TESLA's BRIAN WHEAT: 'If They Listed The Top 100 Bass Players In Rock, I Wouldn't Be On The List'

In a recent interview with Amy Harris of The Travel Addict, TESLA's Brian Wheat was asked what the longest is that he has gone without playing bass or guitar. He responded: "Oh, I don't know. Maybe a week. I'm not one of those guys that sits around and practices my bass. I did that when I was young. I'm kind of like a situational bass player or even a situational musician.

"I never wanted to be a virtuoso bass player," he explained. "I wanted to be a songwriter. I always pick up instruments if I'm working in the studio. I produce, engineer and manage bands. I do all kinds of things. A lot of people call me a renaissance man, I guess.

"So, when it comes to playing my bass, it depends on if I have to re-learn one of our old songs, if we're making a record or rehearsing or playing on tour. If I'm in the studio producing somebody, I'll play as well. But to just pick up the bass and sit there and go, okay, I'm gonna practice some scales today…nah, I'm not that guy.

"I'm sure if they listed the top 100 bass players in rock, I wouldn't be on the list, but that's okay," Wheat added. "That's not what I want to be remembered as. I want to be remembered as a guy who wrote a couple of really good songs, was in a great band, that was honest, and who put together that band with [TESLA guitarist] Frank Hannon in the garage. That's what I want people to remember me by. Not by how creative a bass player I was.

"Having said that, I'm not selling myself short as a bass player. You know, I can play in any rock outfit, I'm sure. I couldn't play the [RED HOT] CHILI PEPPERS because I don't play like that. But if it's straight-ahead rock and roll, I can handle that gig."

TESLA will release a new single, "It's All About Love", this summer. It will be the follow-up to the band's previous standalone singles "Cold Blue Steel", which came out in the summer of 2021, and "Time To Rock!", which arrived a year later.

Some fans criticized TESLA for adopting a 1980s-style polished production for its latest album, 2019's "Shock". The follow-up to June 2014's "Simplicity" was helmed by DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen, whose own group is no stranger to slicked-up, glossy-sounding recordings.

In September 2023, TESLA released the official music video for its cover of AEROSMITH's "S.O.S. (Too Bad)". The song is a bonus track on TESLA's live album, "Full Throttle Live!", which arrived in May 2023. The LP includes the band's "Time To Rock!" single, plus other songs, all recorded in August 2022 at Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, South Dakota.

In September 2021, original TESLA drummer Troy Luccketta announced that he would "take a little time from the road" to spend with family and friends. He has since been replaced at TESLA's gigs by Steve Brown, the younger brother of former DOKKEN drummer Mick Brown.

TESLA's debut album, 1986's "Mechanical Resonance", went platinum on the strength of the hits "Modern Day Cowboy" and "Little Suzi". The 1989 follow-up album, "The Great Radio Controversy", produced five hits, including "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)" and "Love Song", which hit the pop Top Ten.