Classic Rock Revisited presents an exclusive interview with...

.When Tesla first broke big I remember thinking there was still hope for guitar oriented, Gibson-through-Marshall type music. The band refused to fall into the popular Hair Band mold, despite record company pressure to do so. Okay, so maybe they did a little bit in their early videos but once Tesla became popular they went back to t-shirts and jeans. This was a working class band whose top priority was to rock yer balls off and leave you wanting more. Somewhere along the line, the traps of stardom and the pitfalls of excess destroyed the band. Drugs -- real drugs -- like cocaine and heroin threatened the lives of band members. Internal fighting became non-stop and finally it all came crashing down and the modern day cowboys were laid to rest at the foot of Boot Hill, another casualty of sex, drugs & rock ‘n roll.

Tommy: I have been expecting you and you are right on time; that is very cool.

Jeb: I try, I try. I mean shit can happen.

Tommy: I have it down myself. I am very punctual. It is almost like I am frightened that if I don’t get the right time then the world will blow up.

Jeb: Do you think we are just getting older?

Tommy: I have always been a weirdo. I have always been that way. You just got older!

Jeb: The last time we talked was at Little Rita’s in Wichita when you were with Bar 7.

Tommy: Did you watch the band?

Jeb: Yes.

Tommy: Oh good. How was I? I was still getting pretty hammered back then.

Jeb: You told me that you were really wanting to stay off drugs.

Tommy: When Tesla got back together we were like no pills or powder. Smoking weed and drinking is okay because we can deal with that. We all operate under marijuana maintenance -- well, not all of us. Now, it is getting to the point where we even want to chill out on it all. This is really an important thing for us. The smoking pot thing really ain’t no big deal. For people who do it, it is almost like being normal. Pills, cocaine and heroin are the ones that really got us into trouble. We drink moderately but I think it would be better for our attitudes to cut back. We want to do a lot of press for this album and we really want to get the word out there and I think drinking is not really going to help us for the six in the morning radio interviews.

Jeb: Between booze and weed, I think booze should be illegal.

Tommy: Oh my God, it is way, way worse. Booze should be illegal. It is a nasty drug. I like to have a couple of beers before I go onstage. I even like to have a couple of beers before I do an interview. I just slammed four before this one. The hard shit is even worse. Booze and drugs are a big part of Tesla’s history but we have matured quite a bit. The main thing with us is that we communicate. We go to therapy. We are not perfect. We argue and we drink and some of us smoke. We are getting to a point in our therapy where we are starting to talk about these issues. Early morning interviews are tough when you have been rockin’ out and having a party after the show.

Jeb: Are you taking the attitude that the band is bigger than any one member?

Tommy: Absolutely. When I was fired back in 1995, I was the scapegoat. We were all a mess. Jeff couldn’t even sing. Without me, it really wasn’t that much different. Thank God in our history we don’t have another guitar player that was in the lineup. Frank is a great guitar player and he covered both parts okay but from feedback that I got from people who have went out and seen them, it wasn’t the same. You have a chemistry with the five of us. Every band is different. It is like a guitar. You can pick up 1000 Les Pauls and only five of them will really vibe you. We are in pretty good shape these days.

Jeb: I got the new album.

Tommy: What do you think?

Jeb: I am going to be real with you because you are always real with me.

Tommy: That is one thing about me. I am probably honest to a fault.

Jeb: I will be honest. The first time I heard it I thought, “Uh oh, Telsa is trying to sound modern.” The first time I played it, I was prejudging the album. Over time, the more I have listened to it then the more I got into it. The ballads are really kick ass and I was being too tough saying you are trying to sound modern.

Tommy: Let me give you some feedback on what you are saying. This record is the first studio album we released in seven years. We wanted to release it earlier but it would have been half of what it is. When you said that the first song you heard we were trying to be modern and hip and all that shit…. Believe me, we had discussions on all of this. We talked about whether we should be totally 100% traditional or not. Through trial and error and working our ass off, we found that what we wanted was a record that had the integrity that our hard core Tesla fan base would love but at the same time had the credibility, musically. I think we got a Tesla record -- just like any of our other records except it is down with the times just like any of our other records were. That is what I believe and that is what I wanted and that is what we got.

Jeb: It is a damn good album. It rocks harder than one might expect.

Tommy: We have been getting added at radio. We entered #29 on radio. If you are over #30 then you are doing pretty bad so we made it into the upper bracket. John Kalodner is behind the album as well. He did the remix on the single. He just was hired by Sanctuary and he feels he has something to prove. I feel we are diamonds. I feel like we can be just as big as we ever were. I think this is a very credible album.

Jeb: Sanctuary seems to be very behind the record.

Tommy: They are. We could be the first band to put a plaque on their wall. I don’t think they have any platinum records. I am not fucking with you, I don’t think they do. Tesla is the first thing that Kalodner has messed with since he came to Sanctuary. He did great. He turned my electric guitar up more. The vocals are hotter.

Jeb: Have you ever worked in the studio with him?

Tommy: Never. What is really ironic is that he came to a show we did in Las Vegas before we signed with Sanctuary. We were shopping deals. He wanted to sign us to Portrait Records but we turned him down. We wanted a better deal. It is really ironic that by the time we get done and get to Sanctuary, that he gets there and we are the first thing he does. All of the Sanctuary guys thought that “Caught In A Dream” could be a big hit. When Kalodner said it, it was like Jesus came down from Heaven. We feel that he has as much a stake in this as we do. I have a feeling that we are going to brainwash some people but it won’t take much because it is a great song.

Jeb: One of the challenges is getting the airplay.

Tommy: Some are spinning it 12 times a day and some are spinning it 2. We need to get out and tour. I have a really good feeling about it. We love going out and touring but we have to watch how much we do. Brain Wheat has some health problems and when we are out there too long, his nerves just can’t take it. Frank [Hannon] can’t come out that long because of custody issues with his ex-wife. We try to do a few weeks on and week off and balance it out that way.

Jeb: I caught you twice on the Vince Neil, Jackly tour.

Tommy: That was a wacky tour. We played really great on that tour. We used inner ear monitors. You can be anywhere on the stage and still have your own mix. That whole tour was just silly. Vince Neil…. I don’t want to say that we just did it for the money but we actually needed the money. We had a good time headlining. We played a good set but some of the other bands…. I became really good friends with Skid Row. They are not like the guys in Tesla. I am like a fucking complete lunatic and the guys in Skid Row are too. We hung out a lot. The guitarist for Vince Neil was cool. Jackyl was a little weird to deal with. I don’t know what their trip is. They are real political and real business like and I just can’t get into that whole trip. I am just into music and Rock ’n Roll. For me, money and fame is one thing but I just like to get in a room and just rock out.

Jeb: I don’t throw money away.

Tommy: I do. I have a big problem. I have a wife and two kids to deal with. I wear the dress. I love old guitars and expensive shit. I collect old coins and I collect Zippos and I collect old guitars. I go into a place and I just can’t resist -- I just can’t. I am definatly an obsessive/compulsive addict. I like gambling but it is the only one that I can take or leave. I get addicted in the moment when I am doing it but once I am done, I don’t have to run right back to it.

Jeb: I am one who had to give all the shit up.

Tommy: Our drummer Troy is like that. He is all or nothing. Some people are like that. I want to be like that but I am having a hard time. The pot thing I am getting over. I don’t wake and bake anymore. I drink a bit but you know I can’t go back to the pills and heroin because I won’t have a future. It kills me and it kills our band and it is just horrible. I am 41 years old and I am starting to get out of it but it is hard. I still want to be a little rebel. I always wanted that fucking image -- that is part of my problem.

Jeb: The Tulsa show that you did on the last tour there was a ton of lightening and they were trying to shut you down. You wanted to rock. They came over to you to shut you down and you were holding up two fingers like you only had two more songs. At that moment, I knew you were in it for the music.

Tommy: There was no doubt that we were going to rock out and finish.

Jeb: You stunned the crowd with your version of “War Pigs.” How did you even decide to cover that song?

Tommy: There was a Rock Line show and we just pulled it out of our ass and played it for fun. We started rehearsing it and then we played it live. I think the version we do just smokes. We are going to do a covers record in-between this record and then next record we do. We are going to call is Tesla Under The Covers. I told my wife that we should do the cover of the record with all of us under the covers of the same bed. Jeff is totally homophobic so he will just look disgusted. We are really thinking of doing a covers record and “War Pigs” would be on it for sure. There is just something about the version we do of it. I was also thinking that we should do “If 6 Was 9” by Hendrix. I suggested a Ramones song but I don’t think Jeff would go for that.

Jeb: You have been hanging out with Rachel of Skid Row too long, man.

Tommy: No, it is not even that. I like everything. Jeff is like an Okie from Muscogee. He might go for it if I sang the vocals and he just did the backgrounds. I would like to do “The KKK Took My Baby Away,” or “Commandoes” or “I Remember You.” They would all be good Ramones songs for the band.

Jeb: I think “I Wanna Be Sedated” would be fitting.

Tommy: That would be a good one but it might be too close to home. I am going to be putting out a website with my artwork on it. My webmaster suggested a song by Willie Nelson. Actually, Jeff loves country music so we are thinking about doing that. He wrote one song that I want to put on a Tesla record. It would be as home on a Tesla record as “What You Give.” He wrote this one song and it would be a number one hit if some country star sang it. I would like to put it on the next Tesla record. It is fucking killer. My point is that the Willie Nelson idea is not too far off. We could do it up Tesla style. It really is right up our alley. Some of our songs are just on the verge of a county type of vibe. We have acoustics and Frank plays slide.

Jeb: At what point did getting Tesla back together become not about finances and more about music?

Tommy: It is different for the other guys. I got fired twice. There were points where I hated those fucking guys. They had their lawyer, who used to be my lawyer when I was in the band. They could split the costs four ways but I had to go up against them with some fucking shit lawyer that I got. I retained ownership of all the happy horseshit that you have to deal with in these type of situations. I got fucked. I was the scapegoat and it was a really fucked up situation that cost me a lot of money. That is why I say it was a financial situation to get back with Tesla.

Jeb: At what point did reuniting with Tesla become more than a financial thing?

Tommy: The first show we did was not financial. It was the one off reunion gig. I still make a pretty good living just sitting on my ass. That is not totally true but it is not too bad. The money was cool but it was more just for fun. We wanted to do this for our friend in Sacramento named Pat Martin. He was the Program Director at the radio station. The point it became not just financial was the first time that we did the rehearsals for the reunion show. The minute Frank and I started playing together it was like we had just played together yesterday. It was like magic. We stared playing “Modern Day Cowboy” -- that is what Frank says was the first song we played together. We started playing and it was beautiful. No one said it but at that moment we all thought that we should be back together doing this. It was just a one off thing but once it was over we talked about it. We decided that we could have that magic again. We could make a better living and we could be the family that we once were.

Jeb: Was there any reservation from you because you had been fired twice?

Tommy: I think there was from them. All of them exept Jeff because he was with me in Bar 7 and he knew what a fuck up I was. Jeff told them, “If I ask Tommy to do it for me, to be cool and not be fucking up then he will do it.” Jeff then actually said to me, “Hey man, promise me that you will do this right.” I said, “You too.” We have all been true to our word. It is like I said, no pills or powder. On our own time, we said that we could do what we wanted. I don’t know what others have been doing and I am not going to saying nothing either. We are really starting to talk about that when we are in rehearsals and when we are in therapy. We really are starting to think that we should not be doing much of anything.

Jeb: You guys really go to real live therapy?

Tommy: We go to therapy. It’s like family therapy. It is just like Aerosmith does. I am not fucking with you.

Jeb: It must help.

Tommy: We are more mature. Our egos have been slaughtered from the breakup. We are getting better already. When we go to the therapist sometimes we don’t have any gripes about nothing. There were a couple of times on The Rock Never Stops Tour and a few things since we have been back together that could have gone a little smoother. That is what we talk about. That includes alcohol for the most part. Maybe we don’t need to drink those extra 15 beers right before the last song. Take my word as a grain of salt as I am playing around and having fun talking to you but it is straight up shit. It is funny talking to you because it sounds like you really know me. I guess you have talked to me enough and really zoned into your cue of my personality.

Jeb: That is what makes Classic Rock Revisited different from a lot of other websites. We actually approach the music as if it is something important.

Tommy: You know I have been thinking about what I have said in this interview. Everything that I have said, don’t print.

Jeb: What?

Tommy: Everything that I have said to you so far, when you edit it, do not print it. It is all off the record.

Jeb: Here is the interview: “Tesla has a new record. Tommy is on it.”

Tommy: That is it. Just tell them that it is great.

Jeb: You got it!

Tommy: I am just playing with you. You tell them the whole dirty, fucking truth.

Jeb: I wrote an article years ago and I called Tesla the last great American rock band, along with GNR. I really do feel that way.

Tommy: We have talked a lot about this. We feel that we could have gone out like a lot of bands but we are really feeling that we could be a career band and become a household name. We have never really achieved that. We have come close to it but we have never actually achieved it. We want to stay together. We want to be old and rock. There is nothing else that I would rather do. We want to go down as a classic band.

Jeb: Last one: Tell me about your paintings.

Tommy: My art is pretty different. My paintings are oil pastels and water colors. www.ratchethaze.com is going to be my website. Check it out man as I need all the love. I am selling my stuff really cheap. Everything from $25.00 to $75.00. Tesla fans all have their favorites. Some say Jeff is the guy and some say Frank is the guy and some say Tommy is the guy. I think my little click of fans will really like this stuff and might buy a lot of it. It is not about money though. I really love doing this stuff. My mom is a professional artist. I have been into it since I was a child. She pushed me into playing guitar. When I was 14, she gave me a guitar and an amp. I have always done art. My mom fucking hooked me up.

Jeb: We will give you a plug and we will see you on the road.

Tommy: Did we do an interview or did we just bullshit? To me it was just like we just talked. You didn’t ask me any questions. I hate it when it is, “So, in 1984 did you blah blah blah.” I hope I have been good. I had a few beers.

Jeb: You need to go back and read the interview we did when you were in Bar 7.

Tommy: Email it to me. I love to go back and read old interviews. They are fucking funny as fuck. Some of the shit you say is right on but you know how honest I get. Sometimes I can’t believe the things I say. Email me bro.

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