TESLA's JEFF KEITH Says AC/DC's BON SCOTT Was His 'Biggest Inspiration'

In a recent interview with Larry Mac of the 96.1 KLPX radio station, TESLA frontman Jeff Keith was asked to name the artists he listened to early on that made him want to get on stage and be a singer in a band. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, my first concert was 'Day On The Green' number three at the Oakland Coliseum in 1978. I was 19 years old. [I] got up there. VAN HALEN opened the show; that was great. But AC/DC, when they took the stage, with Malcolm Young on that rhythm guitar, and Bon Scott — he got up there. It went from David Lee Roth and his cool green-and-white-striped bell-bottom pants and Eddie Van Halen had his matching overalls with his guitar, and that was great. But when Bon Scott took that stage in jeans and tennis shoes and rocked that mic, that has to be my ultimately biggest inspiration. And then, of course, it was Pat Travers, FOREIGNER and AEROSMITH headlined. So, Steven Tyler is one of my biggest inspirations. But I would have to say my biggest is Bon Scott… [I] got to see Bon Scott, and that guy, the way he just — it wasn't a cordless mic. He just had that microphone, and he went up there in jeans and tennis shoes, no shirt, and just rock that mic. And every night I step on stage, I just go, 'Bon Scott.'"

As previously reported, TESLA will return to the House Of Blues inside Mandalay Bay Resort And Casino Las Vegas in 2024 with their "Tesla: The Las Vegas Takeover". Shows will be held on April 5, 6, 10, 12 and 13, 2024, and are scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m.

In August 2022, TESLA released a standalone single, "Time To Rock!" A year earlier, the band issued another new track called "Cold Blue Steel".

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, 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.