While we continue to wait for TESLA to return to Spain, the band has just released Homage and is already preparing for an extensive U.S. tour that will include their appearance on the upcoming Monsters of Rock Cruise. Taking advantage of this moment, we spoke with Frank Hannon, although the conversation ended up going far beyond the new album. For nearly an hour, he talks about the band’s philosophy, the creative process, Jeff Keith, his solo projects, Europe, Spain, guitars, and, above all, what it is like to live through a career spanning more than four decades while still retaining the same excitement for creating music.
David Aresté
M.S.: Frank, first of all, we’d like to thank you for taking a few minutes to speak with MetalSymphony during such a busy time for TESLA, with the release of Homage just around the corner and preparations underway for your U.S. tour alongside Mötley Crüe and Extreme. It’s a real pleasure to have the opportunity to talk with you.
Frank Hannon: The pleasure is mine. It’s an honor to be with you, David. Thank you very much for the invitation. These are incredibly exciting times for TESLA. After forty years, we’re still enjoying what we do tremendously, and we’re very happy with the new album, the song selection, and all the creativity behind Homage. We can’t wait for everyone to hear it.
M.S.: Do you still get nervous when releasing an album or going out on tour?
Frank Hannon: I wouldn’t call it nerves in the sense of being afraid, but rather a mixture of excitement, enthusiasm, and that positive anticipation that appears when you know something important is about to happen. After more than forty years, we still experience those moments with tremendous excitement. We’re very happy with Homage, the song selection, and all the creativity we’ve put into the album, so now all that’s left is to wait for people to hear it.
M.S.: After more than forty years together, Homage marks a return to your roots with an album of cover songs. What led you to revisit this idea at this particular moment?
Frank Hannon: The idea for Homage came from a concept by Brian Wheat. We wanted to pay tribute to some of the greatest singers in history. At this point in our career, we felt it was the perfect opportunity to showcase a different side of Jeff Keith. He’s 68 years old and is still an extraordinary singer, with a natural talent for performing many different styles. That’s why we decided to record an album that explores different vocal styles through songs by artists such as Elvis Presley, Freddie Mercury, Bob Seger, James Brown, Hank Williams, Sam Cooke, and many others. We also wanted to include a completely new TESLA song.
M.S.: The album brings together songs by artists as diverse as Queen, Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, Supertramp, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. How did you go about selecting the repertoire, and what did all those songs have in common?
Frank Hannon: Actually, the process began by choosing the artists rather than the songs. The first step was deciding which great voices we wanted to pay tribute to. For example, we knew we wanted to include Queen, and once we’d chosen Freddie Mercury, we started considering which song would fit best, eventually deciding on “Spread Your Wings.” The same thing happened with Bob Seger. At first we considered “Against the Wind,” but we ultimately chose “Night Moves.” The songs came afterwards; the starting point was always the artists themselves and the admiration we have for them.
M.S.: Unlike Real to Reel, Homage also features an original song, “Never Alone.” What role does it play within the album’s overall concept?
Frank Hannon: Even though it’s a brand-new TESLA song, it shares the same spirit as the rest of the album. It’s a simple, highly melodic song with lyrics that convey an emotional message. To me, when you perform a song, the melody is the most important thing, and “Never Alone” stands out precisely because of that. It fits perfectly into the album’s overall concept because it shares that same simplicity and ability to connect with the listener.
M.S.: Performing such well-known classics always means finding the balance between respecting the original and adding your own personality. What was the biggest challenge during the recording process?
Frank Hannon: The greatest challenge was preserving the feeling of the original recordings. Many of those songs were recorded decades ago virtually live in the studio, without the digital tools that exist today. That way of recording gave them a very special emotion. Songs like “Night Moves” or “The Ballad of Curtis Loew” have an incredible feeling, and we wanted to preserve that essence without straying too far from the originals. At the same time, they had to sound like TESLA, with the band’s personality and, above all, Jeff Keith’s voice. That was the most difficult part of the process.
M.S.: Jeff Keith once again demonstrates tremendous vocal versatility on this album. Were you specifically looking to highlight that lesser-known side of his voice?
Frank Hannon: Yes, because every song on the album is completely different, and that allows Jeff to showcase the full range of his abilities as a singer. To me, a great band should be able to move effortlessly between very different styles, just as Queen or The Beatles did, going from very powerful moments to much softer ones. I’m very proud that TESLA has that ability. The same goes for the guitars on the album: the solos are very dynamic, with a strong blues feel and a very melodic approach. Very often, it’s much harder to play something simple with feeling than it is to play a fast solo packed with notes.
M.S.: What’s your favorite song on the album?
Frank Hannon: My favorite is probably “Night Moves” by Bob Seger. I also love “Give a Little Bit” by Supertramp, and I really enjoy playing “Mind Your Own Business” by Hank Williams.
M.S.: Was there any song that particularly surprised you, either because of the guitar work or when adapting the arrangements and solos?
Frank Hannon: Not really. The guitar solos came together quite easily. The only song that surprised me was “I Got You (I Feel Good)” by James Brown. We recorded it very quickly in my hotel room in Las Vegas. I had prepared a demo, Jeff came in and sang it virtually in a single take, with all the energy and signature screams that made James Brown so unique. The funky guitar part also came together very quickly. I was surprised by how easy the entire process turned out to be.
M.S.: The release of Homage coincides with a major U.S. tour alongside Mötley Crüe and Extreme. What does it mean for TESLA to share the bill with two such important bands, and what can fans expect from these shows?
Frank Hannon: It’s a real honor. We’ve had a long relationship with Mötley Crüe. We toured together back in 1990 during the Dr. Feelgood era, spent three months on the road together, and now Nikki Sixx has invited us to join this tour.
We haven’t spent much time with Extreme throughout our career, so it’ll be a great opportunity to get to know them better. I’m really looking forward to sharing the stage with them and enjoying Nuno Bettencourt’s incredible talent as a guitarist.
M.S.: Do you write songs while you’re on tour?
Frank Hannon: Yes, more and more these days. We travel with our computers now and record every idea that comes up while we’re on the road. Even so, whether those songs eventually become a TESLA album really depends on Jeff Keith. He likes to write the lyrics. I could write a hundred songs on guitar without any problem.
At the moment I’m also working on my new solo album, which will probably be called Odyssey, while Brian Wheat is recording music with Chris Holmes and Tommy Skeoch. We all have side projects, so we’ll see when the right time comes for a new TESLA album.
M.S.: This album marks the band’s return to Frontiers Music Srl, as you previously worked with them on Simplicity and Forever More. What convinced you to reunite with them and strengthen your presence in the European market?
Frank Hannon: I think our chances of returning to Europe are much greater now thanks to Frontiers. In the past, organizing tours there was very difficult, but I’m confident that with their help we’ll be able to come back very soon.
M.S.: Many of your friends, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd and Jared James Nichols, are also on the label…
Frank Hannon: Yes! That also makes everything feel much closer and creates opportunities for us to play together.
M.S.: A Southern tour. (Laughs)
Frank Hannon: Absolutely, that would be great.
M.S.: In fact, TESLA hasn’t toured Spain for 17 years now, something fans often point out. Do you think this new chapter with Frontiers could help bring that wait to an end? Are there real possibilities of returning to our country in the near future?
Frank Hannon: Yes, absolutely. I want to return to Spain, and I genuinely believe Frontiers can help make that happen. I hope we’ll be back very soon.
I always remember the warmth of the Spanish audience, and I’d love to play there again. I can even picture everyone singing along with me during my acoustic part in “Love Song.” I’d love to experience that again with the Spanish fans.
M.S.: Just a few months ago you released your new solo album, Reflections. How would you assess the response it’s received? Has it lived up to the expectations you had when you first started working on it?
Frank Hannon: The response has been fantastic. It’s a very personal album, and I think people have connected with the emotions I was trying to express through the guitar, using it almost as if it were a voice.
It’s been a very different project from TESLA, but it has also allowed me to reconnect with my passion for the guitar as an instrument. I’m really proud of Reflections, and in fact I’m already working on a new album that will probably be called Odyssey, a kind of natural continuation of that project.
M.S.: Following the release of Reflections, you played several shows across the United States. Have you considered bringing that solo project to Europe if the opportunity arises?
Frank Hannon: I’d love to. Right now TESLA has an incredibly busy schedule, and I hardly have any time to perform solo concerts. I’ve been able to take part in a few events, such as the Dallas International Guitar Festival and a show in Oklahoma City, but the band takes up almost all of my time.
Even so, it’s something I’d really like to do in the future. I’d love to tour Europe with my solo project and perform those instrumental songs as Frank Hannon, simply with my guitar.
M.S.: You’re now on the same label as Jared James Nichols, a guitarist many consider one of the leading figures of the new generation—your “musical son”—and we saw there was great feeling between the two of you during the Monsters of Rock Cruise. Would you like to organize a joint tour or share the stage with him in Europe or the United States? He told us he’d be delighted.
Frank Hannon: I love that idea! I didn’t know Jared had said that, but I think it’s fantastic. I’ll have to give him a call and say, “Jared, let’s go tour Europe!”
I don’t know when it’ll become a reality, but I’d honestly love to do it. I think it would be a really fun tour and an amazing experience to share the stage with him.
M.S.: After Homage, are you already thinking about the next studio album with entirely new material, or would you rather let things happen naturally and simply do whatever you feel like at the time?
Frank Hannon: At this stage of our career, we prefer to let things happen naturally. We don’t want to put ourselves under pressure by setting a date to write ten songs and record an album. If good ideas come up during the tour with Mötley Crüe, that’s great, but right now we don’t have a fixed plan.
Each of us is immersed in our own projects. I’m working on my next solo album, Odyssey, while Brian Wheat is also recording music with other musicians. Writing songs on the guitar has always come naturally to me, but in TESLA everything depends on Jeff Keith. He’s the one who writes the lyrics, and it will only be when he feels inspired to do so that the band’s next album will truly begin to take shape.
M.S.: To wrap things up, there’s one question we always ask every guitarist who appears on Metal Symphony: how many guitars do you currently have in your collection, and which one is the most special to you?
Frank Hannon: Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve never counted them. I probably have around a hundred guitars, divided between the ones I keep at home and the ones that always travel with TESLA on tour.
At home I have models such as a Gibson SG Custom, a Rickenbacker, a Gretsch, and a Peter Frampton Les Paul, among many others. Then, with TESLA, I use a completely different setup: the Gibson SG with a Floyd Rose, a Pink Paisley Telecaster, the Gibson Double Neck I use on “Love Song,” and several acoustic guitars. They’re really two different collections: the guitars I use for my instrumental music and the ones I use with TESLA.
If I had to choose one particularly special piece, it would probably be that 1987 Gibson Double Neck I’ve been using for decades to play “Love Song.” I’ve been offered as much as $50,000 for it, but it’s not for sale.
However, the guitar I’m enjoying the most these days is my Gretsch Brian Setzer. It’s not especially expensive, but it has a fantastic sound, and it’s the one I used during the recording of Reflections. To me, it’s priceless.
And of course, it’s not all about guitars… I’m also passionate about amplifiers. If you love guitars, you inevitably end up falling in love with amplifiers too.
M.S.: On the last Monsters of Rock Cruise, we saw you wearing a Nashville-related T-shirt. Do you have a special connection with the city’s music scene?
Frank Hannon: Yes, very much so. My screen-printing company operates there, and my graphic designer, Dwayne Surface, who creates my album covers and much of my visual identity, also lives in Nashville. I also work with East Iris Studio, where the vinyl master for Reflections was produced.
I have a lot of friends there. The Nelson brothers, Jared James Nichols, people from Gibson… Nashville has become a very important place for me.
M.S.: Have you also worked as a producer with artists from Nashville?
Frank Hannon: Yes. I produced an artist named JT Lux at East Iris Studio, and over the years I’ve also produced other bands and musicians. I don’t do it as much anymore because I’m focused on TESLA and my solo career, but there was a period in my life when I produced quite a lot of material for other artists.
M.S.: Finally, we’d like to thank you for spending this time with Metal Symphony. The microphone is yours to say goodbye to all our readers.
Frank Hannon: Thank you very much for inviting me. I hope our music brings you joy, positive energy, and makes you feel good. That’s exactly what we try to convey through our songs: to put a little love and positivity into the world. I hope to see you all very soon and, with a bit of luck, to return to Spain as well. Thank you, everyone!
David Aresté