BRIAN WHEAT, TOMMY SKEOCH And CHRIS HOLMES Talk About Their 'Rocking' New Collaborative Project TERMINAL

TESLA bassist and founding member Brian Wheat recently teamed up with original TESLA guitarist Tommy Skeoch in a new band called TERMINAL. Joining the duo in the new group are former W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes and original SALIVA singer Josey Scott.

Regarding how TERMINAL came together, Holmes told Jimmy Kay of Canada's The Metal Voice in a new interview (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "In 2022 I played on the Monsters [Of Rock] cruise, and before we played, I ran into the Brian, and I talked to him. And we were on the boat, and we became pretty close friends. You can tell if you're gonna like somebody in about 10 minutes, 20 minutes of meeting somebody. When you're around 'em, you usually can tell if they're compatible with your personality. So he's got a house in Italy by where I live in France. I live in the south of France and right by Monaco, by Nice, and he has a place down by Florence. And he said, 'Hey, come down here.' And then when I went and visited him, he was, like, 'I've been wanting to put a band together.' He has a few other projects going. He's got one called VIOLET BREED. He's got that, but he talking to me about putting a project together. I go, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.' And I gave him a few ideas of songs and whatever, and we're taking the steps and putting this project together. We've got the people together; it's just we've gotta finish the songs."

Brian added: "So what happened was this: we were on the [Monsters Of Rock] boat in 2022, but I had seen Chris's documentary, the 'Mean Man' documentary, and a friend of mine said, 'You gotta watch this, this dude in W.A.S.P.,' which was Chris. I said, 'Yeah, I met that cat a long time ago.' So I watched it and I really connected to him and his story. So when he was on the boat, when we were on the boat, I said, 'I wanna meet the guy.' So I went up to him and I introduced myself to him. I said, 'Hey, man, I'm Brian from TESLA. Nice to meet you. I saw your documentary.' And we just kind of hit it off. He said, 'Hey, let's have coffee or lunch' or whatever. We were eating at the buffet, and we were talking, and I said to Chris, 'Chris, all those years you were in W.A.S.P. Why didn't you join some other band after you were out of W.A.S.P.?' And he said, 'Well, no one wanted to play you in a band with me.' So I said, 'Well, fuck, I'll play in a band with you, man.' And that's kind of what happened. And then what happened from there was we just started hanging out. And they live in France, and I have a house in Italy, and they came and visited me. And we were talking on the phone and stuff. And on paper, I went, 'Oh, this would be cool.' So I knew me and Chris could get along. So that's that. So me and Chris said [to each other], 'Well, I'll be in a band with you.' And we're just talking. Me and Tommy, before that, had reconnected after all our years in TESLA and all the shit we went through and all the shit that people who interview us say and all kinds of shit, 'cause they like to pit us against each other, and we reconnected. So I thought to myself, I said, 'Man, Chris Holmes…'"

Wheat continued: "Now, when I first heard of Chris Holmes and W.A.S.P., it was from Tom. I was into Paul McCartney and WINGS. I am a pop guy, if you wanna say pop or melodic, whatever. I'm that guy. I'm THE BEATLES guy. So I said to myself, 'Fuck, Tommy and Chris would be great together. That would be a great combination.' So I said to Chris, 'Chris, what do you think about Tommy Skeoch, the original guitar player in TESLA? He would be perfect as a second guitar player, and we'll all work together.' And he said, 'Yeah, that's cool. Would he be into it?' I said, 'Well, I don't know. I'll call him and I'll ask him.' So then I called Tommy and said, 'Hey, would you be into fucking playing with me and Chris Holmes [in the band] we [are] putting together?' He said, 'Oh, I'd love that.' So I said, 'Yeah, Chris, he'd be into that.' So that's kind of how this came together. And then it's, like, 'Well, we've gotta have a singer.' And we talked about a few different singers and stuff. And Josey was the guy that came to my mind. [He is] easy to get along with, [and from] a different generation. 'Cause Chris was before me and Tommy. His generation was pre-TESLA. TESLA and the generation after TESLA was SALIVA. So you've got Josey. So I asked, same thing, [I] called Josey. 'What do you think?' 'Yeah, cool.' I sent him a couple of early little sketch demos that me and Chris did. He went, 'Yeah, I can sing to that.' And that's what's brought us to where we are now."

On the topic of the progress of the songwriting sessions for TERMINAL's debut album, Brian said: "Tommy's just been out playing with his band BAD MARRIAGE and Chris just finished a tour of Canada and some other things. He went back to his house in France, and Chris and [his wife] Sarah flew out here [to upstate New York], and Tommy flew over here, and now the three of us had been together for six days and writing songs."

Asked about TERMINAL's musical direction, Tommy said: "[We] just kind of come in and see what we all kind of bring to it. And that's kind of what we're doing and what's happening. And it's pretty rocking, but it's got even [more melodic] elements in it and different things."

Brian chimed in: "When you asked Tommy, 'What are you looking for [when it comes to TERMINAL's sound]?', he's right. We don't know what we're looking for, because whatever the sound is of me, my poppy BEATLES thing, Tom's heavy edge, [Chris's] heavy metal stuff, you put it all together and then what Josey sings, that's gonna be the sound. I can't define what the sound's gonna be."

When Wheat announced TERMINAL's formation in September, he wrote: "We look forward to presenting you with our new brand of music." He then clarified: "No, I am not leaving TESLA. I'm just starting another new band with my old friend."

This past July, Wheat joined BAD MARRIAGE on stage in Webster, New York, marking the first time in nearly 20 years that Wheat and Skeoch — who is also BAD MARRIAGE lead guitarist — had performed live together. Wheat, Skeoch and the rest of BAD MARRIAGE ripped through the TESLA classics "Rock Me To The Top" and "Little Suzi".

Ten months ago, Wheat brought up his current relationship with Skeoch while speaking to Ernest Skinner of Canada's Border City Rock Talk about his friendship with Holmes. He said:  "Me and Chris are gonna do a band or a project, whatever you wanna call it, together. And Tommy has agreed to do it as well. So the three of us have talked about putting together a project, band, whatever you wanna call it this day and age, but me and Chris have already started to work on some songs. And I know me and Tommy know how to write songs together 'cause we did a lot in TESLA. So the next step would be to get me and Tommy and Chris together, whether it's on a Zoom, working together like that or whatever, and write some material, and then find a singer that would be the right singer for that project.

"But, yeah, me and Chris are pretty good buddies," Brian continued. "We see each other when I'm at my house in Italy. He's there all the time. He lives in France. And I'm in Florida now for the winter. Tommy's in Florida. So we've all talked about it. So it's just when we get around to doing it. And it's just carving out a time where Chris isn't busy doing MEAN MAN, I'm not doing TESLA or VIOLET BREED, and Tommy's not doing BAD MARRIAGE.

"I'm looking forward to it, because I like Chris and I wanna work with Tommy again," Wheat added.

In February 2022, Skeoch, who left TESLA in 2006 to receive treatment for substance-abuse issues, reconnected with Wheat for the first time in more than a decade and a half aboard that year's Monsters Of Rock cruise. The charter cruise featured performances by Skeoch's then-band RESIST & BITE while Wheat was onboard showing his art.

In an interview with SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Skeoch was asked if he exited TESLA of his own accord or if he was asked to leave. Tommy said: "I was fired. I was getting fucked up and I was definitely in the wrong about a lot of stuff, and they put up with it for a long time. But at the same time, none of us were angels, and we put up with a lot of stuff from the other guys for a long time too, and they're still there. So I felt like a little scapegoated by the thing. And the other thing is they didn't want people — I guess for the benefit of my family, so it wouldn't look bad — they said, 'Tommy's just gonna spend time [with his family].' That's why nobody knows, and that's why you're asking this question. Everyone's confused on even what happened. Basically, I was fired. I was getting fucked up, and I kept fucking up, and I kept telling 'em I wouldn't, and I just couldn't stop."

Skeoch added that he accepts responsibility for the circumstances that led to his departure from TESLA. "I do, of course," he said. "But I also believe we put up with a lot of shit for a long time from almost every other guy in the band, and they're still there. So I don't know what's up with that; that's a little weird to me."

Skeoch was a founding member of TESLA and played on the Sacramento five-piece defining albums, including 1986 debut "Mechanical Resonance" and 1990's "Five Man Acoustical Jam".

Tommy, who was fired due to substance abuse issues in 1994, rejoined when TESLA reformed more than two and a half decades ago following a brief hiatus.