwagon and Ted Nugent as well as about the bands recent Blu-Ray release titled “Styx: Grand Illusion/Pieces of Eight- Live”.

Adam Lawton: Can you give us some background on the bands current tour with Reo Speedwagon and Ted Nugent?
Ricky Phillips: Both Styx and Reo Speedwagon have some incredible history that goes way back. We are both from Illinois and have toured together before but this is the first one we have done together in about 3 or 4 years. We did do some one off shows here and there but the idea came up to put us together and have Ted Nugent open. It is sort of a collaboration of Mid-West rock bands. The attendance at these shows has just been amazing. When you go out each year you never know what the shows will be like. The first leg of the tour went well and was sort of business as usual. This second leg has been sold out every night which just blew us away. It’s really crazy how it’s caught on. This success may lead to us doing a similar tour sometime next year. The fans seem to really enjoy the line up and if you think about it each group is quite different so we are trying to put a different slant on mid-west rock.

AL: What has been the biggest difference in the crowds as of late?
RP: There are so many young people now that have discovered classic rock bands. They seem to be at a point in their music listening lives where they are looking for what came before. We are those guys. When I and the rest of the guys in the band were younger and at this point we were heavily influenced by the British music movement. From there we looked back and found artists like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. Guys like Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page were into these acts so we started searching them out as well. It is pretty cool seeing these new young faces as they watch and sing along. We have a great cross section of fans.

AL: Can you tell us about the DVD/Blu-Ray the band recently released?
RP: The “Styx: Grand Illusion/Pieces of Eight- Live” came out really great. The Blu-Ray did amazing and I couldn’t believe how many people were waiting for that. I think we were actually number 2 in sales for the first couple weeks on Amazon.com. Those two albums go together so well that the discs came out beautifully. Doing those shows was like going back the vinyl era where you dropped the needle and boom the music kicks in. We did each album in its entirety the way it was recorded so fans could have that feeling of knowing what the next song is. They could get wrapped up in the songs. We would then take an intermission and come back and play “Pieces of Eight”. It was just so much fun. When we first did those records and you were trying to get them on the radio you would pack one side with what you thought were going to be the hits. You were trying to foresee the future. When you do a live concert things are exactly the opposite. You generally start with the B cuts then the hits and close out with your encores. It was a bizarre way to do a live show like an album but it seemed to work really well. The Blu-Ray version of the show is definitely the way to see it.

AL: Was it hard going back and playing some of the material that you hadn’t played in awhile?
RP: At first it was a little tough. We worked pretty hard on the material and once we got in to it we knew we weren’t turning back. We did a lot of switching off between vocals parts as there are just so many stacked vocal parts on those albums. We even threw a microphone back to our drummer Todd Sucherman who is a great singer. Getting those extra voices were crucial and probably the biggest challenge. We like challenges like that and we welcomed it. Things turned out really well.

AL: VH1 recently did a re-mastered episode of the “Styx: Behind the Music” episode. What was it like having to delve once again back in to the bands history?
RP: Personally I am not a fan of those kinds of shows. I am a bit of a weirdo. I don’t like people knowing my bands business. I liked the concept of not knowing about a band until you went and saw them live. You might see a picture or two of a band in a magazine or something but that was about it. I loved that mystique. Watching these types of shows is a little difficult. I know fans like them and we are in a different age now. With reality television and things I guess these types of shows fit right in. The episode is pretty well represented I think. They shot some footage of me while I was in England and I was a little afraid to watch the show. After seeing I thought it was good and gladthat it was out there for fans to see how the band came about and how we have evolved.

AL: What other plans are in the works for the band?
RP: The band will continue to tour and live its daily life. As that happens things are always evolving and stuff start to tell their own stories. We have been writing new material and talking about getting it recorded for some time. I have started to hear more and more about it as of late. We may find some time in our schedules to actually do that. For us it’s really about the touring business. After this tour wraps up I think we have about a week off and then we go back out doing “An Evening with Styx”. I kind of know what parts of the country we will be in but I don’t know the exact venues.

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Concert Review “Midwest Rock and Roll Express Tour” Ted Nugent, Reo Speedwagon, Styx

“Midwest Rock and Roll Express Tour”
Ted Nugent, Reo Speedwagon, Styx
Date: Friday, July 6th 2012
Venue: Tag’s Summer Stage, Big Flats, NY

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

The “Midwest Rock and Roll Express Tour” rolled into Tag’s Summer Stage in the Upstate NY town of Big Flats on July 17th and put on a show that was overflowing with classic rock hits. Local musician Brian Hughes kicked off the night performing a brief solo set of acoustic cover tunes. Hughes was able to put an interesting spin on several classic songs to which the crowd responded with heavy applause.

The always loud and outspoken Ted Nugent would follow and though performing hits like “Strangle Hold” and the always popular “Cat Scratch Fever” Nugent did not perform his staple of shooting his guitar with a flaming arrow. That aside the band performed flawlessly and sounded great.

Reo Speedwagon would take the stage next coming right out of the gate with “Don’t Let Him Go” and “Take It on The Run” before settling in to acknowledge the crowd. The band played all of their hits and closed out the night just as the sun was setting with the song “Ridin’ The Storm Out”. Reo played at the top of their game and the sound crew continued to shine with crystal clear sound which only added to the bands always upbeat performance.

Styx would close out the night as the near capacity crowd was on their feet from the opening notes of “Blue Collar Man” to the last notes of “Renegade” closed out the show. Tommy Shaw though appearing to be a bit under the weather still put on stellar performance. The band was full of energy interacting with each other and the crowd. The always animated Lawrence Gowan danced and spun around on his keyboard stand at dizzying speeds all without missing a beat.

The lineup, production and sound are top notch on this tour and if it’s making a stop in your area or nearby I highly recommend checking it out as the show is worth way more than the price of admission.

 

Ted Nugent :

1.) Wango Tango

2.) Just What the Doctor Ordered

3.) Free For All

4.) Stormtroopin’

5.) Wang Dang Sweet Poontang

6.) I Can’t Quite You Babe

7.) Hey Baby

8.) Cat Scratch Fever

9.) Strangle Hold

 

Reo Speedwagon:

1.) Don’t Let Him Go

2.) Take It on The Run

3.) Keep Pushin’

4.) Golden Country

5.) Can’t Fight This Feeling

6.) That Ain’t Love

7.) Like You Do

8.) Time For Me To Fly

9.) Back on the Road Again

10.) Roll With The Changes

11.) Keep on Loving You

12.) Ridin’ The Storm Out

 

Styx:

1.) Blue Color Man

2.) The Grand Illusion

3.) Too Much Time On My Hands

5.) Lorelei

6.) Man in the Wilderness

7.) Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)

8.) Miss America

9.) Come Sail Away

10.) Rockin’ the Paradise

11.) Renegade 

 

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Laura Wilde talks about music and touring with Ted Nugent

Laura Wilde is an Australian singer/songwriter who is currently out on tour with her band supporting classic rock icon Ted Nugent. Laura just released a new single titled “Sold my Soul” and Media Mikes had the chance to talk with Laura recently about the single and the current tour.

Adam Lawton: What was it that made you want to get in to playing/performing music?
Laura Wilde: I have been obsessed with guitars ever since I was a kid. It was something that was always on my mind. My parents wouldn’t buy one for me so it just started to become a deeper and deeper obsession. Around the time I turned 12 I finally received a guitar for Christmas. I was so happy to have one that I played it all the time. When I was about 16 I decided that I wanted music to be my career. I started recording songs as soon as I finished high school and all while I was attending university. After a year of university I asked my parents if I could try music and see how things go. I have been working at it ever since.

AL: How do you personally describe your sound?
LW: I think it is pretty much just straight up rock and roll. There are screeching guitars, heavy drum beats and some melodic tracks thrown in the mix.

AL: Can you give us some background on your first single “Sold my Soul”?
LW: The song was written and demoed pretty much over night. It was a very fast process and the song sort of wrote it’s self. It’s a celebration song about coming to America and all of the places I want to visit while touring. We had the toe tapping drum beat and then we threw the guitar riffs over the top of that and everything just fell in to place.

AL: What has been the biggest difference for you performing in the States as compared to performing in your home of Australia?
LW: In Australia there wasn’t a real rock scene. There it is more of an indie rock type thing going on. I am more in to the leather and big hair. (Laughs) I decided to come to America after an A&R guy told me that I would be more suited in the States. There are more opportunities here in the States because there is a larger group of people. America is the heart land of rock and roll.

AL: Can you tell us about your current tour supporting Ted Nugent?
LW: It has been such an honor to be invited to tour with Ted. He is a legend and does over 300 shows per year. Ted runs a very tight ship and everything is very professional. It’s been a huge learning experience.

AL: How did you initially become involved with the tour?
LW: My publicist at the time used to be Ted’s publicist as well. She was the one who put it together thinking it would be a good fit. Unfortunately she passed away before she could see everything happen. She has been with us in spirit every step of the way.

AL: What are your plans for the rest of the year?
LW: We are out with Ted until late August. Once we get back home we will be going in to the studio to start on the record. We will definitely be doing a full-length release next and you will probably see some of my older influences shine through. I have about 30 tracks written that we can choose from but I know there will be more stuff being written while we are out on tour. We are looking forward to being busy in the coming months.

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Filed Under: Interviews, Music Interviews Tagged With: laura, music, nugent, talks, ted, touring, ...
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