Tesla's Brian Wheat Guests on This Bonus Episode of Focus on Metal

Episode 457 SE - Jammin’

This weeks bonus episode is a quick chat with Tesla bassist Brian Wheat about their new release “Five Man London Jam” recorded at the legendary Abbey Road studios. We also delve into some other Tesla discussion and we have a bit of a social distanced cohost chat.

Get the this episode from the Focus on Metal Site, The Focus on Metal RSS feed, or subscribe on iTunes.

You can hear us every Tuesday night on Pure Rock Radio
and each Wednesday afternoon on Metal World Radio

Visit http://focusonmetal.net/ for information on all the past episodes and to find the links to all our other social media sites.

And as always
Focus On Metal…Everything Else is Insignificant.

Tesla's Frank Hannon on This Weeks Focus on Metal

Episode 433 - Frank Hannon

Lots of stuff going on this week. First up we talk with guitarist Frank Hannon from Tesla after that we have a chat with Marc LaBelle from upcoming LA band Dirty Honey.

Get all your Tesla info at teslatheband.com  keep up with Frank at his site frankhannon.com

Check out Dirty Honey at dirtyhoney.com

Here's a track off of Tesla's latest release "Shock"

Here's the single off Dirty Honey's S/T EP

Track of the week comes to us courtesy of Demon Dolls Records artist Platinum Overdose. Check them out at demondollrecords.com

Get the this episode from the Focus on Metal Site, The Focus on Metal RSS feed, or subscribe on iTunes.

You can hear us every Tuesday night on Pure Rock Radio
and each Wednesday afternoon on Metal World Radio

Visit http://focusonmetal.net/ for information on all the past episodes and to find the links to all our other social media sites.

Hey did we mention that we got named to Feedspot.com's 

Top 20 Metal Music Audio Podcasts & Radio You Must Subscribe and Listen to in 2019

Check out the entire esteemed list of shows on that list as well as all the rest that Feedspot has to offer at: blog.feedspot.com/metal_music_podcasts/

And as always

Focus On Metal…Everything Else is Insignificant.

Review - Tesla with American Dog, Hampton Beach Casino, NH on 8/12/14

   I was really looking forward to seeing American Dog and I wasn't alone as a sizable chunk of the crowd had already filled the venue when the band took the stage. They are an old school shit kicking twin guitar rock and roll band. With attitude. Their latest release Neanderthal is great and they played half of it. The band went down a storm and we had a great chat with all the guys after their set. Go see them if they play anywhere near you. Best opening band I've seen in a while.

   I've always had a problem with Tesla and felt at times that their albums were more perspiration then inspiration. Mechanical Resonance is one of my favourite debut albums ever and Psychotic Supper is a classic but being honest I don't reach for their stuff on a regular basis, their earlier albums suffer like most from that era of being too damn long and their newer stuff is just a little one paced for my liking. As for Jeff Keith live, well I'll just say he is hit and miss.

   This was the third time I had seen them in as many years and they started strong with a newie MP3 from Simplicity followed by the fantastic Edison's Medicine and I Wanna Live from Forevermore. Up tempo rocking stuff. Then the band kinda lose me with a string of mid-paced fare like Hang Tough, Mama's Fool and The Way It Is. Solid songs but samey. I'll hand it to the band because they did plug the new cd with 4 songs from it but the foot was tapping instead of the head banging. Three from Mechanical Resonance ended the set and only highlighted for me how better those songs are live. Modern Day Cowboy is still great.

   Next time they need to vary the pace of the set but they suffer like a lot of bands from that era because they have to play ballads like What You Give and Signs. Unfortunately that leaves no room for Cumin Atcha Live and Don't De Rock Me, tunes with some serious twin guitar interplay. The band weren't crap and by and large the crowd loved them. The musicianship is still there but overall the stage presence is not except for chatty Frank Hannon, Jeff Keith still looks like he needs a good meal.

Richie.

2 Gigs Back To Back

   Hit the Hampton Beach Casino in New Hampshire last weekend for 2 gigs. One I purchased a ticket for ages ago and the other was a last minute very nice surprise to meet and interview one of the musicians for something large in the works. Both gigs not strictly metal but here goes:

Foreigner 6/29

   Lets not avoid the elephant in the room here and say Mick Jones wasn't on stage so that equals no original members. Can you imagine the die-hard Kiss fans if faced with this, there's enough shit for them to throw when two of the originals are absent. The impression I got was either most people didn't know or didn't care as long as the show was good.

   It was a fantastic show. Hit after hit after hit after hit after hit and on and on carried off with a band on top of its game. Opening with Double Vision the band played a rocking 11 song set in front of a sell out crowd. Highlights for me were Dirty White Boy and an extended version of Juke Box Hero where the musicians really showed their chops. It's the third time I have seen the band with Kelly Hansen on vocals and he really has made the material his own, he looks as comfortable fronting the band in clubs as he does arenas. They also do a great unplugged version of Say You Will with everyone adding harmonies. Being a big fan of the band I would have loved them to play some stuff off Inside Information like The Beat Of My Heart or Heart Turns To Stone or maybe Tooth And Nail from Agent Provocateur but what do you leave out. Leave your pre-conceptions at the door and go take a peek.

http://www.foreigneronline.com/


Tesla 6/30

   Visits by the band to Hampton Beach are now are now on a annual basis. I caught them play a great show here two years ago and missed them last year so I was looking forward to this one. To be honest it wasn't as good as the Foreigner show, it was good but I was expecting more. The setlist didn't rock as much as I would have liked. Opening with I Want To Live from Forever More was a great choice but there really was nothing else in the set that had that upbeat tempo. Instead it was mid-paced fare like Hang Tough, Heaven's Trail, Lazy Days Crazy Nights and Mama's Fool that dominated. All solid stuff but a little samey for me. Heavy on the slower stuff too, Love Song, What You Give and The Way It Is got aired. They pulled out Into The Now and Cumin' Atcha Live for the unplugged set that would have been far better with electricity. New song Taste The Pain sounded promising but don't tell the dickhead in front of me who jeered when they announced they were playing it and only wanted Mechanical Resonance. I love it when bands play new stuff and it was only one song early in the set for christ sakes.

   As for vocalist Jeff Keith, well there's more meat on a butcher's pencil. He is painfully thin. That wouldn't matter if he could sing like he used to but he can't. You could really see him struggle on the unplugged Paradise. He is also not the most dynamic frontman out there often letting the excellent Frank Hannon take over the mic to talk to the crowd. The majority of the beer and sweat soaked crowd did leave happy and the set finished strong with Modern Day Cowboy and an encore of Gettin' Better and Little Suzi. Just slip in Edison's Medicine, Rock Me To The Top or please please please Don't De Rock Me to liven it up a little next time.

http://teslatheband.com/


Richie.