Imagine Ted, Rob and Derek getting together today ...

[uwe]

Well, they actually did! In April 2010 would you believe. Cliff obviously couldn't make it, return tickets from the eternal drumming grounds are scarce. And Derek has a new hat (and still a great voice), Rob still his old sound which I rate among the best P sounds ever and Uncle Ted sounds like him even on a PRS rather than a Birdland:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taL8WsZ1Vw4&feature=related

Just listen at Derek's vocals here, even in his new-found Spranos-look he stands head and shoulders above any other Nugent vocalist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxqejFy8Dn4&feature=related

And of course the unavoidable, Nugent's "Smoke on the Water":



Found all this on Rob's revamped site:

http://www.robgrangebass.com/

I'd see that line up in a heartbeat if I had the chance.

[Hornisse]

Very cool!  My older sis saw that band back in '75 when they opened for Bad Company. 

[nofi]

i saw them in a club back in 1974? grange was excellent. but according to his website ted and related people are the only bands he has played for. odd.

not that it matters but i always heard derek was booted because ted was jealous of his voice and wanted to sing the songs himself.

btw nugent was always obnoxious even before he threw politics in the mix.

[uwe]

True, he was a classic case of "shaddup and play your guitar". What God gave to his fingers, he took sevenfold from his brain. Already back in 1977 he felt compelled to tell the audience in Germany about beating up Hare Krishnas he had supposedly met at the airport. Judging on how many times he has told that story, he must meet a lot of Hare Krishnas and beat them up. Not that I have a strong penchant for Hare Krishnas, but I believe they were not obsessed with following Ted from airport to airport.

[Hornisse]

When I saw Ted back in 2000 opening for the Kiss "Farewell" tour, he yelled out to the Texas audience, "If you can't speak English get the f*ck out of America".   

Marco Mendoza was pretty solid on bass though.  Got a great tone through his Eden rig.

[uwe]

That's Ted, ever the reflective deep thinker. Perhaps he should have asked his bass player how well his parents or grandparents spoke English? Or Gene Simmons' mother. 

[Barklessdog]

What God gave to his fingers, he took sevenfold from his brain

So true, his own worst enemy. His couple of LP's were so huge back then, I don't know of anyone who I grew up with, who did not own them or some Amboy Dukes.

[gweimer]

I think Ted has pretty much been that way all along.  I remember the night he told me about killing a couple guys in Detroit outside of Cobo Hall that were trying to rob him.  If I recall, he was acquitted of self-defense.

[Highlander]

Guilty as charged, John...  

There was that story of when someone pulled a gun in the audience and he kept playing, by himself, and staring at the guy until security got him...

He had to change guitars in Stranglehold, seemed to be having issues getting the PRS to feedback... I believe he stopped touring with the Byrdlands due to not wishing to have them damaged... the monster he used to use for Hibernation got written off on tour... I have a lovely set of pics from this era somewhere and later tours, but same old story...

Definitely his best era, commercially and musically, with an exception here and there... not bought anything new in years, post the "Tailgunner" era...

[TBird1958]

 Looks like that all meat diet is agreeing with him!

 I saw him back in '75 or so opening for Aerosmith when they were touring for "Toys in the attic", Derek and Rob were in the band at that point and "Hey Baby" was pretty big on FM out here.
I alway kinda had a short attention span for him tho, even early on in my bass playing days ted's bombast in in the key of A got old quick..........

[Highlander]

Looks like that all meat diet is agreeing with him!

 

[gweimer]

Rob Grange is one of the great under-appreciated bass players.  I watched him a dozen times or more up close.  It's hard to see, but his reach is incredible.  As I remember, he was able to span from the fifth fret on the E string with his index finger to the 9th fret or higher on the G with his pinkie  Nice guy, too.  He let me play his brand new Alembic the day he got it when Ted and Angel played in Mt. Prospect, IL on that first solo tour.

I went to see Ted with his cousin on Little Miss Dangerous (one of my favorite albums), and the Byrd crapped out on him.  He ended up borrowing a '58 Les Paul from Mark, who brought it for him to look at.

[gweimer]

Looks like that all meat diet is agreeing with him!

 

He just looks weird in a shirt and pants...

[Hornisse]

Agreed about Rob Grange!  Back in '78 my high school band covered the Double Live Gonzo version of Wang Dang Sweet Poontang (what a song title!) and we almost always played it fast.  I had only been playing around 1 year at that time and that song was a true test of endurance!

Hey Baby was big in San Antonio around that same time Mark.

[Highlander]

Growing old, gracefully...?

Mind you, shirt out hides a multitude of sins...  

(being honest, he's never been known to have carried any excess baggage, and enjoyed trim... err... keeping himself trim...)

I commented on Rob Grange elsewhere recently and posted some links to the Amboys stuff he played on, in the lost diamonds thread...

Presume you meant St Holmes... works with him from time-to-time these days iirc... the most common story from the time was chemical related reasons

To me, the biggest loss was Rob Grange... I know he's not your favourite human being (Uwe on Nugent) but give this a listen... this was a three piece linup prior to his breaking through in '77, recorde in '74 iirc - both the Discreet LPs are stunning lost works, imo... you can find them both on one CD if you keep a search for them but OOP...



Stranglehold with St Holmes singing.... Grange is playing a P here but he was playing a Tele when they played London for this tour... The late Cliff Davies (from If) on a single bass drum kit (went to double on the next tour) and some dual lead work...