Tesla's music is bluesy, no-frills rock with solid musicianship and noticeable grit -- a grounded attitude and a genuine affection for old-school hard rock.

Tesla was formed in Sacramento, CA, in 1985, out of an earlier, locally popular group called City Kidd that dated back to 1982. Tesla's lineup featured vocalist Jeff Keith, the underrated guitar tandem of Frank Hannon and Tommy Skeoch, bassist Brian Wheat, and drummer Troy Luccketta. At management's suggestion, the band named itself after the eccentric inventor Nikola Tesla, who pioneered the radio but was given only belated credit for doing so. After playing several showcases in Los Angeles, Tesla quickly scored a deal with Geffen and released their debut album, Mechanical Resonance, in 1986; it produced the hard rock hit in "Modern Day Cowboy," reached the Top 40 on the album charts, and eventually went platinum. However, it was the follow-up, 1989's The Great Radio Controversy, that truly broke the band. The first single, "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)," was another hit with hard rock audiences, setting the stage for the second single, a warm, comforting ballad called "Love Song" which substituted a dash of hippie utopianism for the usual power ballad histrionics. "Love Song" hit the pop Top Ten and made the band stars, pushing The Great Radio Controversy into the Top 20 and double-platinum sales figures.

In keeping with their unpretentious, blue-collar roots, Tesla responded to stardom not by aping the glam theatrics of their tourmates, but by stripping things down. The idea behind 1990's Five Man Acoustical Jam was virtually unheard of -- a pop-metal band playing loose, informal acoustic versions of their best-known songs in concert, plus a few favorite covers. Fortunately, Tesla's music was sturdy enough to hold up when its roots were exposed, and one of the covers -- "Signs," an idealistic bit of hippie outrage by the Five Man Electrical Band -- became another Top Ten hit, as well as the band's highest-charting single. Not only did Five Man Acoustical Jam reach the Top 20 and go platinum, but it also helped directly inspire MTV's Unplugged series, both with its relaxed vibe and its reminder that acoustic music could sound vital and energetic.

The studio follow-up to The Great Radio Controversy, Psychotic Supper, was released in 1991 and quickly became another platinum hit, spinning off the greatest number of singles of any Tesla album: "Edison's Medicine," "Call It What You Want," "What You Give," "Song and Emotion." Bust a Nut followed with 800,000 copies -- an extremely respectable showing, given the musical climate of 1994, and a testament to the fan base Tesla had managed to cultivate over the years.

In the fall of 2001, the group released a two-disc live album, Replugged Live, which documented their reunion tour. Into the Now, which was co-produced by Michael Rosen (Testament, AFI), appeared in March 2004. In 2005, guitarist Dave Rude joined the band and brought a new energy that was evident during the "Electric Summer" tour. A collection of '70s covers called Real to Reel arrived in 2007 accompanied by another successful world tour. "It's amazing how Rock and Roll is still alive and well all over the world!" comments guitarist Frank Hannon. "We just bounced over several continents and 7 countries in 3 weeks time and everyone was very welcoming and just loved the the 20+ years of music we played. It transcends all the language barriers."

2008 will find Tesla on tour in February immediately followed by the boys entering the studio for their long anticipated new cd. They'll perform in various European festivals in June and then coinciding with the new studio cd, will tour in the fall.

Already on the horizon for 2009 will be the upcoming box set release, "A Peace of Time," that will contain a varied collection of songs recorded live in studio along with DVD's and a few surprises. Seven songs from "...Peace..." are available now exclusively on iTunes.

TESLA Lineup
JEFF KEITH (vocals)
FRANK HANNON (guitar)
BRIAN WHEAT (bass)
TROY LUCCKETTA (drums)
DAVE RUDE (guitar)