Tesla - Reel to Real
Whatever you do, don't call 80's rock champions Tesla "hair metal": "That's the one pet peeve I have, I dont like it when people say were a hair band, 'cause were certainly not a fucking hair band, ever".
This is Tesla bassist Brian Wheat at his most acerbic; his passion for music as an art, a vessel through which one should employ creativity and individuality, and the dimishment thereof, causes him this anger. "(Were) just a classic, blues-based melodic rock and roll band". The normally cheery Californian's main dissatisfaction lies with insidious record companies: "Huge record companies, their model is not working any more...I think it's gonna go back to how it was in the 70s, y'know? A few big companies and a lot of little companies, a lot of small independant labels". His rich, gravelly voice adds longingly that; "They don't develop artists any more like they used to in the 70s and 80s".
Such is Wheat's affiliation with the 70s era. He muses throughout the interview of the simpler time, as many of us do, on the strength and mass of talent that exploded in the decade many knew as an, ironically, primarily disco time. "It was the richest period of music, whether it was 70's rock, or 70's pop, 70's r'n'b and soul, it was really rich in music". Of course, one doesn't need to read this interview to know of Tesla's adoration for the era (but still do read it, it's pretty good!): Tesla's brand of hard blues-rock draws on many of the decade's finest acts from Led Zeppelin to Deep Purple.
Brian tells me his love for music broke early on: "What got me into music, personally, was: I'm the youngest of 7 children. I was born in '63, so 'round about '67, I'm 4 years old and I'm hearing "Sgt. Pepper" come out of my brother's room, and the smell of marijuana coming out from under the door". Such was his introduction to the life he would one day lead. "One of the first records I can ever remember hearing was "Sunshine of Your Love" by Cream. It was 'round about 1967 and I was about 4 years old, you know, and I went to school going *hums the timeless riff from Sunshine..* ".
From glam-metal comparisons and unappreciated supporting slots, Tesla have had their fair share of adversity ("It's a lot more work than glamour....Someone once said that the only thing glamorous about being a rock star is that people thought it was glamorous"). So what's the rowdiest a crowd has ever gotten at a Tesla show? "In Barcelona, Spain they threw bottles of piss at us....'cause we were opening for one of your bands, AC/DC, and they weren't having it...it was AC/DC, Metallica and Tesla opened, and they didn't wanna hear about love". Ah, the dreaded support act: Unappreciated by most, liked by some, and seen primarily by all from the bottom of a beer glass (especially in Melbourne). But being the support act has never phased mighty Tesla: "We always try to give the headliners a run for their money". Though support act, to Brian, doesn't necessarily mean the band shall go unnoticed: "The songs are bigger than the band. A lot of people say, "Oh, I I know that song" but they dont know it's us. Because we weren't on the cover of all the rock magazines, or on MTV all the time, but we were on the radio". Brian is confident in his band's talents, without having Johnny Borrell-like egoism. Something refreshing in rock that Brian attributes to great faith: "If you believe in it, you put it out".
Such was the case in 1987 when the group supported none other than Def Leppard on their Hysteria tour. And Brian is nothing if not complimentary on the subject of those particular glam-swashbucklers: "The band that was probably best to us in our whole career, and the best experience we ever had opening for anyone was Def Leppard...they kinda mentored us, y'know?".
So we come to 2007, where the band has released their sixth studio album Reel to Reel; a two -disc set of classic rock and roll covers from The Beatles to Mott the Hoople. As difficult as one may think it would be, to delve into that wide breadth of music over the ages, and find songs you can make your own, Brian tells me it wasn't the disaster it could've been: "We kind of just picked a band and tried a few different songs from that band, and the ones that felt good were the ones that stuck...It came natural to pay homage to these groups, stuff that we'd grown up on".
Tesla have introduced what some (namely, me) are calling the 'Prince Initiative' of cd sale: "In America, Disc One came out in the stores, and the only way you could get the second disc was by coming to the shows and it was included in your ticket price". This is one of rock's finer moves and is being regarded as a constructive step towards fan appreciation of the live scene, as well as boosting diminishing CD sales.
Funnily enough, the only thing Brian wants to get up to once he hits Australia shores (besides playing in Oz's two most rock-happy cities) is pet a kangaroo. "I'm told they kick you...but they're so cute! I just wanna play with one!". Rock stars with a softer side- who knew? Brian suprises me once again by name-dropping one of Australia's chief up-and-comers as his new favourite band. "End of Fashion, just a really great pop-rock band...that singer's great, he sounds like Freddie Mercury". It's nice to see that under the rock and roll machismo and faint air of aloofness, therein lies the heartbeat-snare of your average rock fan.
