How was Tesla not wiping the floor with everyone else in the 80s???

[Rocker4Real]

Tommy was the only one I remember the girls liked. He wasn't the front man. They tried to be more of a 70s throwback with some of their later material and that doesn't always work in the mainstream. Still, they had a decent hardcore following in Norcal. Even in the grunge/alternative era they were at Gold level.

[LAglamrocker]

Teenage girls and myself rejected them
They sounded horrible and looked worse
Heavy Metal fans thought they were a joke band and Vain audience laughed at them

Tesla should have had Vain sales and Vain should have outsold Tesla

But i ended up with Vain life so I win
Pretty funny drive to Ventura fair and pass the cowsh*t then see Tesla steps away

Band was so embarrassing I would never own Tesla car

[TREVERLAST]

Yeah they were able to sneak a gold record in in 94 when most of their contemporaries were either DOA or on life support.

Very true. The HUGE Crue could only go gold & Tesla pulled it off with way less hype.

[StateOfShock]

They are definitely one of the best from the decade.

In a time where bands looked over the top, they came across as bland. In that decade, that type of thing mattered.

[Lobo]

What did Tesla and WASP have in common? Nothing as far as style of music is concerned. However, they were both stuck in between genres.

Tesla wasn't glam and they weren't thrash. They were somewhere in between.

Not from LA but Sacramento.

They seemed to have some roots influences that the other bands at the time didn't.

They were hard rock but had a tinge of Americana in there too. If they were to open for someone like Tom Petty or John Mellencamp, they wouldn't have been completely out of place. They could also open for Poison too.
WASP? Tour with Armored Saint, Metallica or Iron Maiden? No problem. Again, could open for a glam or thrash band, they could find a way to fit in as long as the headliner was heavy in some way.

It's an asset that a band like Tesla could tour and open for pretty much any rock band out there or headline theatres or casinos. I saw them a couple years ago open for Styx and Joan Jett. But it can also prevent them from hitting big. I feel like a solid career spanning decades making enough to earn a solid consistent living can be better than a one shot deal earning a lot and never getting back again (see Quiet Riot etc.)

[Bono Nettencourt]

Yeah they were able to sneak a gold record in in 94 when most of their contemporaries were either DOA or on life support.

Very true. The HUGE Crue could only go gold & Tesla pulled it off with way less hype.

The huge crue also made a HUGE mistake, but your point is made. I don't remember that Tesla album at all, but somebody bought it.

[kanister]

What did Tesla and WASP have in common? Nothing as far as style of music is concerned. However, they were both stuck in between genres.

Tesla wasn't glam and they weren't thrash. They were somewhere in between.

Not from LA but Sacramento.

They seemed to have some roots influences that the other bands at the time didn't.

They were hard rock but had a tinge of Americana in there too. If they were to open for someone like Tom Petty or John Mellencamp, they wouldn't have been completely out of place. They could also open for Poison too.

This is a good take. Tesla might have benefitted of getting labeled as a rock band instead of metal / hardrock. But in honesty that label probably was the most accurate.

Also the band name Tesla probably didn't do them much favours.

I ´ve grown to appreciate them more and more with time.

[Love_Industry]

Tesla might have benefitted of getting labeled as a rock band instead of metal / hardrock. But in honesty that label probably was the most accurate.

I can see them fitting in with the likes of Springsteen, Adams and Mellencamp in the 80s, more so than Mötley, Guns or Bon Jovi. But didn't Kalodner or someone tell Bon Jovi to go for the hard rock audience as they spent more on music and were more loyal? The same would have applied to Tesla.

Look at Adams's sales. Into the Fire barely made it to one million in between 3 5x platinum sellers Reckless, WutN and SFSG. Then 18 Till I Die was 1 mil again, his last certified album.

Tesla was only 2x platinum with Controversy and had 3 other albums going 1x platinum so they retained half their audience going gold with Bust a Nut and were still able to go platinum with a compilation in 2018.

[DangerZone]

like Kix, the singer wasn’t my fave.
Too skinny & dorky acting.

Also I remember reading an interview with the bass player and he talked about being a fat kid and how he was a strict dieter.
Wasn’t exactly rock n roll cool

Their biggest selling point was Frank.
He had a column in the guitar mags and his intro to ‘love song’ is up there with the intro to ‘nothing else matters’ for amateur noodlers

[Bono Nettencourt]

like Kix, the singer wasn’t my fave.
Too skinny & dorky acting.

Also I remember reading an interview with the bass player and he talked about being a fat kid and how he was a strict dieter.
Wasn’t exactly rock n roll cool

That didn't work out so well...

[HoldenSSV]

like Kix, the singer wasn’t my fave.
Too skinny & dorky acting.

Also I remember reading an interview with the bass player and he talked about being a fat kid and how he was a strict dieter.
Wasn’t exactly rock n roll cool

That didn't work out so well...

Still can't believe that proto-Wolfie got to bang Sandi Saraya on the reg.

[kytepunches]

I liked the first album a lot when it came out and the follow up was pretty decent. But from what i recall , i think i saw them on every fucking tour that came through town for a two year period. Nobody i knew was too happy to have Tesla or White Lion rammed down your throat for every tour. . And they were a pretty dull band to see live.