TESLA's FRANK HANNON On The 80’s Glam Metal Scene - "We Were Again In The Company Of Bands Like METALLICA, RUSH, AC/DC, SCORPIONS, DEF LEPPARD... We Weren't Trying To Compete With The Glam Bands And The Trendy Stuff"

In the latest episode of My Weekly Mixtape, Tesla's Frank Hannon talks with Brian Colburn about the secret to the longevity of their debut album Mechanical Resonance; the impact that their album Five Man Acoustical Jam had on the unplugged craze of the 90s; how the changing musical climate impacted their 1991 album Psychotic Supper; how the 2000’s was a transitional period for the band; and the announcement of the band’s cover album Real To Reel being remastered on vinyl for Record Store Day 2024.

A couple of excerpts from the chat follows...

On not competing with the glam band scene during the 80’s: "We were again in the company of bands like Metallica, Rush, AC/DC, Scorpions, Def Leppard," says Hannon. "That was the goal of being, you know, we weren't trying to compete with the glam bands and the trendy stuff. We were trying to be ourselves, and luckily we weren't having pressure put on us to be glam metal. We were having more pressure on us to be ourselves, and to write the best songs that we could for ourselves."

On the success of their cover of Five Man Electrical Band's “Signs”, Frank reveals: "We really didn't have an idea that it would blow up, but we did know that we loved the song and 'Signs' is an example of when a lead vocalist feels the lyrics of a song and they deliver it. You know, Jeff Keith, our singer, loved the lyrics of that song and we would just goof around on it and play it at radio stations. And we were goofing around at a radio station in Boston and we played 'Signs' goofing around and they recorded it. From that particular recording, their telephones started ringing. People were calling them and saying, 'Hey, we want to hear that song ‘Signs’ again.' And so, we did get a notion that people loved the song and they could feel that Jeff, our singer, was delivering it. And so that's when we decided that, well heck, let's release it from that Philadelphia show and then the rest is history."

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