Ted Nugent recently responded to Tommy Shaw blaming him for Damn Yankees split.
“I know he didn’t mean that in the terms of friction. There’s no friction. There was moments of where we — I don’t even think it elevated to an argument — about a bridge, a chord injection.”
Ted Nugent added, “I would come up with something spicy, they would contemplate it, and if I could make the case, they’re smart guys. They’re musical animals. So we all make the case for our musical inflections, injections, recommendations, and we’re all respectful of each other.”
Nugent also revealed that the end of Damn Yankees wasn’t due to conflict but because Shaw was eager to revive Styx. The rocker noted, “Coming apart at the seams was [Shaw] couldn’t wait to revitalize Styx. And I couldn’t wait for him to revitalize Styx. I couldn’t wait to hear what [Blades’ band] Night Ranger would do with the team.”
Shaw also recently spoke with UCR about the end of Damn Yankees. The musician said of Ted, “Having Ted in the mix… he’s a big personality. It’s like a big spice if you’re preparing a feast. And this is a really powerful spice. You have to figure out how to work it all in together so that it’s something that people can consume.”
“It was so spicy. It was one of those things that wasn’t meant to be forever,” Shaw continued, “It’s something that we had a great time doing. We made two records and you could kind of feel it pulling it away at the seams after that.”
The core members of Damn Yankees, Nugent, Shaw, and Blades, reunited twice after the band’s 1994 breakup, with their latest performance at the NAMM convention in 2010.
