TED NUGENT: 'I Play My Guitar Every Day'

During an appearance on the February 5 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", legendary rocker Ted Nugent was asked where he stands as far as his future musical endeavors are concerned, less than a year after the completion of what was billed as his last-ever tour, "Adios Mofo '23". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, my guitar my guitars are still breeding. My guitars are having an orgy right now in my man cave cuckoo's nest.

"I play my guitar every day," he continued. "I've got a band here in Texas — Jon Kutz on the drums and Johnny Big on bass and vocals, and we jam all the time. We do a bunch of Ted Nugent speakeasies, just some roustabout shitkicker rock and roll getdowns at various places around the state of Texas — sometimes spontaneous, sometimes it's promoted. But I'll still do gigs; I just won't go on tour.

"I'm talking to you from the veterinary right now, where I took my three dogs, Happy, Sadie and Coco, and if I ever look like I'm gonna pack a suitcase and leave, my dogs' hearts are broken. So I will never break my dogs' hearts again. So I'll still do concerts, but I'm not gonna go on the road, so to speak."

Nugent added: "When I get some of these Ted Nugent speakeasies going in Texas, I'll call you and let you know, and you can let people know, because what Jon and Johnny bring to my band, like all the musicians throughout my incredibly lucky career, these musicians are firebreathers, man. They just rock. James Brown would hire us if he was alive, I promise you that."

Last August, Ted reflected on his "Adios Mofo '23" tour, saying: "We had people from Belgium and France and Spain and Italy and Germany and Ireland and Scotland and Japan and New Zealand and Australia. We had people from all over the world coming, 'cause they know this is my last tour.

"Where else are you gonna get 'Wang Dang Sweet Poontang'? There's no other song like that," he continued. 'Where else are you gonna get 'Gonzo'? Where else are you gonna get 'Free-For-All'? Where else are you gonna get 'Dog Eat Dog'? Where else are you gonna get 'Great White Buffalo'? And I'll tell you where else — nowhere else. So I'm high on the music and the dedication, the professionalism of my team and the love and the celebration from real music lovers every night.

"I'm the only guy who's ever used this term, 'cause I'm the only guy who honestly can, but my music every night is an out-of-body musical, sonic, dynamic celebration, and it's because I'm inspired — wildly inspired — by the people who come to my concerts for the last 65 years. And this was the best one ever. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

The 75-year-old rocker's "Adios Mofo '23" tour saw him backed by his most recent solo band consisting of drummer Jason Hartless and bassist Johnny Schoen.

In a separate 2023 interview with "THAT Rocks!", the weekly YouTube series hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson, Ted spoke about his decision to embark on what was being billed as his last-ever tour. Regarding why he doesn't want to spend time on the road anymore, Ted said in part: "Hotels are jail. I hate jail… I will always play music. The music still has fire. I still crave it. I've got new songs. I'm gonna go in the studio with these killer musicians that are always at my side. But traveling, I tell you… A hotel room is jail… The travel and the hotels… And I don't even have to go to TSA [Transportation Security Administration]; I mean, I gave the finger to them in 2009. If somebody doesn't send a jet, I don't go anywhere. My friends are better than your friends, 'cause my friends have jets. So, I'm not TSA and I'm not gonna let somebody fondle my Glock [gun] and ask me questions about gun laws. And hotels are so painful for me… So this tour, like the last 10, I will hub out of our Texas home to play gigs around there. I'll first start in Florida. So I'll hub out of our condo — [my wife] Shemane's got a condo down there, so I can go to all those Florida dates. And then I come back to Michigan and go to Ohio and Indiana and Wisconsin and Illinois and Pennsylvania and Kentucky. And I'm able to hub, so I's still able to spend a lot of time with my kids and my grandkids and my dogs."

Ted went on to clarify that he is not retiring from playing live. "The fire, the music, it will always go on," he said. "I play my guitar every day… And I get to collaborate with the best musicians in the world. So it's always a challenge, it's always intriguing, it's always stimulating. I'm an old man — I'm 75 this year — but the stimuli factor… I hope that somebody else in this world is as stimulated by the music as I am, because it's still very much alive and well."

Asked if he will miss the audience and the live interaction on stage, Ted said: "Yes. Of course I will. But again, I won't miss it because I'll still do it… I'm not going out for months or even weeks. I'll do the occasional special events. I do a lot of corporate stuff… Yeah, I'm an energized son of a bitch, but I am 75, and I'm not swinging from ropes and I'm not wearing a loincloth and I'm not jumping off the amplifiers with my new knees. So I will miss it, but, again, I've got 12 grandkids and I don't wanna go away someday and not make an imprint on them, teach them about the important things in life. In a world that's really gone really stupid, I think my grandparenting responsibilities are more important now than ever."

Nugent's self-titled debut album in 1975 was certified double platinum in the United States, while "Free-for-All", "Cat Scratch Fever", "Weekend Warriors" and "State Of Shock" all reached the Top 30 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Nugent has reportedly sold over 40 million albums and was named Detroit's greatest guitar player of all time by readers of MLive.

The conservative rocker, who been eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a solo artist since 2000, has enjoyed a remarkably successful and eventful musical career over the past five decades, but his music is increasingly overshadowed by his political outbursts.

Nugent's latest album, "Detroit Muscle", was released in April 2022 via Pavement Music. The follow-up to 2018's "The Music Made Me Do It" was recorded with Ted's previous touring band, which included bassist Greg Smith and Hartless.

In May 2023, Smith, who had played bass for Ted for the past 16 years, announced his departure from the legendary rocker's touring band. He explained in a statement: "It was a difficult decision but one that I really had no choice in. With Ted no longer touring I had to accept an offer from a tour that will continue for the next several years. I tried to get someone to cover for me for the 2nd half, so I'd be able to do Ted's tour, but I was unfortunately unable to."