Tesla is an American hard rock band formed in Sacramento, California in 1984. They have sold 14 million albums in the United States.
The band formed in 1984 in Sacramento as City Kidd, and was renamed Tesla during the recording of their first album, 1986's Mechanical Resonance, on the advice of their manager that City Kidd was not a great name (in addition, there was already another band going by that name). The band derived their name, certain album and song titles, and some song content from events relating to inventor and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla.
The band's original lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jeff Keith, guitarists Frank Hannon and Tommy Skeoch, bassist Brian Wheat, and drummer Troy Luccketta.
Tesla's music is often referred to as hard rock. The band's lyrics also strayed from the themes popular in hard rock, particularly in the 1980s at the beginning of their career. A further distinction from their contemporaries was their T-shirt-and-jeans image which was in strong contrast to glam metal bands of the time, which were characterized by big hair, leather pants, and flashy makeup. Also in the early days of their career, Tesla toured with David Lee Roth, Def Leppard, and Poison which incorrectly resulted in the band being categorized as a Glam metal band. The band's members resented this labelling.
In 1994 the band released their fourth studio album Bust a Nut. The 1998 Japanese reissue import of Bust a Nut contains the previously unreleased cover of Led Zeppelin's "The Ocean".
After the release of Bust a Nut, Skeoch departed because of his struggle with substance abuse. He rejoined after completing rehab, only to depart again months later. The band moved forward as a four piece for a short while. However, it wasn't long before Skeoch briefly joined up with solo artist Marshall Coleman's band to support his solo career, only to see a departure of Marshall soon after. This band eventually morphed to include Jeff Keith and resurfaced as Bar 7 with a single "Four Leaf Clover", from the album The World Is a Freak. Brian Wheat formed Soulmotor and Frank Hannon Moon Dog Mane, while Troy Luccketta worked with several local artists including the Bay Area's One Thin Dime.
After a break of six years, the Sacramento Bee reported that the band had reformed in 2000 with the help of local radio personality Pat Martin of KRXQ. The band played an emotional sold out show at The Arco Arena in Sacramento on October 25, 2000. Soon after they recorded the double live album Replugged Live. In 2002 they were featured in the Rock Never Stops Tour alongside other 1980s rock bands.
2002 saw the release of a further live album Standing Room Only which is just a single CD version of Replugged Live.
In February 2008, Tesla helped fund and headlined a benefit concert for victims of the Station nightclub fire. The show was broadcast by VH1 Classic. Tesla played three songs: "What You Give", "Signs", and "Love Song", though "What You Give" did not make it onto the broadcast.
In June and July 2008, Tesla played few shows in Europe and in the USA, including Sweden Rock Festival, Graspop Metal Meeting and Rocklahoma.
On August 11, 2008, it was reported that Tesla's next album, entitled Forever More, would be released on October 7 on their own record label, Tesla Electric Company Recordings. The album was produced by Terry Thomas, who produced Bust a Nut. The band aired the album's first single, "I Wanna Live" on radio stations across the globe on August 18 and kicked off a world tour on October 1. Forever More debuted No. 33 on The Billboard 200 chart and spawned singles I Wanna Live, Fallin' Apart & Breakin' Free.
In 2009, it was announced that Tesla will be among the performers on the cruise ship "ShipRocked" in November 2009.
In 2010, the band announced that they are working on material for a new album, though their studio burned to the ground on September 30, 2010."Sacramento Bee".
On May 10, 2011, the band played at a rally for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association. Tesla performed two songs, "Signs" and "Love Song" during the Kings #HereWeRally at Cesar Chavez Park in Sacramento, California to celebrate the team staying in Sacramento for at least one more year. In 2011, they released an acoustic album Twisted Wires and the Acoustic Sessions.
Current members: Jeff Keith – lead vocals (1984–1996, 2000–present) Frank Hannon – lead & rhythm guitars, piano, organ, Hammond organ, backing vocals (1984–1996, 2000–present) Dave Rude – lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals (2006–present) Brian Wheat – bass, piano, backing vocals (1984–1996, 2000–present) Troy Luccketta – drums, percussion (1984–1996, 2000–present)
