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Over the past five years, Tesla guitarist Tommy Skeoch discovered an important fact. Tesla's music has remained very popular with their true fans. Now that Tesla has begun their Reunion tour and the group has a live album due out in North America this September, Skeoch says it seems as if, to him, the group never broke up.
Why?
"Because of the popularity of our music, we never really disappeared with the fans," Skeoch says during a recent interview. "To the fans, It's as if we were gone for only for an instant."
The band is named after Nikola Tesla, an electrical engineer, radio pioneer and inventor of the first practical system of generating and transmitting alternating current (AC) for electric power. Tesla's last big breakthrough with a live album, came in early 1991 after seven years of recording and touring, when the group released a live album of acoustic songs called "Five Man Acoustical Jam". The release featured mainly, live versions of Tesla's classic songs. After a five more years of popularity, Tesla broke up in April 1996. At their breakup, the group sold more than 14 million records worldwide. Today Skeoch says the group has "replugged" and is playing all electric guitars for their new live album,which is filled with heavy metal classic Tesla songs.
The Sacramento, California (U.S.A.) quintet, featuring vocalist Jeff Keith, guitarists Frank Hannon and Tommy Skeoch, bass guitarist Brian Wheat and drummer Troy Luccketta, is currently on a special tour featuring the original Tesla members called "Reunion Tour". Tesla played their first reunion show before a sold-out hometown crowd at the Arco Arena on October 25, 2000. Tesla is now touring with the group's original lineup. Their current tour is titled, Tesla: The Reunion Tour". "Getting back together has definitely helped us grow a lot, "Skeoch says. "It's been a great moment for Tesla. Today touring and performing and word of mouth from our fans has been our best friend. When we do meet our fans backstage after our shows, they're telling us that since everybody is back in the band and we're playing better then ever, Tesla seems better to them, then we ever have in our career. So, we're really glad to be back and the fans are thrilled to see and hear us performing our music live again. Five years ago, I could not have imagined things working out better for the band." So, the next "great moment", for Tesla, is just beginning. Today, Tesla's music and the group's legacy is continuing through their current tour and upcoming live album, which Tommy Skeoch talks about in the following interview. Tesla is lead vocalist Jeff Keith, guitarists Frank Hannon and Tommy Skeoch, bass guitarist Brian Wheat and drummer Troy Luccketta.
(Q)- Could I have your name and age and city of birth please?
Tommy Skeoch- Yes. My name is Tommy Skeoch and I was born in Santa Moncia, California and I am thirty-none years old.
(Q)- How has the Reunion Tour been for the group? When the group broke up in 1996 after more the ten years together, there was a lot of bad feelings between the band members.
Tommy Skeoch- Yes, that's right, there was.
(Q)- How has that changed and how it does it feel to be together with the other guys in the band, playing live for Tesla's fans?
Tommy Skeoch- The breakup was hard for us all. The first thing I know is this. Now that we're back together, it really feels good to be doing this (touring and playing their music) once again. It really gives all of us a lot of inspiration to be back and playing our hits for our fans once again. I believe that now, there is a really good future for Tesla.
(Q)- What was it like while the band was apart for five years?
Tommy Skeoch- In the years that we were apart, we each went off on our own way and have done our own thing with music and nothing has ever mounted to the level of success that we has together while we were together as Tesla. And now that we're back together and touring, it feels good. I'll tell you, I've got some advice for any (heavy metal and hard rock) musicians who are reuniting with their old bands. Make sure that you're humble. If you're even going to get to the reunion stage, make sure you've gotten all the ego stuff out of your head. And that now, whenever you get back together, you're through all the good and bad things, that you as an individual and as a band member, have gone through in the past. From being popular and being a musician within the band.
(Q)- Would you explain how Tesla got back together? It all started with one really great show right?
Tommy Skeoch- Yeah, that's exacly right. We did one reunion show. (Before a sold-out hometown crowd at the Arco Arena on October 25, 2000.) That one reunion show went over so well, we decided to have a complete reunion of the band. When we got back together for that first show, it felt so right and the chemistry and man, it's been really cool ever since.
(Q)- Many heavy metal and hard rock bands from the '80's are reuniting. Any advice for those band's who are reuniting after a long time apart from each member?
Tommy Skeoch- Don't take each other for granted. That is the key. Now that we're back together and everything is going so well, I don't think we take each other for granted anymore. We respect each other more now and we're playing better than ever. We're lucky to do this for a living.
(Q)- How is being in Tesla different now compared to ten years ago when you where always together with the other guys in the band, recording and touring?
Tommy Skeoch- There is a lot more acceptance of each other in the five years that we were off together. Not just seeing the guys in the band and thinking about what happened in the past, we've all thought about those days, over and over. Both the good things as well as the bad. You know, you grow and you learn and that's what being away from each other teaches you. We are all the same people basically. So on this tour and for this new album, it's like, 'OK,I may have a few things about me that the guys might like or not like. But, you know what? That's OK. Because, they know where I am coming from as an individual and as person.' They know me better and I know them each as individuals better and I work at getting along better with them.
(Q)- Why is that so?
Tommy Skeoch- Because you know what? It's now more like we're a family.
(Q)- Is Tesla more like a brotherhood now instead of a heavy metal band?
Tommy Skeoch- Yes. Isn't that how all of that works? You might get mad at someone in the band, but they are your brother and you deal with it. Before it wasn't like that. It was hey, 'I don't like you!' So now there is a lot more communication going on between the members of the band and we're more like family, a brotherhood. It's like therapy. I go to (on his own) therapy now and that helps me in everything that I do when I'm working in the band. It's really healthy this time and it feels really good this time around. But we'll be working through problems all of the time that we're together, touring and playing. After all, who won't be? I'll be working through problems and challenges my whole life. Who won't be? So, being in Tesla is better then it was five years ago when we broke up.
(Q)- What is it like seeing the fans come out for the Tesla shows today? Tommy Skeoch- It's great! Fans are coming out to our shows and it seems like we never been away. The fans really are excited that we're back together.
(Q)- Are you and Tesla planning to tour overseas internationally after the North American tour ends? Tommy Skeoch- Yes. I'm sure we will tour internationally at one point. As far as touring internationally right now (July 2001), I'm sure it will happen. I don't know yet, exactly all the details.
(Q)- Tesla has never really gone out of popularity and there still is a huge audience for the band. It is more 'underground' then ten years ago though. It is the most loyal fans now.
Tommy Skeoch- Some bands are classic, they can just carry on through all of the trends and fads. We might be one of them, I hope that we might be. I think we've got some songs that will live on forever like some of the songs from the '60s and '70s have. While I wouldn't say all our music represents that. We do have some songs that I think, in hindsight, are maybe dated, but I think 80 to 90 percent of our material is really quite timeless.
(Q)- How has the music business changed to you over the past ten years?
Tommy Skeoch- The music industry and the music business is always trying to change something or another and I think that is really silly.
(Q)- In what way?
Tommy Skeoch- The industry sees a band like KORN selling a lot of albums and then the music industry wants a thousand bands who are like KORN. Then, once there's a thousand bands like KORN, they (the music business) are busy looking for something else.
(Q)- What do you like right now about the heavy metal and hard rock music scenes?
Tommy Skeoch- I like the different styles, like the heavy metal (Hip Hop) fusion music. It's not necessarily what I do, but I think it's great music. So I like everything that is new and fresh. I think it is great for the heavy metal genre.
(Q)- Have Tesla's fans given you feedback that they've been waiting a long time for your reunion tour and new music?
Tommy Skeoch- Yeah man totally. It's already there and people are really excited and getting really into us and our live show. It's cool to see how well the fans are responding to our new show and tour.
(Q)- Heavy metal and rock music has really changed since Tesla broke up in the past five years.
Tommy Skeoch- Yes. Heavy metal changed and hard rock changed but it was a great change and it kind of separated the good from the bad. I think a lot of great music has come out over the past five years. I think Tesla has always been about great music and yes, there still is a lot of people who are into great music, especially internationally. The '80's rock music is still popular and there is a hunger among the fans of that music for more of it. And, we all feel that's really cool.
(Q)- Do you feel Tesla might be staging a strong comeback in popularity?
Tommy Skeoch- Yes, we're seeing that as we play concert dates on this current tour.
(Q)- What about the new Tesla album? (Due out in-stores September 11 in North America.)
Tommy Skeoch- Dude, it's simply awesome. It is a double live record with nineteen songs on it. We're mixing it right now, We've already picked all of the tracks out right now and it is awesome. It just sounds amazing, the packaging is amazing and our fans are going to love it. This album is for our fans this time anyway. It's like our present to our fans and it is a "Greatest Hits" package we recorded live. It sounds amazing.
(Q)- Why? What makes this so special?
Tommy Skeoch- We're really rocking out on this one. The after that, we're working on a studio album of all new songs, but that will not be released until the summer of 2002.
(Q)- What was it like selecting the tracks for the new "Live" album?
Tommy Skeoch- We recorded every night we performed since we've been back together. (The band officially reunited in April 2001.) The new live album is taken from concert recordings we did over this past year. And we listened to the tapes and I'll tell you, it was a grueling process. It was recorded in different cities. But we picked only the best songs from the best nights and so that is why I can honestly say this is the best Tesla album ever.
(Q)- Did every member of Tesla have a final say as to what was eventually on the album?
Tommy Skeoch- No. That was too difficult. Since everybody in Tesla has a different opinion that was too difficult of a process for us all to do. We all have such different opinions and so we gave the duty of deciding what was the best tracks to put on the new album to Troy and Brian, who are the bass player and the drummer. They went in a basically picked out all of the tracks that we used. And then he others came in and decided what would be the songs that would eventually make it onto the new album.
(Q)- Why are you personally still performing as a musician at thirty-nine years of age?
Tommy Skeoch- I've into music totally. I love music totally, I love performing, traveling, especially internationally and I love attention. Although when I'm getting too much attention, I don't like it. But, when I'm not getting enough attention, I want more. It's that type of thing, you know? I love performing. I love everything about it. I've been doing this my while adult life so it feels very comfortable.
(Q)- How do you now view playing guitar and your own unique style of guitar playing?
Tommy Skeoch- I always want to keep my guitar playing as original as I can and as edgy and exciting as I can. I'm conscious of that, but I try and be real natural about playing and song writing. I'm at a point where I try and let it come naturally to me. Like I don't even try and think about it all that much. I just let it (the music) happen. I can't force the music to come out of me and then force the music to be good and exciting, I've tried that way of songwriting and playing the guitar and it just doesn't work for me anymore. I cannot ever say to myself, 'OK, I've got this much time in the studio, so now I've got to write a song.' It's just not going to happen.
(Q)- How do you discover new ideas for guitar playing and new songs?
Tommy Skeoch- Well, I don't carry around a tape recorder or have a portable recording studio we take out with us on tour on the bus. I can't get into that at all. The way I write good guitar parts or write good songs is, the stuff that just comes to me during the day, I usually end up remembering and it stays with me in my mind. I really don't do any home recording or recording on our tour bus whenever we're traveling. I just go to the guys whenever we're at let's say at rehearsals and I'll say to the guys in between songs,' Hey check this out.' And there's a song. I really don't write songs, I just make them up. I just play guitar and stuff with my music that I like happens and that's what I go with. Because usually, the bets songs stick with me in my memory and to me if it stays with me that's something that I decide to start working towards whenever we're together as a band. I use to try I the '80's searching and working for cool sounds and then real cool songs and I had a little home studio. I went through that stage where I had a little home studio and I wrote some really cool songs like that. But it just wasn't where I am at as a musician. I'm much better at hanging out, playing guitar and feeling good and when something hits me, then it's magic when that happens. It just feels so great. If it's something really good it stays with me and I remember it. Sometimes it is a double edged sword, but overall it's a really good way for me to write songs and discover really cool guitar pieces.
End.