TESLA's BRIAN WHEAT: We Are 'Not Wealthy Guys. When We Play' Live, 'That's How We Earn Our Living'

In a new interview with Charlie Kendall's Metalshop, TESLA bassist and founding member Brian Wheat spoke about how the band's live performances have evolved over the course of TESLA's four-decade career. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We used to [play longer sets]. I guess the height of our career, when everything was firing, multi-platinum albums, MTV, radio play, and everything, was probably '91, '92, when we had the album out called 'Psychotic Supper'. And we used to play two-and-a-half-hour shows. And now we do 100 minutes. And I think part of that is what attributes to [TESLA singer] Jeff's [Keith] voice still being in such great shape. Because he spent a lot of years singing at the top of his range, and shortening the set, not playing five nights in a row, all those little conscious things that we've done, have allowed us to keep going and still playing 41 years later.

"We have lost a lot of great singers, and the voice is a muscle," Brian explained. "And then you got age and abuse and singing out of the range... There's so many things, and I feel so lucky that Jeff, his voice is still in such great shape."

Wheat also discussed TESLA's reluctance to release a full-length album of new original material, preferring instead to stay on the road or focus on special projects, such as standalone singles or the upcoming "Homage" LP, which finds TESLA returning to its roots with a collection of covers honoring some of rock's most timeless hits.

"It takes a lot of time to do a record, and that means that's time that we have to spend off the road," Brian said. "And what people don't — I don't think they realize is that TESLA's not wealthy guys. But when we play, that's how we earn our living. We have to go to work. We're not so wealthy we could just stop. We were never that big of a band. We weren't as big as [DEF] LEPPARD or MÖTLEY [CRÜE] or METALLICA or GUNS N' ROSES. We were the next level down. I called them the 'A bands', and we were the 'B band'. So we still have to go out there and earn our living. And, to be quite honest with you, people don't buy records like they used to, when we used to put our records. They just don't. You get paid a really shitty rates by this thing Spotify. Terrestrial radio, you make four cents a play. So when I look at the thing strategically, and I manage TESLA — I have for the last 20 years or so — you go, 'Okay, what are the priorities?' It just goes back to the people still wanna see us play live. Jeff's voice is still in great shape. Do I wanna put two years on his voice in the studio, and then that's two years he could've been singing, because he's getting older. And when the voice goes, it doesn't give you a warning — it just goes. That's the plan. It's, like, we'll play, and we put out a couple of new songs every year, and this ['Homage'] thing that we just did originally was gonna be an EP, but it wound up being a full-length album. Because what takes the time for TESLA when we make a brand-new record isn't the recording; it's the writing of the songs."

Due on July 17, 2026, via Frontiers Music Srl, "Homage" arrives more than 20 years after the "Real To Reel" series, a release that helped inspire the creation of a new original TESLA song, "Never Alone".

The selected songs on "Homage" were chosen for a variety of reasons, primarily representing some of the greatest vocalists of all time, including Elvis Presley, Freddie Mercury, Sam Cooke, David Ruffin, Etta James and James Brown. Additional selections reflect songs the band grew up hearing on the radio and on their turntables.

TESLA will hit the road this summer on "The Return Of The Carnival Of Sins" tour with MÖTLEY CRÜE and EXTREME. The trek begins on July 17 in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, and winds its way through the United States before concluding on September 26 in Ridgefield, Washington.

Last October, TESLA completed a five-song Las Vegas residency at the House Of Blues Las Vegas inside Mandalay Bay Resort And Casino. During this exclusive run of shows, TESLA touched all sides of its unique discography, including the heavier edge of electric songs like "Modern Day Cowboy", "Hang Tough" and "Edison's Medicine", as well as the band's acoustic-driven songs such as "Signs" and "Love Song" (two Top 10 Billboard-charting hits).

TESLA previously held a residency at the House Of Blues in April 2024.TESLA's latest six-song EP, "All About Love", was released in November 2024. The EP included four versions of "All About Love" (acoustic, electric, hybrid, live); a live version of "Walk Away", a concert favorite from "Reel To Real, Vol. 1"; and another new song, "From The Heart", an instrumental track by Hannon.

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 was a bonus track on TESLA's live album, "Full Throttle Live!", which arrived in May 2023. The LP included 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 and in the recording studio 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.

Press photo credit: Brandon Gullion