By: Robert Cavuoto
Frank Hannon
Tesla have gone back to the basics with their newest CD, Simplicity. From the way they wrote these 14 riff blazing songs to the way they were recorded – as a team and live, the album is reminiscent of the way they recorded their debut album back in 1986.
The band got together in a secluded studio for 10 days and jammed together, first getting down some basic scratch tracks then off to bassist Brian Wheat’s Sacramento recording studio, where they recorded a song a day.
The idea was to capture the moment live rather than spend weeks overdubbing.
Ultimately, the process of making the album was very simple on a production level, but complex emotionally, as the band and co-producer Tom Zutaut poured every ounce of passion and thought into the process. As a team the band spent hours listening and collaborating.
What came out spoke volumes for Simplicity, simple riff driven rock songs with memorable and infectious grooves.
Speaking with guitarist, Frank Hannon, I can feel the passion and emotion dripping out of the phone as we spoke about the the new album and his enjoyment making music with his friends.
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Robert Cavuoto: I love the new CD, Simplicity; it’s a fantastic rock album, with killer riffs and I’m not just blowing smoke when I say it!
Frank Hannon: I really appreciate that, and I know you’re not just blowing smoke because I love it too. [Laughter]
Robert: It has incredible energy, and in a way seems like a rebirth for the band. Does it feel that way for you and the band?
Frank Hannon: The way we took on making this CD was very similar to the approach we took on making our first album, Mechanical Resonance. We went away for 10 days to a secluded spot with no Internet.
Tom Zutaut, who produced this CD, is a friend of ours from the old days with Geffen Records. He has a ranch in Virginia that he took us to. I brought my computer to set up for my virtual rig to make demos and hammer out all our ideas with no distraction.
Then once we got in the studio, we decided not to spend too much time doing overdubs– we kept all the scratch tracks, played live in the studio and went for the same feeling like we had with the reel to reel recorder. That’s how we recorded our first album, live in the studio. All that energy that you’re feeling is that live vibe.
Robert: When you went to Virginia did you bring six years of stockpiled riffs?
Frank Hannon: No, these weren’t from a stockpile. Honestly, the song, “So Devine . . .” with the middle bridge that has a Def Leppard sound to it, is probably the oldest riff on the CD. I used to play that in sound checks, but other than that, everything is brand new.
Same with the intro to, “MP3,” the guitar riffs on that – the whole thing – was brand new. I had another intro riff that Brian Wheat [bassist], didn’t like. He challenged me, saying, “Man, go on; you can do better than that.”
It sounded like Angus Young on “Thunderstruck,” and he didn’t like it. So I rewrote the chord changes that have a “Bolero” Spanish-style, classical feel with some arpeggios over it and a couple of suspended notes.
I’m really, really proud of that intro, because I had to step up to the plate, and that’s the thing with this band. When we get into a room, we all challenge each other. I’ll do the same to Jeff Keith [vocals] and I’ll go, “Man, come on; these lyrics can be better than that.” So, we try to challenge each other to make it better.
Brian Wheat (L) and Frank Hannon (R) of Tesla
Robert: I’m assuming a perfect example of that is on the song “Rise and Fall”. The lyrics are tremendous, a very captivating story.
Frank Hannon: Jeff and I co-wrote the lyrics on this album, and that was also a new development, a rebirth for sure. He really allowed me to contribute a lot to the lyrical ideas.
Robert: I like how the song “MP3” carries the band forward from the beginning with vinyl and the band’s namesake into the next era. Was that intentional?
Frank Hannon: Oh, absolutely. I have to be honest; on our previous album, Forever More, we were trying to tailor our sound to being more modern and blah, blah, blah.
On the album, Into the Now, which, by the way, a lot of our fans feel is one of our best albums, we were trying to come from 1986 into the 2000 era. We felt a little bit of pressure for that. Because everyone says that great bands always change with the times.
Everybody says how the Beatles changed with the times, and that’s what made them great. But, on the flipside of that, look at AC/DC. They’re serving up the same dish for 30 years. It’s tough to find that balance when you’re writing songs.
You stay true to your roots and your original sound, but also you don’t want to be completely repeating yourself. You want to compete with the new bands. We come from an era of the ‘80s. And if you’re from the ‘80s, you’re instantly branded. It’s like you gotta go to the back of the line, because you’re from the ‘80s,”
But on this record, we truly went back to being ourselves more than the past few records we’ve made. So I agree with you, this record really shows Tesla at its purest 100%.
Robert: What guitars did you use on the CD?
Frank Hannon: I have a Black Beauty Les Paul Custom with two pickups that I use in the studio. It rings perfectly in tune. And I use an SG Standard. It’s a ’96 SG Standard, and a Mexican Fender Telecaster on some of the solos, like on, “Other Than Me.”
Almost every single rhythm guitar track that I did was recorded with a Vox AC-15, a 15 watt amp; it’s a little brother to the AC-30. It’s this little single twelve inch amp, and it’s the best fucking guitar amp on the planet. I’m just playing straight into it.
Frank Hannon
Robert: That wasn’t the amp I expected to hear you used, how did you find that?
Frank Hannon: I bought it at Guitar Center; it’s just the newer one, made in China. It’s nothing fancy. For the solos, we used a 1979 Marshall JMP 50-watt, a JMP50-watt head into a Marshall 4 x 12 cabinet with 25-watt greenbacks and both Dave Rude [guitar] and I used for all the solos, because it just sounded great. So we just took turns plugging into it.
I believe Dave used a little Craig amp, a Marshall cabinet, and also played a Les Paul Gold Top, one of the new ones.
Robert: Are you more of a pedal board guy or do you prefer digital-rack effect?
Frank Hannon: I went through that phase of using digital rack effects in the ’80s and it was garbage. I just use a simple pedal board that has a few things on it.
It has a Boss tuner; an OCD full-tone distortion pedal, a Jim Dunlop Cry Baby wah wah, an MXR Phase 90, and a DLS RotoSim which is a great pedal. There’s nothing that beats the warmth just driving the front end of the amps.
Robert: Was Tesla’s unique sound formed from experimentation over the years, or was it just a happy accident.
Frank Hannon: If I think about our music, I think that we’re influenced by the bands from the ‘60s and ‘70s. I think what makes our sound unique is that we have a mix of acoustic guitars with electric guitars.
We mix acoustic with electric where we are picking arpeggios on the acoustic and electric and then go from major to minor chords. If you go to a D minor to an E major and switch that E major to and E minor, switching major to minor chords and mixing that with acoustic and electric, I think, is a big part of our musical sound.
But, as soon as we put Jeff’s vocals on top of it, it’s instantly Tesla. He’s just got a one-of-a-kind voice.
Robert: What advice would you give guitar players looking to find their own sound?
Frank Hannon: For guitar players my advice would be to learn your chords and learn how to go from one chord to the next and change your chord sequences. Try different chord changes.
Robert: Which song do you think, really captures you trademark guitar tone?
Frank Hannon: I think “Modern Day Cowboy” was a trademark riff, but I think “Love Song” is the song that showcases what I’m talking about, playing from major to minor chords and using acoustic and electric together. I would think “Love Song” is probably our trademark song.
Robert: What do you think about the public’s perception of Tesla over the years through rock and metal history? Are you satisfied with where you guys are now, and what people think of you?
Frank Hannon: Absolutely. We come from a small town, Sacramento, California, not necessarily the music capitol of the world.
To be doing this for 30 years has been honor and to be interviewed by someone like you, sitting here in a hotel room in New York City and getting ready to do a show, we’re totally blessed.
Our egos could start tripping and we could start wishing we were as famous as whoever is famous today, but we are very blessed in that we feel very happy and grateful.
I grew up on a street called Fruitridge Road in Sacramento, which is the ghetto. We come from a rough upbringing and had to work really hard to make it. To still be here today doing this, we’re blown away that it’s even happening. We just got back from playing the Download Festival in Europe. It’s mind-blowing to us.
Robert: I would love to hear the entire new album played live, but I know you can’t do that. What songs can we expect to hear at the New York City Irving Plaza show?
Frank Hannon: We play “So Devine . . .”; “MP3” and “Ricochet.”. There’s a song called, “Break of Dawn” that we’re going to try to pull out if we can rehearse it one more time.
Robert: “Ricochet” and “Break of Dawn,” are my two favorite songs. Tell me some insights into them.
Frank Hannon: I’m glad you liked those, because those are songs that were contributed by guitarist Dave Rude.
Dave is a frigging awesome guitar player; he’s been with us for almost 10 years now and he’s fucking great. He’s a shot in the arm. It’s great having a guy like that in the band. “Ricochet” has Rudolf Schenker vibe to it. We love the Scorpions.
Def Leppard and the Scorpions are all of our influences. You can’t escape your influences.
Jeff Keith (L) and Frank Hannon (R) of Tesla
Robert: What’s the best part of being in the band with your bandmates?
Frank Hannon: Besides the familiarity of just knowing each other for so long, we push each other to perform the best we can.
We’ve survived a lot of ups and downs – drug problems, divorces and here we all are still together, survivors as a team.
