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Most bands that began in the 80s have been tabloid fodder for their sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll lifestyle for decades now. One notable exception has been Tesla. While a successful recording act and major touring band, Tesla has kept their internal dynamics close to the vest…until now. Bassist Brian Wheat recently released his autobiography, Son of a Milkman, and gets deep into his story with the band. Recently, Brian took some time to talk about his book and career.
Please press the PLAY icon below for the MisplacedStraws.com Conversation with Brian Wheat –
On why he was so open in the book – Because, after 36 years of being in a band if you’re gonna put out a book, I think you should be honest. The reason we were never in the press and all that stuff is because we came out at the time where Tesla didn’t really have a flamboyant image. They thought of us as kind of the blue-collar working man’s band. And we are, and we were. So that’s why a lot of the things that we did or were in the press, our our our manager, Cliff Bernstein used to say, “Tesla was a funny band because they’ll sell a million and a half records quietly”. But the key thing is we were selling a million and a half record at a whack with no hoopla around us, except for the fans. And obviously, rock radio had a huge part of that. And MTV embraced us on three videos, those are evident which ones they were, it was “Cowboy”, “Love Song”, and “Signs”. :57
On if the record company ever pressured them to change their image – They tried it one time. I think it was because they saw they weren’t getting any press in the early days about us. Mechanical Resonance was taking off and the press didn’t really match the success of the band. So they asked us, they put us in all that shit and we hated it and our managers hated it. I think at that point, we just made a decision between the managers and the record label that we were just gonna be who we were. Mind you, this was before we had two Top Ten singles, so this is still on Mechanical Resonance, So I’m glad we did. I mean, cause it wasn’t us. We’re not pretty guys. 2:30
“The Way It Is”
On career longevity – I think why we’ve had such a long career is because there’s not been a trend or fashion we were ever in. Having said that about some of the bands from the eighties that you wanna call them hair bands or whatever, it’s in fashion again. Look at what Def Leppard and Motley Crue are doing in the stadiums. That’s great. And I would have loved to have been on that bill. By the way. I would’ve liked to have been in Joan (Jett’s) place. I don’t know why they didn’t put us in there, but maybe we’ve done too many tours with Def Leppard recently. Look, man, it is what it is. My proudest accomplishment is that we’re still together 36 years later, and we’re still standing. We’re survivors, man. We survived a breakup. We survived grunge, we survived the 2000s and we survived the 2010s. Now we’re gonna survive this COVID shit, and we’ll be back as soon as that’s done, we’ll still be there singing and playing and trying to put a smile on someone’s face. 3:30
“Modern Day Cowboy”
On Tesla’s relationship with Def Leppard – It’s just we clicked. Obviously, when we met them we were young, they were young. I think maybe Joe (Elliott) says we reminded them of themselves. Maybe when they were younger, because they’re not that much older than we are. It’s coming from the same kind of town, a working-class town, like a Sacramento was compared to Sheffield, (and) being kind of a blues-based rock band. 5:23
“Love Song”
On relationships within Tesla – Obviously Frank (Hannon) and me started the band. I was always really close to Jeff (Keith) as soon as I met him. He’s the kind of guy that..he moved in with me and my mom, he lived with us. It took me a while to get to know Troy (Luccketta) and I say that in the book. But he’s my brother, you know and we’re fine today. I butted heads mostly with him and Tommy Skeoch. But when I butted heads with Tommy Skeoch it was moreover what he was doing and how was hurting the band. With Troy, we would just argue over the fucking weather and that’s just how it is but we’re brothers. He’s my brother. That’s a brotherhood. Tesla is a brotherhood, and Troy’s the brother, and sometimes brothers fight and say fucked up shit to each other. Trust me, I know and you hug and makeup and it’s all good. And look, we’re still together. But it did take longer to develop with Troy and Tommy. It was easier with Jeff, and obviously, Frank and me started together. 6:23
“Signs”
On getting the name Tesla – Well, we were called City Kidd and the record label said, “Look, you’re gonna have to change your name. Your music doesn’t fit the band’s name”. So they said, “We’re gonna give you till the end of recording this album to figure a name out”. We sat around and we tried all kinds of stuff. Even Chrissy Hynde (The Pretenders) tried to help one day and I said (in the book) that it was me and Jeff and the studio with Chrissy and Troy told me yesterday was me and him. I can’t remember. I thought it was Jeff. He’s like, “No, it was me and you”. So finally we finished the album and we had a barbecue at Mike Barbiero’s house, one of our producers, and Cliff (Bernstein)came and Cliff said to us, “Look, I got this idea for a name for the band”, and we went, “Okay, Great. What is it?” He said, “Tesla.” And I think we said, “What the fuck’s a Tesla?” That’s how the title oft hat chapter came out and we wouldn’t have picked that name in 1000 years. None of us were science freaks or anything like that. I don’t know if anyone even knew of Tesla in the band. I doubt it cause we weren’t taught it in school. So, we didn’t know anything about him. And the funny thing today is when I tell people, “Yeah. You know, Brian, with Tesla”, they’re like, “Oh, are you with the car company?” 8:27
“What You Give”
On writing about the band’s drug use – Jeff said, “Write whatever you want, it’s all true.” Troy speaks very openly about his struggle with drugs and alcohol, and he speaks to kids at school about it. He was fine about it. I did speak with Frank about it. There’s one story I think in there where I said Frank had this big boulder cocaine he threw in the toilet and I was like, “You could have gave it to me!” I said, “Hey, are you okay with me putting that in the book?” He said, “Hey, man, my kids know what I did. It ain’t no big deal.” I don’t think anyone of us, any one of us will tell you that, look, we did do drugs and alcohol, and we managed to keep it together in the end and we came out the other side because, if we sat there and tried to paint this goody-goody image that we were like these choir boys, it’d be bullshit. Everyone tried drugs because you’re curious, and then you like it. And then you get bored and then you start taking it because you’re bored or whatever. Who knows? You’re so high that you think the only way to do it is to stay high. Then you wake up one day and you grow up, and you realize that “Okay, man, we’re in our thirties or forties. It’s time to stop”, and for the most part, we have, look, we’re human beings. I haven’t drank or done drugs in 20 years. I might have the occasional glass of wine at my house in Italy at Christmas with our family or something. But as a rule, I don’t. Neither does Troy and Frank or Jeff. They might have an occasional beer, glass of wine now and again, but we don’t have it on the rider, come in our dressing room and you’ll find no alcohol. So we made that conscious decision when we were trying to save one of our brothers there and around 2005, and we all stopped, and unfortunately, he didn’t. So that’s all I want to say about that. 11:45
“Edison’s Medicine”
On discussing his health issues in the book – I was maybe a bit apprehensive because it’s not very glamorous. When you tell people, “Look, I shit blood, because I have ulcerated colitis”, which is an autoimmune disease, and it can be very debilitating. That’s not a very glamorous thing to say. Or, “I used to stick my finger down my throat and make myself throw up so I can try to maintain this weight because of this image thing that we were all into at that time”. Or, “Hey, look, I suffer from depression and anxiety”. All those things, there’s a stigma to them and people think, “Oh, it’s in your head”, or, “You’re weak, don’t be weak, be a man.” So when I did say that, I just said, “You know what? Fuck it. I’m gonna tell the truth”, and maybe it’ll help somebody in Kenosha, Wisconsin, some kid, I called fans kids. I can’t help it at my age, but some fan or someone who read this book like,” Hey, wow, he’s going through the same shit I go through”, and that’s kind of the revelation I had when I talked to Chris Cornell. One time was when he shared with me that he was suffering from anxiety and depression. I thought, “Wow, man, someone else in a band. Wow. I’ve never talked to anyone (else with depression).” You talk about whatever guitars, chicks, the good old days when you’re doing drugs, partying, or whatever cars, whatever. But you don’t talk about, “Hey, man, I’m having these problems with anxiety and depression.” That’s not something that’s a glamorous thing to talk about. I just said you know what? If I’m gonna do this, man, fuck it. I’ve been judged my whole life. Let people judge me if it can help somebody. There’s something about putting it out there yourself that kinda liberates you and kind of frees you like, “Hey, man, I don’t have to hide this anymore. I don’t have to keep this guy in the closet over here”. 14:30
“Thank You”
On what drives Tesla after 36 years – I think just because we’re creative people and that’s what we do. We’re a band. We write songs and we play and w get bored. It’s like, “Hey, we’ve been playing the same songs”, and then we do it for the fans as well. They probably like to hear some new material and something that inspires you. I’m sure with all this Covid stuff, there are another 10 songs in the tank, inspiration for another record. 19:40
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