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| HOME » NEWS » Respecting His Elders: An Interview with TESLA’s Frank Hannon |
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Respecting His Elders: An Interview with TESLA’s Frank Hannon May 5, 2009 By Jeb Wright / CLASSIC ROCK REVISTED TESLA is a unique band in the sense that they have been able to find fame, break up, regroup and regain success, replace a fan favorite band member, retain their fan base and move forward, creating valid new music and keeping tickets selling fast enough to continue to tour the world. The band were not media darlings and have never been as popular in the public eye as many of the bands of the same era. However, circa 2009 TESLA is still headlining shows while many of their contemporaries are playing bars. The reason they have maintained their status is simple... It is the music. TESLA is touring the world on the strength of their latest release titled Forever More. The band have, once again, released a collection of new music that is daring enough to keep themselves interested yet familiar enough to thrill the fan base. TESLA is tired of the music business yanking their chains so the band’s business affairs are now run by guitarist Frank Hannon and bass player Brian Wheat. Hannon is an amazingly talented guitar player who is the total package. He is well versed at the craft of songwriting. One needs to look no further than the band’s biggest hit "Love Song" to know that. He is also an amazing lead guitar player as the opening to "Modern Day Cowboy" attests to. Hannon can handle just about anyone’s licks as TESLA’s covers album Real-to-Reel proves. When not playing in TESLA, Hannon has his own self-titled band where he lets all the stops out and plays with wild abandon. Recently, Frank proved his wares in front of his contemporaries at the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show in California at The House of Blues. The audience of guitarists were blown away at Frank’s skills. As a genuine tip of the hat to his talents, Jim Marshall, the creator of Marshall Amplifiers took that stage with Frank that evening. In this interview, Frank discusses the new album, the band’s latest addition, guitarist Dave Rude, and his recent visit with Randy Rhoads' mother. Frank Hannon is a guitarist, a rock star and a true fan of music. His love of the guitar oozes out of every pore of his body. He lives for his band and will continue to put all of his heart and soul into his music, forevermore. Jeb: Before talking about the new TESLA, I want to tell you that I saw The Frank Hannon Band at NAMM. You opened for Michael Schenker at the House of Blues. That was an amazing show. FH: You were there? Terry Marshall played sax with me that night. He brought his sax all the way from England just so he could sit in with me. Nico McBrain was there too. Jeb: I loved when you played "Frankenstein" and you played all the parts on the guitar. You play the hell out of the guitar in TESLA but in your own band you really play your ass off. FH: There is a lot more room to go crazy and not worry about lyrics [laughing]. There are no time constraints. Don’t get me wrong, I love the craft of writing a song. With TESLA, some of the songs have lasted for twenty years. Jeff Keith is one of my favorite singers of all time. He is a naturally gifted vocalist and when I hear his voice it gives me chills. When I get the chance to step out and do my first love, which is playing guitar, then I try to have as much fun as I can and play what I want to play without anybody telling me what to do. Jeb: You had a solo album called Guitars From Mars but that was only on your website. Why didn’t you ever try to get a deal for that release? FH: It was totally independent. I did it that way on purpose; I didn’t want a deal. I thought about it and I talked to an A/R guy. As soon as he started telling me what I had to do then I knew I didn’t want a deal. I didn’t want anybody telling me what to do. I don’t want to be controlled. It didn’t really sell that much but I didn’t care because I just did it as an outlet. I am going to re-record that whole CD, live in the studio. It was really just a demo that I did on my computer and it didn’t come out as live as I wanted it too. Jeb: Lets talk about Forever More. I have been jamming on this one. Is this the first release where you have taken total control over the business aspect of a TESLA release? FH: We have taken over total control for about three years now. Comin’ Atcha Live, the DVD, was the first product we put out since Brian Wheat and myself took over the business affairs of the band. It is challenging to balance business, home life and the music; it is crazy. We’re busier now than ever but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. In the past, we had a lot of different managers who told us a lot of different stories. It would take us forever to get paid. We were also told many times that we couldn’t do the things that we wanted to do. For example, we have a video out for the song "Falling Apart" We directed, wrote and scripted the entire thing, ourselves, for seven thousand dollars. It is like a mini-movie. I had an idea for "Hang Tough" where we would be on top of a skyscraper and there would be helicopters flying over us and there would be search lights going off. The manger and the director told me that I couldn’t do that. Six months later, the same director and manager put out the same video that I wrote for Guns ‘n’ Roses "Don’t Cry" video. That should have been the "Hang Tough" video. These days, those type of things don’t happen to us. We do what we want to do. Jeb: You should be doing that at this stage at your career. If you are willing to do the work then the dividends will pay off. FH: Things get done. We know it will get done and it gets done. We used to wait for things to get done and they never got done. If they don’t get done now then it is totally our own fault. Forevermore is a damn good album. I like it much better than Into the Now. That one seemed like you were trying to be something you are not. This new one sounds like an entire album. The songs fit and the sound is very much classic TESLA. FH: Into the Now was our first album from recovering from being broke up. It was us searching for a sound again. I still think that it is a great album. You remember an album by the songs that are on it. Into the Now had some great songs like "Miles Away," "Caught In a Dream" and "Come to Me." I think that album had some brilliant songs on it. Jeb: It was a good album but I would pick this one over that one if I had to choose. FH: Hey, that is a good thing because this is our latest CD. You always strive to get better. The big difference on this one is that Terry Thomas produced it. He really helped us a lot. He coached us through the process and got things done quickly. When you make a record in that period of time then it is more cohesive, like you just said. Into the Now stretched out, it took us a long time to make it. Jeb: "Breaking Free" is a killer song. FH: We play that song live and it goes over great. It seems like it is going to be a staple for us. It has a cool vibe. Jeb: TESLA really is all over the map with your songwriting. Do you ever have to work to keep yourself within certain boundaries when you write for TESLA? FH: The one who does that is Jeff, our singer. I like many different styles of music. I can come up with a jazz song but it is not going to pass through the filter. When we collaborate, it really is a group effort. It is a democracy and we vote on things; that is what makes it a team. If I brought in a jazz fusion song, it would not make the cut. Jeb: Is TESLA more of a team now than ever before? FH: Without a doubt we are more of a team now more than ever. We have been through so many ups and downs that we now appreciate the band more. We don’t have the person in the band anymore that was causing the majority of the problems. We have Dave Rude in the band now, who makes a positive contribution to the team. It is really a combination of a lot of things. Jeb: Dave is a great guy. I know he looks up to you as a musician. He did the covers album with TESLA but this was his first album of original material with the band. How much was he just soaking it all in during the making of this CD? FH: He was right there with us. All five of us were in there with the producer. We would all throw ideas back and forth with each other. We would bring an idea in and we would spend a day on it. Dave was an equal part of all of that. He is a member of the band, no doubt. He is not a hired gun; he is a TESLA member. Jeb: When I first saw you without Tommy Skeoch I was wondering if you could pull it off. He is a strong personality and he was great on stage. FH: People struggle with change when it comes to bands. The majority of our fans know it was a much needed change. Jeb: Was it tough? I know that you were not shooting heroin and he was. But at the same time, you all are not saints. What made what he was doing make you decide he had to go? FH: There is a difference between having a beer or a glass of wine and laying butt ass naked on the side of the road, unable to stand up—there is a big difference. After being stalled so much, you have to draw the line.Jeb: I loved the way you brought Dave out at the beginning of the DVD and you and he did a dueling guitar battle with him. I thought that was a cool way of introducing him to the audience. FH: Dave can hold his own, he is fucking great. It didn’t come easy. I look at it like this: I gave Tommy Skeoch so many freaking chances—over and over and over again. We went through the ringer. I think the Karma Gods looked down and said, "You guys have been through so much, I am going to give you Dave Rude." I flew to LA and I auditioned a guy there and we had others try out. My band, The Frank Hannon Band, that you saw open for Schenker, one night, I had five guitar players sit in with me. They didn’t know it but I was auditioning them for TESLA. I found Dave on the computer and he came down and sat in and he was a Godsend. He fit in and it was perfect, I was jumping up and down for two weeks.Jeb: Not long ago, TESLA was split up. Looking back now, a little bit older and more mature, what have you been able to learn from that to keep the band moving forward? FH: I think you have to pace yourself. Instead of breaking up, we should have just taken a break. We never took a break and it took a toll. Now, we tour for a month and we go home for a month. We try to maintain a healthy balance. So many bands make the mistake of breaking up instead of taking a break from each other. We have learned from our mistakes—we keep making mistakes but we learn from them now. Jeb: TESLA fans are loyal but I have to admit that TESLA is loyal to your fans. You guys seem like you are real people.FH: We still have problems like anybody else. We are the kind of band where we are really not a household name. I just watched this commercial for this Heavy Metal 80's compilation that is coming out. It has Twisted Sister, Poison, Ratt and Warrant on there but there was no TESLA. We have a loyal fan base that is really dedicated and faithful to us. Jeb: I have always said that TESLA was a 70's band that happened to come out in the 80's.FH: Right . . . right . . . I guess so, man. We have a taste of Metal integrity because we have a lot Metal riffs in there but we also have a lot of Blues and heart and soul. It is not just a fly by night kind of thing. Jeb: Last one man... I was backstage at The Moondance Jam. I do interviews for the big screen. Loverboy was opening and TESLA was coming up. You rushed to the stage to watch Loverboy and were digging it. Frank, you can play circles around anyone in Loverboy...FH: No way dude, Loverboy was huge. They were big influences in the early 80's, man. Fuck, I respect my elders and influences man. Do you like Randy Rhoads? Jeb: Of course I do. He was one of the best.FH: I am on a huge Randy Rhoads kick right now. I love Randy Rhoads. I remember the day he died; I might have even cried. We used to play "Crazy Train" and "I Don’t Know" when we were kids. My son plays Guitar Hero, and now he is starting to play guitar, and he comes to me and says, "Dad, Randy Rhoads is my favorite." It tripped me out because he was my favorite when I was fourteen. I have been rediscovering Randy Rhoads' guitar licks again. He was only twenty-four when he died. He created so much and had such musical knowledge. His chord changes on "Diary of a Madman" are just timeless to me. Listen to "Believer" and the way that it started out. Every song he played was beautiful and demonic at the same time. Jeb: With those two albums, Blizzard of Oz and Diary of a Madman, he inspired an entire generation of guitar players, one of whom is you.FH: He truly did. I got to meet his mom last month. We played at The Whiskey a Go Go last month and I went and visited Delores Rhoads. I got her autograph on my Les Paul. I played her my "Love Song" intro and told her how much Randy was an influence to me. She told me that Randy used to jam in a little music school that he went to and that Randy’s favorite song then was "Chattanooga Choo Choo." They used to play that over and over again. They had jazz bands that would play in the little room there. You can look up Musonia and you will find the Musonia School of Music; that is where Randy grew up. Meeting his mom was really special. |
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